New Tech High School Gets Home of Its Own
By Brady Gillihan, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.
Jan. 24–This fall, the doors of New Tech High School will open to a two-story building lit with sunshine.
A unanimous vote Tuesday evening from the Monroe County Community School Corp. board has handed the future students and faculty of New Tech 2 acres and 24,000 square feet of learning space in the former Rogers Building Supplies store at South Patterson Drive and South Adams Street near the intersection of West Third Street.
After a disappointing decision on Nov. 7 to reject Superintendent Jim Harvey’s proposed site on East Miller Drive, the board compromised and said that while New Tech would start out in a section of Bloomington South High School, the superintendent would be authorized to continue the search for a standalone building.
Harvey said that after the Miller Drive location was rejected, 10 individuals presented 20 possible locales and buildings, including some as donations. The Patterson Point property proved to offer the best location; somewhat of a center point between Bloomington South, Bloomington North, Ivy Tech State College and Indiana University.
Lease and purchase agreements are not completed, but the initial plan is to lease the building for the amount of $50,000 and a purchase price of $1.45 million, according to a recommendation by Harvey to the board at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
The money to buy the property is from the sale of the old Grandview Elementary School — where the current Super Wal-Mart stands — which was approximately $1.6 million. That was placed in the Capital Projects Fund. The $1.6 million would be available to complete the purchase in January of 2009, according to Harvey.
“Property taxes should not be affected by this purchase,” said MCCSC comptroller Tim Thrasher. “The lease and price of the building is within the $1.6 million. However much is needed to do any repairs on the building and to turn it into a school will be taken from the Capital Projects Fund.”
New Tech principal Alan Veach, said he was thrilled with the board’s decision.
“This building is very unique, with a lot of open spaces, natural light through a big skylight in the middle,” said Veach. “It looks like we’ll have several creative options in how we can use that space. It’s not going to be your traditional, walk-in-the-door building where you say, ‘This looks like a school.’
“It’ll be very transparent. No one will have to peek through a tiny window or through a door to see what’s going on in the classes. But, really, we’re just so excited to have New Tech with a roof over our heads, heating and air conditioning.”
Veach pleaded with the board in November to give the school a separate campus. “Trust in us, as educators, to give us a stand-alone building,” he said, tears in his eyes. He said identity and culture — better cultivated in a separate location than in an existing school — are what the first-year students at New Tech will need most.
“After the board rejected the Miller Drive building, I didn’t truly understand the community support and the amount of people who are behind this school,” Veach said. “With the number of people who came forth and offered property options and ideas, it lets me know the community wants this.”
Veach said the school has many applicants and is continuing to accept applications.
“Since the December break, we’ve doubled our number of applications. We’ve just received five more today. We have enough to start school right now, but I believe that once the public, the parents, know the school board and officials are 100 percent behind the school and its new building, we’ll see even more applications.”
A NEW TECH PRIMER:
–What is New Tech? It is a school model that originated during the 1990s in Napa, Calif., home of the nonprofit New Tech Foundation. The school caps student enrollment at 100 per grade for the four grades of high school and has a one-to-one student-to-computer ratio. It embraces project-based learning and teaches students skills that 21st-century businesses seek, such as critical thinking, problem solving, interpersonal communication and literacy skills.
–When will it start? August 2008, with a freshman class only, adding a class each successive year.
-Who will get picked to attend? Any Monroe County Community School Corp. eighth-grader can apply. Participants will be chosen through a lottery every February.
–Who will lead it? Alan Veach is principal of Bloomington’s New Tech school. He has served as assistant principal at Bloomington High School South for several years, duties he is continuing during the current school year.
–What about extracurricular activities? While the New Tech model doesn’t include extracurricular activities, its students will be permitted to participate in extracurricular activities such as athletics and marching band at their districted high schools. Veach has also said co-curricular clubs would be created at the new school. New Tech students will have to be prepared to give up some elements of traditional high school life while enjoying some of New Tech’s nontraditional advantages.
–How will it be funded? MCCSC funds, state grants and community donations. The initial five-year budget, projecting costs for starting up and sustaining a new school beyond the normal school expenses, totals just over $2 million.
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