Scottsburg New Tech is a part of the National New Tech Network.
Scottsburg New Tech is an innovative program that engages
students through project-based learning (PBL). Students take a hands on
approach to drive their own success both inside and outside of the
classroom. Through projects that are designed to solve real world
issues, students have the opportunity to collaborate with each other to
present ideas and solutions to problems. Through the use of rubrics and
student ownership, students can take control of their learning and the
direction their projects go. The sky truly is the limit.
Our environment continually promotes Trust, Respect, and
Responsibility. These core values allow students to be involved in
decision-making at a whole new level. We ask our students “What do you
want your learning environment to look like?” Using these principles,
students take ownership of their learning experience.
School Wide Learning Outcomes
In all classes taught at NT, we evaluate students on five
different categories of success. Each of these values are modeled by our
teachers and are a component of our projects. We insist that students
show proficiency in collaborative skills, professionalism, technology
literacy, and communication as well as content knowledge. Below is an
example of a student breakdown by SWLOC:
Community Service
We value giving back to our community and hope to instill
that in every student that comes through our program. In order to
receive a New Tech certification, students must complete 100 hours of
community service. For more information, click here.
Advisory
Advisory is designed to build on our key principles through
various exercises and discussion of trust, respect, and responsibility.
We also discuss many topics related to career and college readiness.
Our hope is that we create a family-like atmosphere so that students can
look to our staff for support as mentors as well as teachers.
Elective / Dual Credit Choices
All Scottsburg High School students, regardless of program,
can participate in all dual-credit courses and elective courses
offered. All of those courses are campus-wide courses. For example,
although the Journalism program is located in the NT building, students
from both programs are allowed to take that class. The same would be
true for a class like Dual Credit Pre Calculus which is currently
located in the main building. For more information on course
descriptions and dual credit opportunities, click here.
Clubs / Athletics
Students that choose NT also have the opportunity to take
advantage of all the extracurricular activities offered at SHS. All
clubs and sports are open to any student at SHS.
For information on athletics, click here.
For information on clubs at SHS click here.
Professional / Staff Development
Through extensive training and conferences, New Tech
teachers have collaborated with the best PBL facilitators in the country
as to how to deliver instruction using this methodology. Changing the
mindset of teachers to “facilitate” learning as opposed to traditional
methods such as direct instruction, this method encourages students to
learn by doing.
History
Scottsburg New Tech opened its doors in 2010 in a recently renovated
building on the Scottsburg High School campus. In an attempt to find
additional ways to reach students with different learning styles, we
embarked on a mission to use project-based learning as the primary
instructional method. We also set out to instill three core principles
in our students: Trust, Respect, and Responsibility. We also wanted to
make sure that all of our students learned the value of community
service and being a part of the local community. With these three ideas
in mind, our staff began a journey with a national
network of nearly 200 schools to develop this idea.