October 7, 2009 - State Senator Kirk Watson and Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen will be among the special guests to attend the official ribbon cutting for the new Green Tech and Global Tech schools at Eastside Memorial High School, at the Johnston Campus. The ribbon cutting will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, in the gymnasium of the school, located at 1012 Arthur Stiles Road.

Students, parents, alumni and community supporters will be on hand to participate in the day’s event. At 6 p.m. that day, there will be a celebration in the school’s Performing Arts Center, that will feature performances by the Eastside Memorial Band, choir and other student organizations, followed by an Open House.  
 
Green Tech and Global Tech opened in August 2009 as New Tech schools, an innovative model that uses project-based learning to engage students around a technology-centered curriculum. Eastside Memorial is the only campus in the United States to have two New Tech schools on the same campus.  
 
Green Tech is a STEM (science, technology, math, and engineering) school, with the curriculum focused on environmental issues, renewable energy, and green technology. Green Tech students have the opportunity to take career classes to prepare for well-paying jobs in the future, especially the growing field of “green” jobs in environmental industries.  
 
Eastside Memorial Global Tech High School is an international studies school that will integrate global issues into all subject areas with the intent of making students globally competent citizens. This campus is the first school in the nation that is a collaborative effort between the Asia Society and the New Tech Network. Students will have the opportunity to learn both Spanish and Chinese and to travel to foreign countries. In addition, each student at Global Tech will be issued a new laptop computer that will facilitate a Project-Based Learning curriculum that is technology rich and emphasizes 21st Century skills.  
 
AISD is working with its national partners, the New Tech Network and the Asia Society, to develop the curriculum and instructional strategies. The two new schools were created as part of the repurposing of the former Johnston High School, with the strong support of parents and community leaders.  
 
For more information, call the AISD Office of Redesign, (512) 414-9921.