A cohort of leadership teams from six districts is collaborating on opportunities for improving school design; strengthening family engagement; and increasing student career-readiness. Individually, the districts will develop and implement strategies around one or more of those focus areas. The Consortium facilitates discussions among the districts, provides resources, and builds partnerships to support their work.
Burrell, Cornell, Deer Lakes, Greensburg Salem, Jeannette City and Woodland Hills school districts will join forces to study and develop ways to ensure that all students are prepared to share in this region’s rich opportunities for post-secondary learning and careers. With funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and support from the Consortium for Public Education, we’ll be working individually and collaboratively to:
- Engage our students’ families in their learning,
- Improve the educational experience in our schools, and,
- Increase students’ career readiness.
Our overarching goal is to give all students the skills they need for jobs no one previously imagined and at a time when southwestern Pennsylvania holds more economic promise than it has in a generation.
Each of the districts in the cohort has identified opportunities that we intend to leverage and share. We’re doing so in the knowledge that today’s learners are tomorrow’s hope and that our region’s future success depends on theirs.
The Consortium will connect with local and national experts to share research regarding proven and promising educational practices to increase leadership team members’ knowledge and skills.
With the Consortium’s facilitation and coaching, district leaders will plan up to three pilot projects per district. As the districts’ plans take shape, CPE will connect the districts with community organizations, employers, and post-secondary partners who are critical for the projects’ success.
During the 2021-2022 academic year, districts will implement the pilot projects in partnership with students, families, educators, community organizations, employers, and post-secondary organizations.
The Consortium, in partnership with an assessment team, will collect evidence and identify early successes and potential challenges as well as help districts examine if they are meeting the needs of their families and students. The Consortium will use the assessment team’s report and evidence collected throughout this project to create a “Playbook” that can be shared with other districts, employers, and post-secondary partners throughout the region.
Summarizing the work of the six districts in the focus areas of strengthened family engagement, increased student future readiness, and improved school design is our Collaborative for Student Success Playbook 2021-22. The playbook highlights key elements of the work of each district and explains the key role that the Consortium played as the intermediary. While a summary can only elaborate on a small slice of the work, it provides a glimpse into what might be possible and inspires other districts to ask key questions of themselves as they seek to better serve their students.
