History and Structure
The Consortium for Public Education works to ensure that every child, in every community, receives a high-quality public education. It pursues resources for its partner school districts and encourages community and business involvement in the critical task of educating children. It concentrates on creating the conditions for change that will result in smarter schools and communities, better positioned to face the future. At the heart of this effort is a firm belief that public education is fundamental to a democratic and civil society, that public schools belong to the entire community, and that all community members benefit from successful public schools.
The Consortium began operations in 1985 as the McKeesport Education Consortium with a mini-grant program and a determination to restore and build confidence in the public schools of McKeesport Area School District. Other initiatives to support and enhance school improvement strategies gradually were phased in, and in 1987, as the organization expanded to serve 20 southwestern Pennsylvania school districts ranged along and near the Monongahela River, it became the Mon Valley Education Consortium.
In April of 2007, with the scope of its work expanding again, it became The Consortium for Public Education. It now partners with schools and school districts throughout western Pennsylvania. Its initiatives fall into five main categories: leadership development for individuals and organizations, middle-high school transformation, early literacy, networking, and advocacy.
School improvement continues to be supported by a mini grants program that recognizes teachers' vision and expertise and by programs targeting student achievement and school improvement. Grassroots support (financial and in-kind) for the public schools is the goal of the public engagement strand, and leadership/governance deals with decision-making in schools and in the many communities which comprise school districts.
The Consortium is a member of the Public Education Network (PEN), a national association of local education funds (LEFs) and individuals working to advance public school reform in communities across our country.
PEN and its members are building public demand and mobilizing resources for quality public education on behalf of 12 million children in 32 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. PEN has expanded its work internationally to include members in Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa and Tanzania
Mission Statement
The Consortium for Public Education works to ensure that all children in our region start school ready to learn and graduate from high school prepared for lifelong learning, careers and citizenship.
Belief Statements |
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We believe that public education is fundamental to a democratic and civil society. |
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We believe that all people can learn and that learning is a life-long process, beginning at birth. |
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We believe in equal access to public educational opportunities. |
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We believe that public schools belong to the entire community. |
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We believe all community members are the beneficiaries of successful public schools. |
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We believe every parent and community member has a role and responsibility to promote learning in the home, workplace and community at-large. |
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We believe that every community has the capacity to respond through collaborative action. |
About Local Education Funds (LEFs):
Local Education Funds (LEFs) advocate for involvement in public education by all segments of their communities, for accountability and achievement of high standards by all students, and for significant involvement in the quality of public schools. They also generate resources for public education, facilitating and managing investments from government, businesses and philanthropic organizations.
Active in thousands of school districts and schools, working on behalf of millions of students in high-poverty areas, LEFs focus on reform strategies that lead to increased student achievement so that every child has a quality teacher, every school has adequate resources, every school district has community partnerships, and every teacher, principal and school board member has high expectations…of themselves and the students they serve.
LEFs by the Numbers: 11 million children nationwide – 21 percent of all public school students
1.5 million English-language learners
(ELLs – 47 percent of the nation’s ELL children
16,700 schools – 18 percent of the nation’s 95,000 public schools
1,220 school districts – including 7 percent of the nation’s 10 largest school districts
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