At the beginning of every new school year in New Tech, students participate in the “Culture Project.”

The two classes focus on different aspects for the project. Culture is what sets New Tech apart from any other high school in the state. In New Tech, everything is focused upon trust, respect and responsibility.

During a learner’s freshman year, his or her culture project would consist of making a presentation about the key concepts of New Tech’s culture. The learners were broken into groups of four, and each was assigned one concept of New Tech. There were four things learners presented: trust, respect, responsibility, project-based learning and problem-based learning.

Freshman Breanna McFadden was assigned to a group that was presenting on problem-based learning and project-based learning.

She told me they had to get information on how New Tech uses problem-based learning and project-based learning, and also how it applied to them as learners.

“It was really fun,” she said. “I got to learn how to speak to people.”

Sophomores made a sidewalk design for the east side of the high school that brings in the three main pillars of New Tech. They had to bring trust, respect and responsibility into the design. Learners had to come up with a design, their reasoning behind the design, a cost analysis and how the sophomore class next year can add to it.

The sidewalk will be put in sometime this year; the details are still undecided.