By Eric Stevick
Herald Writer
MUKILTEO — Several hurdles stand in the way, specifically money and authority, but the Mukilteo School District superintendent hopes to open a small high-tech high school by the fall of 2003.
The model the Mukilteo district would replicate is an industry-initiated technology-based charter school in San Diego. Superintendent Gary Toothaker visited the campus three times in the past year, most recently in November with a group of teachers.
The San Diego school, which opened in the fall of 2000, emphasizes computers, math, science and engineering. Among other things, students maintain their own Web sites and digital portfolios.
"The beauty is students are able to do their learning by using technology as we would use a pencil and paper," Toothaker said.
Mukilteo High Tech High would peak with an enrollment of 400 by 2005 — 100 per grade level. It would start with about 100 freshmen and sophomores in 2003.
The Mukilteo district would use a rigorous application process and seek a mix of students that is representative of its demographics, Toothaker said. The San Diego school uses a lottery based on the large pool of applicants.
The proposal hinges on a grant application for start-up money and approval from the Mukilteo School Board.
Mukilteo has applied for a Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation grant to cover start-up costs. The Gates Foundation has provided $2 million to the San Diego school and an additional $4.4 million for other high-tech high schools that will follow the model.
Toothaker believes there is interest in the local business community to make High Tech High work in the Mukilteo district. However, he doubts it would have the same level of financial support as the San Diego school, which received $7 million, including $3 million from Gary Jacobs, the son of Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs.
Beyond financial and technical help, Mukilteo’s High Tech High would rely on local industries for internships — a requirement for students in their junior and senior years.
Mukilteo High Tech High would be a stand-alone school rather than a school within an existing high school. Toothaker identified three possible locations: ACES High, an alternative school; two buildings on the Explorer Middle School campus; and Lake Stickney Elementary School, which will be vacant when a new elementary campus opens in the fall of 2003.
"Change is easier for a stand-alone campus," Toothaker said.
Kevin Laverty, the Mukilteo School Board president, visited the San Diego school in October and left with a favorable impression.
"This is exactly what people are going to need in the work force," Laverty said. "As new business is attracted here, you have to talk about a work force …The kids who come from this program are going to be in demand.
"They are really going to be going for an educational experience that will appeal to their interests, and to some extent, their abilities to use technology as the principal tool for their learning experience," Laverty said.
Toothaker acknowledges that a lot of students won’t be interested in High Tech High. Students at the alternative school would have no athletics and few extracurricular activities and would face "a pretty high-intensity work experience."
The expectation is students leaving the school would attend college.
The district will learn by spring if it will be awarded money to start the school.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446 or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.
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