Laurene Powell-Jobs, founder of the philanthropic organization Emerson Collective (former Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s new employer) and the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, says she will be touring the country by the end of the month with the prototype for what she thinks the classroom of the future should look like.

Powell-Jobs has made reforming education a priority because she says while technology is constantly being upgraded to improve the quality of people’s lives, education- the true path to success- has remained stagnant.

The prototype is part of efforts to promote Powell-Jobs’ “XQ” venture. Powell-Jobs says the classroom model will be placed inside an old school bus and will be driven to Republican and Democratic conventions and will encourage community support through pop-up concerts and teach-ins, says The Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The XQ venture itself is "a collaboration with districts and educators through a competition to find and develop designs for the next generation of high schools.”

"In a marketing effort to create more attention around the ideas, XQ will...create a 'Super School Bus,’that will make 30 stops around the country including at both Democratic and Republican political conventions this summer. The bus will hold what Powell Jobs called 'teach ins,' and other events,” said Fortune.

By next school year, The Silicon Valley Business Journal says five concepts discovered through XQ will be selected and funded for eventual implementation to provide a needed update to the current high school education model.

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/6/2016