Integrating Academic and Vocational Learning at High Tech High (Transcript)

Allyson: We’ve seen success with these students. Ninety-eight percent of our students go on to a four year college.

Joseph: High Tech High School is a traditional academic program with a vocational component.

Allyson: The vision of the school is that interest drives learning. The academics support the career and technical vocation so that you have this really well rounded, interested, high level student who’s doing something that they love.

Joseph: We have majors in the school. Those majors are the vocational areas that the students can participate in. We have a science department, which is a combination of traditional academic sciences as well as research. We have a technology department, which is business technology, computer applications as well as graphic arts. We have our architecture and engineering academy and then we have a performing arts program which consists of musical theater, dance, audio technology and drama.

John: As a freshman they get to pick four of our vocational courses that they think they might be interested in. The next year as a sophomore, they take two of our vocational courses for half a year. And then when they really want to commit, say, “Oh, this is what we want to do,” then they take a full year, their junior and senior year.

Allyson: Every major needs to have an advisory committee. On that advisory committee, you have parents, you have students, you have professionals. We’re very tied into industry, so what we do is we go to our partners and we say, “Tell us what the students should know by the time they get out of high school.” And the idea is that what we’re teaching in school is relevant to industry.

John: in the twenty-first century, communication, teamwork, research, knowing where to go for your information, is paramount to having a successful career.

Joseph: Our teachers stay on the cutting edge of their particular area. If they don’t maintain that dual citizenship, they’re going to be left behind and we’re not going to offer our students what they need to succeed.

Scott: I think as much as we can, we try to share our own experiences with them. We have people coming in on a regular basis, doing workshops with our students, and some of that is through our professional connections.

Arun: In my department, there are four other PhDs. They want to expand it to the profession. They wanted to have project based learning. Besides the regular classroom teaching, you will see a lot of students inside the lab, white coats, eye goggles, and working on their projects.

Angelica: We’re trying to find out heat of combustion of biofuels compared to the heat of combustion of diesel, because we’re trying to see which one’s a better, viable source of energy. Right now, we’re trying to see how much heat it produces.

Arun: I give them only the framework, so we are trying to do it in a step process. That’s how science is done. They are trying to solve a problem and by doing that, they are learning.

Allyson: One thing we do here, which I think is a little different is, we have what are called unscheduled periods, even for freshmen. We want them to learn at fourteen years old, how to manage their time.

Max: As a freshman, you have to do a lot of work, but as you get used to it, it becomes much more manageable and you find that your work ethic improves.

Arun: Freedom is the best thing for students. If you give them this freedom to do what they like or what they want to do, and then guide them through that, then you have quite successful students.

Allyson: We try and create a college environment from the very beginning. That’s why we have unscheduled periods. That’s why we have remediation programs after school, a lot of social and emotional support. I think the kids are happy and I think that’s why they do well.

Schools That Work

High Tech High School