71019 21st Century School Design Report.doc

1. 21^st Century Skills Summit  Last chance to register for day long meeting with hundreds of leaders from all over Arizona. University of Arizona, Tucson, http://uanews.org/node/16350  Tuesday October 23^rd. to register for free eventi  http://www.ed.arizona.edu/summit/welcome.htm 

2. Building Arizona’s 21st Century Schools:
Ensuring Innovative School Facilities for the Digital Age

A Report from the Arizona School Facilities Board
in response to Executive Order 2007-06
Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona 

Since it is a matter of State interest to see Arizona students achieve and excel, then it is a matter of State responsibility to see that the schools we build for them are places designed to nurture their level of performance, and enrich their educational experience. The schools Arizona will build for the 21st Century ought to be expressions of our aspirations for our children and the future they will create.

This next generation of schools for the digital age should reflect the innovation, and motivation for excellence that will be required of this current generation of students, and of those that will follow, if they are to succeed in the interconnected reality of the global economy. This report, in response to Governor Napolitano’s Executive Order 2007-06, does not presume to be an exhaustive answer to the issues raised by the Governor, nor to be a definitive crystal ball prediction of what the rest of the 21st century holds in store for our schools, our teachers, or our students. Rather, it is intended to help focus public policy discussions about the design and construction of our next generation of school facilities being equal to the nature and demands of a future fueled by emerging technologies.

Innovation and Excellence should be the watchwords for those discussions

http://www.sfb.state.az.us/sfb/21st%20Century%20Schools/21st%20Century%20Schools%20Report.pdf

Or http://tinyurl.com/2r4rba

 Next Steps: This is a finely done effective study and design. It is well worth the download and 93 page read. It addresses the facilities and equipment that are required for eLearningi transformationi of all of Arizona schools. But itsi just a document. It is not yet a SFB guideline/specification for new school construction. There is no funding in place for the 1:1 computer-student ratio, connectivity, servers and many other pieces of crucial equipment needed for an effective and efficient 21^st  Century school facility. If only the facility and equipment are 21^st  Century that is a 20% step forward and will produce some gain in academic performancei and graduation. But for full 21^st Century the other 80% of teacher education and professional development, digital curriculum, technical support, broadbandi Internet connectivity, leader ship, and interactive formative, funding for mastery learning, state level intellectual and broadband infrastructure and summative assessment data systems is needed.

This study is for the 35-40 new school construction the School Facilities Board is addressing every year. Like in 1999-2003 where the School Facilities Board guidelines were use to renovate or rebuild all of Arizona’s sub-par schools, the 21^st Century guidelines need to address all of the 1000 legacy schools built before 2008.