High Tech Haven

New Technology High School in California's Napa Valley provides at least one computer for every student.

By Rhea R. Borja

Napa, Calif.

At first glance, the 1970s, low-rise stucco building squatting near an animal feed and supply store seems like a typical public school. Only a column painted purple, reaching toward the sky, hints that New Technology High School may be a little different.

Inside, parts of this 223-student school in California's wine country resemble a dot-com workplace. There are glass-enclosed classrooms, clusters of interactive computer workstations, and high-tech wiring twisting like veins through the rooms. No books are stacked in the library, or research center. Instead, students log on to an "e-library."

Just as in a well- equipped office, there's at least one computer for every student, a ratio unheard of even in some of the nation's wealthiest schools. And the school day here is fluid: No bells ring to signal the end of class, nor must students get permission...