News

Susan Kosko has been a reading support teacher in the Carlynton School District’s Crafton Elementary School for 11 years, but this year is different: "The kids run into my classroom and they'll say, 'Is it time to leave already?'” – all thanks to some dolphins who live off the coast of Florida.
 
Kosko’s 17 second, third and fourth graders are taking part in the Dolphin Project, Skyping with the crew of The Dolphin Explorer boat as it tours the eco-system and wildlife of the faraway state’s ocean environment – especially the dolphins.
 
The idea originated when Kosko discovered the Explorer on vacation and collaborated with its crew to devise the program. Her students read the book Winter's Tail ... How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again and keep a journal of their twice-weekly virtual marine explorations.
 
"In the past, I could never get my students to read a chapter book," she says; now they’re reading them regularly. Apart from the kids’ enthusiasm – which is a “priceless” aid to reading skills in itself, she says – Kosko reports that her young charges have made gains in both reading and math skills on standardized tests since the dolphins swam into their lives. "When I go down into the computer lab to support my students, I've noticed a lot of them are always choosing dolphins to research. They're almost becoming the experts” in helping other students learn how to research, she adds.
 
She hopes the project will appear soon on Good Morning America, or WTAE’s segment of the program, since she got a positive reaction to a video about the project that she sent to the show. She and the Carnegie Elementary School teacher who is also running a Dolphin Project in her own classroom hope one day to take the kids to see the dolphins in person.
 
Meanwhile, Kosko says, the boat’s personnel "truly make us feel we're a part of the team. I don't think I'll find a team of people who are so good with the students. As a teacher, I'm learning from them. I hope in the future we can continue to work together."
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Susan Kosko, Carlynton School District

Listening to kids' ideas for changing their schools and communities is the impetus behind the Hear Me project, whose latest recordings highlight some Wilkinsburg High School students with the ambition of improving their educational experience.
 
Jessica Kaminsky, a Hear Me project manager, says the students are all part of a neighborhood project called FUSE  -- Fostering Skills for Urban kids through Social-emotional-literacy Education.
 
“They stood out at Wilkinsburg High School," Kaminsky says. "They’re very proactive in their education and they’re very concerned with Wilkinsburg High School. They asked us at Hear Me to listen to what concerns them.”
 
Their number one concern: the seeming lack of structure in their high school. “There aren’t enough rules -- and the rules aren’t followed well” or consistently by students, teachers or administrators, the kids say in their stories, as Kaminsky summarizes them.
 
“It’s been a really powerful tool for them to have talked about these issues," she says. "They brought [the stories] to the school board meeting this week. They did a very good job of opening up a dialog” with school-board members.
 
Ryan Hoffman, Hear Me project coordinator, reports that the students plan to pull ideas and phrases from their recordings to put on t-shirts, and then create other ways of spreading their message beyond the stories. The audio recordings will thus be a launching point for a longer campaign.
 
"The students were able to talk one-on-one with the school board members, many of whom were surprised to hear the issues in the high school," says Hoffman. One school-board member approached four of the students to ask questions about their stories. "He was surprised to hear that students didn’t feel safe in school and about the lack of student-teacher relationships," Hoffman reports. The board member then invited the students to a community relations and school image committee meeting, and to attend future school-board meetings as the board's youth voice.
 
“They’re a group of hard working students who really want a great education," Kaminsky marvels,  "and they’re willing to put the work in.”
 
Hear Me is a project of Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab (Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment).
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Sources: Jessica Kaminsky and Ryan Hoffman, Hear Me

March 6 marked the debut of a one-of-a-kind regional charter school that mixes cyber-education with in-person group learning. To its STEM focus (science, technology, engineering and math) it also adds an emphasis on research and the arts. That all adds up to the STREAM Academy, opened by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for K-12 students starting in the 2012-13 school year.
 
STREAMers at the high-school level have the choice of six focus areas, called tributaries, which AIU spokesperson Sarah McCluan says will prepare them for future careers in this region. Local business and industry leaders helped formulate the focal areas.
 
