New Technology High School

New Technology High School
Address
920 Yount Street
Google map
Napa, California 94559
United States
Information
Type Public School of Choice
Motto Trust, Respect, Responsibility, and Professionalism
Established 1996-1997
School district Napa Valley Unified
Principal Riley Johnson
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 390 (2017-2018)[1]
Color(s) Purple and Silver
Mascot Penguin
Website http://www.newtechhigh.org

Front of the school-Prior to the '09-'10 renovation.

New Technology High School is a secondary school located in Napa, California. It is a public school of choice focusing on wall-to-wall project-based learning, student-centered culture, and 1:1 technology integration. It is the flagship school of the New Tech Network, a school design organization with nearly 200 schools in the United States and Australia.

History

The school was founded in 1997 as a joint project of the Napa Valley Unified School District and the business community of the Napa Valley. Vincent “Buzz” Butler of Lake Street Ventures, the developer of the Napa Junction Center in American Canyon, played a pivotal role in founding New Tech High, and by extension, the development of the new teaching method. “If I had to pick one man as the father of SC21, it would be Buzz Butler,” said Napa County Office of Education Superintendent Barbara Nemko. Nemko became the director of the business and education collaboration committee shortly after her arrival in Napa in 1991. New Tech High School was an outgrowth of that committee. “Business people were unhappy with the quality of workers they were getting. The average schools weren’t producing graduates with skills needed in the workplace,” said Butler. “So I thought, ‘why can’t we grow our own employees? Why not teach these kids what these companies want?’” That simple question led to a one-of-a-kind business-education partnership. Butler said the idea for an education-business collaboration came from his internship in his senior year at UC Berkeley with a professor who typically acted as a matchmaker between students and businesses. To their credit, Butler said, local educators and administrators were open to the possibilities. “There may be 42 SC21-type schools around the country, but we are the first to take it district-wide,” said Nemko.[2]

Design

New Technology High School's model is pillared around a core set of educational principles that have proven to provide a deeper learning environment for all students:

  • Project-based Learning: New Tech High features wall-to-wall project and problem-based learning. Through creating authentic real-world learning experiences for students, the school is able to deepen content knowledge, unlock 21st-Century skills, and develop habits of mind.
  • Student-Centered Culture: Students are the driver of the school culture and their own learning experience. The school was founded on the principles of trust, respect, and responsibility. Students are able to navigate their own growth as a learner and have a prominent say in their education. New Tech High has never utilized bells you hear in traditional schools.
  • 1:1 Technology: New Tech High believes that technology is a tool to unlock learning and deepen knowledge. Students access project experiences via a learning management system, called Echo, as well as, utilize a variety of education technology and industry standard tools to enhance the authenticity of their work.
  • Schoolwide Learning Outcomes: New Tech High students engage with content material via schoolwide learning outcomes (SWLOs). These SWLOs are 21st-Century skills that transcend a single discipline. The current SWLOs scaffolded and assessed at New Tech High are oral communication, written communication, knowledge & thinking, collaboration, and student agency.
  • Service: All New Tech High students serve both the school and community
  • College Courses: All New Tech High students take at least 12 units of UC or CSU transferrable courses throughout their high school experience. New Tech High has a long-standing relationship with Napa Valley College and hosts anywhere between 5-10 college courses on campus each semester.
  • Internship: All New Tech High students participate in an industry-based internship experience. This usually takes place during Junior or Senior year. The school has partnerships with over 200 San Francisco Bay Area partners to host interns.
  • Portfolio: New Tech High has an award winning portfolio process that students engage in during their four year high school experience. Students reflect on growth as learners, highlight exemplar work, and showcase their development over their four years of high school.

Center for Excellence

Over the course of the past 20+ years, New Technology High School has hosted over 35,000 visitors from around the globe. Recently, the school has launched the Center for Excellence at New Tech High program to share the work the school is doing and partner with educators, schools, and districts to offer for professional development in authentic learning experiences and student-centered culture. The Center for Excellence has worked with schools and districts from over 25 states and countries in Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The Center for Excellence works with educators, schools, and districts in two capacities:

  • Immersive learning lab experiences on-site at New Technology High School in Napa, California
  • Capacity building support and partnership work at a school or districts location.

Recently, a nationally certified project-based learning trainer, Aaron Eisberg, has taken over the expansion of the Center for Excellence program.

New Tech Network

After the school opened in 1996, it was clear that key players in both the education sector and private sector were intrigued by what was happening in Napa. In 2000, the New Technology Foundation was created to help support the growth of the school. Shortly after creation, the foundation received the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation replication grant to begin spreading the model to schools across the country..[3]

In 2009, The New Technology Foundation was acquired by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and is now called the New Tech Network.[4]

Currently, New Tech Network works with 115 school districts to help transform public education around the design pillars first implemented at New Technology High School in Napa.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Technology High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_491b6a1b-a273-54cf-b4d0-cbe0d192e772.html
  3. ↑ http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/new-technology-high-school-model-001114.aspx Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Web Site November 14, 2000 (Retrieved August 8, 2011)
  4. ↑ http://www.newtechnetwork.org/our-story New Tech Network web site Retrieved August 8, 2011

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_491b6a1b-a273-54cf-b4d0-cbe0d192e772.html

Coordinates: 38°18′18″N 122°17′21″W / 38.3051°N 122.2891°W / 38.3051; -122.2891

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