Building 21 was started by three classmates in the Harvard Doctorate of Education Leadership Program. Originally the product of their collaboration on a new school design assignment in Professor Richard Elmore’s “Leaders of Learning” course in February of 2012, the concept for Building 21 evolved through a series of meetings, discussions, site visits and learning tours across the country.

Building 21's goal has remained constant since that first day: to develop a new secondary school design that adapts to meet learners where they are, and then helps them to pursue their interests and passions on a pathway to college and career success. Building 21 firmly believes that the organization's design efforts will always be a work in progress, and are therefore committed to an ongoing process of reflection and iteration – a process of continual building.