‘Fast Times at West Philly High’: Frontline features local Hybrid X team on WHYY TONIGHT

A hybrid car created at The Sustainability Workshop, Simon Hauger’s alternative senior year program. Photo courtesy of WHYY’s Newsworks.

Get behind the scenes of West Philly High’s Hybrid X team tonight on PBS’s Frontline.

The documentary chronicles the journey of a team of three high school students, led by teacher Simon Hauger, in its effort to build a hybrid sports car for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. The students didn’t win, but they made it to the semi-finals and were the only high school team to even compete. The team, which is silly with national recognition and has spun off into an experimental school at the Navy Yard, also received honors at last year’s Ignite Philly.

This isn’t the first time this kind of alternative, hands-on education has received national attention. Hauger’s senior year program The Sustainability Workshop was recently featured on CNN. The West Philly Hybrid X team also previously received Popular Mechanics’ Next Generation Breakthrough Award last year.

“Fast Times at West Philly High” will air on WHYY TV tonight at 10 p.m.

Read more about the documentary from the Philadelphia Daily News and Newsworks.