Ogden School District, OTECH leaders break ground on Pathways HS
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- A contingent of Ogden School District, Ogden-Weber Technical College and other officials broke ground on the Pathways High School facility taking shape at OTECH on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
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- Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen, right, addresses the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking of the new Pathways High School building on the Ogden-Weber Technical College campus in Ogden on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. U.S. Rep. Blake Moore is seated on the left. The groundbreaking followed remarks.
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- A rendering of the planned Pathways High School facility, to be built on the campus of Ogden-Weber Technical College in Ogden. OTECH, Ogden School District officials and others took part in a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
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- A rendering of the planned Pathways High School facility, to be built on the campus of Ogden-Weber Technical College in Ogden. OTECH, Ogden School District officials and others took part in a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner
A contingent of Ogden School District, Ogden-Weber Technical College and other officials broke ground on the Pathways High School facility taking shape at OTECH on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
OGDEN — Work is underway on the new hybrid high school at Ogden-Weber Technical College designed to give students interested a leg up in starting tech careers.
“Ogden School District has aggressively sought additional opportunities for our students to enhance their college and career readiness,” Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen said in a statement to mark groundbreaking for the building, held on Wednesday. “Pathways High School represents a significant step forward in creating access to highly sought skills and certifications.”
U.S. Rep. Blake Moore was the featured speaker at the event at the Ogden-Weber Techical College, or OTECH, campus at 200 N. Washington Blvd. The new school, he said, will allow high school students to “engage in a very worthwhile career” potentially as early as their junior year.
Pathways High School, measuring 17,575 square feet and to be built on a vacant space in the southeast corner of the OTECH campus, is to be finished in time for the 2024-2025 school year. Building the school cost $13.9 million. Many Ogden high schoolers already take classes at OTECH — around 900 per year — but the new facility is meant to make it easier for them and to bolster enrollment.
“Having a project-based high school on the OTECH campus permits students to blend their college coursework with their core graduation requirements,” OTECH President Jim Taggart said. “As the rest of the nation struggles with a large population of adults who fall into the category of ‘some college, no credential,’ these students will graduate with high-tech, high-demand skills that will permit them to start a career immediately, without having spent a single penny on tuition.”
Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner
Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen, right, addresses the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking of the new Pathways High School building on the Ogden-Weber Technical College campus in Ogden on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. U.S. Rep. Blake Moore is seated on the left. The groundbreaking followed remarks.
Offering high school students access to college and university programs isn’t a new concept. Pathways High School, though, will give students “unprecedented access” to OTECH programs, enabling high schoolers to create a more individualized programs for themselves, the school district said.
The officials on hand gathered to ceremoniously shovel dirt on Wednesday, representing the start of construction, but Ogden School District spokesperson said Jer Bates said the initial site work had already begun.
Ogden School District officials, OTECH reps and others were on hand for the groundbreaking.
A rendering of the planned Pathways High School facility, to be built on the campus of Ogden-Weber Technical College in Ogden. OTECH, Ogden School District officials and others took part in a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.
A rendering of the planned Pathways High School facility, to be built on the campus of Ogden-Weber Technical College in Ogden. OTECH, Ogden School District officials and others took part in a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.