Krissy: That is a great post! Thanks for providing perspective from a Kindergarten teacher. I don't have the answers for every grade level, but you provided some outstanding outcomes for Kindergarten! This will give others ideas for their grade level. Thanks for expanding on the article by sharing your experiences and ideas. I would love to have a child leave kindergarten with those outcomes! Make it happen this year!

Mark: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have not hear of the book you recommended. I am going to buy it! Our nation has a problem with students going to college for one year. One and Done is bad when your team loses the NCAA Basketball Tournament. It is a much bigger problem when your nation's students are "One and Done." North Carolina has a website which tracks students who graduate from a NC high school and enter the UNC system. It is online at http://www.northcarolina.edu/ira/ir/analytics/fresh.htm. Thank you.

It was nice to meet you in person. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on a "bucket list" for students. I think you will love ASCD EDge! The community of educators has grown to over 40,000. The posts are thought-provoking and you can meet teachers, principals, superintendents, university professors, authors, and others who have a passion for education. We are at an important point in history when it comes to K-12 education. College and Career Readiness has never been an option for all students. In order to make this shift, educators will need to rely on each other, take risks, and change traditional methods of instruction and assessment. I look forward to seeing your next post on ASCD EDge!

Thank you to all who viewed this article, shared it on Twitter, and contacted me with your ideas for a "bucket list" for students!  I enjoyed hearing your thoughts.  As we implement the Common Core State Standards, it will be easy to focus on curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  In the absence of clear learning outcomes, we could "cover" the standards without teaching for understanding. Does your grade level have a "bucket list" for the 2012-2013 school year?  What should you include based on the standards, district goals, and the requirements at the next level of learning?

Although you touch on reading (literacy and skills), I would add "a love of reading" to your list. We focus too much on reading to learn. I want all kids to love reading and to love books. The rest wiill fall into place. Nice, creative post.

Mike: Thank you for your kind words. I enjoyed reading your list. I think that schools can support College and Career Readiness by engaging in this conversation and developing their own list. I am inspired by your blogs and I am looking forward to co-writing another blog with you. Keep up the great work with teachers and students!

Wow, bud. This is a fantastic post. You got your creative on, big time! It made me think about my bucket list for my own child--and it included everything on your list, PLUS--

• School sponsored world travel
• Opportunities to learn several languages, starting in Kindergarten
• Internships based on interest areas starting in 9th grade
• Divergent diplomas based on interest and with an underpinning of college preparatory work.
• Smaller classes and individualized instruction
• Her spending two more years with her Pre-K teacher and the kids she's currently with to build a solid and strong foundation collaboratively for everything else she'll learn in school.
• Opportunities for local and global service work.
• Opportunities for her to teach others what she knows.
• Opportunities for her to cease participation in state mandated tests and show what she knows in a series of multi-dimensional performance tasks that span multiple content areas.

Sharing this right now!

-Mike