Official Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 6, 2015
Contact: Chellese Hall
601-709-8964
Chellese@mcm.ms
Maurine Jackson
601-709-8978
maurine@mcm.ms
XQ: The Super School Project!
Nationwide roadshow engages community at the Mississippi Children’s Museum
Jackson, Miss. (October 6, 2015) – What if we can innovate the high school experience? The Mississippi Children’s Museum (MCM) is hosting the XQ Institute and the XQ: The Super School Project Roadshow on Thursday and Friday, October 15-16 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. to engage the community in a nationwide challenge to improve public education.
MCM’s C-Spire Plaza will be open to the general public at no cost on Thursday and Friday, October 15-16 from 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. for all to contribute ideas to the WE THINK Booth about how to enhance the nation’s public education system. Visitors to the WE THINK Booth will experience a hands-on walk through of the history of public education and have the opportunity to record and share their ideas for ways to make American public high schools work for a 21st century world.
XQ: The Super School Project, launched by the XQ Institute, is an open-call to the nation’s students, teachers, administrators, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, artists and designers to meet the challenge of preparing students for the future by dreaming, designing and creating the new American high school. The best ideas will be implemented in five to ten new super schools over the next five years and supported by a fund of $50 million dollars.
The XQ Roadshow will travel to New York, Boston, New Orleans, Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland and Jackson, Mississippi to hear ideas from communities across the US.
According to the XQ Institute, the American School model has remained unchanged for more than 100 years. Designed for a world and an economy that look nothing like today, it is failing to prepare our students for the jobs of the future. MCM and XQ aim to harness the ingenuity and creativity of Jackson’s community to rethink and create a new approach to public education that gives every child the tools and opportunity to succeed.
For more information about XQ: The Super School Project or the XQ Institute, visit www.xqsuperschool.org.
About the Mississippi Children’s Museum
The Mississippi Children’s Museum (MCM) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering in its visitors a passion for lifelong learning, improving the health and well-being of Mississippi children, and instilling a sense of state pride in all Mississippi residents. The mission of MCM is to provide a unique and exciting educational experience that ignites and inspires a thirst for discovery, knowledge and learning in all children. The goal of MCM is to empower and inspire all our state’s children, regardless of their social, educational or economic background, to discover their potential by tapping their curiosity and creativity. There is over 40,000 square foot museum is designed around five primary initiatives, with correlating exhibits, programs and outreach efforts. These initiatives include: Literacy, STEM, Health and Nutrition, Cultural Arts and Mississippi Heritage—the keys to helping our children mature into healthy and productive adult learners. Museum exhibits provide engaging, explorative, hands-on educational activities for children of all ages. To learn more about MCM visit www.mschildrensmuseum.com.
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