Creating a 21st-century learning community is a process. Some are created by transforming existing schools, and others are created from scratch. There is not a single, must-follow recipe for success in education. Not all 21st-century learning communities share the same practices or characteristics. They do, however, share some common goals, and all are committed to a collaborative process to discover and develop practices to help them achieve those shared goals in their own school communities.

Though Philadelphia's School of the Future, Microsoft U.S. Partners in Learning's most-ambitious project to date, was new in every aspect (including the building), we have also worked with existing schools to help them begin their transformations into 21st-century learning environments.

The process can take many forms but always begins with envisioning a new way of learning that reaches all students, builds community, and integrates technology to better prepare learners for the future. And you continue the process by investigating the vision and the process itself as you create or transform your learning community.

The development process we created and used during the School of the Future project - the 6i Process - includes multiple steps and can be a helpful framework for transformations on both small and large scale.

Writing your learning community goals is an important step in the process. Your list of goals may include the some of the 11 that follow. To learn how various learning communities successfully use these goals, click the blue arrow and read more.

Many 21st-century learning communities seek to:

Explore the vision, process, and reality of the School of the Future. Microsoft and the School District of Philadelphia joined forces to plan and build a 750-student high school that could serve as a model for 21st-century learning communities around the world. The school generates innovative education practices and new models for learning.

Discover other ways that Partners in Learning projects are helping to create, extend, and transform learning communities to support the lifelong success of students:

• CareerForward: Career Preparation in a Global Economy is an online course designed to engage students in tackling real-world questions, such as:
  • What is the global economy, and does it affect my future?
  • What am I going to do with my life?
  • What kind of career would I be good at?
  • What would it take to run my own business?
  Available free to students around the world, this 20-hour, media-rich, online learning program was developed through a unique public-private partnership between the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Virtual University, and Microsoft U.S. Partners in Learning.
• New Mexico: Workforce Development (.pdf, 3.7 MB)
  New Mexico ‘s rural districts and communities are establishing alliances that address improved academic success, 21st century preparedness, and expanded job opportunities in the community. Aligned to the New Mexico Public Education Department’s Rural Education Bureau goals and the national career clusters, high schools offer rigorous content area courses and experiential learning. School districts and their community partners base their revitalization efforts on the following principles:
  • Working together to define a compelling vision
  • Collective responsibility
  • Education and economic alignment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Integrated personalized revitalization of schools and economic base in community
  • Sustainability
  • Scalability