Mr. Edrick Macalaguim, director of High Tech High Chula Vista, adorns his office walls with student-created graffiti art. A drum set is next to his conference table. And he keeps musical instruments arrayed outside his office. The instruments were made by seventh-graders who are now seniors at HTHCV.

Says Mr. Macalaguim, “It reminds us of the potential of our kids. If our seniors made this when they were 12 and 13 years old, what is the potential of what they can create, make and do now? … It is a gentle reminder, a push, to not hold our students back, to make sure there isn’t a ceiling above them. It is about giving them opportunities to wow themselves–and to wow us.”

On this day, the seniors were working on their applications to college, supported and mentored by teachers who are in many cases known to their pupils on a first-name basis. The Chula Vista campus is part of the High Tech High integrated network of 16 charter schools. They collectively serve approximately 6,500 students in grades K-12 at four locations, known as HTH “villages,” in San Diego County.

An HTH strength is its counselors in its College Advising program. Each site has its own Director of College Advising. There are four guiding questions that drive its college and career counseling program. Staff members encourage and support each HTH student as they seek answers to: “Who am I? Who do I want to become? How will I get there? How will I succeed?”

Historically, HTH data has shown that 93% of HTH students apply to 4-year colleges and 97% enroll in either a 2 or 4 year college. HTH has also been able to identify student success once graduates are off to college. HTH reports that its graduates complete college six percentage points higher than the national average.

Indeed, as Mr. Macalaguim noted, “Where will the students be in four or five years? What will they create, make or do? We can’t wait to find out.”