Here’s how: TVHS students reviewed the New York State Learning Standards; assessed their own level of abilities; and, based on what they hadn’t yet learned through the projects they completed during the year, they developed their own plan to review for the test. Their math teacher, Michele Sweeny, worked with the students as they broke into groups to each research and learn one topic, develop and facilitate a workshop for their classmates, create a homework assignment, and give a quiz about the new material.

Through a self-assessment of their skills, teaching a math topic to themselves and their peers, and learning about other topics from their classmates – coupled with a year of hands-on, project-based learning – students at Tech Valley High say they are ready to take on the math Regents Exam in June.

When two students met with the Tech Valley School Foundation Board, they made the following observations about their preparation for the Regents Exam:

“I’ve learned more this year about math then all past years. I think that’s because you learn more about how things really work when working on a project.” – Chelsea Naylor (Brunswick Central School District)

“You don’t really learn unless you can apply your learning. I’ve also learned there’s always more then one way to solve a problem, and that goes for more then just math. Once you know that, it keeps your hopes up and you don’t give up.” – Mike Celello (Schodack Central School District)

TVHS 'Buzz'
There is a buzz about Tech Valley High School these days. Here's what parents, students, teachers, and other leaders in the region are saying about the school:

"It's actually exceeding my expectations. I expected it to be rigorous, and it is. But there’s that 'fun factor’… a lot of work, yet there’s always something fun.”
– TVHS student Alyssa Pettit, (Duanesburg Central High School)

"They (TVHS faculty, board, staff, partners) want to make this experiment work. They did their homework to get this school off the ground." – Darlene Pettit, parent of Alyssa Pettit (Duanesburg Central High School)

“As a teacher in another district, I am learning a lot from the integrated curriculum strategies that my daughter (Micaela Quinn) is benefiting from.”
– Amber Quinn, parent of Micaela Quinn (Niskayuna Central School District)

“There’s more technology, more hands-on with different experiences from what you would get in a ‘normal’ high school.” – Adrienne Johnson, parent of Brionna Neal (Schenectady City School District)

“This (TVHS) is a wonderful model of what a small high school could be. The atmosphere is rigorous and intellectual, but relaxed…. Students appear to take responsibility for their own education.” – New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills (during his first visit to the school)

"Learning that has meaning for children is active, not passive. It is applied, not abstract. It exercises and builds thinking and analytical skills. It encourages students to connect what they are learning to their own life experiences. This is what Tech Valley High is all about." – Douglas Hamlin, superintendent, Schodack School District

"Everyone says that we need to change our educational system. We need graduates who can immediately swing into work with technology. Tech Valley High seems to be in vanguard of the region, state, U.S, and world."
– Dale Thuillez, of counsel, Thuillez, Ford, Gold, Butler & Young, LLP, Albany; director of the Tech Valley School Foundation.

"Tech Valley High is a 21st century school. This model is challenging a lot of conventions. This is future of public education." – Amy Johnson, president, Capstone Inc., and co-chair of the Business Alliance for Tech Valley High School
 
"This (TVHS) is mind-boggling. I hope one day we (IBM) can hire all these students." – Dr. John Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research, IBM Corporation (during his recent visit to the school)

"From a business standpoint, this is a total 'win-win.' All the kids are smart in their own ways, normal kids looking for an engaging way to learn. They are seeing how much more fun and interesting learning can be." – Carolyn Jones, publisher, The Business Review

"I admire each of you, the students of TVHS... You will have a huge advantage. You will be much more competent and competitive in the world – (you are) working in teams, learning self- and team-reliance, problem-solving. There's nothing I have done at IBM that has been without a team. You have a tremendous advocate in me." – Dr. John Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research, IBM Corporation (during a recent visit to the school)

"From the standpoint of the New Technology Foundation, I think Tech Valley High School has the potential to be the best school we've been associated with. Nothing like this is going on in Silicon Valley, in Austin, Texas, in the Research Triangle – in the communities you are competing with. This is the only school that I'm dealing with that has this kind of community support." – Bob Pearlman, director of strategic planning, New Technology Foundation, Napa, Calif.  
 

"The group work for the project-based learning has also helped me a lot this year. If I don’t understand something, my team members are there to help me. I can go to them with my questions.

"Also, the field trips have been AMAZING this year! I love being able to work outside of the school area. It’s like our own little break from the school atmosphere. Although we get a "little break," we still learn things at the same time! In my previous school we NEVER did anything like this."

Fun fact about Chelsea: Chelsea has two dogs, one cat, three rabbits, 10 chickens and four guinea hens. She loves to be outdoors; camping, hiking and fishing are some of her favorite activities. She aspires to become a veterinarian and has wanted to be a vet since she was about five years old.