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Reimagining

education

We believe that nurturing relationships, encouraging passion, and developing agency allows students to impact their today, their future, and the world around them.

Our Approach

Transforming Learning

We believe in a vision of school that bends to the needs of each learner. We partner with schools and districts to realize a more personalized, student-centered model that connects young people to their futures. Our three initiatives provide different entry points to our model and network of resources:

School
Lab Schools

Along with our district partners, we operate two non-criteria, public high schools in Pennsylvania.

Learning Innovation Network

Building off of our seven years of experience and learnings from operating two innovative schools, we coach schools across the country that are personalizing school for students.

Launchpad

Launchpad seeks to directly connect young people to living-wage paying jobs in growing industries, while providing them with the tools to thrive in these roles.

Our Impact

Measuring Real Impact

We value transparency and what our partners say about our model’s ability to engage their students and transform their learning experiences. At the heart of our mission, we seek to transform learning in a way that empowers our students to impact their world.

“Building 21 has been a thought partner and a leader for us…while they work primarily with the high school, their impact can be felt all the way down to our preschool program.”

Dr. Genevra Walters, Kankakee School District

89

Graduation rate at our Lab Schools versus comparable schools rate of 70%.

60

Community and industry partners engage with students to offer authentic learning experiences and mentorship each year.

6000

Students served at our Lab Schools and Learning Innovation Hubs.

3000

Educators and practitioners from all over the world have downloaded our open resources.
Open Resources

Sharing the Work

This work is hard. We hope that by sharing what works for us, we may help you in your journey. View our curated resources, created by our network of schools and contributors, and access our Building 21 Competency Framework to adopt and remix what works for you.

Search Our Library
Of Open Resources
Take Me There
Explore Our Competencies
The Building 21 Competency Framework includes competency sets and learning progressions for many traditional and non-traditional subject areas.
New to
CBE? Start Here!
There are many different entry points to this work and we offer several resources that will help you determine yours.
Design Curriculum for CBE
We host many guides and templates aligned with our competencies that you can use as you design curriculum for your students.
Our Stories

Recent News from Building 21

By building 21 In Annual Reports

A Decade of Learning:

The Power of Relationships 

Building 21 Annual Report 2022-23

 

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Building 21, we’re reflecting on the learnings and milestones of the past decade as well as our progress over the past year. Explore our annual report and discover how the power of relationships has driven our continued innovation and ability to support young people in achieving the futures they deserve.

Read Our Report

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