Meridian Technical Charter High School

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**Meridian Technical Charter High School**
Students

School type	Charter
Staff
Principal	Christian Housel
Faculty	19
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	174
Athletics
IHSAA	N/A
Mascot	Dragon
Colors	Black and Red
Location
City	Meridian, ID
Website	http://www.mtchs.org/

Meridian Technical Charter High School (MTCHS) is a high school located in Meridian, Idaho. The student population is approximately 170-200 students, with a maximum of fifty students per class. There are about 15 teachers on the teaching staff. MTCHS focuses on technology and delivering a higher standard of education than typical high schools.

The school was originally known as Meridian Charter High School. The name was changed to avoid confusion with nearby Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School.

1 Entry into MTCHS
2 Purpose
3 Career pathways
4 School basics
5 Other School Facts
6 Tech Parties
7 Tech Party tournaments
8 External links
9 References

[edit] Entry into MTCHS

Contrary to popular belief, Meridian Technical Charter is not a private school. Because of space limitations, prospective students must enter their names into a lottery if they choose to attend the school. However, if one has a sibling currently attending, he/she is automatically admitted. Once accepted, the student may choose whether to attend their "home" school or to attend MTCHS. Under most circumstances, once a student decides to leave MTCHS they cannot be accepted back in.

[edit] Purpose

The purpose of MTCHS is to expand the academic choices available to students who are interested in the field of technology. This school offers an environment rich in technology, giving students experience using technology applications in the school and in the workplace. MTCHS hopes to give all students an equal chance to advance their technology skills. The technical courses, or career pathways, offered are programming, graphic arts, networking, engineering and electronics. The purpose of these classes is to show the students what that field looks like in the real world. College level classes are also offered, which allow students to graduate with college credits. MTCHS gives seniors the opportunity to do internships with major Boise area companies like HP, Micron Technology, and many others. ^[1]

[edit] Career pathways

During the junior year, a student chooses from five different career pathways:

The different pathways represent different technical electives that the student gets to take during their junior and senior years.

[edit] School basics

MTCHS has high standards for its students. Unlike most schools, anything less than a 74% is a failing grade, and will result in the student retaking the class during summer school if they wish to continue at MTCHS. If a student receives less than a 74% in a technology class, he or she will be removed from the school and will not be allowed to return.

MTCHS imposes a higher grading scale than most schools:

92-100: A
83-91: B
74-82: C
0-73: NC (No Credit)

[edit] Other School Facts

A minimum 512 megabyte USB flash drive is a requirement per the school manual. Students are also allowed to listen to a portable audio player (encouraged in some) during class work times.

[edit] Tech Parties

MTCHS is particularly famous for its all-school LAN parties, commonly called Tech Parties to emphasize the fact it is not just for computer games. The parties occur at normal intervals, normally one each quarter of the school year. They usually feature a DJ, gaming tournaments, MSPaint competitions, and many door prizes.

Tech parties at MTCHS are run in order to raise money for the MTCHS SkillsUSA chapter. SkillsUSA members normally get a discount on ticket prices.