Special Pre-Conference Institute:
Designing 21st Century Secondary Schools: Focus on the Met

Presented by:
Bob Pearlman -- Director of Strategic Planning, New Technology Foundation
Joe Battaglia -- Director of New Schools Consultants, The Big Picture Company
Jill Olson-Crowley -- Director of Site Visits, Special Events & Conferences, The Big Picture Company
Brian Mills -- Director of the Media Center, the Met Public Street Complex

The comprehensive secondary school works well for only a fraction of students and was designed for the industrial economy. Students of the 21st Century, in the US, UK, and elsewhere, need a learning environment that successfully prepares them for citizenship and work in the global knowledge-based economy. Schooling in the 21st Century can now be designed to connect students to the real world, real work, and quality relationships with teachers and adult mentors in the workplace and the community.

This year's pre-conference focuses on and takes place at the Met School in Providence, RI, one of the most unique and innovative secondary schools in the US. Participants will learn about the design criteria, design principles, and design elements that characterizes the Met by experiencing a typical day as a student in a Met school, including the "Pick Me UP", the Advisory, discussions with students and alumni, and the Learning Plan.

Through the day's experience, participants will learn about the Met's practices in Project Based Learning, Learning Through Internships, Project Authenticity, Family & Community Engagement, Building School Culture, Rigor, and Standards. Participants will also tour the unique facilities of the Met's Public Street complex of 4 MET Schools and view the unique tools of a BP Online, a web-based platform designed to help Big Picture students, staff, mentors, and family members learn with and from each other.

Participants will capture their learnings and identify recommendations for secondary school redesign in the Afternoon Advisory and final group reflections.

The Met was developed by the Providence-based Big Picture Company. The Big Picture Company believes that schools must be personalized, educating every student equally, ONE STUDENT AT A TIME. Each student's learning plan should grow out of his or her unique needs, interests, and passions. Big Picture believes that the education system must ensure that students and families are active participants in the design and authentic assessment of each child's learning. Schools must be small enough to encourage the development of a community of learners, and to allow for each child to be known well by at least one adult. School staff and leaders must be visionaries and life-long learners. Schools must connect students, and the school, to the community - both by sending students out to learn from mentors in the real world, and by allowing the school itself to serve as an asset to the local community and its needs. Finally, schools must allow for admission to, and success in, college to be a reality for every student, and work closely with students, families, and colleges throughout - and beyond - the application process.

For more information on the Met design, go to http://www.bigpicture.org/. Key sites for new secondary school design:
http://www.bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/SchoolsILike.htm; http://www.newtechhigh.org, http:www.newtechfoundation.org and http://www.bobpearlman.org/AboutBob/Articles.h

Special Conference Strand:
Transforming and designing new schools

Both in the US and the UK a great movement is underway to transform secondary schools to insure student success in the 21^st Century. Spurred by the Gates Foundation in the US and by the Building Schools of the Future initiative and the Specialist Schools Trust in the UK, school leaders are designing new schools and redesigning existing secondary schools for the 21^st Century.

A Special strand at the Building Learning Communities 2006 Conference, July 18-20, examines the key issues facing designers of 21^st Century schooling, including curriculum, assessment, ICT integration, learning environments/facilities, portfolios and school district reform.

Presentations:

Designing the 21st Century Secondary Schools
Bob Pearlman, Director of Strategic Planning, New Technology Foundation, Napa, CA

Getting and Assessing 21^st Century Knowledge and Skills
Bob Pearlman, Director of Strategic Planning, New Technology Foundation, Napa, CA

3-I Project Learning
Dr. Christopher Tan, University of South Australia

Special Panel on Secondary School Transformation in the UK
Moderated by Bob Pearlman

Conference

Alan November Proudly Presents

Building Learning Communities

Conference July 18-20, 2006
Pre-conference July 17

Regis College, Weston, Massachusetts
(10 Miles west of downtown Boston)
(Access to downtown Boston by subway)

Featuring World Class Presenters

If you attend only one event this summer, this should be THE event. You can look forward to stretching your mind, meeting new colleagues, and gaining practical applications for empowered teaching and learning.

For his seventh annual summer conference, Alan November's hand-picked national and international presenters are some of the finest thinkers and practitioners. These leaders, who have been chosen for their world class skills, will provide valuable insights into the latest strategies for the effective planning and implementation of powerful learning technologies. This conference will have a healthy combination of discussion and hands-on practice. Come and learn and enjoy the wonderful suburban Boston setting.

Registration
Early bird full conference registration (before June 1) for the 2006 Building Learning Communities Conference is $695 for each participant and includes all course materials, breakfast and lunch each day.

Registration Form and Fee Structure