Once called PA Learners Online, the reconceived school was founded by 10 local districts, but kids from any district in the state can attend. The school will have 650 kids when all the spots are filled.
 
The school’s in-person, “On-Location” days are designed to let students connect and collaborate with each other while completing hands-on activities. They also will let students meet educational or business professionals who can give them a better picture of potential careers. Such days will be held at the STREAM Academy facility, another educational institution or even a business; business internships are part of the school’s curriculum as well.
 
The tributaries are meant to be career paths that children will explore from the beginning of their enrollment in STREAM but choose to focus on in their last few years. The tributaries are biomedical; engineering; logistics, manufacturing, and construction technologies; architecture, digital media arts and technology; energy, emerging sciences, and math; and finally agriculture, plant and animal science (which will be added by the 2013-14 school year).
 
“All these tributaries are designed to prepare our students to be productive members of the 21^st-century workforce,” says McCluan.
 
Explore and apply to the STREAM Academy here.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Sarah McCluan, Allegheny Intermediate Unit

Here are some scary statistics: a recent survey of families in East Liberty found that, in an emergency, 14 percent have left their kids with a person whose full name or address they didn't even know, someone who had "anger issues," or a person whose ability to care for their kids was in doubt. The results, for some, were children getting hurt or developing “big behavior problems.”
 
The solution is a relief or crisis nursery, say the two physicians who hope to found this first-in-the-city facility: Dr. Lynne Williams, an internal medicine-pediatric physician at East Liberty Family Health Care Center, and Dr. Tammy Murdock, an obstetrician-gynecologist who is a board member of the Family Life Fund of the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
 
"The city has a lot of resources in terms of child abuse prevention and parent education," says Williams, "but there is no emergency overnight care. Under the age of 6, there is no place for [kids] to go."
 
Dubbed Jeremiah's Place after one of Williams’ mother’s foster kids and a Bible quote (Jeremiah 29:11 "… plans to give you a hope and a future"), the crisis nursery will offer respite care to families with kids up to 6 years old. Children can be dropped off without notice to relieve a variety of stresses on families: If a single mother is ill or needs someplace for a first child to go while she's delivering a second, for instance -- or if a parent needs help because he or she is worried about hurting the children.
 
The need is real: The pair point to reported statistics that show Allegheny County receiving more than 17,000 notifications of suspected child abuse or neglect in 2011.

"We won't assume that you're in any crisis," Murdock assures parents who might need Jeremiah’s Place. "You could be in a time crunch. You won't necessarily have to explain." Jeremiah's Place will aim for a home-like atmosphere, with a first-floor community center for parenting classes and community events, plus upper floors (and backyard) for the kids. Locations are still being scout along the Penn Avenue corridor to serve Wilkinsburg, Homewood, East Liberty, Garfield, Lawrenceville, Lincoln-Lemington and Larimer. The founders are also looking for $750,000 to $1 million to fund the project.
 
"Our goal is to provide for the safety of the child and be supportive of the family," says Williams. "We want them to feel that we are a partner with them."
 
And, says Murdock, staff will also ask parents, "’Next time, how are we going to work through this together? Are you going to come back here?  Do you have supports in the community?’
 
There have been a lot of groups trying to help families backed into a corner,” he adds. “If we don't capture them, this will continue the cycle."
 
Do Good:
Know someone who needs similar emergency help with school age kids? Under the right circumstances, that may be found at the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh or, for older teens, UPMC’s Re:solve Crisis Network. And you can sign up for the Jeremiah's Place newsletter to receive updates.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Sources: Dr. Lynne Williams and Dr. Tammy Murdock, Jeremiah’s Place

Prime Stage Theatre specializes in presenting plays of classic literature that are accessible to all ages, but to reach teens with a warning about dating violence, the theater turned to its own Teen Board for a fresh new drama.
 
The result? "Everything is Fine," being offered in a free showing March 1, with donations benefiting the Demi Brae Cuccia Memorial Foundation.
 
Demi Brae Cuccia was a well-known Gateway High School cheerleader when she was killed in 2007 by an ex-boyfriend. Prime Stage hopes "Everything is Fine" teaches teens the warning signs of dating violence in a way that an adult-written play never could.
 
