In order to be a lifetime achiever, graduates also need to become: 

Descriptors of Each Component

Academically Prepared – is prepared for higher education, high skill or high wage jobs. “it is time to hold ourselves and all of our students to a new and higher standard of rigor-one that is defined according to 21st century criteria. It is time for our profession to advocate for accountability systems that will enable us to teach and test the skills that matter most. Our students’ futures-and of our country-are at stake. While having students achieve academic proficiency is a worthy goal, it should only be the starting line. State assessments have become so “high-stakes” that, to often; classroom instruction is geared toward t he sole purpose of passing them. In this respect, state assessments have become the finish line. The student’s ability to apply high-rigor knowledge in a relevant, real world setting needs to be the true finish line”
~ Dr. Bill Daggett, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education.

Cultural Competence – working knowledge of the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of particular social, ethnic, or age groups. Culturally competent graduates have acquired knowledge, skills, and an awareness of cultural differences including the history of other cultures, their traditions, values, and social organizations such as family, community, and political structures. Cultural competence recognizes the value of diversity brought to organizations and the workforce by different cultures. Cultural competence enables service professionals to be more successful providers for the diverse populations they serve. Culturally competent graduates have been exposed to numerous cultures and languages, and have gained proficiency in a second language giving them distinct advantage in a global marketplace.
 
cul•ture (kul´ cher) The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought typical of a population or community at a given time. 

Since the visual and performing arts are vital contributors too, and reflections of a people’s culture, culturally competent graduates have acquired a knowledge of and experience with the visual and performing arts. In a time of high-stakes testing when many schools across the country have abandoned teaching elementary music and art in order to provide a double dosage of standardized test preparation, District 11 remains committed to instruction in music and art as a key component of cultural competence. “The arts contribute to the creative, collaborative and critical thinking skills necessary for a global workforce. We also acknowledge that the arts are inherently valuable as core disciplines themselves, and are a valuable and useful component of effective instruction in other core disciplines.”
~ Colorado State Board of Education Resolution Concerning Arts Education 2005

High Functioning Team Member – demonstrates the ability to work effectively with diverse teams, exercising flexibility and willingness to make necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal, understands different perspectives that team members bring to a task and assumes shared responsibility for collaborative work. A high functioning team member can adapt, collaborate, and has the ability to lead by influence. In addition to being a member of an effective team, a high functioning team member understand his or her unique gifts, talents, and leadership strengths and can apply successful strategies to strengthen his or her effectiveness and productivity.

Innovative Thinker and Problem Solver – “In order for companies to compete in the new global economy, they need every worker to be a “knowledgeable worker”- and to think about how to continuously improve their products, processes, or services. Over and over again, executives claim that the heart of critical thinking and problem-solving skills is the ability to ask the right questions. Even in our best schools, we are teaching kids to memorize much more than to think. In the 21st century, mere memorization won’t get you very far. There’s too much information, and it’s changing and growing exponentially. Besides, most of the information we need is readily available on the nearest computer or PDA screen-provided we know how to access and analyze it. When t he 20th century, rigor meant mastering more- more complex-academic content, 21st century rigor is about creating new knowledge and applying what you know to new problems and situations. For employees to solve problems or to learn new things, they have to know what questions to ask. The ability to ask the right questions is the single most important skill.” ~Tony Wagner, Author of The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach The New Survival Skills Our Children Need- and What We Can Do About It. See the Seven Survival Skills in the 21^st Century Video.

“For business it’s no longer enough to create a product that’s reasonable priced and adequately functional. It must also be beautiful, unique, and meaningful.” Developing young people’s capacities for imagination, creativity, and empathy will be increasingly important for maintaining our country’s competitive advantage in the future.”
~Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Moving from The Information Age to The Conceptual Age  

Effective Use of Information Technology – includes the ability to identify, through whatever medium, information that is accurate, valid, reliable and appropriate to the identified need. It also includes wise and ethnical use of information. Students that have developed information literacy not only consume, but also produce new information through varied forms of media. 21st century graduates must be able to critique and analyze varied media sources to determine relevance, accuracy and author bias. In an age when anyone can instantly publish their thoughts and opinions, students must be able to discern truth from opinion in order to make valid decisions.
 
“Employees in the 21st century have to manage an astronomical amount of information flowing into their work lives on a daily basis. There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren’t prepared to process the information effectively it almost freezes them in their steps. It’s not just the shear quantity of information that represents such a challenge. It is also how rapidly and constantly the information is changing. People who’ve learned to ask great questions and have learned to be inquisitive are the ones who move the fastest in our environment because they solve the biggest problems in ways t hat have most impact on innovation.”
~Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Cisco

Vital Participant in Civic Responsibility – Understanding an individual’s rights and responsibilities as a citizen is a key component of a 21st century graduate. District 11 offers Service Learning projects for students at all levels; elementary, middle and high school to help foster a sense of responsibility and civic pride. In a time of high-stakes testing where many schools across the country have abandoned teaching elementary school social studies in order to provide a double does of reading or math instruction, District 11 remains committed to instruction in key concepts of social studies and civic responsibility grades K-12.

Effective Communicator – oral and written communication is fully developed and demonstrates a person’s ability to deliver persuasive arguments aimed at appropriate audiences. Effective communicators are able to sort through an abundance of information and identify salient concepts. “We are routinely surprised at the difficulty some young people have in communicating, verbal skills, written skills, presentation skills. They have difficulty being clear and concise; it’s hard for them to create focus, energy, and passion around the points they want to make. They are unable to communicate their thoughts effectively. You’re talking to an exec. And the first thing you’ll get asked if you haven’t made it perfectly clear in the first 60 seconds of your presentation is “What do you want me to take away from this meeting?” They don’t know how to answer that question.”
~Mike Summers, Vice President for Global Talent Management at Dell Computers