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Academics at d.tech
Design Tech High School offers a well-rounded academic program that challenges students to reach their full potential while emphasizing the importance of empathy, responsibility, and community involvement. Through a comprehensive academic program that includes design thinking and real-world problem solving, students are not only academically prepared for college and beyond, but also equipped with the values and skills needed to be engaged citizens.
Students
At d.tech, students discover how they learn best and have ample opportunities to manage authentic challenges. Our students helped design the campus, are encouraged to start and join clubs, and use their initiative to create positive change. They mentor their younger peers and share personal stories of challenge and triumph at community meetings.
Teachers
Teachers at d.tech are engaged facilitators who mentor student progress during class time, office hours, and referral periods. Each afternoon, the daily schedule includes FLEX time, where students can meet with teachers for additional assistance or engage in independent learning time to work on assignments. Students not on pace in a particular class can attend the teacher's referral period until they achieve competency on the course materials.
Assessment
By using an assessment system focused on competency-based evaluation, students have multiple opportunities to check their comprehension and revise work before completing letter-graded performance tasks and unit exams.
Off-Campus Academic Enrichment
Design Tech High School encourages Juniors and Seniors to explore college-level courses at a local community college via d.tech’s Concurrent Enrollment program. Taking a college-level course is an excellent opportunity for students to explore new topics of interest and potentially earn college credit. Detailed information about Concurrent Enrollment can be found here.
Schedule - No Bells
Students follow a daily schedule at Design Tech High School, however there are no school bells. At the start of the day at the end of lunch, the school plays student-chosen music to indicate the start of morning or afternoon classes.
The school day typically starts at 8:45am and ends at 3:35pm.
8:45am is a later start than many high schools, which aligns with the sleep-cycles high school students need.
Students are expected to be seated in class at 8:45am.