Our Executive Director Jackie Foor has been invited to give one of three keynote talks at the Harrisburg Regional STEM Workforce Development Connector Summit and also will participate in one of several featured presentations at the Learning Summit 2025.
Joining her as keynoters at the Harrisburg event on June 7th are Ryan Unger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC, and Chris Clayton, Sr., PhD., Assistant Director of Education Services for the PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association.)
Co-hosted by AASA (American Association of School Administrators), the School Superintendent’s Association, and the Successful Practices Network, the Learning Summit 2025 takes place June 26th-28th in Washington D.C.
Joining Foor there for a presentation and discussion about school-business partnerships will be Drs. Bille Rondinelli and Bart Rocco, both Fellows at The Grable Foundation, and Josh Stewart, Senior Vice President and Head of Talent Acquisition & Outreach at PNC Financial Services Group. Stewart also serves on the Consortium’s Board.
The focus of their session will be how school-business partnerships provide opportunities for students to explore careers while also helping them build workplace skills. One example used to illustrate those points is Student Powered Solutions (SPS), a program through which we paired classrooms with companies to help solve authentic business challenges. The Consortium scaled up a model that had emerged at South Fayette School District when Rondinelli served as its Superintendent.
Also under discussion will be PartnerUp, the highly successful pre-employment training program that PNC introduced in high schools six years ago with the Consortium’s help. PNC’s Stewart helped launch the program, which has since seen dramatic expansion, to provide options for students entering the workforce directly from high school and to help PNC and its employer partners identify and cultivate talent for entry-level jobs that lead to solid career paths.
