Ponitz career center: 'tech-prep on steroids'

The David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center

Named for the former president of Sinclair Community College, the Ponitz center sits on 16 acres at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Edwin C. Moses Boulevard.

DAYTON — Before the Patterson Career Center on River Corridor Drive closed for good in June, culinary students worked in a cramped, makeshift kitchen with electric stove tops, home appliances and a dishwasher that worked only some of the time.

As for the rest of the high school, it had no sports, no music, no automotive technology program; and it lacked in other features desired for 21st century learning.

But when returning students enter Patterson’s replacement this fall, the $35.5 million David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center at 741 Washington St., they’ll find a culinary program that offers a spacious commercial kitchen, stainless steel gas stoves and countertops, walk-in coolers and a restaurant-style dining area for customers.

They’ll find a music and band program, allied health classrooms with modern medical equipment and an automotive tech program with a full-service garage. They’ll also discover two gymnasiums and, after a decade absence, a sports program. (The Golden Panthers football team faces Piqua High School on Aug. 28.)

In all, about 550 students will find the largest, most high-tech high school in Dayton, offering 16 career pathways in arts and communications, business and information technology, health and education and industrial arts and engineering, each developed in close concert with Sinclair Community College.

“These students are going to be working in an environment that absolutely mirrors today’s workplace,” said Linnae Clinton, Dayton schools’ director for career technical and adult education.

Clinton, who calls Ponitz “tech-prep on steroids,” said each program is aligned with similar programs at Sinclair, which will share faculty and other academic resources with the high school. Students earn college credits along the way, she said, and when they graduate, they’ll receive a $3,000 scholarship to Sinclair, enough to carry them to an associate degree.

Robert E. Johnson, Sinclair’s senior vice president, said the idea is to help students assess their strengths early on, identify a career path, prepare for college and graduate “job-ready.”

“We’re linking high school to college to work force,” Johnson said. “That’s what’s really great about this — it’s connecting all the dots.”