Stamford, Connecticut, is in the middle of a rapidly growing information technology economy boom. Yet the Connecticut Internet Association estimates that one out of four IT jobs in the state are currently unfilled. It's obvious that Connecticut should work harder to meet the demand with a local supply of trained workers.

That's why the Stamford Public Schools recently opened the Academy of Information Technology, a high-tech high school focused on providing a quality comprehensive public education combined with intensive, college-level training in the use of the latest technologies. More importantly, AIT represents an intimate partnership with technology firms in the area, who are supplying plenty of equipment, guidance, direct mentoring of students, and job opportunities for graduates. The nearby Norwalk Community College is also heavily involved in designing the curriculum.

As explained in a recent profile in The New York Times, AIT's initial class of 225 students (selected from more than 300 applicants) gets "access to desktop and laptop equipment, where they can learn about computer graphics, Web design, and programming and network administration." Moreover, "students will have mentors from local high-tech companies and will be offered internships." For example, AIT students will be able to take a high-level course on networking created by Cisco Systems, whose graduates typically can command $50,000 to $70,000 salaries right out of high school.

But the high-tech high school is not simply a narrow IT program: It will use the latest technology to offer a broad, traditional secondary education. As the Hartford Courant noted in another profile of AIT, "Art is taught through computer graphics. Research on the Internet is emphasized. Classrooms are stocked with the latest flat-screen monitors or wireless laptops."

The idea is to give a broad range of students the skills they need for immediate employment advanced training. As Terri Kochersparger, Senior Vice President for Project Management at Stamford's Priceline.com concluded: "We agree with the Academy's approach to develop skilled talent for entry level positions and to prepare them for further development in college." Mark Pruner, President of Web Counsel, LLC, was more succinct: "This area has hundreds of companies looking to hire AIT graduates."

Stamford's New Democrat Mayor, Dan Malloy, points out that AIT is "the first of its kind in Connecticut -- showing that Stamford, once again, has launched an innovative educational program which will benefit the future careers of many high school students in the field of technology."

Employers all over the country are thirsting for this kind of supply of technically trained and oriented high school graduates. Stamford is blessed with many high-tech firms and visionary leadership, but in the end, any community can go a long way towards building a Field of Dreams of New Economy workers: build it, and they will come.