New to HTH - Highland Tech High - Anchorage School District Charter School

New to HTH

In 2000, a group of individuals, business owners, high tech supporters and users, entrepreneurs, teachers and parents came together to discuss the possibility of a project-based charter school for middle school and high school students in Anchorage.

The group discussed many of the current issues surrounding secondary education in Anchorage and was looking for alternatives to meet the criteria they established as priorities.

	•	Small school size.
	•	Low student-teacher ratio.
	•	Technology rich.
	•	Core values of leadership, ethics and integrity.
	•	Strong communication skills - written and oral.
	•	Problem solving and team building skills through project-based education.
	•	Graduating prepared for higher education.
	•	Solid commitment to community and education.

Project-based education had been successfully incorporated in other schools across the state - especially in rural Alaska where multi-age classrooms are the norm, not the exception. In addition, the Re-Inventing Schools Model (RISC) and project-based, problem-based curriculum strongly support one another.

The group discussed ways to make this school available. As a result of their discussions, the group conceived an innovative, tuition-free, secondary charter school within the Anchorage School District designed to develop our next generation of educators, entrepreneurs, scientists and technology leaders. HTH immerses students in a rigorous learning environment that integrates technical and academic education, and links students in the school to industry mentors in the workplace.

HTH’s Four Focus Areas

All activities, business, teaching, etc. fall into four focus areas;

	•	Academics (standards, rubrics, staff, calendar)
	•	Accountability (grades, unit planners, advisory)
	•	Building Community (partnerships, Academic Policy Board, stakeholders)
	•	Character Development (student activities, CORE, project playlist)

With so much information and expectations, it is easy for any of us (parents, students, staff, partners) to loose focus of what we are about – educating for leadership, educating for life. With these four focus areas, all activities are measured by how well they fit into our shared vision. Using the “Continuous Improvement” concept we seek input from all our “stakeholders” (anyone with a stake in our school) to look for ways we can improve, but keeping in place anything that is working well. Stakeholders include students, staff, parents, community members, business partners, etc. We have monthly large meetings, and other smaller committee meetings to formally and informally address issues, concerns, etc.