Preparing Students for Work, Postsecondary Education, and Citizenship

According to a nationwide poll of registered voters¹, 99 percent say that teaching students a wide range of 21st century skills—including critical thinking and problem-solving skills, computer and technology skills, and communication and self-direction skills—is important to our country’s future economic success.

This strong and highly unusual consensus, which cuts across all socioeconomic classes, age groups and political affiliations, indicates that there is nearly universal agreement among Americans about the connection between 21st century skills and economic—and individual—competitiveness.¹

In order to ensure that all students graduate with the skills and knowledge needed for the 21st century, Wisconsin has joined the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is the leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education. The organization brings together the business community, education leaders and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st century education to ensure every child’s success as citizens and workers in the 21st century. The Partnership encourages schools, districts and states to advocate for the infusion of 21st century skills into education and provides tools and resources to help facilitate and drive change.²

The school district's board of education is in the process of reviewing its student performance "end statement" to ensure the alignment of core skills advocated by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills with the preferred outcomes for DeForest area graduates. Curricular leaders, especially at the high school, are focused on the ongoing development of rigorous and relevant 21st Century content in all courses.

DeForest Area School District staff serve on the Department of Public Instruction's Collaborative Council, which is providing leadership to the state's efforts with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills project. In addition, high school staff participated in the state's first Education-Business Summit to identify what knowledge, skills, and attitudes will be needed for students to be successful in the 21st Century.

What are the 21st century skills that will sustain and grow a vibrant, global economy?

What should be expected of today's students so they can be effective citizens and leaders in our community?

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills framework urges schools to focus on:

• Core Subjects - English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, world languages, civics, government, economics, arts, history, and geography;
• 21st Century Content - global awareness; financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy; civic literacy; health and wellness awareness;
  • Learning and Thinking Skills - critical thinking and problem solving skills; communication skills; information and media technology skills; and the life skills of personal responsibility, ethics and leadership.

What do we need to think about? 

As we think about and work on student readiness for the 21st Century, we are mindful of a number of significant trends. There are four major trends impacting the US, in general, and our students, in particular, which must be considered in order to assure that our students are prepared to meet the challenges of the near and distant future. The four challenges are globalization, changing demographics, technology and changing values and attitudes. These trends, individually and collectively, will have a dramatic effect upon the way our current students will live, work and thrive in their adult years. While challenging, there is evidence that certain strategies in today’s schools, and especially high schools, can support efforts to successfully address emerging student needs.
The US Department of Education completed a study entitled, Key High School Reform Strategies: An Overview of Research Findings. For the report, a team of researchers studied the 300 most comprehensive school reform research studies available. They identified a number of characteristics common to successful schools:

• Commitment to high academic expectations
• Small learning environments
• Structure learning around career/student interest
• Professional development focused on instruction
• Tie out-of-school learning to classroom learning
• Career and higher education counseling
• Flexible, relevant segments of instruction
• Assessment of what students can do
• Partnerships with higher education
• Support alliances with parents and community

DeForest Area High School has been engaged in significant school transformation study for more than a year. Faculty are examining course offerings, curriculum, the students’ daily schedule, career pathways, more meaningful assessment tools, formal relationships with the business community, and new linkages with higher education institutions leading to more successful transition opportunities for our students. Some changes, such as the Freshman Learning Community, have already been designed and implemented. Others, such as counseling staff dedicated to post-secondary transition and longer, performance-based instructional periods are promising strategies on the near horizon.

As always, the success of our schools is dependent upon the success and support of our parents and the community at large. Education of all of our young people is a shared responsibility and continuous improvement comes only from shared investment. In the fall of 2008, the District will be asking the input from various stakeholders throughout the community to help us shape and define where education in this community is headed for our youth. We hope you will take the opportunity to participate if asked. Together, we can ensure that our students are well prepared to enter the faced paced, evolving, social and economic world.
 

For more information about the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, visit www.21stcenturyskills.org.

1 "Beyond the Three R's: Voter Attitudes Toward 21st Century Skills," 2007 Partnership for 21st Century Skills, http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/P21_pollreport_singlepg.pdf.
2 Partnership for 21st Century Skills, http://www.21stcenturyskills.org, "About Us".