SECAUCUS, NJ—Hudson County Schools of Technology has partnered with RSC Architects to create the new High Tech High School under construction in Secaucus, NJ. The $143 million, 341,000-square-foot school—which will replace an aging, undersized North Bergen campus—will house nearly 2,000 students in more than 70 classrooms with specialized instruction and experience rooms. The new High Tech High School is expected to be open in time for the fall 2018 school year.

The magnet school—which serves grades 9-12 in the Hudson County School District—will combine technically-focused, hands-on learning with a challenging academic curriculum. The design highlights a more progressive approach to education and instruction with advanced facilities, including a fabrication lab to help students explore spatial ideas through model building, a 120-seat black box theater, 360-seat performing arts auditorium, and a TV production studio with a functioning control room. Eighty-inch interactive monitors will assist teachers during lessons to replace and enhance the previously utilized standard chalkboard learning.

“Education trends are leaning towards more project-based learning to teach students 'real world' lessons, as opposed to sitting behind desks in a classroom,” says John P. Capazzi, president of RSC Architects. “The new High Tech High School will be a model for other districts seeking to be more progressive with their curriculums and preparedness of students for real-life success.”