Mission & Strategy

NapaLearns is committed to supporting the future of teaching and learning in the public schools of Napa County.

It is the explicit purpose of NapaLearns to ensure that all students are fully prepared for college, for careers, and for civic roles that embrace ongoing change in our global economy by acquiring 21st Century skills, such as:

  • Creativity and innovation
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Research and use of  information
  • Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
  • Effective and productive use of technology

NapaLearns will accomplish this by:

  1. Extending technology enhanced Learning to all Napa County high school, middle school, and elementary students
  2. Supporting programs aimed at assisting traditionally underperforming students (including the gifted) in mastering both literacy and numeracy skills and the complex problem-solving and inquiry skills that will allow them to be full participants in leading innovation and change.
  3. Supporting the development  and implementation of professional training programs to support these enhanced student outcomes and to ensure that educators in Napa County are widely viewed as outstanding leaders in shaping the future of teaching and learning in the United States.
  4. Supporting the development and implementation of a rigorous system of data collection/analysis to measure progress on these and other objectives critical to successful student outcomes to ensure that there is ample objective data available to compare the academic achievement of Napa students to the achievement of other comparable U.S. and international students.

Strategic Priorities:

1. NapaLearns will encourage and support a variety of instructional methodologies, including, but not limited to, the use of project based learning and other student centered, inquiry-based methodologies in a technology-rich environment.

2. NapaLearns will partner with Napa County school districts to investigate and support specific programs which are targeted to improve the English and math literacy of preK-4 students in the context of a curriculum that also stresses critical thinking, problem-solving and digital literacy.

3. NapaLearns will encourage and support pilot student inquiry initiatives from pre-K through 8th grade in addition to the current focus on student inquiry at the high school level

4. NapaLearns’ support of technology-enhanced learning and K-12 Student-Centered Learning will supplement but not substitute for District resources for:

  • Ongoing staff development for teachers and site administrators.
  • Robust technology installation, including wireless Internet access for participating classrooms and one-to-one computing access for all students and their families.
  • Development/identification of “model” lessons, including a digital library of exemplary classroom performances.
  • Development/identification and implementation of an integrated, “real time”, online system of data collection/analysis to measure student and program progress and permit comparison of the academic achievement of program students to non-program U.S. and international students.

5. Napa Learns’ support will be contingent upon:

  • Use of a student-centered learning model which includes multi-disciplinary learning, integrated use of technology, use of “model” lessons, and participation in the planned “real time”, online evaluation system.
  • Successful participation of teachers and site administrators in ongoing staff development.
  • A commitment by each participating school to the goal that all students will benefit from these critical thinking and learning models in each subject.
  • Written commitment by Superintendents and District Boards to measurable school and district achievement goals and timelines.

6. NapaLearns staffing and board structure will include the hiring of a full-time Executive Director and the institutionalization of a small Executive Committee of the NapaLearns Board to oversee program implementation and to supervise the work of the Executive Director.