Future-Ready Skills

Details: Discussions encompasses abilities related to productive dialogue such as active listening, appropriate contribution, and respectful engagement. Students might demonstrate this skill by paying attention to speakers, asking clarifying questions, summarizing to confirm understanding, building on others' ideas, contributing relevant thoughts, inviting input from quieter participants, disagreeing respectfully, or helping maintain productive focus. This skill can be applied in academic discussions, collaborative planning sessions, feedback exchanges, and other contexts requiring dialogue.

Justification: Stakeholder feedback highlighted the importance of discussion skills, with staff noting their value in both educational and professional settings. Families emphasized the importance of respectful exchange of ideas, while students recognized the value of being able to participate effectively in group conversations. Research confirms that the ability to engage productively in discussions is associated with deeper learning, better workplace collaboration, and more effective citizenship. Strong discussion skills support both learning and relationship building across contexts.

Details: Advanced Discussions involves taking on a leadership role in group dialogue to help integrate multiple viewpoints and move toward meaningful outcomes. This might include recognizing when discussions stall, redirecting conversations toward constructive paths, drawing connections between contributions, summarizing complex exchanges, asking probing questions, managing disagreement productively, or helping groups transform talk into conclusions. Students might demonstrate this by leading dialogues that incorporate multiple perspectives, guiding groups through complex topics, or facilitating resolution of conflicting viewpoints.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the value of being able to not just participate in but effectively lead discussions, with staff noting how essential this skill is for workplace leadership roles. Students mentioned the challenges of finding consensus in group discussions, while alumni confirmed that facilitating productive dialogue was crucial for success in higher education and professional settings. Research shows that the ability to synthesize diverse viewpoints and guide collective thinking is associated with effective leadership, successful collaboration on complex problems, and productive group decision-making. As an advanced extension of foundational discussion skills, this capability represents a natural progression from effective participation to skilled facilitation.

Details: Real-Time Presentations involves delivering substantial content to audiences in real-time while demonstrating strong speaking skills. This might include selecting language and examples appropriate for the specific audience and context, using clear speech and organized structure, maintaining confident physical presence, making eye contact to connect with listeners, adjusting voice tone and pace for emphasis, reading audience reactions, or sustaining energy throughout the presentation. Students could demonstrate this skill by presenting research findings using appropriate terminology, delivering speeches on local issues, presenting project outcomes to panels, or leading discussions that require sustained audience attention.

Justification: Real-time presentation skills were strongly emphasized across all stakeholder groups, with staff highlighting their importance for workplace success, families noting their role in professional advancement, students emphasizing their value for academic and future career success, and alumni confirming their essential nature in college and careers. The focus on audience adaptation emerged from stakeholder input about the need for students to communicate appropriately in different contexts. Research consistently shows that presentation skills are among the strongest predictors of professional advancement and are highly valued by employers across industries. Effective presentation abilities are linked to leadership opportunities and success in academic and professional contexts.

Details: Advanced Real-Time Presentations involves creating meaningful impact through strategic presentation choices that go beyond excellent delivery. This might include analyzing audience needs and potential concerns, crafting messages that connect emotionally and intellectually, designing presentation elements to maximize influence, using advanced speaking techniques, creating memorable moments that reinforce key messages, measuring audience response, or documenting specific changes resulting from presentations. Students could demonstrate this skill by delivering presentations that change community opinions with documented shifts in support, presenting proposals that result in funding or partnerships, or creating advocacy presentations that lead to documented policy changes.

Justification: The ability to create measurable influence through presentations was emphasized across stakeholder groups, with staff highlighting its importance for leadership and advocacy roles. Students noted the value of being able to persuade others effectively and create real change through communication, while alumni confirmed that the capacity to influence audiences was essential in leadership positions. Research shows that strategic communication resulting in measurable impact is associated with leadership effectiveness, successful advocacy, and professional advancement. This skill naturally extends beyond basic presentation competence to focus on documented influence and strategic thinking about audience engagement.

Details: Written Communication involves expressing thoughts and information in writing with clarity, coherence, and appropriate style. This may include organizing ideas logically, using relevant supporting details, maintaining consistent voice and tone, applying conventions of grammar and mechanics, or adapting writing for different purposes and audiences. Students might demonstrate this skill by composing various forms of writing, revising based on feedback, or effectively communicating complex ideas through written words.

Justification: Stakeholder input consistently emphasized the importance of writing skills, with alumni noting how essential these skills are in college and professional environments. Families and staff highlighted the need for students to communicate professionally in writing, while students recognized the value of being able to express themselves clearly in written form. Research confirms that written communication skills are powerful predictors of academic success and are consistently among the most sought-after skills by employers across industries.

Details: Advanced Written Communication involves adapting writing approaches for different contexts while respecting diverse communication styles. This could include recognizing that effective written communication varies across cultural contexts, adapting format and style for different environments while honoring one's cultural identity, understanding that "professional" writing conventions differ globally, using accessible language when appropriate, considering translation needs for multilingual audiences, acknowledging various literacy traditions beyond Western academic styles, and recognizing when visual or oral communication might complement or be more effective than written formats.

Justification: The need to communicate effectively across various platforms was highlighted by stakeholders, with staff emphasizing how modern communication spans multiple formats and contexts. Students noted challenges in adapting writing for different audiences and platforms, while alumni confirmed that versatile yet consistent communication was essential in both higher education and professional environments. Research shows that cross-platform communication skills are increasingly valued in workplaces where messaging must remain consistent despite being delivered through diverse channels. This skill naturally extends foundational writing abilities by focusing on purposeful adaptation while maintaining coherent voice.

Details: Networking relates to establishing professional connections that provide mutual support, information exchange, and opportunity development. This might include initiating contact with potential connections, communicating professional interests and goals, seeking and offering assistance, or developing diverse contacts. Students could demonstrate this skill by building connections with peers, teachers, community members, or professionals; leveraging networks for information or opportunities; or contributing value to connections through reciprocal support.

Justification: Relationship building was identified by stakeholders, particularly families and alumni, as an important skill that students often lack upon graduation. Students recognized the importance of "making connections" and "learning how to talk to people who can help," while alumni emphasized how crucial networking had been for their college and career success. Research confirms that relationship skills are associated with greater access to opportunities, information, and support in both educational and professional contexts. The ability to build professional connections is consistently identified as a key factor in career development and advancement across fields.

Details: Advanced Networking involves cultivating and sustaining reciprocal connections that create value across diverse cultural contexts. This might include identifying meaningful connection opportunities that respect various cultural approaches to relationship-building, developing inclusive and accessible methods for maintaining contact, creating opportunities for mutual benefit that acknowledge different values systems, building bridges between diverse groups, accessing networks for varied forms of knowledge and resources, or understanding how different cultures measure relationship value. Students could demonstrate this skill across various cultural contexts, including those that prioritize communal connections over transactional ones.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of not just making but strategically managing professional relationships, with alumni particularly noting how crucial this was for career advancement. Students recognized the value of "making connections that matter," while staff highlighted how strategic networking opens doors to opportunities. Research confirms that intentional relationship building focused on mutual benefit is associated with career success, organizational effectiveness, and innovation through cross-pollination of ideas. This skill naturally extends basic relationship-building abilities by focusing on strategic cultivation of networks that produce measurable value over time.

Details: Multilingual Communication involves expression and comprehension across different languages and communication systems. This might include developing proficiency in multiple languages (including sign languages), valuing non-dominant languages and dialects, understanding cultural nuances beyond direct translation, respecting language variation, recognizing how power dynamics affect language use in different contexts, appreciating diverse forms of expression including those that blend languages, and communicating effectively with translation support when needed. Students could demonstrate this skill by engaging respectfully across language differences, whether through their own multilingual abilities or through thoughtful use of translation resources.

Justification: Multilingual abilities were highlighted by stakeholders as valuable in an increasingly global environment. Staff noted how language skills open opportunities in education and careers, while families emphasized the practical advantages of communicating across cultural boundaries. Students expressed interest in connecting with diverse communities through language learning. Research confirms that multilingualism is associated with enhanced cognitive flexibility, stronger cultural intelligence, and competitive advantage in global workplaces. The ability to communicate across language barriers is increasingly valued in international business, diplomacy, healthcare, and numerous other fields, making this a valuable distinction skill for students preparing for a global future.

