Construction has officially begun on RiverTech, a pioneering new magnet high school in East Hartford being developed by Goodwin University, marking a major step forward in Connecticut’s push to modernize public education and career readiness.

The school is designed to deliver a curriculum focused on technology, business, and entrepreneurship, with deep concentrations in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing. RiverTech is slated to welcome its first class of freshmen this fall, with a four-story, 90,000-square-foot facility scheduled to be completed next year.

“This is an occasion that runs deep through my soul — another Sheff magnet school,” said Elizabeth Horton Sheff, the education advocate and lead plaintiff in the landmark Sheff v. O’Neill civil rights case, during this week’s groundbreaking. “Despite what’s going on at the national level, the commitment to public education in Connecticut continues.”

Since the state began implementing the School Choice program in response to the Sheff ruling, it has developed a robust network of magnet schools. RiverTech is the latest addition—and the first in Connecticut to focus specifically on the technology and industry sectors.

Superintendent Salvatore Menzo highlighted some of the school’s ambitious and immersive features: “There’s no other building like it in the United States. 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.”

Zaidyn Williams, a student from East Hartford who will be part of RiverTech’s inaugural freshman class, expressed excitement about the opportunity. “I finally found something that truly excites me: engineering. I’m ready to get hands-on experience and certifications to set myself up for a stable career in a field that’s only going to keep growing.” He added that aerospace engineering is his primary interest.

Goodwin University is also establishing partnerships with major Connecticut manufacturers to integrate internships and pre-apprenticeship programs into RiverTech’s curriculum. The initiative aims to prepare students for high-demand jobs in the state’s thriving manufacturing and aerospace sectors.

East Hartford Mayor Connor Martin, a Goodwin University graduate, underscored the significance of the development. “As someone who has grown up in this neighborhood and as a Goodwin alumni, to see the continued expansion of this campus is just incredible,” Martin said. “Before this campus was what it is today, this was an industrial wasteland.”

Martin also pointed to the campus’s transformation of the local landscape and its renewed access to the Connecticut River—what he called one of the city’s “most crucial natural amenities.”

Mark Scheinberg, president of Goodwin University, reflected on the institution’s journey in public education. “Some years ago we started our magnet school system. We started with one … we are now a magnet school school system,” he said. “We are to my knowledge the only university in the country that owns and manages its own public school system.”

The creation of RiverTech comes as Connecticut’s education system contends with national debates over equity, curriculum, and diversity. Supporters say the school offers a model for how targeted, tech-forward public education can thrive even amid political turbulence.

Originally reported by Don Stacom, Hartford Courant in Government Technology.