Proper, now a freshman at TVHS, offered his comments during an informational session held at Montgomery C. Smith Middle School in Hudson, Thursday night, January 29. Proper's mother, Shannon, was also present. She said the "transparency" of the school was unexpected and called teacher response to parental queries "amazing."

According to Michael McCagg, Communication Coordinator for Tech Valley, representatives of the math-science and technology-focused school conducted six events in January alone, and met 98 prospective students in the process.

A public regional high school funded through a partnership between Capital Region BOCES and Questar III, TVHS draws students from 47 districts in Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie, Saratoga, and Albany counties.

Tech Valley is promoted as a learning environment where "we find real issues that are of importance to students and our communities—and develop projects around them. We recognize that active experiences, driven by the 'need to know,' are the most powerful form of learning."

Founded in 2007, Tech Valley partners with a variety of stakeholders, including K-12 educators, representatives of higher education, business, organized labor, and government. Most notable among its partnerships is the New Technology Foundation, a school development organization based in Napa, California.

NTF supports the start-up of 21st-century schools nationwide, using its New Technology High School, founded in 1996, as the model. In 2006, TVHS was the first school in the State of New York to receive a $400,000 start-up grant from NTF.

Tech Valley is not only modeled on the Napa school, it is also part of— and the only New York school included in—NTF's network of 21-century schools.

Raona Roy, TVHS Director for Institutional Advancement called the school "a rigorous, relevant student-centered learning environment."

Required freshman courses include: Environmental Science, Integrated Algebra, Global History and Geography, English, Chinese, Technology, Art, and Physical Education.  There are no Advanced Placement courses offered at TVHS, Snow said. Instead, all students are required to earn 6 to 12 hours of actual college credit prior to graduation.

Upon hearing there are no music classes and no after-school activities, many attendees appeared disappointed. However, school counselor Dean Walker offered, the school has an extraordinary art teacher and art program. Students are permitted to participate in sports or other activities offered by their home district, transportation options and schedule permitting.

Snow and Roy both emphasized to the assembled families that the school's curriculum meets the New York State learning standards and all enrolled students earn at least 23 credits and are on track to receive a Regents’ diploma or an advanced Regents’ diploma.

Technology has an integral place at TVHS, for students, teachers, and parents alike. The "1:1 student-to-networked-computer ratio" means every student is assigned a laptop for use. Student assessment data is available online 24/7, in what Snow called "an open grade book," making it possible for parents to monitor a child's progress.

Asked what he liked best about Tech Valley, Proper didn't hesitate: "The laptops. There's not a lot of paperwork. And I like Chinese."

Walker spoke to questions and concerns about school safety and discipline. "We emphasize personal responsibility," he said. "There are no locks on the lockers. There is zero tolerance for bullying." TVHS has a computer-use policy in place and consequences when that policy is violated, he added.

And while there are no test or graduation data yet available on TVHS, Roy told the group that the graduation rate for the model school in Napa was "99 percent," with 92 percent of all graduates going on to some form of secondary education. "Everywhere from Harvard to community college," she said.

A check with the California Department of Education showed New Tech's 2006-07 graduation rate (the most recent data available) at 94 percent. (By way of comparison, the Hudson City School District 2006-07 graduation rate, as reported by the New York State Department of Education, was 73 percent.)

"Our objective is to turn out self-directed, well-rounded individuals ready to move on to the next step in their lives," Roy said.

"They change as a person," Sharon Proper said of her experience so far. "They learn self-direction, and they become motivated and learn accountability."

OF INTEREST:

At School, Technology Starts to Turn a Corner
The New York Times
August 17, 2008

How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century
Time Magazine
December 2006