Details: Nonverbal Communication involves intentional use of physical cues, expressions, gestures, and spatial awareness to enhance understanding and connection. This might include maintaining appropriate eye contact across cultural contexts, using complementary gestures, recognizing others' nonverbal signals, adapting body language to different settings, managing physical presence to convey confidence, or ensuring consistency between verbal and nonverbal messages. Students could demonstrate this skill by using physical cues to enhance verbal communication, interpreting nonverbal signals accurately, adjusting for different contexts, or creating stronger connections through aligned messaging.

Justification: Stakeholder input highlighted the importance of comprehensive communication skills, with staff noting how nonverbal elements often convey more meaning than words alone. Students mentioned challenges in "reading the room" and interpreting others' reactions, while families emphasized the importance of appropriate physical presentation in professional contexts. Research shows that nonverbal communication accounts for a significant portion of message interpretation and is crucial for building rapport, establishing credibility, and conveying confidence. Proficiency in nonverbal communication is associated with leadership effectiveness, successful negotiations, and stronger interpersonal relationships across professional and personal contexts, making it a valuable distinction skill that complements verbal abilities.

Details: Cooperation involves working productively with others from various backgrounds and perspectives to achieve common objectives. This might include valuing team diversity, respecting different viewpoints, finding common ground amid disagreement, addressing conflicts constructively, communicating effectively in groups, supporting team members, fulfilling commitments, or maintaining positive relationships while pursuing goals. Students could demonstrate this skill by collaborating with diverse peers, navigating interpersonal tensions constructively, identifying common ground during disagreement, or contributing to positive team dynamics in challenging circumstances.

Justification: Stakeholder input consistently emphasized both teamwork and conflict resolution as essential skills, with students specifically noting the need to work effectively with diverse peers, including those they might not naturally choose to work with. Families and staff highlighted the lifelong importance of being able to navigate differences constructively while maintaining productive relationships. Alumni confirmed that the ability to work well with diverse teams and resolve conflicts effectively were among the most valuable skills in both college and workplace settings. Research indicates that cooperative skills are consistently among the most highly valued by employers and are associated with greater innovation, problem-solving capacity, and career advancement.

Details: Advanced Cooperation involves guiding diverse groups toward exceptional outcomes by using differences as creative assets. This might include creating environments where diverse thinking is encouraged, establishing processes for engaging with different viewpoints, helping team members recognize value in different perspectives, facilitating constructive disagreement that leads to innovation, developing strategies to overcome team polarization, or documenting how diverse perspectives contributed to solutions. Students could demonstrate this skill by leading diverse groups to achieve outcomes that exceed what would be possible without multiple perspectives, transforming potential conflicts into innovation catalysts, or cultivating team cultures where differences are valued as assets.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of leadership that effectively harnesses diversity, with staff noting the relationship between diverse perspectives and innovation. Students mentioned the challenges and rewards of working across differences, while alumni confirmed that the ability to lead diverse teams was highly valued in both higher education and professional contexts. Research consistently shows that teams leveraging diverse perspectives outperform homogeneous groups in innovation and complex problem-solving. This skill naturally extends foundational cooperation by focusing on leadership that transforms diversity into a strategic advantage rather than simply managing differences.

Details: Accountability in collaboration means reliably meeting obligations to group efforts and demonstrating ownership for contributions. This might include completing tasks as promised, communicating about potential challenges, following through on commitments, maintaining quality standards, or taking ownership of successes and missteps. Students could demonstrate this skill by being dependable for their peers, establishing trust through consistent follow-through, managing time to meet collaborative deadlines, or understanding how their individual contributions affect collective outcomes.

Justification: All stakeholder groups emphasized the importance of accountability, with alumni and staff particularly noting how essential this skill is in higher education and workplace settings where independence is expected. Families highlighted accountability as a core life skill, while students recognized its importance for earning trust from peers and teachers. Research confirms that accountability and responsibility are consistently valued by employers and are predictive of academic success, workplace performance, and positive team dynamics. The ability to fulfill commitments reliably is a foundational element of building professional reputation and relationships.

Details: Advanced Accountability involves designing and implementing structures that promote collective responsibility and reliable execution across teams. This might include establishing clear expectations and success criteria, developing transparent tracking systems, creating processes for addressing accountability issues, aligning individual motivations with team objectives, fostering cultures of mutual support, or evaluating system effectiveness through performance indicators. Students could demonstrate this skill by designing accountability frameworks that enhance team performance, implementing practices that increase follow-through, addressing accountability breakdowns systematically, or creating environments where members feel both personally responsible and mutually supportive.

Justification: The need for systems that foster collective accountability was highlighted by stakeholders, with staff emphasizing how structured approaches improve team performance. Students noted challenges in ensuring everyone contributes fairly to group work, while alumni confirmed that creating accountability cultures was essential in leadership roles. Research shows that systematic approaches to accountability are associated with higher team performance, decreased social loafing, and more effective project execution. This skill naturally extends individual accountability by focusing on creating environments and structures that foster ownership and reliable execution across entire teams.

Details: Feedback encompasses both offering helpful guidance to others and incorporating suggestions into one's own work. This might include delivering feedback that is specific, actionable, balanced, and respectful; receiving feedback non-defensively; distinguishing between feedback about work and personal criticism; or using input to improve outcomes. Students could demonstrate this skill by offering perspectives that help others improve, receiving critiques openly, implementing relevant suggestions, or engaging in improvement through feedback cycles.

Justification: Stakeholder input highlighted the importance of both giving and receiving feedback effectively, with staff noting its central role in professional growth. Students recognized the challenges of offering constructive criticism to peers while maintaining positive relationships. Alumni confirmed that the ability to incorporate feedback was essential for success in higher education and careers. Research demonstrates that effective feedback exchange is associated with improved performance, stronger relationships, and enhanced learning outcomes. The ability to engage productively with feedback is consistently identified as a key factor in continuous improvement and professional development.

Details: Advanced Feedback involves creating systematic approaches to exchanging and incorporating input that enhance both outcomes and relationships. This might include designing feedback protocols for specific contexts, establishing regular input cycles, creating psychologically safe environments, teaching effective feedback techniques, measuring feedback impact on work quality and team functioning, or refining approaches based on effectiveness data. Students could demonstrate this skill by developing customized feedback systems, implementing processes that lead to documented improvements, creating environments where constructive feedback flows naturally, or maintaining healthy team dynamics through skillful feedback management.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of structured feedback processes, with staff noting how essential these are for continuous improvement. Students mentioned difficulties with inconsistent or poorly delivered feedback, while alumni confirmed that systematizing feedback was crucial in both academic and professional environments. Research shows that structured feedback approaches are associated with higher performance, stronger team cohesion, and more effective learning cultures. This skill naturally extends basic feedback abilities by focusing on designing systems that make effective feedback exchange routine and measurable, rather than ad hoc and variable.

Details: Role Flexibility involves shifting between different team roles and contributions based on project requirements and team dynamics. This might include alternating between leading and following, recognizing needed team functions in different situations, filling gaps in team capabilities, contributing diverse skills across projects, adapting work style to complement team members, stepping forward when expertise is relevant, or stepping back when others' strengths apply. Students could demonstrate this skill by providing different contributions across collaborative contexts, moving between leadership and supportive positions, or adjusting their approach based on team composition and project requirements.

Justification: Role flexibility emerged as an important aspect of collaboration across stakeholder input. Staff emphasized the value of students who can both lead effectively and support others' leadership, while students noted challenges in navigating different collaborative roles. Alumni highlighted how workplace success often depends on the ability to contribute in multiple ways across different team contexts. Research confirms that role flexibility is increasingly valued in modern collaborative environments where adaptable team structures are common. The capacity to shift between different functions within teams is associated with greater team effectiveness, innovation, and individual career advancement. In educational and professional settings, those who can contribute across diverse roles are particularly valuable in dynamic, project-based environments.

