Andrada Polytechnic High School

Andrada Polytechnic High School or Andrada Poly is a technical high school in Tucson, Arizona, that opened on July 20, 2012. It is expected to help the overcrowding in Vail's two traditional high schools, Cienega High School and Empire High School, with a planned capacity of at least 500 students.Andrada is also the new location of the district's alternative school, Pantano High School, moving off of Cienega's campus.FocusThe school focuses on biotechnology, automotive repair, and health care. Every student must take one of the three as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway. Upon graduation, each student receives a certificate to be a technician, medical assistant, interning athletic trainer, or certified mechanic, to help get a job right after high school, which can possibly turn into a career.It will not include competitive athletic facilities. Students will be eligible to compete in athletics at Empire.Unique elementsAndrada is also introducing something new to Vail schools, "Freedom with Responsibility". Andrada will give all students one hour every single day for a free period. Students will be able to go wherever they would like during this time. The cafeteria will be open all day so students can also eat during their unassigned time. The goal when making the school was to make it more like a community college, in order for students to easily be prepared for their life outside of high school.Andrada, like Empire, uses one-to-one computing.