The demand for skilled information technology employees continues to grow in Illinois. However, according to P33, “Colleges in Illinois and across the US produce computer science and other STEM graduating classes with too few Black, Latinx and female graduates, reproducing and exacerbating race and gender divides that start in K-12 education, which ensures that these divides are reproduced downstream inside companies.”
In response to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Accelerate ED initiative, EdSystems brought together partners CodeNation, Discovery Partners Institute, and P33 to support Illinois school districts piloting a new vision for IT pathways: Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology (AMP-IT).
Our Role
AMP-IT launched in early 2022 with our initial cohort of Chicago Public Schools, Township High School District 214, and Belvidere Community Unit School District 100, and their community college and employer partners. EdSystems supported the initial implementation of AMP-IT pathways in 19 high schools through the first cohort. In fall 2023, EdSystems launched a second cohort with 12 additional school districts and their partners, allowing AMP-IT to scale in 16 additional high schools.
Students in AMP-IT schools have the opportunity to:
- Earn 15+ hours of early college credit in high school and align to the College and Career Pathway Endorsements in IT.
- Seamlessly transition into aligned associate and bachelor’s degree programs.
- Participate in a continuum of meaningful work-based learning opportunities to help them affirm their interest in the industry and gain valuable hands-on experiences and soft skills while earning social capital with industry employers.
Through 2025, AMP-IT supported school districts in accelerating and deepening aspects of their existing IT pathways by designing opportunities for high school students to earn more than 15 hours of early college credit that seamlessly stack toward associate and bachelor’s degree programs. AMP-IT collaboratives developed a regional version of the Illinois Model Programs of Study Guide in Information Technology, using a data-driven, backward-mapping approach that extends from the areas of job growth down through the high school course sequence. The resulting programs of study incorporate early college credit in both IT career-focused course sequences and general education courses in math, English, science, and social sciences, selected for their strategic value in articulating aligned postsecondary credential opportunities.
Through this project, EdSystems also invested in work-based learning, data evaluation, and teacher credentialing around IT pathways to help scale and sustain AMP-IT.
- In partnership with the Discovery Partners Institute, we offered subsidized scholarships for graduate-level computer science coursework to help qualify teachers to teach computer science courses, potentially for dual credit.
- In partnership with the Work-Based Learning Alliance, we provided students access to turn-key, virtual work-based learning opportunities that meet Illinois requirements for a career development experience or team-based challenge. Students had the opportunity to complete a paid cybersecurity project experience and earn the IBM SkillBuild Cybersecurity Credential.
- In collaboration with the NIU Research and Data Collaborative, we designed a new data infrastructure to collect disaggregated student-level data and enable longitudinal reporting and analyses. Collected data was published in an AMP-IT Dashboard.
Project Resources
- AMP-IT Data Dashboard
- White paper: The Impact of the Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology (AMP-IT) Initiative
- Data brief: Understanding and Evaluating the Impact of Pathway Programs
- Accelerate Ed: Illinois Case Study
- Accelerate Ed: Lessons Learned Report
