Information Night to be held Dec. 9 for parents and students interested in Seven Valleys New Tech Academy

Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES will host an information night on Wednesday, December 9 at 6 p.m. for parents and students interested in learning more about Seven Valleys New Tech Academy, which will open in Cortland County in Fall 2016. The event will be held at the OCM BOCES Education Center - McEvoy Campus, 1710 NYS Route 13, Cortland, in Room 701 in the conference center behind the main building. Food will be provided.


The school will serve area high school students in grades 9-12, and will provide an innovative learning environment that aims to improve students' college and career readiness through project-based learning, collaborative workspace and technology. The school will also be a site for teacher training. Seven Valleys New Tech Academy will be located at 240 Port Watson Street, Cortland.



The school will accommodate 100 students and employ nine teachers and staff. Renovations of the building have commenced and are expected to be completed in July 2016. The school will feature modern classrooms, collaborative learning spaces, computers for all faculty and students, and a conference facility where teachers will come to learn about the school and project-based learning.


The creation of Seven Valleys New Tech Academy is OCM BOCES' latest step in its fulfillment of the Central New York Regional Vision for College, Career and Citizenship Readiness, a steadfast commitment to preparing students for their future as lifelong learners, as skilled workers or entrepreneurs, and as global citizens.


Seven Valleys New Tech Academy joins Innovation Tech High School, which OCM BOCES opened in Liverpool in 2014, as the first and only two New Tech schools in Central New York. New Tech schools are part of the New Tech Network, a non-profit organization that provides services and support nationwide to schools, districts and communities for developing public schools in which project-based learning is the primary instructional approach. Founded in Napa, California, in 1996, New Tech is made up approximately 175 schools in 28 states, China and Australia.


The New Tech Network and the CNY Regional Vision share three main tenets, which are "instruction that engages," "culture that empowers," and "technology that enables," a philosophy which strives to empower students with engaging instruction and real-world learning opportunities, while providing a collaborative, interactive, technology-based learning environment.