Dotty Weisberg, Prime Stage board member and Teen Board advisor, says her daughter Hannah Jo and two other Teen Board members wrote the play after the entire Teen Board came up with ideas, then collectively reviewed and refined the results. It has already debuted at several high schools.
 
"The kids who came to see the play … their attention was there from the very beginning," says Weisberg. "There were kids who came up and talked to counselors afterwards who said they thought that they were in a relationship that wasn't healthy."
 
In general, the Teen Board suggests Prime Stage productions that teens ought to be interested in seeing, "in the hopes that as adults they will continue to enjoy going to live theater," says Debra Sciranka, Prime's marketing assistant. Prime will also feature a new dark-night reading series beginning Feb. 27 with a memoir by local multidisciplinary artist Shirley Barasch, who will talk about growing up in Squirrel Hill and developing her creative side despite a strict religious upbringing. Its next play production is "The Elephant Man."
 
"Everything is Fine" will be available for performances at schools and other organizations whose audience might benefit.
 
"A child doesn't have to end up murdered" as a result of a dangerous dating situation, says Weisberg. "There are a lot of warning signs -- obsession with the person, wanting complete control …" This play, she concludes, "is a very valuable educational tool."
 
Do Good:
See tips and tools about teen dating violence at the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh -- and support its other efforts while you're there.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Sources: Debra Sciranka, Dotty Weisberg, Prime Stage Theatre

Unlike every other service dog, autism service dogs are trained to allow attention -- even too much attention, says Susan Wagner, who has trained 10 such dogs since founding Perfect Fit Canines in Churchill Borough two years ago. “Even though their ear is being tugged, 'I'll sit here, even though chaos is all around me,’” the dogs are trained to think, Wagner says.
 
She and husband Jim, who has two decades of experience with local schools and agencies serving children with autism, are getting more requests for dogs than they can handle, Wagner reports. And the dogs have many uses for kids and young adults along the autism spectrum. The animals can stop kids from bolting, track lost kids or alert parents to kids wandering at night. They can interrupt self-stimulation behavior or become a social connection for kids, especially because dogs are the only animals that look humans in the face to get their own social clues.
 
English labs and standard poodles are the current pooch of choice.
 
Perfect Fit’s greatest need is for puppy raisers: people willing to house and feed young dogs and get them acclimated to behaving in grocery stores, churches and other distracting environments. Perfect Fit pays for two training classes a month, the dog’s training vest, leash and collar, and connects trainers to volunteer and discount veterinarians, or pays for the care outright. The puppy trainer pays for food, treats and toys, but the biggest donation is time, of course -- andWagner points out that monetary expenses are tax deductible.
 
The idea of autism service dogs is gaining notice in the U.S., but the Wagners rely on an international organization for outside guidance on training methods. Susan Wagner hopes school districts continue to be more accepting of the animals, which can be a hurdle, she admits.  "It's been widely used in other countries and other states for many years,” she says, “and it's now gaining more acceptance."
 
To find out more, contact Perfect Fit Canines here.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Susan and Jim Wagner, Perfect Fit Canines

The Children's International Summer Villages program hosts kids in Pittsburgh from all over the U.S. and the world every three years “to make peace a habit of mind among very young people -- that's the only way to prevent wars in the future," says Kristin Kovacic, who heads the local chapter of this global organization.
 
"It's sort of like a church youth group, but without the church," she adds, with a program that teaches the principles of conflict resolution, diversity, social justice and sustainability. "It connects people who would not necessarily be connected -- certainly internationally, but also locally," bringing together youth across neighborhoods, political backgrounds and religious affiliations.
 
Each Village lasts a month because "a month is what it takes, minimally, to make a friend." She calls the whole venture “a global leap of faith.” Ten delegations of four kids each, ages 11-17, will form the Village here starting in June, coming from Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, Sweden and elsewhere in the U.S. Even the counselors will be mostly international visitors, from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the Philippines.
 
"We're going to take care of them like they're our own children," Kovacic says of the young visitors. And Pittsburgh children can expect the same treatment when they head this summer to Villages in Maine, Belgium, Guatemala, Detroit and Austria.
 
