Giving ’em the
business at DPT

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

The folks at DPT Business School know about upward mobility.
It’s not a hard thing to achieve, considering the school started in the basement of a Northeast rowhome in the 1980s.
Now above ground in a shopping center at 11000 Roosevelt Blvd., DPT continues to aspire to great heights as the school celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
"As long as you can change with the times, you should be able to fill a need," said the school’s executive director, Mark Bohen.
That need involves offering students focused training programs to ensure fast placement in various promising fields. The school is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemann Education Systems Inc., of which Paul Siemann is the president and chief executive officer. DPT also has locations in the Independence Mall section of Center City and in Denver, Colo.
The Northeast location accommodates about 540 students who range in age, cultural background and work experience. Some are straight out of high school, while others are older adults who were laid off from jobs or are seeking a career change.
The school works for the busy adult because its programs last less than a year, Bohen said.
"They don’t want to go to a traditional college and wait four years (to graduate)," he said.
What also sets DPT apart, administrators say, is that its programs change as the job market changes.
The focus was on computer training when Russian couple Yuri and Lucy Schneiberg began the school in their basement in 1987. DPT, which stood for Data Processing Trainers, later opened in a storefront at Cottman and Frankford avenues, and then moved to an office at Bluegrass Road near Welsh Road before setting up in its current location. The Schneibergs sold the school in 1998.
As the demand for information technology workers decreased, the school debuted programs in such areas as pharmaceutical technology and massage therapy. It also offers training in business accounting, administrative medical assistance and business office operations. Tuition ranges from $4,500 to $10,500, and financial assistance is available.
DPT keeps on top of job-market trends and uses a special advisory board that evaluates the curricula to make sure graduates possess the qualifications that employers seek. DPT’s job-placement rate has spanned between 70 and 100 percent, while the graduation rate for 2006 was 74 percent.
A program in English as a Second Language also distinguishes DPT, administrators say. Along with offering the English classes, the school gives students job training. Many individuals who complete the ESL program go on to enroll in one of DPT’s other training programs. Counselors from Student Services guide both struggling ESL and native-speaking students in their academic careers.
Even with a growth in enrollment, the school keeps student-teacher ratios to about 15 to 1, officials say. Some of the 33 classrooms serve as dual lecture hall/labs to provide students with both informational and hands-on training. Every student also takes computer classes.
Constance Saafir, a teacher in the massage therapy program, said that DPT teaches students to be entrepreneurs, not just employees. One change she has noticed in her student population is that more males are enrolling in her program.
"In our program, we get them on the right track," said Saafir, who began teaching at DPT in 2003. "They are fully aware when they graduate that massage is a lucrative business."
Business teacher Dean Abramson equips students in different programs with computer and technical skills.
"They’re almost like my children," he said. "You get them and then you turn them over to the world."
Holme Circle resident Pam Betz, 54, started taking courses in the medical-billing training program after being laid off from her job at an insurance company in December.
"I decided that it was time for a change," Betz said in between her terminology and coding classes. "It’s a nice school. Everyone here is pleasant."
Even though students complete programs quickly, they grow immensely by the time they graduate, school officials say.
"The evolution is unbelievable," said Dennis Keiser, director of admissions. "They walk out of here with confidence." ••
DPT plans to hold several career fairs, an open house and a celebratory anniversary event in the spring. For more information about its programs, call DPT at 215-673-2275 or visit www.dptschool.com
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com