Every child is born with the capacity to learn. As they grow, each child increases their knowledge in a range of areas. These highly developed areas are like the bricks that we use for building.

 

However, without the mortar (the mixture of sand, water, and cement that is used to join bricks together), it’s impossible to build a solid structure. To that end, The 21 Gaps Program was born.

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The 21 Gaps Program -providing the essential mortar.

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Public school curriculum doesn’t teach the “soft skills,” which we consider to be the mortar. In our eyes, mortar is the bonding material that enables every student to pull together all their bricks of knowledge and build a tall and solid structure.

 

These missing soft skills in a child’s education is what we refer to as the “gaps.” Through rigorous research conducted by experts in the education field, we learned that there are numerous gaps, which we’ve divided into the following four categories: behavior, skills, attitudes, and strategies. These categories correspond with the crucial characteristics needed to achieve success.

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We created our program to address 21 gaps.

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“Certain habits, mindsets, and non-technical skills are integral to academic, professional, and personal success.”

Laura Bornfreund and Melissa Tooley

Directors at New America

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