Houston Innovative Learning Zones provides hands-on learning for local schools

Booker T. Washington High School is one of six schools participating in the Houston Innovative Learning Zones (HILZ) program.

As part of the program, academies are put on the school's campus to offer students a chance to receive hands-on career training and earn career certifications and an associate degree.

At Washington, students are involved in the manufacturing engineering school, and in November they will meet with recent graduates who now work at Dow Chemical Company.

"It's a great way to get a great-paying job and two years of college for free," Jason Catchings, principal at Scarborough, another HILZ program school, said in a press release. "Plus, they can transfer that college credit to another school upon graduation rather than just beginning the college application process. It's a win-win for everyone."