CCTI Toolkit: Central Piedmont Community College

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Project Summary

The Central Piedmont Community College Site Partnership is composed of three major partners – Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, and TechConnect.

The Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology (BAT) is the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) magnet school for technology that has a self-selected student population interested in technology. Students have the opportunity to receive industry level certifications.

TechConnect is a weekly after-school technology / computer club for high school students in CMS, sponsored by Advantage Carolina (a Chamber of Commerce initiative). Members have exciting opportunities to build their own computer, create a web site with its own domain name, and use digital cameras and video cameras. Members compete for summer intern jobs working for major Charlotte organizations.

The Partnership is seeking to recruit and retain students in Information Technology (IT), especially those whose population is under-employed in IT. TechConnect makes aspects of IT fun and rewarding for high school students. The Berry Academy seeks to find students interested in IT and to nurture them in such a way that these students will need little or no remedial work at the college level. CPCC is working with partners by supplying expertise in counseling, monetary and teaching assistance to TechConnect, instructor training for BAT personnel, assessments of the BAT students (HSSSE and Acuplacer), and concurrent (dual) enrollment of students from the BAT. In addition, CPCC is exploring extended relationships with four-year colleges in areas such as a junior standing in the East Carolina University networking curriculum upon completion of CPCC’s networking curriculum and the appropriate Cisco certification.