Over 100 people came to the future home of ECISD’s New Tech Odessa High School to hear what the fuss is about Thursday evening.

“You might have a child who might be making C’s,” Adrian Vega, principal of the school that starts classes this fall in part of the Advanced Technical Center building, told the parents of more than 40 students. “They have the smarts, they have the drive, they have the talent. But they’re bored.”

Vega then showed a video of some of the other New Tech schools across the country. Students, teachers and principals all lauded the concept.

Vega then explained how education has evolved from training for agriculture to industry to service sectors. And now, with jobs being outsourced to other countries, education focuses on a knowledge-based economy.

“With the rise of China and India, just by the sheer numbers alone, your child is no longer competing against the town across the way or the Metroplex, Dallas,” Vega said. “Your kid is competing across the globe.”