Pittsburgh is teaching America how to reinvent learning

Two years ago, remarkable things happened as the pandemic upended education. Teachers and administrators, families, community organizations and businesses all got creative, seeking to give kids meaningful learning experiences not dependent on a school building.

Undoubtedly, an equity gap remains, but communities throughout our region created free and low-cost learning opportunities beyond school. The options have grown in response to the pandemic.

We’ve seen how children benefit from cross-sector cooperation. As we look forward, what is going to make learning relevant and exciting for kids, and what will help us become an even stronger ecosystem to support kids, is collaboration.

From PBS affiliate stations across Pennsylvania coming together to offer virtual programming to libraries providing take-home kits for maker and science activities, a wide variety of people are actively working to create relevant learning opportunities for youth. Museums develop cooperative relationships with schools and afterschool programs connect with local teachers. Local tech startup begin mentoring local high schoolers.

Many businesses, nonprofits, and community groups are working alongside educators and K-12 students to bring them into learning labs, design jams, outdoor projects and more. Parents are taking a keen interest in finding more opportunities for their kids.

This intersection of kids, parents, teachers, after-school educators and employers is creating new opportunities for everyone involved to problem-solve together while also inspiring new ways to learn, communicate and innovate. The key is all families must be able to find and access these opportunities. Every parent and caregiver needs to know how to plug into our region’s learning ecosystem and experience it first-hand.

Public interest in “outside-thebox” learning experiences has risen dramatically since we launched the very first Remake Learning Days festival in Pittsburgh in 2016. One of the goals of this festival is to shine a bright spotlight on all the joyful learning activities that exist in our own backyard.

Here in Pittsburgh, families can explore more than 175 hands-on learning events, nearly all of them free. Parents can learn alongside their kids as they explore arts, maker, outdoor learning, science, technology, youth voice and career readiness events.

Based on participant feedback, our own biggest takeaway from this event is that collaboration is the key to fostering a lifelong love of learning in kids and adults alike. When students are introduced to new ideas in ways that invite them to explore challenges from different perspectives, connect their knowledge across multiple topic areas and work together with others in seeking creative solutions, this deep learning experience helps them become even more passionate about learning itself.

And when organizations collaborate, children’s lives improve.

This collaborative approach is critical for the future of education. And it’s a powerful antidote to the intertwined problems of pandemic learning loss and inequity.

Over the past century, Pittsburgh has greatly evolved from its industrial powerhouse roots, proving it’s never too late to reimagine what’s possible for a city, a region, or an economy. We believe our region’s continued investment in innovative approaches to education can also provide a national blueprint that will help parents, educators and students learn how to innovate and communicate better together. By thinking boldly, we can help prepare today’s students to become the innovators and problem-solvers of tomorrow.

Perhaps even more importantly, by nurturing a love of curiosity and exploration in learners of all ages, we can also help them foster a lifelong love of learning that doesn’t end when the bell rings, the school year ends, or their diploma is in hand.