Travis HS in Austin is a typical example of a school that has failed, and why the current "public" school system in the entire nation needs to be completely reconsidered. Should a government bureaucrat decide where our children should learn? What they learn? When they get up in the morning? How much should they learn? Freedom is what made America the greatest nation on earth and we do not have much educational freedom left.
New Technology HS is a very gross place. Learning how to use computers is worthy of maybe 1 hour out of the school day. But as humans, there are other skills of more importance. Speaking and handwriting cannot be forgotten. Most importantly are hands-on skills: the ability to fix things, start a campfire, sow/stich, disecting plants and animals, make a simple electromagnet, cut wood, navigate through nature, etc. No person is complete without skills like these, yet most people today probably cannot perform many of them.
Cupertino was less extreme than New Technology High, but whether it was a success or not is difficult to say. It was in a rich community, so it had more funding than the other schools. But could a private school with that funding do better? Probably yes, if history tells us anything.
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I completely agree about New Tech High. It is was too extreme and I think that kind of specialization should be saved for college. Students need to enjoy their high school years and they need to be sure to cultivate other social skills, something that can't be done when they are constantly in computer labs.
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