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Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High Charter School
North-Eastern end of High Tech High
Address
2861 Womble Rd.

San Diego
,
California
92106

USA
Information
TypePublic
Established2000
School districtSan Diego Unified School District
DeanMarcus Bell
Grades9-12
Number of students527
AthleticsFootball, soccer, hockey, softball, baseball, golf, track, cross country, fencing, basketball
Websitehttp://www.hightechhigh.org/


Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High Charter School, often referred to as High Tech High (HTH), is a public charter high school in San Diego, California. It is the first model school in a program which attempts to change the way most students in the United States and other countries with similar schools are taught.[citation needed]

History

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Beginning in 1998, forty public and corporate partners, led by current board chair Gary Jacobs, began meeting to discuss the current state of education in San Diego. Faced with a shortage of workers for the locally strong high tech and biotech industries, the group wondered why the local school system wasn't better able to produce more qualified workers. Having given money to the school district in the past and questioning the return on that investment, these local entrepreneurs decided to open a new high school and christened it High Tech High.

Soon thereafter, long time educator Larry Rosenstock was asked to present to this group about different possible governance structures for the school. He then became the founding principal of the school. Rosenstock is now the C.E.O. of the network of schools.

The school was founded in September of 2000 with 200 students and currently educates 527 students.

High Tech High occupies a building on the former Navy Training Center in the Point Loma area, which is now known as Liberty Station. The school has an emphasis on project-based learning (most learning comes from multi-subject projects, rather than the more traditional approach, where teachers talk and students listen), real-world connection, personalization, and having a common intellectual mission (no ability grouping).

High Tech High has also branched off five other high schools (High Tech High International, High Tech High Media Arts, High Tech High North County, and High Tech High Chula Vista) two middle schools (High Tech Middle and High Tech Middle Media Arts) and Explorer elementary school. Together, they are called the "High Tech High Village". Most students simply call it "The Village". All of the schools are very close, and are within a few minutes walking distance. The latest addition to their chain of schools are the ones located in Chula Vista and San Marcos. Mission Valley might be the newest school added, there's talk.

Part of the Liberty Station retail district is located near the High Tech Village. The high school students are allowed access to these stores during lunch.

Methodology

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The method of teaching is very different in High Tech High schools when compared to almost any other public schools in the United States. It is based on "project-based learning." In this concept, students are given a project which involves working independently and doing research to complete it. Some classes have cross-platform projects where grades from different subjects will be all part of the same project.

Projects the students have worked on include designing a human-powered submarine, genetic manipulation, designing a water treatment plant, and a book on the Harlem Renaissance.

All students complete semester long internships in the junior year. Students leave school for half the day twice a week to complete projects at various places such as website companies, biotech firms, non profits, and other schools.

Surprising to many, technology is not a major focus of the school. Each classroom does have a number of laptops students can check out and there are projectors in the classrooms and commons areas where students can present their projects. Several news reports have commented that the environment is more like a high tech workplace than a traditional school. However, the intent of the school is to offer a liberal arts education, preparing students equally well in math, science, humanities, and the arts. The technology is primarily a tool to facilitate the learning of these disciplines.

Financing

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The schools are primarily publicly funded. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation contributed a one time gift of $1000 per student when the school opened and has pledged millions of dollars to build more schools following the model over the next four years. Some are already in operation. Financial support to develop the original HTH also came from Gary Jacobs, son of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs. Gary also donated almost 9 million dollars in building space for 3 of the schools in the village. The school operates on less money per pupil than San Diego Unified. The cost of the land, building, and tenant improvements for the school is less than the construction costs incurred by the district to serve similar numbers of students.

Admissions

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High Tech High regularly receives many times more applications than there are openings, as the student body is limited to 400 students. The school is kept small by design, avoiding the problems created by the impersonal nature of larger high schools. Interested students must submit a one page application and must attend an admissions meeting to learn about the school. All applicants are then placed in a random lottery. The lottery is set up to allow an equal number of girls and boys in to the system as well as divided in to separate pools by zip code areas in order to obtain a sampling of students from all over the district.

Results

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The latest available data shows more than 75% of HTH students scored above the US national average in standardized tests in reading, language, mathematics, and science.

The program is unique enough that it had over 600 visitors, including U.S. state Governors Gray Davis (CA), Tom Ridge (PA), Bill Owens (CO), and Senator Joe Lieberman, in its first year alone. Other visitors include Peter Yarrow, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Eli Broad, Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, and Bill Richardson. On February 15, 2006, Bill Gates and Oprah made a surprise appearance on their education tour.

The central High Tech High Learning organization (with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) has since opened several middle schools and high schools using the original HTH model:[citation needed]

Clubs

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Sports

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  • Boys Baseball
  • Girls Softball
  • Boys Soccer - Frontier League Champions
  • Girls Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Fencing
  • Boys Basketball
  • Girls Basketball
  • Girls Volleyball - Frontier League Co-Champions
  • Golf
  • Track
  • Cross Country
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