Courtesy Corporation, which owns and operates 20 McDonald's restaurants in western Wisconsin and northeast Iowa, needed a training video that would clearly demonstrate the new, more efficient way of making a McDonald's hamburger. So they turned to Turtle Lake High School in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, to do the job. In Texas, the American Cancer Society wanted a teaching tool to help prevent smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco among elementary and middle school students. These are just a couple of examples of a new trend taking place in high schools across the country. With advanced technology as a tool, schools are expanding the boundaries of traditional educational structures.
Lessons reflect real life.
Classrooms mimic boardrooms. Curriculum is designed around the processes and needs of top industries. In many places, high schools are becoming enterprises where students take on projects for businesses in their communities, and, as a result, communities are investing in their youth. Students are handling responsibilities ordinarily performed by students at the college level or beyond, and they're performing with surprising results. Given access to technology, students from every background, ethnicity, and income level are excelling.