Site visits provide window into world of employment for TFIM teams

Students participating in The Consortium for Public Education's career exploration program, The Future Is Mine (TFIM) again will get a window on the world of work through site visits planned with more than a dozen employers during the annual TFIM Student Leadership Conference. To read more about the two-day Conference, which takes place this year April 14th-15th in Downtown Pittsburgh, click TFIM.

 Spring grants span 10 districts

More than $25,800 went to 17 projects in 10 districts in The Consortium for Public Education's spring round of Great Idea Grants. For a complete rundown of the opportunities they promise students, click Great Idea Grants.

McKeesport and Belle Vernon teams add their voices to Hear Me

Students participating in The Consortium for Public Education's career exploration and student leadership program, The Future Is Mine, continue making creative contributions to Hear Me, a project that Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab launched to amplify youth voices across Southwestern Pennsylvania. TFIM teams at McKeesport Area High School and Belle Vernon Area High School are among the latest to join the region-wide conversation. To read more about their projects and others, click Hear Me. 

Schools help move book campaign toward 10-year goal

With the help of many hands in our region's schools - from National Honor Society chapters, to PTAs and, in some cases, entire student bodies and staffs - The Consortium for Public Education last month added more than 24,000 volumes to its 10-year campaign to collect 1 million childrens books for needy families. To learn more about the school groups and other contributors, click Fifth Food Group: Food for the Mind.

Community Report celebrates 25 years at The Consortium

For a look at how The Consortium for Public Educations creates learning networks for educators, students and community partners, we invite you to read our 2010-2011 Community Report. Just published, the report also celebrates the 25^th year since our founding and gives a rundown of our programs, projects and partners. To read more, click Community Report. As we celebrate our anniversary, we also thank those who have made our work possible. Among them are volunteers who have given us their time as well as many companies and organizations that have provided in-kind support or opened their doors to help us host events. We also are deeply grateful for generous funding from hundreds of donors and foundations. To review a roster of all who have helped fund our work over the past five years, click Supporters.

A running commentary on Kidsburgh

Pittsburgh places first or very high in lots of rankings, from most livable and best for sports, to among the most desirable for arts, walking or launching a new business. The Grable Foundation wants it to rank first as a place for kids, whether to grow up, learn, or find cool things to do. For a running commentary on ways that that Grable and others are working to turn the concept of Kidsburgh into reality, click Kidsburgh.