Success in college and the careers of tomorrow

New Tech Network works nationwide with schools, districts and communities to enable students to gain the knowledge and 21st century skills they need to succeed in life, college and the careers of tomorrow. New Tech students are engaged in their learning, graduate prepared for college, and are more likely to enter STEM fields than the average high school graduate, making New Tech an important tool for economic development in many of the communities in which we work.

“It’s not learning what you need for a specific test, but what you’re going to need for college and the life after college.”
— Katie Ridgeway, New Tech Alumnae

Preparing students for college

In a New Tech School, students become active learners and doers who take responsibility to complete projects. They develop the tools to handle long, complex tasks, work in teams and manage their time. Students acquire not only subject-matter knowledge, but also the confidence and skills they need to thrive in college. So it’s not surprising that New Tech schools with a class of graduating seniors see students applying to and being accepted to colleges and universities at high rates.

Engaging students in learning

New Tech schools show declining drop-out rates, in part because students, including those in 9th and 10th grades, routinely say they value the New Tech education process because it is largely self-directed, highly relevant and more engaging than traditional curricula.

Overall, New Tech schools' attendance rates across the network averaged 91% in 2009-2010 and drop out rates for the same period were less than 1%.

Encouraging study in STEM fields

An independent survey of 850 New Tech high school graduates from the original New Tech school in Napa, California showed that 98% advanced to post-secondary education; moreover, 40% are in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) career tracks compared with 7% of high school graduates nationwide.

The interest in pursuing a STEM education comes behind strong academic results in New Tech’s STEM-focused high schools, as well as strong Science results across the entire network. Among New Tech’s STEM schools, 71% out performed comparison schools in Science and 57% outperformed comparison schools in Math.

Fostering local and state economic development

The New Tech model has captured the attention of business leaders across the states where it operates; the presence of a New Tech School in central Texas recently played a key role in attracting a new Samsung plant and states like Indiana are using the New Tech model as part of a widespread economic development plan.

“If we can build and offer a highly skilled workforce, we can attract and sustain globally competitive firms. This is our strategy for improving the quality of life for our citizens.”
— Reed Silliman, Chair of the Board,
Community Partners, Inc. Fort Wayne Indiana

Within Northeast Indiana, New Tech High Schools and STEM education have become important drivers of the region’s economic health. Northeast Indiana is home to over 160 defense and aerospace prime contractors and suppliers. Key partners like Raytheon were looking for support in producing talent that would further champion the area’s high-tech operations and entice more of the industry’s growing contracts. Through a partnership between the Lilly Endowment, the Northeast Indiana Corporate Council, and local community partners, six New Tech High Schools are being developed in the region to create a high-tech workforce, the largest concentration of New Tech schools in the country.

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