[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING FOND DU LAC SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR 21ST CENTURY READINESS

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                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, in order for our students to be competitive 
in the global economy, we must do our part to ensure that they are 
acquiring the knowledge and skills they need for success. The skills 
needed for success go beyond the basics of reading, writing, and math, 
however. When surveyed, employers continually emphasize that, in our 
21st century economy, students need to be adept at critical thinking 
and problem solving; communication; collaboration; and creativity and 
innovation, in addition to being proficient in core subjects.
  While it's important to talk about these skills, it's even more 
important to see and recognize where they are being successfully 
incorporated into educational curriculums at the local level. Fond du 
Lac School District, located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in my 
congressional district, is doing a lot of innovative work to prepare 
its students for success in the 21st century economy. Along with 
officials from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the 
Partnership for 21st Century Skills, I recently visited the Fond du Lac 
School District to learn about their efforts firsthand.
  The Fond du Lac School District, through the leadership of 
Superintendent Dr. James Sebert and John Whitsett, the School 
District's Coordinator of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, 
rewrote the school's entire curriculum in 2005 to fully incorporate 
21st century skills. This fall, all students will be given Google 
Chromebooks to help further integrate technology into their education. 
Also this fall, the Fond du Lac Science, Technology, Engineering, and 
Mathematics (STEM) Academy will open to many 3rd through 5th graders 
through lead teacher Sarah Edbauer. The STEM Academy will focus not 
only on a rigorous STEM curriculum, but it will also place a heavy 
emphasis on project-based and student-led learning as a method for 
teaching 21st century skills.
  The STEM Academy in Fond du Lac is a good example of how community 
partnerships can broaden students' educational experience. Mercury 
Marine, based in Fond du Lac, is a world leader in marine propulsion 
and technology and a major manufacturer of outboard motors and inboard 
engines. The company has partnered in the development of the school's 
STEM Academy because of difficulties it has experienced finding 
qualified applicants to meet its workforce needs. The company conveyed, 
as have numerous other employers, that the nature of manufacturing jobs 
is changing and that successful employees need to be creative, need to 
be able to problem solve, and need to be able to work collaboratively 
with other coworkers, amongst other skills. Through the company's 
partnership with the Fond du Lac STEM Academy, it is hoping to grow a 
local workforce by getting students engaged in practical, real-world 
projects that will help them develop the skills they need to be 
successful when they enter the workforce.
  It's important that Congress recognize the work that is being done in 
communities like Fond du Lac and that we look for ways to support these 
efforts. For these reasons, Rep. Dave Loebsack and I recently formed 
the bipartisan Congressional 21st Century Skills Caucus to inform and 
discuss better ways to promote 21st century skills in our nation's 
educational system. I invite all of my colleagues to join our efforts.

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