2020 Vision Framework

“The 21st century is quite different from the 20th Century in regard to the skills people now need for work, society and self-actualization. Proficiency in the 21st century differs primarily due to the emergence of very sophisticated information and communication technologies.”
(Chris Dede, Harvard University)

We’ve been hearing a lot about education reform these days. Teaching and learning in a world where information is available 24/7 has changed. The skills necessary to survive in an ever-changing, globally connected world have focused on communication, collaboration and creative and critical thinking. Educational leaders together with business and community leaders have created frameworks that outline the content and the processes teachers should deliver as part of students’ schooling. The work described by the Partnership for 21st Century Schools and the Metiri Group among others, help educators understand what 21st century skills are. These frameworks look different at the outset, but suggest many commonalities in their themes and direction for the future.

Here in Lake Forest, together with Lake Bluff and Lake Forest High School, we are working together to create a common vision and language for what 21st Century Skills are and how we will infuse them into our already rigorous curriculum. Our 2020 Vision Framework focuses on three areas: personal and social responsibility, learning and thinking skills, and communication literacies. As we progress into the future, our goal is to continue to provide our students with a rigorous curriculum, but through a commitment to building and growing the necessary skills that will propel our students to be successful learners and contributors to society.

Vision 2020 - Focus on the Future

In the fall of 2010, District 67, District 65 and District 115, through the joint shared service committee, created the 2020 Vision Initiative.  The goal of this initiative is to have a comprehensive tri-district plan for approaching education as we prepare students for the future.  Clicking on the link below will take you to the organizational chart for the 2020 Vision Initiative.

In December of 2010, an ad hoc group from each district met to design a framework or foundation document, complete with definition of various terms used in 21st Century Learning.  These learning skills/literacies and accompanying definitions provide the consistent lens through which curriculum  and educational practices will be viewed in all three districts.

In January 2011, the preliminary framework and definitions were shared with each of the district’s 21st Century Leadership Team for feedback and suggestions for clarifications.

In February 2011, the ad hoc committee reconvened to revise the framework based on input from the three leadership teams and the districts’ education committees, with anticipated board adoption during their regularly schedule February board meetings.