This is the fifth segment in a multi-part series taking a deeper dive into the 2024-25 district strategic priorities. The Strategic Plan identifies 21st Century Skills as one of the four core components of a student's experience in MSAD 51. Students require competency with portable and transferable skills in order to be successful navigating the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. With this in mind, the Strategic Plan affirms that "Together, we can redesign what it means to be a Greely Graduate who Leads the Way."
What are 21st Century skills? Maine defines these skills as Guiding Principles that help students become clear and effective communicators, self-directed and lifelong learners, creative and practical problem-solvers, responsible and involved citizens, and integrative and informed learners. If students can graduate with these portable skills, then they invite success in college, career, armed forces, citizenship, and everyday life.
As I wrote last year during this series, a committee of educators has been convened to develop a Portrait of as Greely Learner that applies to all students in MSAD #51. This work continues in 2024-25 and should be completed by the end of the school year, with the final product a compilation of current and future experiences intended to help all students demonstrate the transferable skills that define our vision of an effective learner (and graduate). For example, students have shared experiences around lifelong learning when they participate in the 3rd grade wax museum or the 8th grade science fair projects; and they demonstrate a commitment to global citizenship by creating prints for the Hashi art exchange with Japan or understand the Cuban Missile Crisis through multiple perspectives, i.e. America, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union.
Ensuring that our schools are creating multiple, authentic ways for students to interact with 21st Century skills is a function of our district's inherent mission. It is our community's commitment to preparing all students for a future that is largely unknown. Portable skills can help bridge the gap and help students Lead the Way.