For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Contact:Heidi Guarino 781-338-3106

Members of 21st Century Skills Task Force Named

Charged With Finding Ways to Better Integrate New Skills In Schools

OXFORD - Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Chairman Paul Reville has named more than 20 educators, business leaders and innovators to a task force charged with finding ways to better integrate so-called "21st Century Skills" into the public school curriculum. Specifically, the task force members will consider how the Board, through its work on standards, assessment, accountability and professional, curriculum and teacher development, can encourage school districts to provide all students with the critical skills they necessary to succeed in the 21st century economy. These skills include oral communication, information processing, critical thinking, media literacy, creativity/innovation, global awareness, cultural competency, problem-solving, teamwork/collaboration and self-directed learning and leadership. "We are not currently providing our students with all the skills they need to be successful in a technologically complex, globally competitive world," said Reville. "These skills are sometimes included in the strategies teachers use to address core subjects, but too often they are neglected. This task force will help the Board find ways to ensure all students receive a more balanced education." The task force, led by Board member and Year Up Founder Gerald Chertavian, will review existing literature on 21st Century skills, identify ways these skills can be integrated into all facets of the curriculum and prepare a white paper to assist the Board and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in further considering these issues. The Task Force members are:
  • James Canavan, Director of Human Resource Operations for Boston Medical Center
  • Harneen Chernow, Board of Education member
  • Gerald Chertavian, Founder of Year Up, Board of Education member, Chairman, Task Force on 21st Century Skills
  • Chris Dede, Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor of Technology, Innovation, and Education
  • Nick Donahue, President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation
  • Paul Dulac, Superintendent of the Marblehead Public Schools
  • Kathy Ennis, Executive Director of Primary Source
  • Charles Fadel, Global Lead, Education for Cisco Systems, Inc.
  • Tom Fortmann, Board of Education member
  • Chris Gabrieli, Chairman of Massachusetts 2020
  • Paul Grogan, President of the Boston Foundation
  • Rep. Patricia Haddad, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Education
  • Robert Richardson, Education Program Manager at Intel
  • George Russell, Executive Vice President of the State Street Corporation
  • Eric Schwarz, President and CEO of Citizen Schools
  • Gail Snowden, CEO of Gail Snowden Consulting Services
  • Adria Steinberg, Vice President of Jobs for the Future
  • Paul Toner, Vice President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association
  • Anita Walker, Executive Director of MA Cultural Council
  • Andrew Zimmer, Broad Institute
  • Isa Zimmerman, University of Massachusetts
The Task Force will meet at the Boston Foundation on June 6, June 27, July 16, August 20, September 9, September 29 and October 15.



Last Updated: May 20, 2008