HTEC: Global Leadership Academy

The Vision

The Vision of High Tech Early College: Global Leadership Academy (HTEC: GLA) is to challenge and empower ALL students to take personal ownership of their learning through demonstrations of

competencies, skills, and rigorous college and career level content knowledge, so they can become innovators, leaders, and positive change agents in our city, our nation, and the world.

Personalized Learning

The guiding belief of the HTEC: GLA program is simple: learning only occurs when students are active and engaged members in the learning process. With that in mind, all systems and structures at HTEC: GLA will be intentionally designed to ensure a personalized learning experience for every student. Students will have Advisement classes that are aligned to career pathways, opportunities to accelerate their learning, academic interventions, Project Based Learning (PBL) experiences, internship/externship opportunities with community partners, and early participation in the college experience through the Early College model.

Teacher, Leadership, and Community Collaboration

The leadership team at HTEC: GLA believes that success for ALL students is only possible when all adults and school community members work collectively towards a common vision of empowering EVERY student to take personal ownership of her or his education and learning. This “students first” position requires faculty members to meet the twofold challenge of being effective in their content area and the craft of teaching, as well as being personal mentors, advisors, and advocates to students.

Instructional Model

HTEC: GLA is founded up a desire to meet the needs of students and families in the Far Northeast region of Denver Public Schools (DPS) through providing an authentic, empowering, and holistic competency based learning educational program. The competency based learning mission, vision, and instructional model of HTEC: GLA are actualized through the Four Cornerstone Competencies, which are as follows:

1. Personal Academic Excellence2. Life-long Learning & Citizenship3. Innovative Thinking & Action4. Transformational Leadership

Similarly, the Four Cornerstone Competencies are brought to life through the authentic content and contexts that are provided through Early College model and the Design Thinking Career Pathways:

Social Entrepreneurship (Social Sciences Early College course of study) STEM/ Engineering for Societal Needs (Engineering Early College course of study) Environmental Sustainability (Science/ Engineering Early College course of study)

Intentional Design Every High Tech Early College: Global Leadership Academy graduate will demonstrate four Cornerstone Competencies of Personal and Academic Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Citizenship, Innovative Thinking and Action, and Transformational Leadership; and demonstrate proficiency in one of three Design Thinking Career Pathways: Social Entrepreneurship, STEM, or Environmental Sustainability.

To achieve these outcomes, we actualize three Design Principles in everything we do. We are always Data Driven, Experiential, and Competency-Based. These design principles come to life in our learning approaches, learning environments, and demonstrations of learning.

Our students learn through the following Approaches: Gradual Release of Responsibility (I do – We do – You do), Project-Based Learning, and Service Learning. These instructional approaches take place across all learning Environments, which include: Core Classes, Intensives, Flex Block, Advisory, and Internships/Externships. Finally, our students Demonstrate their learning in multiple ways at multiple times to drive authentic learning, promote self-directed learning, and help teachers differentiate support. These demonstrations include: Dynamic Learning Portfolios and Formative Checks for Learning; Performance Demonstrations/Projects and Standards-Aligned Assessments; and Capstone Projects and Standardized Tests.

Together these components comprise our educational framework: essential Design Principles inform the ways that students Demonstrate their learning across all Environments and Approaches so that they graduate proficient in Cornerstone Competencies and a Design Thinking Pathway.

Notes on School Design & Competency-Based Learning