It is not news that this past spring stay-at-home orders around the country created a spectacular collision between the demands of remote work for parents and at-home learning for our kids. Our Building 21 team was not spared. While our Network directly supports educators with resources for student learning and growth, COVID-19 positioned us [...]
“[Students] need to understand how to come up against problems in society. They need to be able to think. They need to be able to challenge. They need to be able to collaborate. They need to feel empowered enough to have a voice and to use that voice to make change. And I think [...]
David Sparrow, Director of Behavioral Health, Building 21 Philadelphia Earlier this month, David Sparrow and Building 21's TriChange Model were featured on the Philadelphia Learning Collaborative blog. This final piece captures part III of our TriChange series. This excerpt highlights preliminary outcomes to date and provides recommendations for schools thinking about this approach. While [...]
"If a student knows they’re cared about, then it makes all the difference. Reach the person first, and then you can teach him or her anything." Earlier this month, David Sparrow and Building 21's TriChange Model were featured on the Philadelphia Learning Collaborative blog. The excerpt below captures part II of [...]
“This is how we can change the world by voting for who we want to be president and not only for president for other things as well. Our voice is strong enough that if we want it to be heard, we can be heard. [Shannon Salter] gave us confidence. She wanted us to learn [...]
This week, Building 21 Allentown celebrated an exciting win! They were chosen as one of 20 school winners for the 2020 Prom Challenge, a contest launched by When We All Vote and MTV. The students and Shannon Salter, Building 21's Civics and History teacher, were surprised with a [...]
Here at Building 21, we aspire to be innovative in our approach to behavioral health. Over this past year, we have consolidated our efforts in Restorative Practices, Trauma-Informed Care, and Cultural Competency into a model which we call the “TriChange Model”. Our new tripartite model builds on our core design principle - relationships are [...]
What does mastery of an academic skill look like? In education, we are constantly endeavoring to find the best ruler by which to measure student growth towards proficiency in fundamental skills. We believe that the best opportunities for authentically assessing the progress of our students occur when we push them to apply their skills [...]
Inside Allentown School District's Building 21, being 18 is the topic of conversation. "I want to vote and make a difference that could inspire others to vote as well and create a difference," students said. A group of seniors are leading a student voter registration drive for the 2020 elections. You can view [...]
Earlier this month, Building 21 was featured on the Competency Works blog. Tom Gaffey, Building 21's Chief Instructional Technologist, authored a piece that highlights our Learning What Matters Framework and details a few of our introductory professional development activities. We are honored and excited to share our work on a [...]
