Why did the district create the 21st Century High School programs?
The 21st Century High School programs were developed in response to community input. During the 2000-01 school year, the district conducted focus groups of more than 400 participants on the necessary ingredients of a 21st century education. Participants included parents, high school faculty and other district staff, students, business partners, representatives of higher education, and the community. Focus groups agreed on these themes: • make classroom learning relevant to the outside world; • focus on the global workplace; • recognize the broad-based role of technology; • promote the importance of citizenship and character; • and provide flexibility of schedule and interactive instructional methodology. The 21st Century High School Steering Team used the focus group input, national research on effective educational programs, and the results of a student interest survey to evaluate proposals for new programs that would incorporate these themes. Design teams began working prior to the 2
