NEA and the 21st Century Partnership

NEA is a founding member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national advocacy organization that encourages schools, districts, and states to infuse technology into education -- and provides tools and resources to facilitate that effort.

This partnership, chaired by NEA Executive Director John Wilson, includes a range of business partners (Time Warner, Ford, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Dell, Verizon, SAS, and more), various education-related organizations (American Association of School Librarians, American Federation of Teachers, Educational Testing Service, Pearson Education, and others), foundations (Intel Foundation and Oracle Education Foundation) and media groups (Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Cable in the Classroom, and more). Visit the 21st Century Partnership site  for a full list of partners.

NEA is also helping to forge relationships between the 21st Century Partnership and individual states. In April 2005, North Carolina announced it will develop the nation's first Center for 21st Century Skills.  This public-private venture will focus on redesigning PreK-14 curriculum, teacher training, and student assessments in North Carolina to better meet the demands of the global economy. And last November, West Virginia said it will develop a 21st Century Kids project     (PDF, 2 pgs) which will serve as a national model for 21st century learning.

Resources Developed by the Partnership

• Route 21: An Interactive Guide to 21st Century Learning is a Web-based tool that
  can help education stakeholders support and promote achievement of information literacy and 21st century skills. As a result, users can develop and implement a plan to support a successful 21st century learning environment.
• "The Road to 21st Century Learning: A Policy Makers’ Guide to 21st Century Skills"   (PDF, 1.8M, 29 pg) assists state education leaders in crafting visionary education policies and gives policy makers specific guidance to help create a 21st century learning environment.
• The "Milestones for Improving Learning and Education (MILE) Guide for 21st Century Skills" will help schools measure their progress in defining, teaching and assessing 21st Century Skills.