What is Under-Represented

Despite continued efforts of educational professionals to develop a quality, meaningful classroom experience for teachers and students, relevant to employability, there still exists in the USA a skills gap. This gap has created a lack of a competitive advantage in the national and global marketplace as well as a low return on investment. There is a growing consensus that highly developed education systems are unlikely to be capable of the kind of change which is urgently needed. Community-building in education is not just about creating or defining a new work for teachers to do collaboratively. It is about changing a school's professional culture. Establishing communities of practice (CoP) involves the whole educational experience. Engaging with learning has become a central focus for educators, administrators, business, and community leaders. This chapter attempts to bridge the gap between the either-ors by presenting a learning ecosystem and three case studies highlighting successful CoPs.