Partnership for 21st Century Skills Announces Four New Coalition Members
Support from Business, Education Leaders Strengthens Coalition GoalsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC – March 11, 2008 – Today, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills announced the addition of four new members – ASCD, Atomic Learning, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo. These organization will join the coalition’s efforts to ensure students have the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in the global economy.
“We look forward to working with our new partners on advancing our mission to support educators in their efforts to infuse 21st century skills into everyday learning. The Partnership presents an opportunity for all education stakeholders to collaborate and develop resources that can help close the profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in schools today and what they need for a typical 21st century workplace,” said John Box, VP for Product Development and Support at Junior Achievement and Chair for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Business leaders, educators, and voters all agree – today’s students need different kinds of skills to thrive in the integrated, global economy. A recent poll by the Partnership found that eighty percent (80%) of registered voters believe the kind of skills students need to be prepared for the jobs of the 21st century are different from 20 years ago. Governors and state leaders from six states have joined the Partnership’s Leadership Initiative where they are working hand-in-hand with educators to identify solutions and integrate 21st century skills into every layer of the school structure. The business community is also calling for higher standards in workforce readiness. According to a recent report, “Are They Really Ready to Work?” over forty percent (40%) of employer respondents stated that new workers with a high school diploma were “deficient” in their overall preparation for the workforce.
Today, four new organization announce their support of the Partnership’s mission and have become members of the coalition:
- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), a non-partisan, professional association of 180,000 educators, represents education from the classroom to the board room and is focused solely on professional research-based best practices within the context of what is good for the children rather than what is reflective of a specific educator role.
“Our members play an integral role in helping young people grow into well-rounded and successful adults—prepared for college, work, and life in the 21st century. ASCD is proud to join the national Partnership for 21st Century Skills in changing the conversation about learning, teaching and leadership – so that we focus on educating the whole child and ensure our children are prepared for success in the increasingly interdependent global society and workforce of the 21st century,” said Dr. Gene R. Carter, Executive Director, ASCD.
- Atomic Learning provides just-in-time Web-based training and curriculum resources for more than 110 applications students and educators use every day.
“Effectively integrating technology into lesson plans and classroom activities is key to linking technology to learning and building knowledge and skills that are the central focus of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Our participation in this national coalition will allow us to expand our efforts to modernize schools, create engaging learning environment where students thrive and ultimately change education for today’s students,” said Atomic Learning Chief Executive Officer Dan Meyer.
- Hewlett-Packard works to personalize a student’s learning experience through the use of a number of modern communication solutions and technology tools.
“A tremendous transformation takes place in the classroom when students become active learners through the use of technology. By joining the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, we look forward to exploring how today’s technology tools can open new opportunities for students and deepen their learning experiences to better prepare them for the future,” said Brian Becker, Director, Education Americas Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard Company.
- Lenovo engineers notebook and desktop PC technology that students around the world rely on to enhance their learning and bring the world closer.
“We realize the very nature of work is rapidly changing, and today’s students must learn and hone 21st century skills to succeed in a challenging global landscape,” said Mike Schmedlen, Education Industry Executive, Lenovo. “As part of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, we’re helping to build learning environments where teachers and students are empowered with the tools, resources and support they need to meet this challenge.”
"We are delighted to add these prestigious members to Partnership and look forward to collaborating with them on the next phase of weaving 21st century skills into the fabric of America's education system. Each of them will help build the national momentum to ensure that U.S. students become critical thinkers, problem solvers and effective communicators who are proficient in both core subjects and new 21st century skills," said Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
The Partnership has a number of tools to support educators including: the Framework for 21st Century Learning, which defines the skills outcomes and the support systems needed to ensure quality 21st century teaching and learning, and Route 21, an online interactive Web tool that demonstrates how 21st century skills can be supported through standards, professional development, assessments, and curriculum and instruction.
About 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.
About Atomic Learning
Atomic Learning, Inc. was formed in 2000 by a group of technology educators with a mission to create useful and affordable online products focused on teaching people how to effectively use technology. Atomic Learning delivers a library of thousands of short, easy-to-view-and-understand tutorial movies that can be used as an integral part of a professional development program, a valuable curriculum supplement, and an anytime/anywhere software training resource. Atomic Learning now serves more than eight million teachers and students in over 12,000 schools worldwide, as well as individuals and organizations in a variety of other industries. For more information, visit www.AtomicLearning.com.