Dear Friends and Colleagues,

If you look closely at the landscape of secondary schooling across the nation, you will see a sea change underway. There are hundreds of high schools across the country actively moving away from our 120-year-old, pre-industrial educational model, where time is a proxy for learning and credit accumulation rules the day. Instead, educators and policymakers are embracing modern, competency-based models of schooling, where the actual acquisition of academic skills, durable skills and credentials is becoming the new currency of the educational economy.  

You can find evidence of these shifts in red states and blue ones, in rural regions and the suburbs, and in cities across the country. Rhode Island, Indiana, Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Carolina are just a few of the states on this essential journey. A through line in this work are the educators and citizen leaders, forging strong partnerships between schools and their communities. Teachers and students are working with local organizations to identify, assess and address real community challenges. There is rapid expansion of partnerships designed to ensure all high school students can take college-level coursework, making high school learning richer, and college more accessible and affordable. And there is explosive growth in 21st-century career and technical programs that bridge school and career, help young people discover their passions, earn valuable credentials, and develop essential skills.

Paolo DeMaria, President and CEO of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) collaborates with State Boards across the nation to turbocharge high school transformation. In our newly published Q&A with Paolo, he emphasizes the growing demand from state leaders to make what happens in high school more engaging, meaningful and career aligned. Speaking with Paolo reminds us that by centering community, amplifying citizen voices, and enlisting a broad set of actors – particularly state leaders – we can “help all kids be their absolute best and create the conditions for them to reach their full potential.”

We celebrate NASBE, as they join forces with other pathfinders, to ensure our high schools meet the moment we are in.

In partnership,
Timothy Knowles
President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching