IT Students Back to School

By Bera Dunau

NORTHAMPTON — The first day of school for students in Northampton Public Schools will be Aug. 30. However, students in a new IT program at Northampton High School launching this year have already been hard at work in internships over the summer.

The IT Innovation Pathway Scope and Sequence was started this spring, initially with the help of a grant from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. It will allow students to graduate with an NHS degree, while also receiving education and internship opportunities in the IT field.

“You still have a lot of traditional coursework,” said Molly McLoughlin, the school’s digital learning and computer science coordinator. “You get a little benefit of both.”

Students can enter the program in either their freshman or sophomore year. In the summer before they enter their sophomore year, students will do a 50-hour internship with the school IT department. The following summer they will do a 50-hour internship with the school or city IT department and they will do a 100-hour internship with the school IT department during their junior year.

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