University in Connecticut has begun construction of a technology magnet school

Goodwin University in East Hartford, Connecticut, has broken ground on RiverTech, which is being billed as the state's first technology magnet high school.

The Hartford Courant reports that the university is constructing a 90,000-square-foot, four-story building that is scheduled to be completed next year.

The program will start later this year for ninth-grade students. When the building is finished, the school will welcome students from all four high school grades.

RiverTech will teach elements of business, entrepreneurship and technology, with an emphasis on new technology, according to Goodwin.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, computer science and advanced manufacturing are among the areas of concentration, and the school is building partnerships with Connecticut manufacturers so it can offer internships and pre-apprenticeships.

Classes will consist of 18 to 20 students, Goodwin says. Small instructional spaces for speciality services like speech and language, social worker, psychologist, and special education will be provided.

RiverTech also will have a library, theater, gymnasium and a cafeteria that will double as a large meeting space for family education nights and exhibition events.

The school plans to have an astronaut training center as part of a partnership with the Victorian Space Science Education Centre in Melbourne, Australia. 

“There’s no other building like it in the United States," Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said. "On the fourth floor is our international space station. It will be a replica of the surface of Mars that our students will walk as astronauts while their classmates will be ‘mission control,’ helping them navigate the surface and making sure they’re doing their science experiments."