24/7 Learning Academy Advances to the Finals in the $50 Million XQ: The Super School Project Grant Challenge

24/7 Learning Academy, an EdTech non-profit, advanced to the final round of a national grant competition and is in the running for a $10 million grant from the XQ: Super School Project to rethink and reimagine the American High School.

“We’re extremely honored and excited to have advanced to the final stages of the XQ Super School Project.  It has been a journey of exploration, sacrifice, teamwork, and innovative thinking that has shaped our vision and path to building the smart school of the future,” says Justice Jones, Co-founder of 24/7 Learning Academy.  “We are thankful and humbled by what we have achieved and the positive impact we can have on the communities we will serve.” 

24/7 Learning Academy will be the first charter high school in Burlington County, New Jersey, located in the town of Willingboro.  This groundbreaking charter school is committed to prepare and enable students of Burlington County to live fruitful and rewarding lives as valued contributors to society.  24/7 Learning Academy’s core team designed an educational model that focuses on personalized and experiential learning approaches that will provide a holistic education.  Students will not only take their core competencies and selected electives; they will play an active role in their education. Students will achieve this by choosing an educational track based on their interests in different fields, such as healthcare, finance, law and advocacy, the arts, and entrepreneurship while learning through real-world internships in their selected track, and community projects.

 
“I cannot adequately express the excitement that I have in playing a role in bringing the school of the future to my hometown,” stated Diallyo Diggs, Co-founder of 24/7 Learning Academy.  “Our team has worked diligently to create a learning institution that will consistently grow and develop with our students and our community.  I hope, through this school, we can demonstrate how truly collaborative education can be and how educating our youth is truly a community activity.”

Being true to its name, 24/7 Learning Academy is changing the concept of the traditional 8-hour school day with an on-site facility open 24/7 by providing students and parents 24/7 access to technological and educational resources.   In addition, 24/7 Learning Academy will offer schedule flexibility which will provide students with the opportunity and time, during school hours, to gain real-life, hands-on experience through internships and participation in community activities, while still attending to their schoolwork.  “By throwing away the convention of an 8-hour school day, our mission is a school that provides our students with a 21st Century education by combining traditional content, real-life skills, and social development 24/7,” says Widlyne Antoine-Filion, Co-founder. 

XQ: The Super School Project, launched in September 2015, is an open call to rethink and redesign the American High School. Thousands of applicants and tens of thousands of supporters from towns and cities across the country have united to take on this important work. Teams of students, teachers, parents, and community leaders, to name just a few, came together to conceptualize innovative models for 21st-century learning and create a pathway to success for students.