Eagle Tech Academy 5/26

Guest Blogger - Kelley Lefever, Marketing Project Manager

Many of you may have heard that Columbia City will have a New Tech High School opening this fall. And like many of you, I was exposed to the early questions about the project, but I recently attended a breakfast hosted by Eagle Tech Academy that not only shaped my opinion on the school, it sparked the thought; how can welcoming the presence of a new high school teach us about presenting our community in a positive light?

The focus of the breakfast was to invite local businesses and business people to learn more about the school, socialize with the administration and ask for partnerships. Approximately 20 local business people volunteered their time to hear about what this new school is all about.

I was pleased to learn of the new rigorous standards that Eagle Tech Academy students will endure. Four years of math, four years of science for every student. Not only preparing them for college, but adequately preparing them for the rigors of the real world. Students at Eagle Tech Academy will experience teaching in a project-based learning (PBL) format. All New Tech High Schools meet or exceed state standards and have an intense focus on developing students’ 21st century skills; like oral and written communication, critical thinking, work ethic, collaboration, problem solving, creativity and presentation skills.

Folks, this is not a vocational school! Long gone are the days of learning a machine so you can leave high school and start your job on the assembly line in the factory. Welcome STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) curriculum focused on educating our children to be the next great bio mechanical engineer. What a great thing to happen to Columbia City and our community. We can now toot our horn: “We have a New Tech high school and look how smart our kids are!!!”

New Tech is an educational experience unlike anything else at the high school level. With thanks to the Talent Initiative and the Northeast Indiana Fund, Northeast Indiana will soon enjoy the advantage of having access to more New Tech High Schools than any other part of the country – which is yet another reason that our region is poised to be a major hub for talent throughout the 21st century and beyond.

Let me draw a literal map for your so you can visualize why this matters to our community:

Better schools (like Eagle Tech) -> marketable & appealing community -> more businesses willing to invest in Whitley County –> more jobs –> more competition –> higher wages/salaries (improved quality of life) –> more taxes back into Whitley County –> better schools (for all) –> smarter kids = the whole world wins!

If we want to present our community in a positive light and complete the cycle, we all need to stand behind the New, the Unknown and the Change. Step up to the plate! Learn more about this school, their curriculum, the super smart kids that will be there, how it will affect the jobs and the overall opinion of our community. Whitley County and Northeast Indiana are brimming with great initiatives like Whitley Forward, Project Lead the Way, Vision 20/20 and many more all speaking to making our community a better place to live and work. It’s time to take a new approach and embrace all things new and see the big picture. It’s more than a new high school; it’s our community, it’s our future and it matters.

Let’s keep moving forward together,

Kelley Lefever, Marketing Project Manger

Learn more:
New Tech High Schools
Northeast Indiana Fund
Talent Initiative
Whitley Forward
Project Lead the Way
Vision 20/20