Mr. Voss welcomes you to New Tech
Learning by doing
Holland’s New Tech High School is on the leading edge of secondary school reform, but Director Bryan Voss says it’s only ideal for students who really like to learn academic content in action.
“Articulating to the public who we are is perhaps our greatest challenge,” Voss said. “We’re not a vocational school like Careerline Tech. We don’t offer the breadth of courses students could get at Holland High. We’re not a learning lab like VR Tech.”
New Tech’s niche is that students learn math, science, English Language arts and social studies by doing projects, usually in pairs or small groups. Each student is equipped with a Macbook, their tool for creating a digital portfolio and multi-media presentations that demonstrate their learning. A counselor works with each student to map an individualized plan to achieve their academic and career goals.
In their junior and senior years, New Tech students will also engage in community service work and get a head start on postsecondary instruction by taking 12 college credits at district expense.
A blue ribbon model
Voss, Holland Public Schools’ former finance and technology director, first toured a New Tech High School in February 2009 while attending a conference on innovative instructional strategies in Texas.
The New Tech concept originated in Napa, Calif., in 1996 and has grown to 62 public high schools in 14 states. Michigan’s other New Tech high schools are in Ypsilanti, Pinckney, River Rouge, Ishpeming and Dearborn Heights.
“I didn’t go in search of a new high school model, but New Tech is what I came back with,” Voss remembers. “I couldn’t stop talking about what I saw, and how it could provide one more great option for kids as they move into college and careers.”
Superintendent Brian Davis got just as excited. He sought business partners and moved quickly to open Holland New Tech for 108 eighth- and ninth-graders in fall 2010 in a renovated wing of the former Longfellow School. The remainder of the building will be renovated in 2011 so the school can grow to accommodate grades 8 to 12.
How to succeed in business
Voss earned a master’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University, then worked for a couple of Kalamazoo area banks. He moved to Holland to work in finance for Johnson Controls, Inc. He was Holland Public Schools’ pick to head up its business and technology office five years ago. Voss was the natural choice to lead New Tech.
Voss recalls no childhood yearning to become an instructional leader. Nevertheless, he insists New Tech provides a framework for learning that makes a businessman feel at home. Collaboration, cooperation, careful time management and good manners are expected. Students are expected to explain the project they’re working on to any guest who asks. Hallways and lounges are treated as acceptable work spaces.
Voss and his wife live in Holland with their two young children. They enjoy boating and spending time at the beach. The Voss family stays limber by practicing Tae Kwon Do.
Contact Mr. Voss by calling 494-2700, or email him by clicking here.
