North High Designated “Exemplar School” by Partnership for 21st Century Skills

North High School learned today that it has been designated a P21 Exemplar School by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills in honor of the school’s work to prepare students for life after graduation.

According to Dr. Helen Soule, executive director of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, North High has been selected in recognition of the work the school “is doing to engage your students in 21st century learning and prepare them for college, career and civic life.”

“Everyone at North High School is working hard to put our school on the cutting edge of preparing students for success in the rest of their lives,” said principal Mike Vukovich. “We have seen tremendous academic gains over the past few years that have resulted from the committed partnership of our teachers, staff, students and families. It’s a great honor for North to now serve as a model for other schools across the nation.”

The Exemplar Program identifies, documents, and promotes examples of successful 21st century learning taking places in schools across the country. The program provides educators and communities with a variety of examples to draw from, and offers policymakers local examples to help encourage their support.

Schools recognized as an Exemplar School must go through an evaluation process to ensure they are examples of successful 21st century instructional practices. Steps in the evaluation process include a team visit by representatives of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (including classroom visits and meetings with the superintendent, principal, teachers and students) and a site evaluation of the school that analyzes its evidence of commitment to college, career, and life readiness; educational support systems and sustainable design; engaged learning approaches; equitable student access to 21st century learning; evidence of student acquisition of 21st century knowledge and skill; and partnerships for sustainable success.

North High School will participate in a National Summit on 21st Century Learning in mid-November.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for readiness for every student. P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation). While leading districts and schools are already doing this, P21 advocates for local, state and federal policies that support this approach for every school. For more information, visit www.p21.org.