21st CENTURY COMPETENCIES AT HARRISBURG ACADEMY
Given that our global society is changing at an unprecedented speed, planning how to best prepare our students effectively for the challenges of the 21st century is imperative.  Harrisburg Academy works to answer the tough questions — what our students need to know, how they learn best, and how to assess student competence.  From these questions, many national and worldwide organizations have identified what they believe are the most important competencies for the new 21st century learner, listed below.  These essential capacities promote critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. 

The Academy believes in student mastery of 21st century competencies and is committed to incorporating them in our curriculum and instruction from HATS through grade 12.  The review, planning, and commitment to educating the “whole child” are ongoing, as is our intent to be a “school of the future.”  By successfully accomplishing these goals, we are equipping our students with the tools they need to solve problems in our complex global society, collaborate successful with people from around the world, and nurture our natural resources.

ESSENTIAL CAPACITIES FOR THE 21st CENTURY LEARNER
*An excerpt from the NAIS Commission on Accreditation’s “A 21st Century Imperative: A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future”

1. Analytical and Creative Thinking and Problem-solving

• Identify, manage, and address complex problems
• Detect bias and distinguish between reliable and unsound information
• Control information overload
• Formulate meaningful questions
• Analyze and create ideas and knowledge
• Use trial and error; devise and test solutions to problems
• Imagine alternatives
• Develop cross-disciplinary knowledge and perspectives
• Engage in sustained reasoning
• Synthesize and adapt
• Solve new problems that don’t have rule-based solutions
• Use knowledge and creativity to solve complex “real-world” problems

2. Complex Communication — Oral and Written

• Understand and express ideas in two or more languages
• Communicate clearly to diverse audiences
• Listen attentively
• Speak effectively
• Write clearly and concisely—for a variety of audiences
• Explain information and compellingly persuade others of its implications

3. Leadership and Teamwork

• Initiate new ideas
• Lead through influence
• Build trust, resolve conflicts, and provide support for others
• Facilitate group discussions, forge consensus, and negotiate outcomes
• Teach, coach, and counsel others
• Enlist help
• Collaborate sensitively and productively with people of varied backgrounds
• Coordinate tasks, manage groups, and delegate responsibilities
• Implement decisions and meet goals
• Share the credit

4. Digital and Quantitative Literacy

• Understand, use, and apply digital technologies
• Create digital knowledge and media
• Use multimedia resources to communicate ideas effectively in a variety of formats
• Master and use higher-level mathematics
• Understand traditional and emerging topics in math, science, and technology—environmental sciences, robotics, fractals, cellular automata, nanotechnology, and biotechnology

5. Global Perspective

• Develop open-mindedness, particularly regarding the values and traditions of others
• Study and understand non-western history, politics, religion, and culture
• Develop facility with one or more international language
• Use technology to connect with people and events globally
• Develop social and intellectual skills to navigate effectively across cultures
• Use 21st century skills to understand and address global issues
• Learn from, and work collaboratively with, individuals from diverse cultures, religions, and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue
• Leverage social and cultural differences to create new ideas and achieve success

6. Adaptability, Initiative, and Risk-Taking

• Develop flexibility, agility, and adaptability
• Bring a sense of courage to unfamiliar situations
• Explore and experiment
• Work effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities
• View failure as an opportunity to learn, and acknowledge that innovation involves small successes and frequent mistakes
• Cultivate an independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas, and strategies
• Develop entrepreneurial literacy
• Use creativity and innovation to produce things that are unique and that have value and meaning

7. Integrity and Ethical Decision-Making

• Sustain an empathetic and compassionate outlook
• Foster integrity, honesty, fairness, and respect
• Exhibit moral courage in confronting unjust situations
• Act responsibly, with the interests and well-being of the larger community in mind
• Develop a fundamental understanding of emerging ethical issues and dilemmas regarding new media and technologies
• Make reasoned and ethical decisions in response to complex problems