News and Information
Frank Locker keynotes at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Querétaro. Frank spoke on 21st century learning, covering research in learning, effective educational deliveries, innovative school organizational concepts, and next practices classrooms.
News Item
Ohio School Facilities Commission, perhaps the most forward thinking school funding entity in the country, has asked Frank Locker to organize a conference series in three events. The 21st Century School Design Workshop series invited stakeholders from Ohio school districts to participate in “hands-on” workshops to explore 21st century learning and apply it in their home districts. The sequence of three conference dates over two years allows continued communication and sharing of innovations among participants. The second conference date is April 2012..
News Item
Restructuring Career Technical schools is a hot topic across America. Frank Locker has led the Visioning for four of them. The projects have covered several issues which are unique to career-technical schools. In Farmington, ME, Frank led Visioning to redefine the relationships between Foster Technology Center and Mt Blue High School, two schools sharing a building but with nothing in common except their students. The new concept calls for integration of academic and technical learning. For Todd County High School, in Mission, SD, Frank led the Visioning Team in the creation of a new high school based on Career Clusters. Two Pittsfield, MA high schools were visioned to be consolidated into one campus, with career technical programs available for all students through focused Academies. Most recently Frank led stakeholders from Great Works Technical School, Sanford High School, and from the parent/business community, in a county-wide Visioning Team to redefine the educational approach and facilities for career technical learning in rural York County, ME. This effort resulted in the schools winning a planning grant and funding commitment from the Maine Dept of Education through a special initiative from the state legislature. The Vision created by the Futures Team honors best practices in career-technical learning but challenges current state law. New legislation will be necessary to allow stand-alone career-technical schools in Maine before this new learner-centered school can be realized.
News Item
Providence, RI has asked Frank Locker and two of his educational experts, Dr Elizabeth Grady and John Kosko, to develop Career Cluster programs to be deployed at all city high schools. This initiative will make applied learning immediately available to every high school student in Providence.