News

New hires bring expertise in business and education With a major initiative unfolding to ensure students in our region receive the opportunities and experiences needed to explore careers and build soft skills essential in the workplace, the Consortium has added two new Program Directors, Sarah Brooks and Candice Williams. Sarah brings a background that combines […]

Sharon City School District’s Forum team focuses cultural changes  A small group of students working with Sharon City School District’s Forum team last spring raised concerns about school safety and about their sense that students didn’t feel a strong connection with staff. The concerns prompted the team to conduct a survey of the student body […]

Forum team brings student voice to bear on school culture Pittsburgh Allderdice High School’s Forum team set out this year to harness student voice in service of overall school culture. After beginning late last spring with just a few kids who attended a Forum meeting in March, they’ve grown their group of participants to 35 […]

Imaginary projects can help kids get a better sense of self Ideas that emerge when teams of 8th graders are challenged to imagine and invent something the world needs are by turns fanciful, practical and everything in between. But byproducts of the process are more the point. By bouncing their individual ideas around, coming to […]

TFIM leaders learn why “sustainability mindset” is becoming a workplace expectation Advisors and student leaders from our career exploration program, The Future Is Mine (TFIM), came together in December for mid-year debriefings, planning for the annual Student Leadership Conference and a presentation on educational resources offered by the Green Building Alliance. TFIM team leaders also […]

Like lots of districts, Clairton City had long considered senior projects the key to engaging students in making post-secondary plans. The problem was too many were treating the projects as just another assignment to finish, not an opportunity for exploration. Clairton City's Forum team That’s why the district’s Forum team is working this year on [...]

Apprenticeship training centers offer alternative path Like most kids, students from Clairton High School knew little if anything about the jobs Sprinklerfitters do before visiting Local 542’s  Pittsburgh training center. But after learning about their work, Ivori, a sophomore exploring post-secondary options, was excited—she thought she might like to do it herself. Not only did the […]

Lawrence County CTC marks gains in extracurricular participation and core academic skills Lawrence County Career & Technical Center has seen a sharp increase in the number of students taking part in extra-curricular activities this year as well as in the number who are academically eligible. Both improvements owe a nod to an initiative a team […]

Peers select four Forum teams for recognition At The Forum’s November meeting, teams of educators shared progress on planning and implementation of initiatives they’ve undertaken to help achieve high priority goals in their districts. In breakout groups of two to three schools or districts, participants received feedback and selected four of the initiatives for recognition […]

Students look to technology to solve business challenges confronting PANTHERx As a highly specialized pharmacy delivering prescriptions nationwide to people with uncommon, if not rare diseases, PANTHERx handles some of the drug industry’s most expensive and perishable medicines. As a result, the region’s fastest growing company needs to stay in constant communication with patients as […]