About Seven Valleys New Tech Academy

Collaborative Culture

At Seven Valleys New Tech Academy there are no desks in rows and no solitary bookwork. Students take advantage of an atmosphere that matches their learning styles and needs.
They work side by side with their teachers and classmates gathering and sharing necessary information to solve real-world problems.
Students learn to work successfully with others while taking personal responsibility for becoming an effective team member.

One to the World Technology

Students at Seven Valleys New Tech Academy have the world at their fingertips. Every student has their own personal learning device.
Technology is at the core of learning for all students. They are able to go beyond the textbook to examine topics in greater detail and take personal responsibility for their education.
They have access to state of the art technology to discover the world that surrounds them.

Project-based Learning

Project-based learning allows students to master the material in their classes in a real-world setting.
Students complete common core aligned projects throughout the year focusing on collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking skills.
As a team they research a problem and create a presentation to an audience of business and community members.

Students collaborating 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.

“We are excited to bring this state-of-the-art learning environment to the students and educators of Cortland County,” says OCM BOCES Superintendent J. Francis Manning. “The school is the culmination of years of planning—with all of the school superintendents working together on the concept and planning. Businesses, too, are providing direction and connections to the real-world.”

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.

The school will accommodate 100 students and employ 9 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.

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.