That’s because through an innovative program called Pathways in Technology Early College High School, or P-TECH for short, many of the students are on track to earn an associate degree free of charge by the time they earn their high school diplomas.
The most recent publicly available data shows that in the 2024-2025 school year, 196 of the 207 students enrolled in P-TECH at Frederick Douglass – nearly 95% – were “on track” to earn both an associate degree and their high school diplomas within four years.
As colleges and universities face the oft-lamented “enrollment cliff” – a term used to describe the dwindling number of traditional age college students that exists due to a decline in birth rates – state officials credit the P-TECH program in Maryland with being a game-changer on the enrollment landscape.
“By removing financial barriers, integrating academic and career supports, and creating clear pathways from high school through college and into employment, P-TECH helps students envision themselves as college students long before high school graduation,” said Kellise Williamson, P-TECH coordinator for the Maryland State Department of Education.
“The result is not simply increased college enrollment, but a stronger, more equitable talent pipeline that benefits students, employers [and] higher education institutions.”
If the past is prologue, the 95% “on track” rate bodes well for Frederick Douglass High School, where 90% of the P-TECH graduates earned a high school diploma and associate degree in 4 years during the 2022-2023 school year – and 94% attended a four-year college directly after high school.
