A key part of Purdue University’s mandate and mission is preparing Indiana’s young people to help grow the state’s economy.

To fulfill this mandate, we need to serve all of Indiana’s young people, including those from underserved and underrepresented communities — something we’ve struggled to do in recent years since many disadvantaged students have graduated from high school unprepared for the rigors of college.

Indiana’s innovation network school model gives us the opportunity to create a feeder school for Purdue — which we believe will enable us to fulfill our commitment to the people of Indiana.

Next fall, we plan to open Purdue Polytechnic High School, a public school chartered by the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office that has the bold vision of sending about a third of our students to Purdue University. Others will matriculate to four-year and two-year colleges or receive technical training that will allow them to graduate from high school with concrete and marketable skills that Indiana’s businesses need in new hires.

During our planning year, we’re building a school, culture, and community that is entirely aimed at this goal. And to succeed, we believe we need to reinvent high school. We are establishing mentoring and internship relationships with Indiana’s business community, we are partnering with our state’s business leaders to identify the core material and skills that they look for in employees, and we are working with partners in the public and private sectors to plan our curriculum.

Our program will emphasize hands-on, project-based learning rather than rote memorization or traditional class schedules. Our students will develop interpersonal skills and core subject-matter knowledge by working together in teams. Rather than having a schedule that reads, for example, “Algebra I, Biology, American History,” our students’ schedules will be divided into time blocks dedicated to different projects during which they will learn the course material.

We are convinced that the lesson plans and approaches that worked in the 20th Century won’t prepare young people for the Indiana of the 21st Century. We’re also convinced that innovating within the constraints of the traditional system wouldn’t allow us to do all that is necessary.

We are eager to work with our partners to create a school, culture, and curriculum that works for our students and our state — and helps us to fulfill our promise to Indiana.