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 with the rigorous curriculum offered by some of our nonprofit partners’ programs for youth. She proposed that we conduct a pilot program to support the development of crosswalks of the providers’ curriculum with the PA Academic Standards, and then support schools to think about how they might engage with these providers differently.
The goals of the pilot would be two-fold. First, how can we demonstrate that many of our local nonprofits offer youth programming that aligns with PA Academic Standards. And second, how can we help schools find ways to leverage these programs to help students meet their graduation requirements.
Launched in the fall of 2024, seven nonprofit partners with youth programming came to the table: BotsIQ, Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, Catalyst Connection, German American Chamber of Commerce, Neighborhood Learning Alliance, Schools That Can, and STEM Coding Lab. Each organization selected one of their programs with the most documentation (e.g., curriculum, lesson plans, and assessments) to share for the creation of the crosswalks.
Looking to find a credible and reliable source to construct the curriculum crosswalks, we turned to the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s curriculum specialist. Leading the charge were Dr. Jill Jacoby and Dr. Brian Stamford, who coordinated the development of the crosswalks to standards in English Language Arts, Math, STEELS, Computer Science, Personal Finance, Business, Computer and Information Technology (BCIT) and/or Career Education & Work depending on the program.
In all, 20 crosswalks were created across the seven providers, which they immediately began to use in their conversations with districts for recruitment, expansion, and realignment, as well as for internal evaluation and improvement.
The pilot also reached out to several school districts. At present, results for implementing these programs into existing or new courses is the most seamless way for schools to enhance student engagement while meeting standards.
Taking advantage of opportunities for students outside of the school day, however, are still in the works. District leaders are considering how programs like these can offer enrichment in the summer or after school; create alternative remedial opportunities to catch students up for future coursework; and set students up for career pathways in specific industries.
While the pilot has reached the end, we continue to monitor the impact for students and schools. As Foor said, “We hope to see Act 56 benefit students and schools in many ways. From bringing chronically absent students back to school and engaging students who are disenfranchised, to giving students choices that keep them in their home districts and leveraging enriching learning experiences that their schools might not otherwise be able to provide, these kinds of partnerships hold promise for making school a place students want to be and that sets them up for success.”
