By Stefanie Contreras
A new collaboration between Pima Joint Technical Education District and ASU Prep Digital aims to significantly broaden educational and career opportunities for high school students across Pima County.
The partnership will enable students to enroll in career and technical education, or CTE, programs onsite with Pima JTED during the school day. They will earn their high school diploma through ASU Prep Digital’s online curriculum and receive aligned university credits that support their chosen career pathway.
Their university credits will give them an ASU transcript as non-degree-seeking students — tuition-free until they earn their high school diploma.
This school offering will mirror the ASU Prep Digital+ hybrid program currently operating in the metro Phoenix area. Pima JTED will provide shared classroom space for ASU Prep, which will offer on-site academic support and a flexible learning environment for students between their CTE classes.
The site will function as an open lab on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, allowing students to work on their ASU Prep Digital online coursework with staff support. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the lab will cater to students concurrently enrolled in college courses through ASU, with staff providing academic and motivational support.
For nearly two decades, Pima County students have benefited from Pima JTED's resources, earning high school and college credit, industry certifications and valuable real-world career experience. Pima JTED has award-winning programs designed to contribute to the local economy and give students the chance to jump-start their careers.
ASU Prep Digital is chartered by Arizona State University and uses innovative approaches to curriculum to prepare all students for success in graduating from a university. The ASU Prep network includes the ASU Preparatory Academy schools in the metro Phoenix and Casa Grande communities; ASU Prep Digital, which serves online students in grades K–12 across Arizona; and the ASU Prep Digital+ program.
This new alliance with ASU Prep Digital seeks to enhance Pima JTED’s offerings by providing local ASU Prep Digital students with access to JTED's cutting-edge CTE programs. Since ASU Prep Digital’s inception in 2017, the number of ASU Prep Digital students in Pima County has increased significantly.
“We exist at a point in history where there are more educational opportunities than ever before for students,” said Meg Grothman, ASU Prep’s director of Arizona impact. “Due to high demand and limited capacity — especially in their after-school offerings — Pima JTED is actively exploring more flexible and rigorous digital solutions to create a launchpad for college and career in Tucson.”
Kathy Prather, CEO and superintendent of Pima JTED, said: “Our mission has always been to provide students the tools and resources they need to meet their career and educational goals. Through this new partnership, we can create a more personalized and scalable learning experience for students throughout the Tucson area.”
Enrollment for ASU Prep Digital at Pima JTED is open now with classes set to begin in the fall.
“It’s exciting to see how this partnership with Pima JTED will now give students in Pima County new opportunities for how and what they learn, that we’ve not been able to provide before,” Grothman said. “These opportunities will help them prep for college, careers and life — and they’ll do that armed with significant CTE skills in their arsenal.”
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