‘What’s new? 21st Century Education’
This month’s Spotlight on Leadership Series features Pamela Jordan, Idyllwild Arts Foundation president and head of school, speaking to a topic germane to leadership: “What’s New? Education in the 21st Century.”
When a visionary educator leading a premier independent boarding arts school focuses on the horizon, what does she see? “Educational landscapes reforming at a rapid pace. Definitions of excellence are also changing; its achievement requires we consider new models to evolve and expand competencies,” advises Jordan.
Certain an arts-academic curriculum best prepares students to masterfully navigate the terrain of an unformed future, Jordan’s excitement is palpable. She observes, “A deep dive into the realization that families will soon have a multiplicity of choices, that’s the climate we’re in today.”
As a career educator, Jordan’s contribution to strengthening the arts’ influence on educational excellence can’t be understated. Clearly, Jordan’s professional context and passion inform her ability to consider and potentially embrace recognized, yet non-traditional, models.
“We can’t think of schools as brick and mortar, or even operating within set time frames,” adds Jordan. “Our model works, yet considering newly available models that embrace cultural strengths, different economic structures such as for-profit schools with deeper collaborative attributes, micro-schools and the positive leveraging of technology employing student centric curriculums, offer exciting possibilities.”
One way IAA underscores its commitment to the Idyllwild community is by sharing strategic approaches which may offer great promise for students. For in-depth specifics, Jordan speaks at 10 a.m. Monday, July 9, in The Weston Room in the Krone Library building on the Idyllwild Arts campus.
The free series is open to the public and sponsored by the Associates of Idyllwild Arts Foundation.
