NEWTON, MA | March 26, 2002
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) announced today that the New Bedford Global Learning Charter School has been selected as one of ten schools around the country to replicate the “High Tech High school” design, with funding in part from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Gates Foundation is working in partnership with the High Tech High Learning Foundation to create a network of high schools around the country based on the model developed for the High Tech High Charter School in San Diego, California.
Because of its emphasis on integrating technology in the classroom and in real-world applications, the New Bedford Global Learning Charter School, scheduled to open in September 2002, was selected by the High Tech High Learning Foundation and High Tech High founder Gary Jacobs. Jacobs is a former executive of communications giant Qualcomm and son of Qualcomm founder and CEO Irwin Jacobs, a native of New Bedford and graduate of New Bedford High School. As a High Tech High school, the New Bedford Global Learning Charter School will receive technical assistance and financial support from the Gates Foundation.
“This special designation underscores our commitment to high-quality learning environments where technology becomes a vital tool that children and families can use for living, learning, and working,” said Vivian Guilfoy, EDC Vice President and Director of the Center for Education, Employment, and Community. Guilfoy, along with Senior Scientist Carolee Matsumoto and Ron Israel, EDC Vice President, have been overseeing the development of the New Bedford Global Learning Charter School. “We’ve been delighted to work alongside community leaders and parents in New Bedford to create a stimulating and practical curriculum appropriate for the 21st century,” Guilfoy said.
“This designation is a unique opportunity to build on EDC’s longstanding commitment to learning as the liberating force in human development and share its innovative research, development, and best practices with the New Bedford school district, students, parents, and the community,” said EDC President Janet Whitla.
The New Bedford Global Learning Charter School, a small school with 250 students entering grades 6, 7, and 8, emphasizing a rigorous curriculum and student internships, will grow eventually to grades 5-12. The school, which will operate both as a Horace Mann charter school and as part of the New Bedford public school system, expects to integrate technology into every aspect of learning. The school is being developed through an innovative partnership of the New Bedford School Department, the Global Learning Charter School’s Board of Trustees, and EDC, a leading global nonprofit educational research organization.
“This prestigious designation as a High Tech High school will help us to further our goals of integrating technology literacy, global citizenship, career exploration, and community service in our children’s education,” said Tom Davis, chairman of the board of the New Bedford Global Learning Charter School.
