Riley Institute helps open new high schools

South Carolina has opened its first two New Tech Network high schools, which are being funded primarily through a $2.9 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. KnowledgeWorks, which received the grant, is partnering with the Richard W. Riley Institute at Furman and other organizations to execute the grant.
Cougar New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy in Walterboro and Scott’s Branch High School in Summerton are now part of the network of 130 schools across the country. New Tech Network, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks, uses project-based learning as the primary method of instruction. Students collaborate on meaningful projects that instill deeper learning skills like critical thinking, creativity, and communication in order to answer challenging questions or solve complex problems.