YPSILANTI: New Tech High School redefining traditional learning methods

On any given day at New Tech High in the Ypsilanti school district, you might see groups of kids chatting around a pod of desks, laptop computers open in front of every student, and freshmen loitering in the common areas listening to music while they study.

What might seem like mild chaos in a traditional classroom setting is actually an educational revolution called "New Tech" that started in Napa, California in 1996. Ypsilanti School District opened the New Tech High School in the fall at the former Ardis Elementary, which had been closed for five years.

On Jan. 20, the New Tech students and staff held their annual open house, giving Ypsilanti-area students and parents a glimpse at how a small school with a project-based curriculum works.