High Tech Middle School

High Tech Middle School, often abbreviated as HTM, is a public charter middle school in San Diego, California. High Tech Middle was founded by High Tech High. High Tech Middle is part of the High Tech Village, a program of a coalition of schools that attempts to change the way students in the United States and countries with similar schools are taught.

HTM Academic Philosophy

The academic program at High Tech Middle is characterized by the three main design principles of the HTH schools:

One of the main reasons HTM is different from most public schools is that students at HTM are not grouped by educational background or tested ability. There are no “advanced” or “remedial” classes. All students work together, no matter what their ability, to complete relevant, rigorous coursework and projects. This is possible because teachers work with each student indivually to meet their separate needs. [http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/HTM/about.php#]

Students at HTM learn through project-based learning. Academic information becomes more real and meaningful for students when they see the way that it can be applied to the world outside of school. Many of these projects require students to work in groups so they can develop strong social skills.. [http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/HTM/about.php#]

HTM often looks for opportunities to connect students to adults from outside of school. HTM encourages community partnerships, parent involvement, and expert guest speakers. [http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/HTM/about.php#]

Financing

High Tech Middle is primarily publicly funded, but has received partial funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Admissions

HTM has worked up a reputation as a hard school to get into. This is in the sense that it is a random zip-code lottery. [http://www.hightechhigh.org/faq.php#How_are_students_chosen] Any student who wants to attend HTH and has passed the previous appropriate grade level in school is able to enter this lottery. [http://www.hightechhigh.org/faq.php#what_constitutes_qualified] Ever since 2003 there was no longer a sibling preference option. [http://www.hightechhigh.org/faq.php#Sibling_preference] Before 2003 if you had a sibling already enrolled in the High Tech program you would get automatic admission. The problem with the sibling preference was that HTM was unable to fulfill the promise of guaranteed acceptance for siblings.

Results

High Tech Middle fell into the top 10% of all schools in the state with a comparable grade range on the Academic Performance Index statewide rank. [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/ca/12442] High Tech Middle Met its 2006 schoolwide growth target and all of its subgroup growth targets. [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/ca/12442]

Sports and Clubs

High Tech Middle offers many different sport and club options, as part of San Diego's PrimeTime Extended Day Program. A few of their sports include:
*Basketball
*Baseball

External links

* http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/ca/12442 "Great Schools" ranking on HTM
* http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/HTM/ HTM official website