Rationale-Vision+Statement

**Rationale-Vision Statement**

 * Rationale:**

Our students are currently preparing themselves to enter a workforce which is now rooted within a global economy. "Over the last several decades, the industrial economy based on manufacturing has shifted to a service economy driven by information, knowledge and innovations." (//www.21stcenturyskills.org) O//ur country continues a significant shift from an industrial economy/nation to a piece of an information/knowledge-based global community.

Excerpt from //Educational Leadership// magazine: August 2010: __21st Century Skills: The Challenges Ahead__

===//A growing number of business leaders, politicians, and educators are united around the idea that students need "21st century skills" to be successful today. It's exciting to believe that we live in times that are so revolutionary that they demand new and different abilities. But in fact, the skills students need in the 21st century are not new.Critical thinking and problem solving, for example, have been components of human progress throughout history, from the development of early tools, to agricultural advancements, to the invention of vaccines, to land and sea exploration. Such skills as information literacy and global awareness are not new, at least not among the elites in different societies. The need for mastery of different kinds of knowledge, ranging from facts to complex analysis? Not new either. In The Republic, Plato wrote about four distinct levels of intellect. Perhaps at the time, these were considered "3rd century BCE skills"? //=== ===//What's actually new is the extent to which changes in our economy and the world mean that collective and individual success depends on having such skills. //===

Earlier in 2010, American Management Association, in conjunction with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills surveyed 2,115 managers and other executives about the needs of the 21st century workforce. The four key areas identified were: Critical Thinking, Communication Skills, Collaboration/Team-building, and Creativity and Innovation. (//Partnership for 21st Century Skills)//

By entering into a 1:1 environment and shifting our educational approach, to focus upon the //Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast 21st Century Learning Criteria,// we will prepare our students to assume the four fundamental skills necessary to compete in the global society.

The goal of the initiative is for Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School to provide a laptop for each student for use in and out of school, at little or no cost to the parents.


 * Vision Statement:**

Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School is committed to a future that enriches the lives of our students with the values and skills necessary to navigate the changing world of tomorrow. We are therefore entering into a technology initiative that will:

• Allow for the all-encompassing use of technology by teachers, students, staff, and administration to allow for individualized instruction and self-directed learning; • Prepare students with the skill set of the 21st Century Learner and Professional; • Prepare students to compete in a global society; • Engage students in a medium in which they are familiar; • Allow students to create content which will demonstrate a deeper understanding of the curriculum with which they are engaged; • Promote student abilities in critical analyzation of multiple resources on the same topic; drawing a conclusion based upon the various information and defending their position on the topic.