• Preparing all students for higher education – All HTH graduates have gone on to college, and 80% percent have enrolled in four-year universities, including Stanford University, Howard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, University of California at Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University.
  
  
• Achieving high academic performance for all students – For five years running, High Tech High has scored near the top on the California Academic Performance Index (API). Results have been strong both  school-wide and within demographic sub-groups.  High Tech High’s African-American students, for example, outperform district and statewide peers by a wide margin with reference to test scores, percentage who take chemistry, physics and advanced math (100%) and percentage who attend college (100%).
  
  
• Training teachers– High Tech High is the first public charter school in California to operate an onsite teacher credentialing program.  This program allows High Tech High to hire and train faculty with deep content knowledge and relevant industry experience, especially in math, science and engineering.
  
  
• Preparing leaders – Founding Principal and CEO Larry Rosenstock, a long-time leader in education reform from the classroom to the level of national policy, serves as a mentor to new HTH principals.  All new principals must first work at HTH as teachers and/or principals-in-training in a unique “mitochondrial” approach to new school leadership and development.
  
  
• Developing  facilities - High Tech High leads the way in innovative facilities design. The HTH facility received a “2001 Educational Design Excellence Award” from the American School & University Architectural Portfolio. The High Tech High, and High Tech Middle and High Tech High International buildings received prestigious Honor Awards in the 2002, 2003 and 2005 Design Share Competitions respectively. HTH has won these awards while achieving great economies: the average student seat cost is approximately $16,500/seat, which is as much as 75% less than student seat costs of other public school facilities now being built across the state.
  
  
• Using Technology – HTH has reversed a 100-year history of separating technical and academic subjects in American high schools, by linking the two in a project-based environment.  All HTH students use technology to engage in scientific, mathematical, literary, historical, and artistic pursuits. This technical-academic integration extends to the community beyond school: all students must complete academic internships in local businesses or non-profit organizations. To date, HTH students have completed 650 internships in over 200 organizations.
  
  
• Operating Efficiently – HTH schools receive the same per pupil operating revenue as other California public schools.  However, unlike other public schools that finance their facilities through voter approved bonds, HTH receives no public support for facilities.  Therefore, HTH schools must dedicate approximately 10-15% of operating revenues to service facilities debt.  Nevertheless, once HTH schools have grown to full enrollment, they operate without need of philanthropic assistance.  This means that HTH generates its excellent student outcomes at 85-90% of the cost of traditional public schools.

Our Need
Through the years, High Tech High has received generous support from Gary & Jerri-Ann Jacobs and other local anonymous donors, who have provided the funding necessary to acquire and develop our original school buildings at HTH Village in San Diego. HTH has also received consistent support from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but that support comprises less than 10% of each school’s total startup costs.  Moreover, Gates Foundation funding may not be used for facilities, which is the single largest fundraising need for new High Tech High schools.

Now, as we extend the benefits of a High Tech High education to Chula Vista, San Marcos, and other communities across the state, we need continuing and broader support.  In general, each new HTH school requires the following investments

• Land and buildings – At a minimum we require enough funding to reduce facilities debt to a level that can be supported by 10-15% of each school’s operating revenue.  Project costs vary widely due to local conditions and fluctuating interest rates, but in general HTH estimates that it requires $2-3 million in donations for land and buildings in order to reduce each school’s facility debt to a sustainable level.
  
  
• Startup Technology, Furniture and Equipment – In addition to what is required for land and buildings, HTH must also raise approximately $1 million per school to provide students with the technology, specialty labs, furniture and other equipment needed to offer the full HTH program.