Details: Advanced Role Flexibility involves not only shifting between team roles but actively helping others develop this capability. This might include analyzing team composition to identify capability gaps, stepping into needed functions while developing others who can fill those roles, creating opportunities for members to practice unfamiliar functions, providing coaching for role transitions, documenting collective flexibility development, or cultivating adaptability-valuing team cultures. Students could demonstrate this skill by assessing team capabilities and needs, filling role gaps while developing others for those functions, creating development pathways that increase team adaptability, or building environments where members comfortably shift between functions as needs evolve.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the value of helping others develop adaptability, with staff noting how this creates more resilient teams. Students mentioned the benefits of mentorship in trying new roles, while alumni confirmed that developing versatility in others was highly valued in leadership positions. Research shows that teams with distributed role flexibility capabilities are more adaptive to changing circumstances and more resilient in the face of challenges. This skill naturally extends personal role flexibility by focusing on developing this capability in others, thereby creating teams with distributed adaptability rather than relying on a single flexible team member.

Details: Remote Collaboration involves creating and maintaining effective team functions when working across physical distances using digital tools. This might include establishing clear communication protocols for distributed teams, selecting appropriate platforms for collaborative purposes, developing documentation systems for asynchronous progress, creating shared understanding despite limited face-to-face interaction, establishing cohesion-maintaining norms, balancing synchronous and asynchronous work, troubleshooting technology issues, or fostering trust without physical co-presence. Students could demonstrate this skill by establishing productive distributed environments, implementing seamless cross-location collaboration systems, integrating digital tools for team functions, or maintaining engagement despite physical separation.

Justification: The importance of effective remote collaboration was emphasized across stakeholder groups, with staff noting its growing prevalence in modern work environments. Students expressed interest in mastering digital collaboration tools, while alumni confirmed that the ability to work effectively with distributed teams was increasingly valued in higher education and workplaces. Research shows that structured approaches to remote collaboration significantly improve outcomes in distributed teams and are increasingly essential as organizations adopt flexible work arrangements. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, making remote collaboration skills not just advantageous but often necessary for academic and professional success. This skill represents a distinct capability beyond basic collaboration, focusing specifically on the unique challenges and opportunities of working across distances.

Details: Conflict Mediation involves facilitating constructive resolution between disagreeing parties to find mutually acceptable solutions. This might include establishing neutral ground for dialogue, helping parties articulate underlying interests rather than fixed positions, fostering mutual understanding across perspectives, redirecting unproductive conflict patterns, generating potential solutions for core concerns, facilitating compromise negotiation, documenting agreements, or establishing follow-up procedures for sustained resolution. Students could demonstrate this skill by creating safe spaces for addressing differences, helping identify shared interests despite opposing positions, guiding development of mutually beneficial solutions, or transforming potential conflicts into relationship-strengthening opportunities.

Justification: Stakeholder input consistently emphasized the importance of conflict resolution skills, with staff noting their essential role in maintaining productive team environments. Students specifically mentioned challenges in working with peers with different viewpoints or work styles, while families highlighted the lifelong value of being able to navigate interpersonal tensions constructively. Research confirms that effective conflict mediation skills are associated with stronger team cohesion, reduced workplace stress, increased innovation through productive disagreement, and more sustainable relationship outcomes. The ability to facilitate resolution between conflicting parties is particularly valued in leadership roles and is consistently identified as a key factor in maintaining healthy organizational cultures, making this a valuable distinction skill that builds upon basic collaboration capabilities.

Details: Information Literacy encompasses the cycle of information use across traditional and digital contexts. This might include recognizing when information is needed, finding appropriate sources, evaluating content for credibility and bias, synthesizing information from multiple sources, citing sources properly, navigating digital platforms safely, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable online sources, understanding privacy concerns, or using information responsibly. Students could demonstrate this skill by finding and evaluating information across formats, critically assessing online content, using digital tools appropriately for different tasks, or applying information to address questions or solve problems.

Justification: Stakeholders across groups emphasized the importance of finding, evaluating, and using information responsibly in both traditional and digital contexts. Staff highlighted the need for students to develop research skills and digital competencies that would transfer to college and careers, while families emphasized the importance of fact-checking, source evaluation, and responsible technology use. Students noted challenges in finding reliable information and navigating digital environments safely. Research confirms that comprehensive information literacy, including digital components, is increasingly critical in both academic and workplace settings, and is associated with better decision-making, more effective problem-solving, and stronger critical thinking overall.

Details: Advanced Information Literacy involves sophisticated evaluation of information ecosystems and how they shape knowledge consumption and production. This might include analyzing implicit biases in media content, investigating various influences on information presentation and distribution, examining curation mechanisms and their effects on discourse, tracing information provenance through networks, evaluating information governance and economics, applying verification techniques to distinguish fact from misinformation, or strategically employing validated information for specific challenges. Students could demonstrate this skill by deconstructing media messages to identify biases, explaining how various factors influence information exposure, developing strategies to overcome digital manipulation, or applying verified information to produce evidence-based solutions for complex issues.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the growing importance of advanced media evaluation skills, with staff noting how crucial these abilities are in an age of information abundance and various curation mechanisms. Families expressed concern about students' ability to navigate manipulative information environments, while students themselves noted challenges in determining what information to trust online. Research confirms that sophisticated information evaluation skills are increasingly essential for effective citizenship, academic success, and professional decision-making in contemporary contexts. This skill naturally extends foundational information literacy by focusing on the critical analysis of media creation, distribution systems, and strategic application of validated information.

Details: Analysis involves a methodical process of critically evaluating evidence to develop well-supported claims with sound reasoning. This might include gathering relevant evidence from reliable sources, assessing evidence quality and credibility, formulating clear claims based on evaluated evidence, connecting evidence to claims through logical reasoning, identifying patterns within data, distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information, detecting reasoning flaws, or building sound arguments for justified conclusions. Students could demonstrate this skill by systematically examining complex information, constructing valid evidence-supported claims, articulating reasoning that connects evidence to claims, or using analytical processes to guide decisions and actions.

Justification: All stakeholder groups emphasized the importance of analytical skills, with staff highlighting their role in academics and problem-solving, families noting their importance for informed decision-making, and alumni confirming their value in higher education and professional contexts. Students recognized the need to carefully evaluate information before drawing conclusions. Research consistently shows that analytical skills, particularly those involving the claim-evidence-reasoning framework, are strong predictors of academic achievement, career advancement, and effective citizenship. The ability to systematically examine evidence to develop well-reasoned claims is essential across disciplines and contexts, and provides a foundation for effective decision-making and problem-solving.

Details: Advanced Analysis involves integrating conflicting information and viewpoints to construct nuanced understandings that acknowledge complexity rather than seeking simplistic answers. This might include identifying tensions between evidence sources and explanatory frameworks, mapping agreement and disagreement areas across perspectives, recognizing legitimate uncertainty in complex topics, developing explanations that incorporate contradictory elements, articulating single-perspective analysis limitations, reconciling incompatible viewpoints by identifying underlying assumptions, or producing accounts reflecting multi-faceted issue nature. Students could demonstrate this skill by developing explanations that integrate competing evidence without oversimplification, articulating strengths and limitations of contradictory perspectives, identifying factors contributing to incompatible interpretations, or constructing accounts of complex phenomena that acknowledge tensions.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of handling complexity and contradiction, with staff noting how essential these skills are for addressing real-world issues that rarely have simple answers. Students mentioned challenges in reconciling conflicting information sources, while alumni confirmed that the ability to synthesize competing perspectives was highly valued in both higher education and professional environments. Research shows that advanced analytical abilities that embrace rather than avoid complexity are associated with more effective problem-solving, more nuanced understanding, and better decision-making in ambiguous contexts. This skill naturally extends foundational analysis by focusing on synthesis across contradictions rather than selection of a single interpretive framework.

Details: Modeling involves examining systems and creating representations that capture essential features for understanding, prediction, or testing. This might include identifying key variables and relationships within systems, translating complex scenarios into simplified representations, constructing mathematical or conceptual models, making predictions about behavior or outcomes, testing predictions against evidence, revising models based on new information, recognizing model limitations, comparing different models, or transferring modeling approaches across contexts. Students could demonstrate this skill by developing system diagrams, creating mathematical relationship representations, building simulations, constructing physical models, evaluating model prediction accuracy, or identifying when models need refinement.

