(ABC 6 News) – Rochester Public Schools is scrambling to address a miscommunication with parents and P-Tech students who believed their first two years of college courses were paid for.

On Feb. 20, RPS Superintendent of Schools Kent Pekel sent a letter to students, families, and supporters of the P-TECH, stating that “when the first cohort of P-TECH students was recruited in the spring of 2021, those students and their parents and guardians were told that the program would provide a ‘cost-free education in grades 9-14.'”

Some — if not all — of those families took this to mean that P-TECH funding would cover two years of classes at RCTC after graduation, Pekel wrote.

ABC 6 News was contacted by a parent of a student currently enrolled in P-TECH in mid-February, who had recently learned their college courses would not be paid for.

“Unfortunately, sufficient funding to cover the cost of two years of postsecondary study at
RCTC for all P-TECH students has never been included in the P-TECH budget and is
not in the P-TECH budget today,” Pekel wrote.

RPS said they would not conduct interviews on the subject Feb. 20.

According to Pekel, RPS will allocate some money to help cover tuition and expenses for current nursing and information technology P-TECH students.

What is P-Tech?

Rochester Public Schools’ “Tech 535” program included P-Tech and C-Tech pathways, wherein high school students earn high school and college credit simultaneously by attending courses at RCTC.

RPS calls TECH 535 a “pioneering education reform initiative created to prepare young people with the academic, technical, and professional skills required for high wage, high skills, and high need regional careers.”

The program is described as an “opportunity for students to “earn both their high school diploma and a two–year associate degree linked to growing, competitive STEM fields.”

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When watching the informational video on the RPS P-Tech site, the program is also described as a “6 Year Intergrated Program”.

Pekel was hired in 2021, after the first the cohort of P-TECH students was beginning their time in the program in 9th grade.

Pekel’s letter states that most students in the first P-TECH class will need to complete some extra courses after graduation to earn a postsecondary degree, such as an Associate Degree, in their chosen field.

In 2024 and 2025, P-TECH students are expected to earn their degrees during their high school years.

What does “cost-free” cover?

P-TECH’s “cost free” funding for students covers the following items: 

• Transportation to and from student’s high school to P-TECH
• Required school supplies
• Pathway postsecondary tuition and associated fees while working towards high school diploma
• Transportation to and from P-TECH 

What happens now?

Pekel’s letter states that very few graduating P-TEC students are expected to earn scholarships to cover their first two years of college at RCTC.

However, RPS will, Pekel says, “allocate funding” to cover some costs for current P-TECH students:

1. Tuition and fees not already covered by financial aid for RCTC courses required
   for completion of a student’s identified P-TECH 535 program of study toward the
   Practical Nursing Diploma or the AAS degree in Information Technology
2. Required textbooks for courses included in item #1. Textbooks must be
   purchased through the RCTC Bookstore at the most cost-effective level.
3. The expenses of tuition, fees, and required textbooks outlined above will be
   covered only for courses that are completed within a student’s first two academic
   years following their high school graduation. For example, if a student is a current
   senior and earns a high school diploma from RPS in 2025, the student would
   have until the end of RCTC’s Spring 2027 semester to complete their program of
   study in practical nursing or information technology.
4. In order for students who are currently enrolled in P-TECH to become and
   remain eligible for RPS-supported postsecondary funding, they must meet the
   following criteria:
   ● Students must be enrolled in the identified postsecondary program of study at
   RCTC no later than the fall after high school graduation. This includes
   meeting the minimum admission requirements for both RCTC and the
   program of study prior to the start of the first Fall semester after high school
   graduation
   ● Students must be in good academic standing and be making consistent and
   satisfactory progress toward program completion.

Future P-TECH students will be expected to earn their degrees during high school, Pekel added.

Lingering questions

ABC 6 News first reached out to Rochester Public Schools on February 10, after hearing from a concerned parent of P-Tech students.

On Feb. 10, RPS communications said “funding has not been pulled from our PTECH 535 program, and our PTECH 535 Administration team is working to understand and respond to any parent concerns.”

Pekel’s letter indicates that “state funding for P-TECH in Rochester will be phasing down over the next
several years due to recent changes in state law.”

Pekel’s letter does say where the funding for P-TECH students’ college costs would come from.

ABC 6 News has reached out for more information.