News

After five months together, two cohorts of school and nonprofit leaders completed their courses, learning about and applying the principles and strategies of human-centered design (HCD) in their work. Despite the differences in format and length (one 25-hour virtual course and the other a 50-hour in-person course), participants in both classes learned about the fundamentals […]

Starting July 2026, Pennsylvania’s new Career Education and Work Standards (CEW) will replace the original standards from 2015.  We don’t typically get excited about standards, but the new CEWs came as a pleasant surprise. Perhaps most importantly, the standards mark the closest that the PA Department of Education has come to formalizing a statewide Portrait […]

Britebound (formerly American Student Assistance) recently launched Career Ready Network, a new portion of their Career Ready HQ website dedicated to connecting students and educators to organizations that provide or assist with developing work-based learning opportunities. The Consortium was honored to be invited to be one of many organizations featured, among other local partners like […]

Penn Hills High School undertook an initiative this year that’s intended to give students the opportunity to graduate with something more than a diploma. The high school launched PHorge (Penn Hills Organization for Research, Growth & Education) Academy to provide several forms of career education in-house so that students can earn the kinds of industry […]

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 […]