Justification: The mathematical practices explicitly state students should "model with mathematics," while the science practices include "developing and using models" as a core competency. Design thinking, which is taught and used at ILHS, significantly incorporates modeling through its emphasis on prototyping, testing, and iterative refinement of solutions. While not always labeled explicitly in stakeholder feedback, concepts related to modeling appeared in discussions about students' need to understand complex systems and relationships. Staff mentioned skills related to "visualization" and "systems thinking," while students noted the importance of understanding patterns and connections. Research shows that modeling skills are strongly associated with success in STEM fields and are increasingly important in business, social sciences, and other areas. The ability to represent complex situations is linked to deeper understanding, more effective problem-solving, and improved communication of complex ideas across contexts. Including this skill addresses a significant gap in our framework while supporting students' development of higher-order thinking capabilities valued across academic and professional settings.

Details: Advanced Modeling involves creating sophisticated system representations that enable scenario testing and evidence-based decisions. This might include translating complex real-world systems into manipulable models capturing essential relationships, developing multiple model variations for alternative assumptions, predicting outcomes under different scenarios, calibrating models against real-world data, documenting model limitations and confidence levels, integrating insights from multiple model types, or connecting model-based predictions to concrete decision criteria. Students could demonstrate this skill by constructing complex system representations, systematically testing alternative scenarios, refining models based on evidence to improve accuracy, or applying modeling insights to guide specific real-world decisions.

Justification: The ability to model systems for decision-making was emphasized by stakeholders, with staff noting its importance for addressing complex problems methodically. Students expressed interest in tools for predicting outcomes of different actions, while alumni confirmed that modeling skills were highly valued in both academic and professional contexts. Research shows that advanced modeling capabilities are strongly associated with effective decision-making, strategic planning, and innovation across fields. This skill naturally extends foundational modeling by focusing on comparative scenario evaluation and application to specific decisions rather than basic representation and prediction.

Details: Problem-Solving involves tackling substantive issues or needs in communities, environments, or systems beyond personal challenges. This might include identifying real-world problems worth solving, researching existing approaches, defining problem parameters, analyzing root causes and system interactions, generating multiple solution concepts, prototyping potential solutions, testing ideas with stakeholders, implementing feedback-based solutions, or evaluating real-world impact. Students could demonstrate this skill by producing needs assessments, design briefs, stakeholder-tested solution prototypes, impact evaluations, or documentation of condition improvements in specific contexts.

Justification: Problem-solving for real-world challenges was consistently emphasized by all stakeholder groups. Staff highlighted its importance for preparing students to address meaningful problems, families noted how solving community issues builds lifelong capabilities, and alumni confirmed that the ability to tackle substantive problems was highly valued in both higher education and workplaces. Students expressed interest in applying their knowledge to address authentic challenges. Research consistently identifies the ability to solve meaningful problems as essential for innovation, civic engagement, and professional success. Students who can demonstrate their capacity to identify and address significant issues in communities and systems are better prepared for the complex problem-solving demanded in further education, careers, and citizenship.

Details: Advanced Problem-Solving focuses on developing flexible solutions that can adjust to evolving circumstances and conditions of high uncertainty. This might include analyzing problems with interconnected factors and shifting parameters, developing solution frameworks with feedback mechanisms, designing adaptable interventions, establishing monitoring systems for evolving contexts, implementing iterative improvement cycles, anticipating potential parameter shifts, or documenting solution evolution in response to changing conditions. Students could demonstrate this skill by developing responses to high-uncertainty problems, implementing solutions with adaptation mechanisms, adjusting approaches based on emerging information, or showing how their solutions evolved effectively as conditions changed.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of addressing problems that have no fixed solution, with staff noting the prevalence of such challenges in modern contexts. Students mentioned the need to adapt when initial approaches don't work, while alumni confirmed that developing flexible responses to evolving problems was essential in both higher education and professional environments. Research shows that advanced problem-solving in conditions of uncertainty is increasingly valued across fields and is associated with innovation, effective leadership, and successful navigation of complex systems. This skill naturally extends foundational problem-solving by focusing on adaptive responses to evolving challenges rather than fixed solutions to well-defined problems.

Details: Data Literacy involves working with quantitative and qualitative information to draw valid conclusions while recognizing limitations. This might include selecting appropriate data collection methods for specific questions, cleaning and preparing datasets for analysis, applying analytical tools and statistical techniques to identify patterns and relationships, visualizing data effectively to communicate findings, identifying confounding variables and potential biases in datasets, determining when correlation might indicate causation, recognizing the limitations of available data, and communicating data-based conclusions in accessible ways to non-technical audiences. Students could demonstrate this skill by using appropriate analytical tools, creating effective data visualizations, identifying potential errors or misinterpretations, and communicating evidence-based conclusions with appropriate caveats about reliability and generalizability.

Justification: The importance of sophisticated data interpretation was emphasized across stakeholder groups, with staff noting how essential these skills are in research and evidence-based decision-making. Students mentioned interest in learning how to "understand numbers and statistics better" and use analytical tools effectively, while alumni confirmed that data analysis capabilities were highly valued in both higher education and professional environments. Research shows that data literacy is increasingly crucial across fields as organizations become more data-driven in their operations and decision-making. The ability to work effectively with analytical tools to interpret complex datasets while recognizing limitations is consistently identified as a distinguishing capability that opens opportunities across sectors, particularly in fields requiring evidence-based approaches to problem-solving and decision-making.

Details: Information Management involves organizing knowledge assets using consistent systems that enable efficient retrieval and maintain integrity. This might include developing taxonomies for categorizing information types, implementing searchable storage systems with metadata, establishing version control protocols, creating backup procedures, developing permission structures for sensitive information, establishing documentation standards for retrievability, implementing maintenance procedures to prevent information decay, or designing systems accommodating growth and changing needs. Students could demonstrate this skill by designing information architectures, implementing sustainable organization systems, developing data integrity maintenance protocols, or creating efficient information retrieval methods.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the growing importance of systematic information organization, with staff noting how crucial these abilities are for research, project management, and knowledge work. Students mentioned challenges in "keeping track of everything" across multiple classes and projects, while alumni confirmed that organized information management was essential in both academic and professional contexts. Research shows that systematic approaches to information organization significantly improve productivity, reduce errors, and enhance collaborative work by ensuring knowledge accessibility. As information volume continues to grow exponentially, the ability to develop sustainable systems for organizing and retrieving knowledge becomes increasingly valuable across fields, making this a distinct capability beyond basic information literacy that provides significant advantage in information-intensive environments.

Details: Mental Flexibility involves adapting thinking processes, considering alternative approaches, and connecting ideas across different domains when faced with new information or changing circumstances. This might include shifting between thinking modes (analytical, creative, practical), considering problems from multiple angles, challenging personal assumptions, adapting approaches when initial methods aren't working, remaining open to contradictory ideas, identifying cross-disciplinary concepts, transferring methods between fields, or synthesizing perspectives from various fields. Students could demonstrate this skill by thinking beyond conventional approaches, adapting quickly to changing circumstances, considering alternative explanations, connecting seemingly disparate subjects, applying knowledge from one area to another, or developing innovative cross-domain approaches.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of flexible thinking, with staff noting its value for innovation and adaptation. Families highlighted the importance of being able to adjust approaches when needed, while students recognized the value of being able to adapt their thinking in new situations. The ability to make connections between disciplines was also valued, with staff emphasizing the importance of seeing connections between fields of knowledge, families noting the value of broad, integrated understanding, and alumni highlighting how interconnected knowledge becomes in higher education and careers. Research confirms that mental flexibility and cross-disciplinary thinking are associated with creativity, innovation, and effective problem-solving, particularly in complex or changing environments. These integrated skills are increasingly valued in educational and professional contexts that require adaptation to changing circumstances and the ability to approach problems from multiple perspectives.

Details: Advanced Mental Flexibility involves deliberately applying diverse cognitive frameworks to redefine problems and discover novel approaches. This might include analyzing problems through multiple disciplinary lenses, identifying and challenging limiting assumptions, methodically applying different cognitive strategies, documenting how perspectives from diverse fields inform solution strategies, or demonstrating how reframing reveals opportunities invisible through conventional analysis. Students could demonstrate this skill by systematically applying multiple thinking paradigms to the same challenge, documenting how different cognitive approaches yield distinct solution paths, identifying solution opportunities that emerge specifically from cognitive reframing, or developing approaches that transcend discipline-specific limitations through cross-domain synthesis.