While Village activities include such camp staples as soccer and swimming, the focus is on helping kids create bonds and learn how the world works. This year’s theme is “footprints of peace,” which will lend itself to lessons on our impact on the earth and on one another. And there won’t be too many distractions: kids have to check all their electronics at the door.
 
"Kids are just as interested in being thoughtful as they are in being playful," says Kovacic, whose day job is teaching poetry at Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12. Villagers, such as her own son, who went to Mexico, accumulate language skills along the way too, plus they trade a lot with their peers. "And they come home and teach us a lot," she says.
 
Pittsburgh’s Village chapter is still looking to fill its delegation to Guatemala this summer for another Village-sponsored exchange, in which local kids are matched with the same age and gender children in Guatemala, and families in both countries host each other’s children for two weeks each (although the program still includes lots of group activities). There are also chances for Pittsburgh families to take on a single weekend hosting duty during the Village. Says Kovacic:  It's a great way to learn about Children's International Summer Villages and about the larger world."
 
Get in touch with your global side by contacting the organization here, or call Kovacic at 412-683-1908.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Kristin Kovacic, Children's International Summer Villages

Fifteen kids dropped out of Elizabeth Forward High School last year, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Todd E. Keruskin says that's 15 too many.
 
So school district reps asked themselves how they could change the school's environment to retain as many students as possible. They toured Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center and decided to start their own Entertainment Technology Academy in the high school in January.
 
Now, says Keruskin, "kids are staying after school … and proposing a videogame club. That's what we're excited about."
 
The Academy is in a remodeled classroom that now features fiber-optic art, bungee-cord chairs and not a single desk for students or teachers.
 
The first 30 students are now working their way through the initial class, "Games Through the Ages," learning to play, build and modify some of the world's oldest games, and then will branch into one of three areas: computer programming and video; digital storytelling and creative writing; or digital art. Next spring, they'll work together in groups of three (one from each of the above areas) to create an app of a video game.
 
Keruskin says the Academy is in touch with videogame manufacturers to potentially partner, and are already testing games designed by the local company Schell Games.
 
Most astounding, he says, is that other school districts are visiting Elizabeth Forward to learn how to start an Academy of their own -- and some districts around them have even inquired about sending their students to Elizabeth Forward.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Dr. Todd E. Keruskin, Elizabeth Forward

“There are kids doing amazing things that they would never have been able to do without this program,” says Kate Vavpetic, senior school head at Fox Chapel's Shady Side Academy.
 
Vavpetic is talking about the school's Parkin Fellows: sophomores and juniors who devise their own national and international travel and aid projects, usually lasting three weeks, in hospitals or libraries, in construction or on environmental issues.
 
This year's Fellows are:

· Aya Agha of O’Hara, going to Mozambique to teach English at an orphanage; 
· Taylor Duncan, who will travel to Panama to help nurse malnourished children;  
· Maggie Elias, headed for Tanzania to work with children there; 
· Joseph Klein, who will work at the Pro Vita Orphanage in Romania; 
· Carianne Lee, teaching at a rural Chinese school; 
· Sophie Wecht, set to work on a project to protect turtles, crocodiles and birds in Mexico;
· Tarah Wright, in Senegal to undertake construction, agricultural projects and teaching; and
· Selina Yossef, slated to help build houses on the Sioux Indians' Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

When students return to school the next year, they present a report to their classmates. And they pledge to continue their service at home.
           
“The ideal for the program is that they have demonstrated some sort of commitment to service,” says Vavpetic. “I think that’s the most challenging for students. It’s hard, when they’ve been working in an orphanage in Romania or Tanzania, to translate that to [service] back home.”
 
In fact, during this spring's fellowship interview, several of the applicants proposed to start a Parkin Fellows club to organize events and pool resources to help with this important final step.
 
How important is it? Nearly every applicant told the selection committee they were inspired to apply by hearing presentations by last year’s fellows, Vavpetic says. “It does bring these global perspectives to our school,” she concludes.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Kate Vavpetic, Shady Side Academy

Two Fox Chapel High School juniors are winners in the essay contest of the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America – two of only three kids from Pennsylvania among the 60 honored nationwide.
 
