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Santa Ana, Calif., Chamber of Commerce Plans Technology High School

Posted on: Friday, 2 September 2005, 12:00 CDT

Aug. 31--SANTA ANA -- Students could learn to build robots and parents could view every class assignment on the Internet under a plan by the Chamber of Commerce to launch a technology high school.

The goal is to meet companies' demands for skilled workers who not only know the most current technology, but can work in groups, communicate well and compete in a global market.

"It's really switching from a lecture-type classroom to problem solving," said Dale Ward, executive vice president of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce.

"They would be ready to go immediately into the work force, go on to higher education or start a business."

Schools across the county are also seeking to incorporate more technology into classrooms, from movie animation to an information technology partnership with students in China.

"Technology allows these young people to think in the ways they're going to have to be thinking when they get out into the work force," said Sandra Lapham, administrator of instructional technology for the Orange County Department of Education.

"It allows them to multi- task and accomplish more in less time."

Santa Ana chamber leaders officials on Tuesday unveiled the idea to about 70 business leaders and educators who watched a presentation by the New Technology Foundation, a nonprofit group with 24 schools.

Chamber officials need to raise $750,000 before the school could open in fall 2006 with 400 students.

Lewis Bratcher, assistant superintendent of secondary education for Santa Ana Unified, said the district is working with the chamber to create the school, which could possibly become a campus within another high school campus.

"It's going to give them a light at the end of the tunnel. It gives them a reason to stay in school, knowing they're training for a job beyond minimum wage," Bratcher said.

Mark Morrison, director of leadership for the New Technology Foundation and former principal of a tech school in Napa, said the schools cater to average students, and many go on to college.

Morrison said school projects have included asking students to design an expansion wing, create architectural models and present proposals to a mock school board, as well as using scientific data to create games that could be played on the moon despite its lack of gravity.

George Heidler, president of Tom's Truck Center in Santa Ana, praised the proposal.

"In business, we work in teams," Heidler said. "There's different talents in that team. That (high school) could produce a graduate that could go right into that."

Other local high schools are also showcasing high-tech features. Brea Olinda High has launched a new Global IT Academy where students will learn programming, work on projects with students living in Dongguan, China, and attend lectures given by chief executives, said Superintendent Tim Harvey.

The county's department of education has a program where students from five high schools create computer animation and are critiqued by animators at studios like Pixar and Dreamworks. To learn more about the New Technology Foundation, visit www.newtechfoundation.org.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Orange County Register, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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PIXR, DWA,

Source: The Orange County Register

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