Justification: Stakeholders emphasized the importance of thinking beyond conventional approaches, with staff noting how essential this is for innovation and problem-solving in rapidly changing environments. Students mentioned the value of "seeing things differently" when stuck on a problem, while alumni confirmed that the ability to reframe challenges was particularly valued in leadership and innovation roles. Research shows that deliberate application of multiple cognitive frameworks is associated with breakthrough thinking, innovative solutions, and effective navigation of complex, novel challenges. This skill naturally extends foundational mental flexibility by focusing on systematic reframing that produces documented novel solution paths rather than general adaptability across thinking modes.

Details: Ideation encompasses the process of working with ideas, from initial generation through refinement to selection of promising options. This might include brainstorming possibilities without premature judgment, building upon initial ideas, combining existing concepts in new ways, evaluating ideas against criteria, or selecting promising approaches for further development. Students could demonstrate this skill by producing numerous diverse ideas, overcoming creative blocks, refining rough concepts into workable solutions, or identifying ideas with the greatest potential for addressing situations.

Justification: Stakeholders across groups recognized the importance of idea generation and development, with staff noting its role in innovation and problem-solving. Students highlighted the value of creativity in academic projects and beyond, while families emphasized the importance of original thinking in a changing world. Research confirms that ideation skills are associated with innovation, entrepreneurship, and adaptability in both academic and professional contexts. The ability to generate and develop ideas is increasingly valued in workplaces undergoing rapid change and facing complex challenges that require novel solutions.

Details: Advanced Ideation involves facilitating group creative processes to generate and develop high-potential ideas. This might include analyzing ideation challenges to determine appropriate methodologies, selecting and adapting specific techniques based on context and goals, establishing psychological safety for creative risk-taking, managing group dynamics to maximize diverse contributions, guiding transitions between divergent and convergent thinking phases, developing criteria for idea evaluation aligned with project objectives, facilitating idea selection and refinement processes, and documenting how collaborative approaches yielded superior outcomes to individual efforts. Students could demonstrate this skill by designing and facilitating ideation sessions for different purposes, selecting specific techniques tailored to particular challenges, managing group dynamics to enhance creative output, and demonstrating how their facilitation improved both idea quality and participant engagement compared to unstructured approaches.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the value of facilitating group creativity, with staff noting how structured approaches can dramatically improve collaborative innovation. Students mentioned challenges in coordinating group brainstorming effectively, while alumni confirmed that the ability to orchestrate collaborative ideation was highly valued in both higher education and professional contexts. Research shows that facilitated ideation using appropriate techniques consistently outperforms unstructured approaches in both quality and quantity of viable ideas. This skill naturally extends foundational ideation by focusing on orchestrating group processes rather than individual idea generation and development.

Details: Creative Courage involves willingness to investigate unproven approaches and ideas despite possible failure or criticism. This might include stepping beyond familiar approaches, pursuing unusual or uncertain ideas, sharing creative work despite vulnerability, learning from unsuccessful attempts, calculating which paths are worth pursuing, or balancing creative experimentation with appropriate safeguards. Students could demonstrate this skill by pushing boundaries in thinking and creative work, overcoming fear that limits creative potential, distinguishing between productive and unproductive risks, or developing resilience when creative attempts don't succeed.

Justification: The importance of creative courage emerged in stakeholder input, with staff noting its connection to innovation and growth. Students highlighted the need to "learn how to fail" and "try things even when you're not sure they'll work," while families emphasized the value of courage and resilience in creative pursuits. Research confirms that willingness to take calculated risks is strongly associated with creative achievement across domains. The capacity to pursue uncertain but promising possibilities despite potential setbacks is consistently identified as a key factor in innovation and creative development. In educational and professional contexts, creative courage is increasingly valued as an essential complement to more analytical and structured approaches.

Details: Advanced Creative Courage involves not only pursuing but actively promoting innovative approaches that diverge significantly from conventional practice. This might include identifying areas where established norms limit progress, researching historical norm challenges, developing approaches outside mainstream practice, advocating for experimental approaches despite resistance, creating protected spaces for radical ideas, documenting instructive successes and failures, building support coalitions for unconventional directions, or analyzing how norm-challenging contributes to innovation. Students could demonstrate this skill by articulating how specific norms constrain progress, developing and promoting outside-parameter approaches, creating high-risk creative exploration support structures, or demonstrating value created through deliberate convention-challenging.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of not just pursuing but championing unconventional approaches, with staff noting how institutional inertia often prevents beneficial innovation. Students mentioned interest in "breaking the rules" purposefully to achieve creative breakthroughs, while alumni confirmed that the willingness to challenge established practices was highly valued in innovation-focused roles. Research shows that significant advances across fields often emerge from deliberate challenges to dominant paradigms rather than incremental improvements within existing frameworks. This skill naturally extends foundational creative courage by focusing on developing and promoting unconventional approaches rather than simply pursuing untested ideas.

Details: Expression involves conveying thoughts, feelings, or viewpoints through artistic or imaginative means beyond conventional communication. This might include selecting appropriate creative mediums for specific messages, developing personal creative voice or style, experimenting with innovative expression forms, using creative devices effectively, or considering audience experience when designing creative works. Students could demonstrate this skill by expressing complex ideas through visual, written, multimedia, or performance-based forms; using creative approaches to engage audiences; or selecting techniques that enhance message communication.

Justification: Stakeholders recognized the importance of creative expression, with students emphasizing the value of self-expression and artistic outlets. Staff highlighted how creative approaches can enhance communication and engagement, while families noted the importance of imagination and artistry alongside more analytical skills. Research shows that creative expression is associated with deeper engagement, emotional development, and cognitive growth. The ability to communicate through creative means is increasingly valued in professional contexts where engaging presentation and innovative communication approaches can distinguish individuals and their ideas.

Details: Advanced Expression involves creating original works that convey genuine personal meaning while demonstrating mastery of technical elements. This might include selecting creative forms that best express personal perspectives, developing a distinctive creative voice or style, employing sophisticated techniques appropriate to the chosen medium, balancing technical execution with authentic self-expression, considering how formal elements enhance personal meaning, creating works that resonate emotionally or intellectually with audiences, refining creative choices to strengthen communication of personal vision, or documenting the relationship between technical decisions and expressed meaning. Students could demonstrate this skill by producing works showing both technical sophistication and authentic personal voice, articulating how technical choices enhance personal expression, integrating feedback while maintaining creative integrity, or creating works that effectively communicate personal meaning through skillful execution.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of creating works that communicate authentic personal meaning through technical skill, with staff noting the value of "creative authenticity" alongside technical proficiency. Students expressed interest in developing their unique creative voices while mastering advanced techniques in their chosen mediums, while alumni confirmed that the ability to create technically sophisticated works that express genuine personal perspective was highly valued in both academic and professional contexts. Research shows that expressive capability that combines authentic self-expression with technical mastery is associated with greater creative fulfillment, distinctive contributions to creative fields, and more effective personal communication across domains. This skill naturally extends foundational expression by focusing on the integration of personal meaning and technical sophistication rather than basic creative production. The emphasis on authentic personal meaning responds directly to student feedback about wanting their creative work to reflect their unique perspectives and identities, while the technical sophistication component addresses stakeholder emphasis on developing marketable creative skills.

Details: Human-Centered Design involves creating solutions based on deep understanding of user needs through established methodological approaches. This might include conducting user research for explicit and implicit needs, developing personas to maintain human-experience focus, generating design requirements from identified needs, creating test prototypes, collecting structured feedback, iterating designs based on user interactions, balancing desirability with feasibility and viability, or documenting design decisions' relationship to user needs. Students could demonstrate this skill by implementing recognized design thinking methodologies, developing user-requirement-aligned solutions, conducting effective usability testing, or refining approaches through multiple user-feedback iterations.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the value of systematic user-centered approaches, with staff noting their growing importance across industries. Students expressed interest in learning methodologies for creating solutions people would actually use, while alumni confirmed that human-centered design skills were highly valued in innovation roles across sectors. Research shows that products and services developed through structured human-centered design approaches consistently outperform those developed through traditional requirements-driven methods in terms of user adoption, satisfaction, and effectiveness. Design thinking methodologies have expanded beyond traditional design fields into business, education, healthcare, and public services, making these skills increasingly valuable across diverse career paths. This skill represents a distinct methodological approach that complements other creative capabilities while focusing specifically on structured processes for developing user-centered solutions.