Colleen Hamilton and Lisa Liu have each won $100 and will be headed to Washington, D.C. to participate in a model Congress, called the 2012 Congressional Seminar, and to tour the capitol.
 
Colleen Hamilton, of O’Hara Township, says she was encouraged to enter the competition by Jennifer Klein, who teaches a “Government and Political Science” course in 12^th grade – a course Hamilton is looking forward to taking.
 
She admits she didn’t know much about the Society – a 120-year-old group that promotes the country’s national heritage with historic preservation, service, and educational projects – but she was certain our times could still use the lessons of the contest’s theme: Abraham Lincoln’s famous pronouncement, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
 
“That’s clearly a huge issue in the political realm right now,” she says, “seeing that nothing much is being done, considering the divisions between the conservative and liberal parties. Both parties really need to work on compromising.”
 
The 16-year-old says it’s still early for college plans: “I’m interested in economics at the moment, but I’m really still exploring.”
 
Kidsburgh is pleased to present her winning essay here:
 
Divided We Stand: The Modern Day Reality of Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” Statement
 
By Colleen Hamilton
 
Over 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most well-known speeches in American history: the “House Divided” speech.  That speech provided a clear portrayal of America’s situation at that time, addressing the issue of slavery and the nation’s division into slave states and free states. Lincoln warned that a house divided cannot stand—in other words, the country could not continue to exist with both slave states and free states.  As history has shown, this warning about divisions within the nation has continued to be relevant ever since Lincoln’s speech.  The United States is currently in an economic crisis, and divisions within the country have created a stalemate in the process to recovery.   One of the primary barriers to fixing our economic problems is the division between the two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans.
 
Divisions have marked America’s history: patriots vs. loyalists, imperialists vs. anti-imperialists, slavery advocates vs. abolitionists, advocates of foreign entanglement vs. isolationists, etc.  One type of division has characterized most of America’s history: the division between political parties.  At one time the division was between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, but in current day it is between the Republicans and Democrats.  Regardless of their names, political parties have served to spark debate, provide citizens with choices, and act as a check on extreme views.  Often the separation of parties has aided the growth of America, bringing different ideas together to bring as much prosperity as possible. However, parties have also sometimes led to an unproductive clash of opinions that has hindered the nation’s progress.  At the present time, the clash has not aided the country whatsoever, but instead caused a bitter divide and inability to compromise.  The views of those on each side of the party line have become, for much of the population, so set in stone that adjusting their aims would be practically taboo.  The United States is currently in a position of great division, which may lead to it not being able to stand.
 
A few examples illustrate the major problems caused by the division between Republicans and Democrats. One recent example is the Supercommittee that the President convened to develop ideas to deal with the nation’s growing budget deficit.  This committee included both democrats and republicans and was asked to work together to identify ways to reduce the budget deficit, but ultimately was unable to compromise sufficiently to come up with a workable plan.  This failure made it clear that the current society is one in which complete tenacity against one’s opposing party is rewarded, and compromise is seen as a crime against one’s party. Another example is the threat of government shutdown that occurred several times in the past year. Even though a shutdown would create enormous challenges for people who are dependent on government support, members of Congress seemed willing to allow it to happen in order to avoid compromising.  Despite the parties’ agreement on many issues, there are certain items on which they seem to be unwilling to compromise. For instance, Republicans are opposed to raising taxes under almost any circumstances, and Democrats object to many proposed reductions in programs like Medicare.
 
Looking at the U.S.’s current economic crisis, some sort of real measures need to be taken within the U.S. to help end the crisis.  Both parties agree with the need for action.  Be that as it may, that basic agreement is completely superfluous without each side being willing to put forth a collaborative effort to solve it.  Both the Republicans and Democrats are resolutely determined that their views are correct and that their approaches would benefit society more than their opponents’ approaches.  Due to the unwillingness of each side to collaborate or compromise, the houses of Congress are gridlocked.  No truly effective laws are being passed.  Ideas are being slung back and forth between the houses and between the parties without the creation of any final decisions. 
 
