Teacher Ed Hernandez has been compared to a real-life Tony Stark for his work heading the award-winning T-Tech Academy at Tustin High School.
Hernandez was profiled recently by Fox 11 News. The segment included a brief history on how he helped found the T-Tech Academy, a four-year high school program where science, math and technology are brought to life.
“Hernandez is the mastermind behind T-Tech and the man making tech magic happen in Orange County,” according to the Fox 11 News piece.
Hernandez is described as truly living the American dream. He is the son of immigrants and was the first in his family to go to high school and then on to college.
After receiving his engineering degree, he went on to a successful career in the tech world, but something was missing from his life. So about 10 years ago, he left his high-paying corporate job to become a teacher.
Why? He says it was simple: He wanted more out of life other than just making money.
So he made the switch and became a teacher. After receiving a grant, Tustin High School and Hernandez teamed up to create the T-Tech Academy. The program allows students to get hands-on experience inventing things using some of the most advanced tools in education and the tech industry. It’s a builder’s paradise, where students can turn their wild ideas into reality.
“Hernandez allows his students to dream big. If they create it, they can build it,” Fox 11 News reported. “From a gum-removal vacuum and a vending machine to electronic cars and robotic prosthetic body parts, there is nothing the kids can’t do, and there’s nothing Mr. Hernandez won’t do to help them achieve their goals.”
Here are some other articles making news for the week of Sept. 27.
- The U.S. Department of Education has awarded six Orange County public schools 2019 Blue Ribbons, the nation’s top honor for individual campuses based on academic achievement.
- OCDE’s Tobacco-Use Prevention Education consortium uses state tobacco tax revenue to fund prevention efforts in eight participating districts.
- OCDE will host free workshops in Irvine and Huntington Beach next month to help teachers learn more about the next census count and develop census-related lessons for students.
- In the summer of 2017, more than 2,700 freshmen were dropped from the rolls in the 23-campus CSU system because they hadn’t passed their remedial math and English classes in their first year. So in 2017 Cal State administrators scrapped the remedial classes and began creating courses and tinkering with existing ones to better prepare students for college-level work.
- California school districts need to significantly increase their education spending to ensure that students have adequate resources and to meet academic goals, according to a new study.
- Citing the need to update aging facilities, the Fullerton Joint Union High School District may put a referendum on the 2020 ballot asking voters to approve financing through the sale of bonds that would be repaid by an addition to property tax bills.
- A new study suggests poverty levels in schools are the key determinant of achievement gaps rather than racial or ethnic composition, EdSource reports.
- About one in five California students surveyed by their school districts have thought about killing themselves, according to a new analysis by the Southern California News Group. The Santa Ana Unified School District was highlighted as a district that has taken a proactive approach to help students cope with depression and other issues.
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