Details: Technological Innovation involves creatively applying digital technologies to transform concepts into novel expressions or solutions. This might include evaluating emerging tools for their creative potential, combining technologies in unconventional ways, adapting digital platforms for purposes beyond their intended use, prototyping innovative applications, creating digital artifacts that communicate complex ideas, using technology to reimagine traditional processes, developing unique solutions to problems through technological means, or documenting how technological approaches enhanced creative outcomes. Students could demonstrate this skill by applying digital tools in original ways that transcend typical use cases, combining multiple technologies to create innovative outputs, developing creative technological solutions to real-world problems, or using digital platforms to express ideas in uniquely powerful ways.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of applying technology creatively rather than just operationally, with staff noting how crucial this is for innovation in rapidly changing environments. Students expressed interest in learning how to use technology "beyond the basics" and "in ways that stand out," while alumni confirmed that creative technological application was highly valued in both higher education and professional contexts. Research shows that innovative technology use is associated with breakthroughs across fields and is increasingly valued over basic digital literacy. The ability to harness emerging tools in original ways is consistently identified as a key differentiator in creative industries, entrepreneurial ventures, and innovative organizations. This skill complements other creative capabilities by focusing specifically on technological expression and innovation, allowing students to demonstrate exceptional creativity through digital means.

Details: Initiative to Learn focuses on intrinsic motivation to explore topics of interest and the ability to formulate worthwhile investigation questions. This might include identifying personal interest areas or knowledge gaps, developing curiosity about unfamiliar topics, asking probing questions driving deeper understanding, seeking diverse topic perspectives, finding personal learning material connections, or sustaining challenging content engagement through genuine interest. Students could demonstrate this skill through intellectual curiosity beyond assignment requirements, formulating meaningful inquiry questions, or showing enthusiasm for discovering new ideas without external prompting.

Justification: Self-directed learning was emphasized across stakeholder groups, with staff highlighting the importance of curiosity and intrinsic motivation to learn. Students mentioned the importance of "self-driven learning," "passion for learning," and exploring subjects beyond requirements, while families emphasized "curiosity" and "initiative." Alumni confirmed that intellectual curiosity was essential for success in higher education and career contexts. Research consistently shows that intrinsic motivation to learn is a strong predictor of academic success and lifelong learning capability. By focusing this skill specifically on the curiosity and question-formulation aspects of learning, it remains distinct from Project Management (which handles execution) and Information Literacy (which covers research processes).

Details: Advanced Initiative to Learn involves taking complete ownership of learning trajectory from question formulation through methodology selection to ongoing refinement. This might include identifying significant domain knowledge gaps or opportunities, formulating potential boundary-advancing questions, researching and selecting appropriate investigative approaches, designing inquiry-aligned learning pathways, systematically documenting learning progress, analyzing chosen learning strategy effectiveness, adapting methods based on reflective self-assessment, or demonstrating how self-directed approaches yielded deeper learning than externally structured processes. Students could demonstrate this skill by independently developing and pursuing substantive inquiry lines, selecting and justifying specific investigation methodologies, adapting learning approaches based on documented self-assessment, or showing deeper understanding achieved through self-directed pathways.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of completely self-directed learning, with staff noting how essential this is for success in higher education and professional contexts where learning is rarely externally structured. Students mentioned wanting to develop their ability to "learn how to learn," while alumni confirmed that self-directed inquiry was a critical differentiator in higher education and professional contexts. Research consistently shows that advanced self-regulation of learning is associated with academic achievement, professional development, and lifelong learning capability. This skill naturally extends foundational initiative to learn by focusing on the entire learning process from question definition through methodology selection to reflective adaptation, rather than simply pursuing curiosity and asking good questions.

Details: Growth Orientation involves actively developing abilities through deliberate practice and experience learning. This might include documenting specific-target personal growth goals, seeking and recording constructive feedback, creating and implementing feedback-based improvement plans, maintaining progress-tracking learning journals, producing development-demonstrating work samples, reflecting critically on setbacks for lessons, or providing skill advancement evidence through portfolios or metrics. Students could demonstrate this skill by producing concrete growth journey evidence including documented feedback cycles, progressive work samples, growth-analyzing reflection artifacts, or demonstrated improvement responses to challenges.

Justification: Growth mindset concepts appeared across stakeholder input, with staff specifically mentioning "growth mindset" and families emphasizing "learning from mistakes" and "resilience." Students highlighted the importance of "bouncing back from failure" and "trying a different approach when something isn't working." Alumni confirmed the essential nature of these skills in higher education and workplace settings where continuous improvement is valued. Research consistently shows that a growth orientation is associated with greater achievement and effective learning across contexts. The ability to document and demonstrate ongoing development is identified as a key factor in both short-term performance and long-term success, with assessable evidence playing a crucial role in showcasing this orientation.

Details: Advanced Growth Orientation involves proactively using challenges and failures as catalysts for significant development through systematic reflection and application. This might include analyzing setbacks for specific growth opportunities, developing structured reflection protocols extracting actionable failure insights, creating multi-challenge pattern tracking systems for recurring growth opportunities, designing targeted setback-analysis-based development plans, measuring progress related to difficulty-gained insights, deliberately seeking progressively more challenging growth-accelerating situations, or demonstrating how setbacks directly contributed to capability development. Students could demonstrate this skill by showing how specific setbacks led to measurable growth, implementing failure-analysis-linked development plans, documenting systematic challenge-to-advancement transformation, or demonstrating significantly enhanced capabilities emerging directly from leveraged setbacks.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of not just rebounding from but actively leveraging setbacks, with staff noting how crucial this mindset is for continuous improvement. Students mentioned the challenge of "seeing failures as opportunities" rather than simply recovering from them, while alumni confirmed that the ability to transform setbacks into growth was essential for both personal and professional advancement. Research shows that systematic approaches to learning from failure are associated with accelerated development, innovation, and resilience in the face of challenges. This skill naturally extends foundational growth orientation by focusing on driving development through systematic transformation of setbacks rather than general adaptation to feedback and challenges.

Details: Project Management involves systematically planning and implementing structured work to achieve defined outcomes within constraints. This might include establishing specific measurable objectives, breaking larger goals into manageable tasks with dependencies, creating realistic milestone timelines, identifying necessary resources, anticipating obstacles, tracking progress against plans, adjusting approaches when circumstances change, or delivering quality-standard completed work. Students could demonstrate this skill by producing clear-deliverable project plans, milestone tracking documents, resource allocation plans, risk management strategies, progress reports, or successful complex multi-step endeavor execution evidence.

Justification: Project management elements were among the most frequently mentioned skills across all stakeholder groups. Staff emphasized its importance for both academic success and future career effectiveness, families highlighted the need for students to learn to organize and complete complex tasks, and students specifically mentioned challenges in managing multi-stage projects. Alumni confirmed that effective coordination of time, resources, and activities was essential for success in higher education and workplace settings. Research consistently shows that project management capabilities are associated with academic achievement, workplace productivity, and successful delivery of complex initiatives in various domains.

Details: Advanced Project Management involves coordinating complex, multi-faceted initiatives with numerous variables and evolving parameters. This might include analyzing complex undertakings to identify critical components and relationships, establishing integrated multiple-workstream tracking systems, developing constrained-resource decision-making prioritization frameworks, mapping cross-workstream dependencies for cascade effect anticipation, creating high-impact risk contingency plans, dynamically reallocating resources for changing conditions, maintaining diverse stakeholder alignment, or producing successful complexity-navigation documentation. Students could demonstrate this skill by designing comprehensive multi-workstream coordination frameworks, creating complex decision-making prioritization systems, developing adaptive resource allocation approaches, or showing successful complex initiative delivery despite significant constraints or changing conditions.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of managing complexity across multiple dimensions, with staff noting how essential this is for leadership roles. Students mentioned challenges in juggling multiple priorities when managing projects, while alumni confirmed that the ability to orchestrate complex initiatives was highly valued in both higher education and professional contexts. Research shows that advanced project management capabilities are associated with leadership effectiveness, successful delivery of complex initiatives, and organizational performance across sectors. This skill naturally extends foundational project management by focusing on orchestrating multiple interconnected components in changing environments rather than managing single projects with relatively stable parameters.