America was built to stand united, but its current state of unification leaves much to be divided.  A country cannot properly function if it and its government are split along a barrier of contrasting beliefs.  Lincoln’s message was an eerily accurate depiction of America at his time and at the current time.  Many people have forgotten the basic truth in the main focus of the House Divided speech; in order for the United States to return to functionality, efforts need to be made to address the stark division between parties in America or America will fall.

“Part of what we’re doing is giving them permission to tell their own truth," Jim Daniels says about the high-school students who write about race and related issues for the annual MLK Writing Awards at Carnegie Mellon University, which also includes CMU students. Daniels, Baker Professor of English, founded and directs the contest, which just announced and posted some of the winners.
 
Even though race hovers in the consciousness of everyone, "sometimes kids are hesitant to approach the subject because it becomes so tense and loaded so quickly,” he says. The program began in 1997, when Daniels edited a poetry anthology for adults about race. “I thought it would be really interesting to get young people to do the same thing.”
 
It's hard to say what's trending in young people's thoughts about the subject today. “Sometimes it’s disappointing in terms of things continuing to be an issue – African-American kids getting followed around in stores," for instance, he says. But now there are kids from an even wider background considering the impact of ethnicity on their lives. “There are more kids writing from a mixed-race background, which I find interesting and in some cases heartening. I think they are more open about writing about it than before Obama was elected.”
 
This year's winners include a Japanese student writing about internment camps, a white kid -- the daughter of a minister -- writing about growing up alongside black people, and a Jewish kid questioning how he is supposed to, versus how he does, view Palestinians.
 
“One of the dangers of this" focus on race for only one day in January every year, Daniels concludes, "is that you think about it one day and forget about it the next. One way or another, we hope the discussion continues past Martin Luther King Day."
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Jim Daniels, Carnegie Mellon University

The illustrations WQED gets every year as entries in the annual PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest "put a super-smile on your face," says the station's Jennifer Stancil, executive director of educational partnerships. And the judges get attached to certain tales: "Often we find grown adults defending stories about crocodiles, fairies, spaceships and frogs on the moon, and they get very passionate about it," she reports.
 
That's why she's encouraging all kids from kindergarten to third grade to enter the 18th annual contest aimed at inspiring and increasing children’s reading skills. With EQT Corporation as a sponsor, Stancil expects hundreds of entries that will generate both local and national winners.
 
WQED and stations in West Virginia and at Penn State will be working with local teachers and libraries to encourage entry creation, including the opening of two new PBS Kids Library Corners (the first such in the region) at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie on Jan. 26 and the Homestead Library on Feb. 2. Saturday Light Brigade is also installing two new Story Boxes that feature audio of last year's winners reading their entries.
 
Parents and teachers can register for one-hour webinars to encourage their kids: Writing and Editing on Jan. 25 by elementary school teacher Caley Svensson; Ideation to Storyboarding on Feb. 8 by local children’s author Michael Scotto; and Illustration on March 7 by Joe Wos, executive director of the Toonseum.
 
Deadline for entry is April 6.
 
Past entries have been "amazing and imaginative," Stancil marvels -- everything from pop-up books to stories about science and sports. In art, "we will get everything from colored pencil drawings to paintings, photographs, and a lot of collage, a lot of three-dimensional art." Parents can even write words narrated by their youngest ones.
 
Prizes include tablets, e-readers and MP3 players will be handed out this summer, and winners and honorable mentions will record their stories live in the SLB radio studios at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, along with a celebration at WQED on May 12 that will include a performances of the winners’ stories as puppet plays.
 
Every grade level has four winners locally "and a great deal of honorable mentions," Stancil says. "Last year we had 'Best Use of a Pittsburgh Steeler' as an honorable mention … because we get really attached to stories that well-exceeded expectations."
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Jennifer Stancil, WQED Pittsburgh

Adam Nye wants kids “to be engaged in the design process and be engaged with new technologies. We want to spread this new Maker [philosophy] throughout Pittsburgh.”
 
