New Tech Expands Program to Hart, Guillen

Job Armengol, Staff Writer

Now in its third year, the New Tech program is expanding its horizons with the addition of the Business Academy, and with feeder schools Hart and Guillen implementing the program.

Both Hart Elementary School and Guillen Middle School now have the New Tech this school year, which will increase the importance of the New Tech at Bowie High School.

“I think that’s really when we’ll see Oso New Tech with the Grizzly Tech and Hart now being able to push to a whole new level,” Mrs .Curry said.

It opens new learning skills for New Tech Students

“Yes, like I feel its teaching us a way to get out of our comfort zone,” Amber Macias, 11, said.

Ms Curry said that students are more motivated to participate in class if they have an opportunity to learn through a different method of learning rather than the traditional method.

“I think that anytime you can offer students choices to their education, it’s always going to be a good thing,” Mrs. Curry said.  

The New Tech 2020 class wants to leave a lasting mark at Bowie High School, when they graduated as the first New Tech class in the next school year.

“I think we’ll see that legacy improving,” Mrs. Curry said.

According to Macias, she doesn’t know how the Bowie community can help New Tech, but she hopes that both Bowie and New Tech can create a positive bond towards each other.

“I haven’t really put too much thought about it and I’m contempt with what we have right now,” Macias said.

Even though there’s a culture shock between Bowie and New Tech, the New Tech students are involved with Bowie through sports, band and journalism.

“We don’t have anything individually by ourselves because we are part of the larger Bowie Academy, culture, or society. This is a really important thing for us is being involved in Bowie and our kids have really come out of their shells in those areas,” Mrs Curry said.

Both New Tech and the Business Academy merged to become a single entity, thus more teachers are added to the newly combine New Tech and the Business Academy program.

“We were able to add a couple of teachers with a lot of experience and knowledge. We added both business teachers, who gives us a whole new realm. We added Mr. Padilla who is coming with 12 years of experience,” Mrs Curry, said.

The New Tech students and teachers have a very strong relationship.

“We’re all basically a family and we all help each other out and we are always trying to make more connection between us. For example (Sept.14) we had a new tech lunch-in. We were celebrating Mexican culture, passing out Mexican food and we were doing that as new tech activity,” Macias said.