2018-2019 Annual Report
This year, our report features many of our outstanding graduates and their reflections on the impact Building 21 has had on their journeys. Please click the image to learn more about our accomplishments in 2018-2019.
Press Release: Building 21 receives grant to support school improvement efforts
Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support Building 21’s goal of building a nationwide network of secondary schools that effectively use data for continuous improvement Building 21 has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the foundation’s Networks for School Improvement (NSI) portfolio. The [...]
Reimaging School
Reimaging school. As easy as riding a bike, right? We think it’s more like setting aside what you know about riding a bike and learning how to ride in a completely different way. Which has been done before. Check out Destin from Smarter Every Day and The Backwards Brain Bicycle. [...]
All the KINGS Men: Peer Mentoring at Building 21 Philadelphia
Faced with his students’ needs, young people of color needing supports in school that go beyond academics, Kevin Gold started something - a weekly lunch group for four young men. It was simple; they met for lunch, shared their stories, their challenges. They went deep, talked about being targeted in school, feeling like people [...]
Welcome back! From Building 21 Allentown
Building 21 Allentown released this welcome video for their families. As Yanalit tells her younger peers, "One thing is for sure, you will work hard! You will also get a chance to choose what you learn based on your passion and interests." Yanalit, her fellow graduates, and Building 21 teachers and staff [...]
Reflections on the Summer Design Institute
In July, we hosted 90 partners and colleagues for the Summer Design Institute, three days of learning, designing, and growing as professionals and adult learners within the Building 21 Network. We welcomed teachers and administrators from across the country, as well as many partners and supporters from across the region and beyond. This year’s [...]
Making Summer Learning Meaningful
As we countdown the days to summer break, school leaders are thinking about summer opportunities for staff professional learning and development. Many of our innovative school peers offer or seek out opportunities to improve their practice and to help teachers further personalize learning for students. Summer feels like a “reset” - a time to [...]
In the News: Building 21 Allentown receives Gold Level “Governor’s Civic Engagement Award”
"Students and staff at Building 21 were honored Monday by the state for its student voter registration drive. The drive signed up 58 students, representing 87 percent of the students who were eligible to register. That earned the school a gold level Governor’s Civic Engagement Award." Building 21's accomplishment was highlighted in two articles [...]
In the News: How $5B Could Provide A Great Education For Every Kid On Earth
"That’s a big budget! With resources of that size, smart teams could take on the most interesting opportunity of our time—quality elementary and secondary education for every young person on earth." "Platform networks that share outcome frameworks (we call them diploma networks like Building 21) have the potential to help schools adopt new goals and learning models [...]
“Do our students have a fair chance?”
“Do our students have a fair chance?” Reimagining the high school transcript and the impact on college admissions As college recruiters sit down to review applicants and choose their incoming freshmen class, how will a mastery-based transcript stand next to a traditional transcript and GPA from another school? Will those around [...]