Debbie Pixton

A spring cohort for the Consortium’s Leadership through Design: Enhancing Student Growth and Achievement is now open for registration. The 25-hour virtual Act 45 course for school leaders takes administrators through the design cycle to learn about the mindset of human-centered design and equip them with tools for collaborative problem solving. The spring session is $375 […]

The 2026 Future Ready Partnerships Conference is designed to bring together educators, employers, and partners to showcase impactful school-business partnerships from across the region and inspire new collaborations. This event will feature speakers, breakout sessions, lunch, and opportunities to learn and meet others interested in building partnerships. This year's conference will be held on March [...]

The Consortium’s Student Sustainability Design Challenge kicked off this fall with more than 250 students, representing 16 schools from across Southwestern Pennsylvania, attending two kickoff events. Six new schools joined the SSDC this year, with 300+ students slated to participate as the program continues into the winter and spring.  Representatives from nearly 40 community organizations, […]

The short answer is:  No.  The longer answer is a bit more nuanced.  For context:  A few weeks ago, Debbie Pixton and Aaron Altemus, who lead the Consortium’s human-centered design training, had the privilege of speaking at The Global Impact Forum presented by Penn State University. The conference focused heavily on the intersection of K-16 […]

This November, the Consortium’s YouTube channel marked it’s ninth anniversary. From our humble beginnings, it now features more than 275 videos with 197,000 views during that time. We’re excited for the content we’ve shared that’s been valuable to you and for new content that we’ll continue to create in the months and years ahead. If […]

Following a hiatus in 2025, the Consortium will again host its hugely popular Future Ready Partnerships Conference (FRPC) in 2026. Scheduled to take place on March 31 at Community College of Allegheny County’s Boyce Campus in Monroeville, the event will again bring together employers, postsecondary programs, and K-12 educators interested in sharing and learning about […]

The Consortium’s Building a Positive School Climate (BPSC) cohort feels like a gathering of old friends. At the program kickoff on October 8th, 70+ educators from 14 districts buzzed around the room, sharing hugs and telling stories. If you didn’t know, you might think they’d been working together for years.  However, it’s not the longevity […]

When Act 56 was first passed, allowing student time to be counted by hours instead of days (990 hours or 180 days), the first question asked was how can we help schools take advantage of this opportunity to benefit their students.  Because of the Consortium’s position as an intermediary, Executive Director Jackie Foor, was familiar […]

What does it look like when educators come together to collaborate, share ideas, and build strategies to help students explore future careers? That question launched the Consortium’s new Career Connections Network (CCN) program. On October 15th, more than 40 educators from 24 school districts came together for the first workshop, led by Jenn Sethman and […]

New this year is an opportunity for individual or small teams of educators to participate in our Educator in the Workforce (EIW) program. EIW immerses educators - teachers, school counselors, school-to-work coordinators, or any educator interested in learning more about the career opportunities for students in their district to learn about the region’s key industries [...]