An untold number of organizations recently received some happy news and 24/7 Learning Academy was one of them. Last Monday, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, revealed that a six-month-old national education challenge she is backing called XQ: The Super School Project would announce which U.S. schools advance to the next, and final, phase. And on Friday, she did just that. The competition will ultimately see at least five institutions receive a collective $50 million to try what will be for them entirely new educational approaches. XQ: The Super School Project launched in September 2015 as 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, community leaders and much more came together to conceptualize innovative models for 21st-century learning and create a pathway to success for students.
Since its launch, XQ has proven to be more than a challenge to create innovative high schools. It is a growing movement to reimagine what is possible for public education in America, and a hub for community voices, cutting edge ideas, and expert resources to make real change possible. 24/7 Learning Academy's participation in the XQ challenge is being spearheaded by Widlyne Antoine Filion, a long-time educator along with Justice Jones, Diallyo Diggs, and 13 XQ team members made of volunteers and interns have been rethinking the education process and working since October 2015 on their XQ proposal.
24/7 Learning Academy will be a flipped high school that combines traditional content area knowledge and 21st Century skills to ensure students have the social and technical competencies to be productive global citizens.
24/7 Learning Academy will offer students different professional tracks, and project-based learning opportunities in the areas of Healthcare, Finance, Law and Advocacy, the Arts (Culinary Arts, Media Production), Entrepreneurship, as well as Agriculture and Alternative Energy.
Students will learn through virtual course work corresponding to local common core standards, internships in their selected track, as well as projects focused on solving problems in their communities.
If named a winner of the XQ challenge, 24/7 Learning Academy hopes to provide a foundation for those interested in pursuing these types of technological jobs and skills that will curtail global challenges of the future. Interested students will complete an application process including, but not limited to, a psychological evaluation. This type of assessment is necessary due to the sensitive nature of the virtual and flipped education models
Winners of the XQ: The Super School Project are being announced in August 2016.