Details: Craftsmanship involves applying technical skills with attention to detail and quality when creating tangible works. This might include selecting appropriate tools and materials for specific tasks, applying precise and careful techniques, attending to quality-enhancing finishing details, following industry standards and best practices, iteratively refining based on feedback, or demonstrating pride in finished product quality. Students could demonstrate this skill by creating physical projects showing technical proficiency, detail attention, and quality commitment across various media including traditional crafts, digital fabrication, engineering solutions, artistic products, or other tangible works.

Justification: The importance of creating high-quality tangible work emerged across stakeholder input, with staff noting the value of "attention to detail" and "precision" in student work. Students mentioned interest in "hands-on" learning and developing technical skills with physical media, while families emphasized the importance of producing work that demonstrates care and quality. Alumni confirmed that technical proficiency and quality production were valuable in both higher education and workplace settings. Research shows that developing craftsmanship is linked to deeper engagement, increased pride in work, and development of disciplined work habits that transfer to other contexts. The ability to create physical products with precision and care is particularly valued in fields requiring technical execution and is increasingly recognized as complementary to digital skills in a well-rounded education.

Details: Advanced Craftsmanship involves producing physical artifacts that meet or exceed industry-level quality benchmarks through exceptional technical execution. This might include researching and implementing domain-specific specialized techniques, incorporating professional-standard precision measurements and tolerances, applying function-and-aesthetic-enhancing finishing methods, documenting creation processes including technical decisions and quality assurance, incorporating expert feedback for refinement, testing products against industry benchmarks, or analyzing how specific technical choices affect overall quality and function. Students could demonstrate this skill by producing domain-specific-standard technical excellence works, documenting implemented techniques and quality control measures, articulating how their work meets professional benchmarks, or creating credible professional/commercial-context presentable products.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of technical excellence in creating physical products, with staff noting how mastery of craft prepares students for specialized fields. Students expressed interest in developing higher-level making skills applicable to professional contexts, while alumni confirmed that sophisticated craftsmanship capabilities were highly valued in technical and creative industries. Research shows that advanced technical execution skills are strongly associated with success in fields requiring physical production, from traditional trades to advanced manufacturing and design disciplines. This skill naturally extends foundational craftsmanship by focusing on professional-level quality standards and specialized techniques rather than basic care and precision in creating physical products.

Details: Emotional Effectiveness involves applying emotional awareness to develop personal and collective resilience. This might include identifying personal emotional triggers and patterns, developing strategies for authentic expression of emotions, responding constructively to others' emotional states, adapting approaches based on emotional context, creating environments where emotions are acknowledged and respected, using emotional insights to inform decision-making, practicing gratitude as a method for building emotional strength, recovering effectively from emotional setbacks, or aligning emotional responses with personal values and goals. Students could demonstrate this skill by applying emotional awareness to resolve conflicts constructively, creating supportive environments during challenging situations, showing consistency between stated values and emotional responses, developing personalized strategies for emotional recovery during difficult circumstances, or using emotional insights to enhance personal and collective resilience across various contexts.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of emotional skills for navigating challenges, with staff noting how essential these abilities are for "staying calm, recentering yourself, and remaining level-headed under pressure." Students specifically mentioned needing skills for "how to handle the stress of a bad situation" and "dealing with disappointment," while families highlighted the importance of "resiliency" and "learning from bad experiences." Research consistently shows that emotional effectiveness is strongly associated with resilience, mental health, relationship quality, and the ability to navigate setbacks constructively. The ability to understand emotional patterns and work effectively with emotions—rather than suppressing them—is repeatedly identified as a key factor in developing the resilience needed for long-term success in both professional environments and personal relationships. This skill complements other agency capabilities by focusing specifically on the emotional dimensions of resilience, allowing students to demonstrate sophisticated understanding of how emotions influence recovery, adaptation, and growth through challenges.

Details: Professionalism involves demonstrating appropriate behavior, communication, and presentation standards across different settings. This might include adapting communication style and behavior to suit different professional and formal contexts, understanding and following implicit and explicit norms of different environments, presenting oneself appropriately through appearance, language, and demeanor based on contextual expectations, maintaining appropriate boundaries between personal and professional interactions, demonstrating reliability through consistent fulfillment of commitments, exercising discretion with sensitive information, navigating various organizational cultures effectively, and representing organizations appropriately to external stakeholders. Students could demonstrate this skill by appropriately adjusting their behavior across different environments, showing understanding of context-specific expectations, maintaining consistent professional demeanor even in challenging situations across varied settings, and building reputation through reliable and contextually appropriate conduct.

Justification: Professional conduct was consistently emphasized across stakeholder groups, with employers highlighting it as a critical factor in hiring and advancement decisions. Students expressed interest in understanding "how to act in different situations" professionally, while alumni confirmed that adaptable professionalism was often the differentiating factor in early career success. Families specifically mentioned the importance of learning "appropriate behavior in different settings." Research confirms that professionalism adaptable to varying environments is among the most sought-after qualities by employers across industries and is frequently cited as lacking in recent graduates despite its critical importance. The ability to understand and navigate professional expectations across different contexts is consistently identified as a key factor in career advancement and is often the determining factor in hiring decisions between technically qualified candidates, making this a valuable distinction skill that complements other capabilities.

Details: Global Awareness involves understanding the diversity of human experiences, cultural perspectives, and interconnected challenges across the world. This might include recognizing cultural differences and their perspective influences, understanding complex global challenges and causes, analyzing local-global action connections, considering multiple cultural topic viewpoints, or developing informed international event and trend perspectives. Students could demonstrate this skill by approaching cross-cultural interactions respectfully and openly, understanding complex global issues from multiple perspectives, recognizing local-global context connections, or thoughtfully engaging with diverse viewpoints and cultural expressions.

Justification: Global awareness was highlighted by stakeholders across groups, with staff emphasizing its importance for preparing students for an interconnected world. Families noted the value of understanding diverse perspectives, while students expressed interest in learning more about global issues and cultures. Research confirms that global awareness is increasingly important in both higher education and professional contexts where cross-cultural competence and understanding of global systems are valued. The ability to understand and engage with diverse perspectives and global issues is linked to more effective citizenship, stronger intercultural relationships, and better preparation for international or multicultural work environments.

Details: Advanced Global Awareness involves using deep cultural knowledge to create meaningful relationships across different cultural backgrounds. This might include researching cultural norms and communication styles before meeting people, adapting behavior to show respect for different cultural values, finding common interests that bridge cultural differences, building trust through consistent respect for cultural differences, maintaining long-term relationships with people from different cultures, creating opportunities for cultural learning and sharing, or using these connections to expand personal understanding of the world. Students could demonstrate this skill by developing lasting friendships with international students, building partnerships with community members from different cultures, participating in cultural exchange activities over time, or showing how relationships with people from different cultures changed their perspectives and understanding.

Justification: Building meaningful relationships across cultures was emphasized by stakeholders, with staff noting its importance for preparing students for global citizenship and careers. Students expressed interest in connecting with peers from different backgrounds, while alumni confirmed that the ability to build relationships across cultural differences was valuable in diverse college and work environments. Research shows that deep relationships with people from different cultures improve understanding and effectiveness in global settings. This skill extends foundational global awareness by focusing on applying cultural understanding to build lasting connections rather than simply recognizing cultural differences.

Details: Empathy involves understanding others' perspectives, experiences, and needs as a foundation for effective action. This might include recognizing others' feelings and viewpoints despite differences, actively seeking to understand contexts and circumstances, developing cultural and individual difference awareness, engaging with diverse voices and experiences, considering multiple situation perspectives, documenting understanding processes, or applying insights to drive meaningful responses and actions. Students could demonstrate this skill through perspective-taking exercises, empathy maps, stakeholder interview documentation, others-experience reflective writing, or work showing how understanding of others informed concrete actions and decisions.

Justification: Empathy was emphasized across stakeholder groups, with staff highlighting its importance for both personal relationships and effective collaboration. Families noted the value of understanding others' perspectives and developing compassion, while students recognized the importance of considering others' feelings, experiences, and needs. Research shows that empathy is associated with stronger relationships, more effective collaboration, reduced conflict, and more ethical decision-making. The ability to understand others and apply that understanding to drive appropriate action is increasingly recognized as essential for effective leadership, teamwork, innovation, and citizenship in diverse communities.

