New Technology 21st Century High School Model

New Tech Model>

General Information

Updated: September, 2011

Napa New Technology High School (NTHS) opened in 1996 serving students in Grades 11-12 from two feeder high schools. Today the school serves 400 students in grades 9-12. Napa New Tech may be a remodeled elementary school facility, but it looks like a workplace, not a school.

New Tech students learn 21st Century Knowledge and Skills, are assessed on these skills, and master them for graduation. They do this through classes that are project-based and integrated. At New Tech, it's "Real Projects. Real World. Real Learning." New Tech schools have 1 to 1 computer to students environments, giving students the tools to do their work plus access to the NTH Learning System, an enabling technology platform for 21st century Learning that comprises the school's curriculum, standards, assessment tools, and reporting tools. New Tech High schools nationally share curriculum and assessments through the NTH Learning System.

The New Technology Foundation, now the New Tech Network, is a school development organization that supports the start-up and implementation of 21st Century Schools based on the New Technology High School model. The national Network of New Technology High Schools had grown to 50 schools in 10 states, as of August 2009, and now has grown to 85 schools in 16 states in 2011-12. 12 of the 18 2007-8 and 2008-9 start-ups are STEM-focused schools. See National Network of New Tech High Schools for a list of schools. For more information about the New Tech High School model:

1. Napa New Tech High Web Site and New Tech Network.
The New Technology Network (NTN) provides ongoing support to New Technology High School and supports the development of new small schools based on the NTHS model. See List of and links to New Technology High Schools nationwide.

2. 21st Century Learning and Assessment
See "Assessing 21st Century Skills : The New Tech High School Model", a powerpoint presentation at the CoSN 12th Annual School Networking Conference, San Francisco, California, March 29, 2007.

3. ASCD Video -- Learning through Projects
See what 21st Century Learning looks like at Sacramento New Tech High School and Napa New Tech High School in an award winning video from ASCD, "Learning through Projects". Also see Fox7 News: Gov. Rick Perry Inaugurates Manor New Tech High-School and Tech Valley High School celebrates opening.

4. Videos and News Clips on the New Tech model.

5. NTHS Learning Outcomes
Students graduate New Technology High School (NTHS) mastering 21st Century Knowledge and Skills through 8 learning outcomes: content standards, collaboration, critical thinking, oral communication, written communication, career preparation, citizenship and ethics, and technology literacy. NTHS incorporates project-based learning to embed these learning outcomes in all projects and assessments.

6. New Tech Learning Platform -- NTH Learning System to PeBL to Echo
The New Tech Learning Platform has evolved from The NTH Learning System (Lotus Notes-based, through 2008) to PeBL (web-based, 2008) to Echo (web-based, 2010). The Learning Platform comprises the school's curriculum, standards, assessment tools, and reporting tools, all online on a common technology platform. To see a PowerPoint that shows New Tech's PBL methodology, assessment, and learning tools, see Getting and Assessing 21st Century Knowledge and Skills. Also see the case study of the NTHS Learning System from the 2006 Computerworld Honors Awards at http://www.cwhonors.org/case_studies/NewTechnologyFoundation.pdf.

7. The New Technology High School Model
A 2009 PowerPoint presentation about the New Technology High School model is posted at http://www.bobpearlman.org/modelschools.htm. You can click on the link and then either view it through your browser or else save the presentation to your own computer. It is 4 MB, so it will take a few minutes even on a high speed connection.

8. Sample Student Portfolios

9. National Network of New Tech High Schools. 2011 Map of Indiana New Tech Schools from the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL). Indiana has 19 New Tech High Schools, the most in the US.

10. Results that Matter
New Technology High School has graduated eight classes since opening. Some of these students have now graduated college and entered the workforce. NTHS has had powerful results in both post-secondary success and in student achievement while in high school. See the Post Secondary Success Study and NTHS Results that Matter at http://www.bobpearlman.org/newtechfoundation/research.htm. Also see the latest New Tech results and research at http://www.newtechnetwork.org/newtech_results.

11. Articles about the Napa New Technology High School Model
Go to http://www.bobpearlman.org/newtechfoundation/articles.htm. Key articles include:

"At School, Technology Starts to Turn a Corner", Essay by Steve Lohr, NY Times, August 17, 2008
"‘Soft Skills’ in Big Demand -- Interest in teaching students habits of mind for success in life is on the rise",
By Catherine Gewertz, Education Week, June 12, 2007
New Skills for a New Century, by Bob Pearlman, Edutopia, June 2006
"21st Century Learning in Schools – A Case Study of New Technology High School in Napa, CA", by Bob Pearlman, published in New Directions for Youth Development, Summer 2006, Special Issue: The Case for Twenty-First Century Learning.
Case Study of Napa New Technology High School, prepared by the International Center for Leadership in Education for the Model Schools Conference, Nashville, TN, June 26-28, 2005.
High Tech Haven, Education Week, May 29-June 5, 2002.
New Technology High School in California's Napa Valley provides at least one computer for every student. But that's not the only reason teenagers choose to attend this school.
Project-Based Learning: a Primer, TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING — January 15, 2003
When students are challenged to get to work solving real-life problems, the whole world becomes a classroom. This article features Napa New Technology High School. By Gwen Solomon.
Reinventing the High School Experience, Educational Leadership, April 2002. By Bob Pearlman.

12. Tours and Study Tours
Go to http://www.newtechnetwork.org/newtech_school_tours. One-day Institutes or Study Tours are scheduled at New Tech demonstration sites for the 2011-12 school year:

13. Contact Information
New Technology Network
1040 Main Street, Suite 302
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 253-6951 Fax (707) 253-6993