Economic development calls for the modernization of high-school education, which is hindered by the inertia of the current hierarchical system of schooling. An analysis of statistical data that describe the dynamics of structural changes in the economy and investment in public education showed a demand for the implementation of extracurricular educational programs that can synchronize the values of a basic high-school education with the need for economic innovation caused by the environmental challenges of the current transition to post-industrial development. This article analyzes the experience gained during the development and implementation of a high-school extracurricular program in Russia that combined project-based learning with a national contest of research projects which students completed as one of their electives. By employing the principles of social-emotional learning, the combination of the extracurricular program and the contest played a key role in the development of the creative and divergent capabilities of high-school students.