Urban School Defies Odds to Find Education Success

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An urban high school in a struggling district. Probably has a high dropout rate and low achievement scores, right? Wrong. When it comes to New Tech High @ Arsenal Tech in Indianapolis, the school has beaten the odds to overcome countless social and financial barriers to find success with its 2011 graduating class.
New Tech High @ Arsenal Tech opened in the fall of 2007 as one of Indiana’s first three New Tech High Schools. The school began with freshmen and a small group of sophomores. The first complete class of graduates, including many who attended New Tech High School @ Arsenal Tech for all four years, walked across the stage last May. While the school’s leaders had high hopes for New Tech, the graduation statistics provided some important validation for the model.

New Tech High @ Arsenal Tech graduated 75 percent of its seniors, surpassing the graduation average for the Indianapolis Public Schools district by more than 20 percent. About 70 percent of the graduates were accepted into two- or four-year higher education institutions. All but two graduates were first-generation college-goers.
Scott DeFreese, New Tech High @ Arsenal Tech director, knows well the benefits New Tech provides students.

“I’ve learned that New Tech can be a very valuable model if implemented right. It adds an element of relevancy to what students experience after they leave here and enter the professional world that they wouldn’t get anywhere else,” DeFreese said.