This is one reason the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has opened a new permanent exhibit, the MakeShop, which Nye manages -- and that's why the museum is using funds from the Grable Foundation and other support from The Sprout Fund and The Pittsburgh Foundation to offer “Maker” micro grants to organizations that work with youth. These Micro Grants (up to $5,000) are for programs that engage children aged 7 to 17 in hands-on design and object production surrounding two themes: Wearables and Rideables. The projects can be as different as "a wearable gaming system or cupcakes on wheels," the museum suggests.
 
The entry deadline is March 16 for Wearables and April 20 for Rideables, with online judging.
 
The idea, Nye says, is “to help other nonprofits in the area create Make experiences for kids and young people.” Groups that are already doing projects of this type, such as Hack Pittsburgh in Uptown and Assemble in Garfield, have the best chance of gaining these grants. “These organizations have so many knowledgeable people in them," he says, "but sometimes it’s hard to reach the younger audience."
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Adam Nye, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

“Scholars are saying that this is the area that we’re either going to make it or not make it in the world in the future," says Bob Furman about STEM skills. Encouraging the math end of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education is what has motivated Furman to grow his Calcu-Solve program. It was once a math contest in an Upper St. Clair middle-school gym, designed to grow the calculating skills of 5th and 6th graders. Now it is open to 5th-12th graders at all local schools and headquartered at Duquesne University.
 
It's also set to expand across the state and maybe the nation.
 
Twenty-five years ago, Furman was the USC school's principal. Today he is an executive faculty member in the Educational Administration Program at Duquesne University, part of their School of Education’s Department of Foundations and Leadership. Calcu-Solve is now sponsored by the II-VI Foundation, whose founder's "hope and dream and mission is to improve the math, science and technology skills of today's youth and maybe create future scientists,” Furman says.
 
Today the contest involves students only from the Pittsburgh region. Furman is meeting with school officials in surrounding counties in the hopes of expanding participation. His plan next year is to have the Superbowl of Calcu-Solve here for regional winners.
 
“It’s rigorous math, and it’s amazing what the kids can do," he says. "It gives you a warm feeling to se what the kids can tackle.”
 
The contest has both individual and team competitions. Duquesne students are helping develop new math problems for the 9th to 12th grade students. "It’s just a math world," Furman concludes, "and we have to make sure our kids are prepared and competitive.”
 
To arrange participation in Calcu-Solve, call Furman at 724-344-9894, or click here.
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Bob Furman, Duquesne University

"In the next five years, 60 to 70 percent of [special education faculty] are predicted to retire, so we won't have the leadership capability to continue preparing quality special-ed teachers," says Christopher Lemons, assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. "There is a high need for both specialists in autism and highly qualified special-ed teachers in middle and high schools. The need for leadership is very apparent in this field."
 
One solution lies in $4 million in funding recently awarded to the Department of Instruction and Learning in Pitt's School of Ed from the U.S. Department of Education to create a trio of five-year programs focused on teacher preparation. Lemons is involved in two of the programs.
 
The first project, “Apprenticeship in Special Education Instruction, Research, and Leadership,” or ASPIRE, will train full-time doctoral candidates to provide in-service and pre-service preparation for teachers who serve high-need students with disabilities.
 
“Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Autism Specialization,” the second project, will train master's students in early intervention and early childhood special education, where the need is especially great to serve children under 5 in both cities and suburbs.
 
The final project. “Restructuring and Improving Special Education” (RISE), will revamp Pitt’s pre-K to grade 8 program in special education by creating a dual certification master’s level program in special education and secondary content areas. Lemons points out that, under No Child Left Behind, special ed teachers currently need both special ed and content area certifications.
 
"There is a stronger understanding overall that children with disabilities can be educated in a general education setting" today, he adds, which means that more teachers overall need the appropriate training. "It is encouraging that Pitt is really being seen as a promising area for teacher education and training. That is very exciting for the School of Education. All three [projects] should encourage people who want to become teachers or leaders in the field to look at Pitt."
 
Writer: Marty Levine
Source: Christopher Lemons, University of Pittsburgh School of Education