Details: Advanced Empathy involves translating deep understanding of others' experiences into effective solution design addressing underlying needs and contexts. This might include conducting systematic diverse-need stakeholder research, analyzing different-group-affecting structural and systemic factors, identifying common solution approach implicit assumptions and biases, documenting how specific stakeholder insights informed design decisions, testing solutions with affected populations to validate empathic understanding, iteratively refining based on feedback, or evaluating outcomes through different user experience lenses. Students could demonstrate this skill by designing diverse-stakeholder-need-addressing demonstrable solutions, documenting empathic-insight-shaped design decisions, articulating how their approach addresses contextual and systemic factors, or showing evidence that affected groups find solutions responsive to actual rather than assumed needs.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of translating empathic understanding into effective action, with staff noting how crucial this is for careers in service, design, and leadership. Students mentioned the value of creating solutions that genuinely meet others' needs rather than making assumptions, while alumni confirmed that empathy-driven design was highly valued in professional contexts. Research shows that solutions developed based on deep stakeholder understanding consistently outperform those developed based on assumptions about others' needs. This skill naturally extends foundational empathy by focusing on systematic solution design based on deep understanding rather than general connection and responsive action.

Details: Ethics involves wrestling with moral questions and dilemmas lacking simple answers. This might include identifying situational ethical dimensions, analyzing competing principles and values, considering different stakeholder perspectives, evaluating potential action consequences for various groups, applying ethical frameworks to difficult cases, or developing reasoned moral issue positions. Students could demonstrate this skill by analyzing ethical dilemmas from multiple perspectives, evaluating ethical principle tensions, considering various choice implications, or developing nuanced complex-acknowledging positions on challenging moral questions rather than accepting oversimplified solutions.

Justification: Ethical decision-making was emphasized across stakeholder groups, with staff highlighting its importance in academic integrity and citizenship. Families noted the importance of moral development alongside academic achievement, while students recognized the value of making responsible choices in complex situations. Research confirms that ethical reasoning skills are associated with prosocial behavior, responsible citizenship, and positive leadership. The ability to navigate ethical questions and develop thoughtful positions is increasingly valued in professional contexts and is essential for maintaining trust and integrity in both personal and public spheres.

Details: Advanced Ethics involves using principled reasoning to inform concrete decisions and implementing actions that align with examined values. This might include analyzing ethical dimensions of real-world situations, applying ethical frameworks to clarify key principles at stake, evaluating potential courses of action against these principles, consulting diverse perspectives to uncover blind spots in ethical reasoning, making decisions that reflect consistent ethical standards, accepting personal costs that may come with upholding principles, documenting how ethical reasoning informed specific decisions, and reflecting on the alignment between actions taken and core values. Students could demonstrate this skill by showing how they applied ethical reasoning to complex situations, documenting decisions made based on principled analysis, following through with actions that align with stated values despite challenges, and reflecting on the consistency between their reasoning and actions.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of applied ethics that manifests in action, with staff noting how crucial this is for developing ethical leadership. Students mentioned interest in learning how to make difficult ethical decisions in real-world situations, while alumni confirmed that consistent ethical action was highly valued in professional contexts. Research shows that the ability to apply ethical reasoning to concrete decisions and follow through with aligned actions is associated with stronger leadership outcomes, enhanced trust, and more sustainable organizations and communities. This skill naturally extends foundational ethics by focusing on application and implementation rather than theoretical examination of ethical issues.

Details: Community Engagement involves active participation in and advocacy for efforts that strengthen communities and address shared challenges. This might include identifying community needs or improvement opportunities, contributing time/skills/resources to collective efforts, collaborating on community initiatives, advocating for various-level positive change, amplifying underrepresented voices, evaluating engagement effort effectiveness, or developing larger social group wellbeing responsibility. Students could demonstrate this skill through effective service project participation, volunteer activities, community improvement initiatives, civic organization involvement, authentic community contribution identification, change advocacy, or engagement impact and effectiveness reflection.

Justification: Community engagement and advocacy were emphasized across stakeholder groups, with families and staff highlighting their importance for developing active citizenship. Students expressed interest in having more opportunities to engage with and contribute to their communities, as well as learning how to advocate for positive change. Alumni noted the value of service experiences and advocacy skills for developing broader perspective and making meaningful impact. Research shows that community engagement and advocacy experiences are associated with increased civic participation, stronger social connections, enhanced empathy, and development of leadership skills. The combination of direct service and advocacy is linked to greater personal wellbeing as well as more sustainable positive community outcomes.

Details: Advanced Community Engagement involves catalyzing sustainable positive change through initiatives addressing community needs with enduring structures. This might include conducting participatory authentic community priority needs assessments, designing with rather than for community members, developing shared-ownership-promoting governance structures, creating long-term sustainability resource development strategies, establishing evolving-need-tracking feedback systems, building institutional-memory-preserving knowledge transfer mechanisms, documenting mixed-method evaluation initiative impact, or analyzing factors contributing to sustained changes beyond initial interventions. Students could demonstrate this skill by leading demonstrably identified-need-addressing substantive community initiatives, establishing continuing-impact-enabling structures and processes, documenting community-ownership-promoting leadership approaches, or providing direct-involvement-transcending sustained positive change evidence.

Justification: Stakeholder input emphasized the importance of not just participating in but leading community initiatives, with staff noting how crucial this is for developing active citizenship. Students expressed interest in making lasting positive impacts on their communities, while alumni confirmed that initiative leadership skills were particularly valued in civic and professional contexts. Research shows that student-led community initiatives with sustainability mechanisms are associated with more lasting positive outcomes and deeper leadership development than short-term service activities. This skill naturally extends foundational community engagement by focusing on leadership, initiative design, and long-term impact mechanisms rather than participation and advocacy in existing efforts.

Details: Civic Engagement involves understanding and actively participating in governmental and institutional systems to influence public policy. This might include researching multiple-perspective political issues, understanding various governmental body structures and functions, analyzing how policies affect different communities, registering and participating in voting, contacting elected representatives about concerns, attending and contributing to public meetings, understanding legal rights and responsibilities, following established civic participation procedures, tracking community-affecting policy developments, or evaluating various civic action strategy effectiveness. Students could demonstrate this skill by effectively navigating governmental and institutional processes, participating in formal democratic procedures, articulating well-informed policy issue positions, or engaging with decision-making systems for specific outcome advocacy.

Justification: Civic knowledge and participation were emphasized by stakeholders, with families particularly noting the importance of understanding governmental systems. Staff highlighted the value of students learning to navigate institutional processes effectively, while students expressed interest in understanding how to "make change happen through official channels." Research shows that formal civic engagement is associated with stronger democratic institutions, more responsive governance, and policies that better reflect diverse community needs. The ability to understand and navigate governmental processes is consistently identified as a key factor in effective citizenship and is becoming increasingly important as civic systems grow more complex. This skill complements community engagement by focusing specifically on formal institutional and governmental participation rather than direct service or grassroots advocacy.

Details: Leadership involves guiding collective efforts that contribute to community well-being while fostering growth in others and creating positive environments. This might include articulating compelling visions that inspire commitment, building coalitions across different stakeholder groups, developing governance structures that distribute responsibility, mentoring team members to develop their leadership capabilities, creating opportunities for others to grow their skills and confidence, fostering environments where people feel valued and motivated, implementing accountability systems that maintain progress, establishing succession plans that ensure initiative continuity, maintaining team morale through challenges, celebrating successes and contributions, and documenting impact to build support for ongoing efforts. Students could demonstrate this skill by catalyzing collective action toward shared goals, developing leadership capacity in others, creating structures that sustain momentum beyond their direct involvement, and fostering team cultures where members feel both challenged and supported.

Justification: Leadership skills were highlighted across stakeholder groups, with staff emphasizing their importance for driving positive change and developing others. Students expressed interest in learning how to "bring people together" toward shared goals while creating positive team environments, while alumni confirmed that leadership capabilities that include people development were highly valued in both higher education and professional contexts. Families noted the importance of students learning to "take the initiative" in addressing community needs while supporting others' growth. Research shows that leadership skills focused on collective well-being, people development, and positive culture are associated with stronger communities, more sustainable initiatives, broader positive impact, and higher team performance. The ability to catalyze collective action while developing others and maintaining positive environments is consistently identified as a key distinguishing capability across sectors and is particularly valued in roles focused on social change, community development, and organizational transformation.