Alumni Network - New!
Students enrolled in some of the first courses offered through TechBoston are graduating from college. Many of these students have stayed in touch with the TechBoston staff. We are actively looping these talented students back into selected initiatives. Some graduates have been hired by TechBoston to do tech support, build dynamic databases, and to assist with web design projects. Several of the graduates are being recruited to be supervisors for TechBoston Consulting Group. If you are interested in more information about joining the TechBoston Alumni Network, contact Felicia Vargas.

BATEC NSF Advanced Technology Education Grant
TechBoston is the K-12 educational partner in the NSF grant called Boston Area Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC). The goal of this grant is to establish a regional Advanced Technology Education Center at the UMass Boston campus. Three community colleges --Bunker Hill, Roxbury, and Middlesex - along with UMass Boston are collaborating with TechBoston to align and articulate advanced IT courses to provide a streamlined IT education pathway for Boston students. TechBoston staff coordinates an annual BATEC High Tech College Fair in April to connect 600 BPS juniors enrolled in advanced technology courses with admissions representatives from New England area colleges that offer computer science, engineering, or media/graphics majors. TechBoston Acting Director Felicia Vargas is a Co-Principal Investigator for BPS on the BATEC grant.

Cisco Gender Equity Pilot Program
TechBoston partnered with Cisco to become a pilot site for the company's gender equity initiative. TechBoston works closely with Cisco to sponsor activities that promote the interest of young female students to pursue technology-related areas of study. Contact: Felicia Vargas.

E-Newsletter & Pro Bono Public Relations
To maintain awareness of the department's initiatives, continue community outreach, and to share success stories, the TechBoston department publishes a bi-monthly e-newsletter to a circulation of over 1,000. Links to all previous newsletter issues can be found at: www.imninc.com/techboston. The newsletter tool is donated to TechBoston by IMN Inc. In addition, TechBoston receives pro bono public relations consulting from Tier One Partners.

Girls Get Connected Conference
TechBoston plays a lead role in coordinating a hands-on technology conference for 150 middle school girls held annually at Simmons College. The free event will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2005, from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm and is open to all middle school girls living in Boston. For more information or an application, please visit the conference web site: www.girlsgetconnected.org.

High School Renewal (HSR)
TechBoston has an important role to assist and to advise BPS high school administrators designing small learning communities with a technology focus. In SY 2004, TechBoston staff members participated on the design teams for The Engineering High School @ Hyde Park and the Media Communications Technology High School at West Roxbury.

ITEST NSF Grant
TechBoston partnered with Northeastern University to secure an NSF ITEST grant to develop teacher training to instruct BPS math, science, and computer teachers to teach basic engineering concepts through robotics. The goal of this grant is to improve the involvement of girls and students of color in the area of technology education. In addition, TechBoston is collaborating with education leaders including Tufts University, the Boston Museum of Science and the BPS Science Department to address ways to help instructors teach the competencies required by the Massachusetts Technology/Engineering Frameworks. Please visit the ITEST web site or contact Morgan Hynes for more information.

Job Placement
TechBoston works closely with the Boston Private Industry Council to place high school students who are enrolled in technology courses in tech-related jobs with local companies. Businesses benefit from the students' technical savvy while the students benefit from applying their skills to real world business applications. Over the past six years, TechBoston has placed more than 700 students in summer jobs and internships. TechBoston and the PIC are recipients of a STEM Pipeline Grant from the Mass. Board of Higher Education that seeks to increase the total number of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math internship placements for Massachusetts high school students by 20 percent.

Model Technology Grant - Massachusetts Department of Education
TechBoston received a 2004 Mass Dept of Education: Model Technology Integration Grant. The project is titled: Living the Standards: Students Applying Technology Skills in Real Business Situations. The goal of the grant is to disseminate the steps involved in structuring the entrepreneurial TechBoston Consulting Group business model to enable other districts and BPS teachers to replicate the business. For more information, please contact Felicia Vargas.

Robotics Olympics
TechBoston coordinates an annual Robotics Olympics featuring design challenges for 150 BPS elementary and middle school students held at Northeastern University. The event will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2006 from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.

TechBoston Academy (TBA)
TechBoston Academy (TBA) is a technology-focused, pilot high school that was launched in 2002 to create a learning environment where students learn through and with technology. The high school is under the leadership of former TechBoston department director, Mary Skipper. The high school is a separate entity from the TechBoston department, however, TechBoston provides TBA teachers with professional development and connects TBA students with job placement opportunities.

TechBoston Consulting Group (TCG)
In 2002, TechBoston launched an entrepreneurial division called TechBoston Consulting Group (TCG). TCG employs talented technology students to handle web design and technology support projects under the supervision of experienced professionals. To date, TCG has employed over 30 students and has provided tech support services to more than 20 companies and non-profits. The TCG Program Director Eric Esteves coordinates the job development and student training for TCG.