The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce on Dec. 14, 2006, released a plan advocating for the total overhaul of U.S. education by 2021 to create the best national public school system in the world, according to commission members.

John Wilson, executive director of the National Education Association and board member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, spoke at the Washington, D.C., release event and highlighted the work of the Partnership. Wilson cited the Partnership’s work as aligning with the general outcomes articulated by the Commission, and affirmed that the work of delineating the skills needed, and building education/corporate consensus had largely been accomplished, and is continuing to be implemented, via the Partnership. Wilson also shared the Partnership’s Framework for 21st Century Skills as well as an update on its state outreach and partner initiatives.

Discovery Education, Education Networks of America and PolyVision recently joined the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, bringing the total board membership to 28-member organizations.

Discovery Education is a division of Discovery Communications, the leading global real-world and knowledge-based media company. ENA is a leading Managed Internet Service Provider that provides network and technology solutions for school systems, libraries and governments. PolyVision is the leader in innovation for interactive visual communication products and collaboration tools for the education, corporate, government and military markets.

In an increasingly competitive global economy, online learning through “virtual” schools offers the advanced learning necessary for today’s students to acquire 21st century skills, according to a new report by the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

The report outlines how rapidly growing virtual schools and online learning – with an estimated 30 percent annual growth rate in K-12 education enrollments – focus on what the Partnership has identified as critical 21st century skills, including: global awareness, self-directed learning, information and communications technology literacy, problem solving, time management and personal responsibility.

"Virtual schools, when tied to 21st Century Skill outcomes, can be a very powerful force in 21st Century education," said Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. “It’s critically important that virtual school leaders embrace a 21st century skills vision for online learning to ensure that today’s students have the skills they need to be successful in our interdependent and competitive global economy.”

Thought leaders and representatives from business, philanthropy, K-12, after school and youth development gathered Nov. 2, 2006, on Capitol Hill to discuss the skills children need to succeed in the 21st century and the venues where they can develop them — in and out of school.

What skills and attributes will allow young people to succeed in the new global economy? The summer 2006 "New Directions for Youth Development" journal addresses this question by examining the topic of 21st century learning. The chapters in this volume provide a broad scope of perspectives from business leaders, educators, researchers, youth workers and students on the need, opportunity, application and outcomes of 21st century learning. Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, co-edited the journal with Eric Schwarz, president and CEO of Citizen Schools. Partnership Board Members Karen Bruett (Dell), John Box (JA Worldwide) and John Wilson (National Education Association) contributed chapters. Allyson Knox from Microsoft, another Partnership member company, also wrote a chapter.

As the baby boom generation slowly exits the U.S. workplace, a survey of business leaders finds the incoming generation sorely lacking in much needed workplace skills — both basic academic and more advanced “applied” skills, according to a report released on Oct. 2, 2006, by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Jan. 24-26: Florida Education Technology Conference; Orlando, Fla.
Jan. 28-29: Title I Conference; Long Beach, Calif.
Feb. 22-23: National Association of Elementary School Principals' Annual Conference and Exposition; Las Vegas, Nev.
March 9-11: Learning First Alliance's National Summit on Public Education in 21st-Century America; Washington, D.C.
March 28-30: Consortium for School Networking's K- 12 School Networking Conference; San Francisco, Calif.
April 24-25: TeachScape's Annual Conference on Standards and Assessment; Las Vegas, Nev.
June 24-27: National Education Computing Conference; Atlanta, Ga.