Debbie Pixton

In March, more than 150 middle and high school students from schools across Western Pennsylvania gathered to proudly pitch community-focused projects at the Consortium’s 2025 Student Sustainability Design Challenge showcase. The packed room at Rodef Shalom marked the culmination of several months of student research, career exploration, and project development focused on the 17 United [...]

Over 70 high school students who are members of the Consortium’s Future Ready Leaders (FRL) program wrapped up a year of hard work and growth during their final meeting of the 2024-25 school year in early April. The students, who come from several area high schools, gathered at the Bricklayers & Allied Craft Workers Apprenticeship [...]

On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the Department of Education. We don’t yet know how that is going to impact schools in our region. While federal funds make up a small portion of school district budgets, we know that for many districts, even small reductions can do […]

With the end of the school year quickly approaching and you have students who still need to create artifacts to align with Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE’s) Career Education and Work Standards, we have free lesson plans for educators to use with students.  Originally created in conjunction with Catalyst Connection’s “What’s so great about manufacturing?” [...]

Career Fairs represent some of the longest standing opportunities for students to explore careers, whether organized by their schools on-campus, or by employers offsite. An April event at the Pittsburgh Marriott put somewhat of a new twist on the old standard. It brought together seniors just weeks from graduation, many of whom have no immediate […]

In November, Eatontown Public Schools (EPS), located in Eatontown, New Jersey, approached the Consortium with an exciting opportunity to help expand and develop project-based lessons across their Pre-K to 8th grade system. EPS had introduced their teachers to PBL by participating in a one-day session offered by PBLWorks, and reached out to CPE to help […]

The need for education and industry to work together seamlessly has grown exponentially, especially in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Rapidly evolving career pathways combined with an established need for skills like communication, collaboration, and critical thinking, make conversations across school districts, Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), Intermediate Units (IUs), nonprofits, higher education, and corporations essential. Research by Education […]

Often elementary teachers, families, and students don’t see themselves as preparing for their futures. They see themselves as preparing for the next level of school. But more and more we are recognizing the critical skill-building and experiences that elementary-age students need as a foundation for their future readiness. To support our belief that elementary future […]

When Partner4Work, one of Pennsylvania’s 22 Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), plans its second Career Ready Allegheny conference, it hopes to bring more employers to the table. “I think we’d like a much larger presence, and that’s something that was communicated from attendees—that they would love to talk with more businesses and employers,” said Jennifer Peedin, [...]

Over the past few weeks, students in the Consortium’s Future Ready Leaders program had the chance to fan out across the Pittsburgh region to engage with professionals to explore careers, learn about options for post-secondary pathways, and practice communication skills. Career exploration is a vital piece of helping students answer CPE’s three questions that focus […]