James A. Bellanca is nationally recognized as a practical innovator who thinks ahead of the curve and provides teachers and administrators with the "how-to" knowledge to make abstract ideas concrete and ready to go on the next school day. With his extensive experience as a classroom English and language arts teacher, alternative school director, professional developer, intermediate service center director, business owner, and not-for-profit executive, he has developed expertise for transforming new mandates, such as the Common Core State Standards, into practical classroom tools that enrich instruction and engage students.A leading voice in 21st century skills, Jim edits and is lead poster for the Partnership for 21st Century Schools (P21) blog Connecting the 21st Century Dots: From Policy to Practice. He is executive director of the Illinois Consortium for 21st Century Schools and lead trainer for Mind Quest: Project-Based Learning in the 21st Century Classroom. In addition, Jim is lead trainer of instructors for the New York State United Teachers Education Learning Trust program, The 21st Century Classroom. In the past year, he has designed three online graduate education courses and the innovative online workshop Projects from a Box.Jim has worked with educational leaders in Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, New York, Illinois, West Virginia, New Jersey, Michigan, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and Israel. He has also worked with school districts to design, implement, and assess programs that promote 21st century skills to increase academic performance among all children, including high-risk student populations. Jim has written many books, including several bestsellers and numerous professional articles.Jim is the author of Enriched Learning Projects, coauthor of How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the Common Core and School Leader's Guide to the Common Core, and coeditor of 21st Century Skills. His work can be further explored at solution-tree.com