In 2018 Northampton High School was recognized as one of the first schools to have an approved Innovation Pathway by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This came in the form of a grant to continue developing a unique program for students in 9th-12th grades at NHS to study Information Technology while taking traditional high school courses. Within the program they have the chance to have internships with the district’s IT Department, the City of Northampton and a number of local businesses. Students take three college courses both through Advanced Placement courses in the highschool and those offered by Greenfield Community College in topics such as Cybersecurity and Intro to Programming. Students also receive college credit for the work they do with a semester-long internship supporting the students and staff during the academic year. In addition to coursework and internships, students in the IT Pathways program are trained in professional skills such as resume building and interviewing. In student’s senior year they work through Coursera to earn a Google IT Support Certificate and take 2 externships working with our partners Acadeum and WorkEd. By the conclusion of the program students can receive between 9 college credits and have three internship experiences, a professional portfolio website and micro-credentials or badges that are recognized by the business community.

Due to the nature of the coursework and experiences, students are offered the opportunity to join their Freshmen and Sophomore years of high school. This program has no additional costs associated with it & transportation is provided. It is a four year program. Students will be coached through the program with the support of the Digital Literacy & Computer Science Director (DLCSD), the school IT department, the Innovation Coordinator, the guidance faculty and supports from Greenfield Community college and employers. Interested students can fill out the Google Form HERE, speak to their guidance counselors or speak with/email the Innovation Pathways Coordinator, Meshia Begin mbegin@northampton-k12.us.

Caregiver Info Session: (password will be available 15 minutes before)

For all grades in the pathways (Molly will walk through the requirements & expectations of each grade)

Sept 13th at 6PM

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86195661787

While there are no prerequisites to join the program besides being a Freshmen or Sophomore at NHS, the following are the requirements for graduating in the program:

List of what a participant needs to complete pathway for graduation: 

• 2 Tech Courses (1 NHS list, Tech Management CISCO IT Essentials)
• 2 College Level Classes (Options for this include PLTW, AP or GCC classes)
• Internships & Senior Capstone

NHS Courses (choose 1)

Robotics

Cisco Introduction to Networks

PLTW Computer Science Essentials 

PLTW Computer Science A

PLTW Cybersecurity

Web Design & Programming

 

Internships (All 3 Required)

IT Support  Internship (Summer)

Industry Internships (Summer) 

Tech Management CISCO IT Essentials 

*Businesses can learn more about these partnerships by viewing the internship page HERE.

GCC Courses

CIS 295 Internship Credit

CIS 150 Programming Principles & Concepts

CIS 151 Web Design or CIS 180 Network Workstation Administration

 

Senior Capstone

Senior Placement (Coursera IT Google Support Certification, 2 Externships in Game Development & Cybersecurity & final internship)