21st Century Schools for 21st Century Students

By Anne Campbell

The County Office can play a vital role in working with local school districts to move our schools from a factory-based 19th century model of education to an information-age 21st century model. With the accelerating rate of change, we cannot begin to teach our students all they will need to know, but we can help them learn the skills they will need to navigate successfully through the 21st Century.

What are the implications of rapid change and the resulting information overload on our schools? We cannot begin to teach our students all they will need to know over the course of their lifetimes, but we can help them learn the skills needed to navigate successfully through the 21st Century. What are these skills? Students must master the basics. No matter what the future holds in store, students must be able to read and write, and they must have a solid understanding of mathematics and the sciences. Yet, today's students will need more. Because the world will continue to change, students must learn to:

• Become excellent critical thinkers and problem solvers
• Access, select, and evaluate information
• Work collaboratively with others
• Keep on learning, long after they leave school

The County Office can help local districts as they shape schools to meet the needs of 21st century learners by serving as a clearinghouse for best practices and as a professional development resource. By providing opportunities for educators to come together to share best practices and to learn from each other, the County Office can provide a vital forum for helping schools as they make the transition to 21st teaching and learning. The County Office can also serve as a professional development hub by hosting experts in 21st century schools to work with educators throughout San Mateo County. In this era of tight budgets, the County Office can allocate funds and can help leverage local district resources to gain access to a wider array of professional development opportunities than would otherwise be possible.