Transforming Education

Our 21st Century Schools initiative aims to create a model for educational reform, beginning with schools in Louisiana and Mississippi. It is backed by our US$80 million investment in technology, training programs and Cisco Fellows expertise to dramatically improve education in participating school districts and encourage both community growth and economic development.

Connected Schools

This component of 21S involves extensive network, data center, and physical plant upgrades in the areas of data, voice, and video for improved administrative efficiency, student safety, and greater capacity for sustainable transformation.

Connected Learning

The 21S Fellows are working with experts from Harvard, the Smithsonian Institute, Lesley University, and the Schlechty Center to teach instructors and administrators how to blend new technologies into their lessons to encourage student participation and improved student outcomes.

Connected Communities

21S aims to establish each school as a hub of its community by enabling broadband access, providing affordable computers and offering educational support to parents, teachers, and other members of the community.

Cisco Leadership Fellows for 21S

Thirty Cisco Leadership Fellows will relocate to Mississippi and Louisiana during the first three years of 21S to provide consulting services in educational governance, curriculum development, teacher training, e-learning, and the use of technology in schools.

The 21S Fellows will focus on strategic planning, change management, and the employment of networking technologies and educational tools to support long-term transformation and promote sustainability.

21S Impact

Key 21S accomplishments to date include the deployment of a fully converged voice, video, and data technology infrastructure in all participating Mississippi schools and classrooms, the training of more than 2000 teachers, and the implementation of 28 top-rated educational programs. To date, more than 17,000 students have been directly impacted by the initiative.

For More Information

• 21S Press Kit
• http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2005/hd_102505.html