By Alyse Horn
In December 2013, Pittsburgh Public Schools released the plan for the Whole Child, Whole Community Conversation project that will be making its way to the Northside on March 18.
The meeting will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Institutional Church of God in Christ, 302 W. North Ave. and it is hosted by Christians Investing in Education.
According to the PPS website, the Whole Child, Whole Community was created with feedback from the community to ensure that PPS reaches its vision of all children graduating from a two or four-year college, or receive a workforce certification.
The plan is outlined using several areas of focus to help PPS address two critical issues of its vision, financial stability and academic performance.
Concentrating on those two issues, Whole Child, Whole Community breaks down the meeting even further into four categories: Improve Fiscal Sustainability- Living Within our Budget, Investing in People, Investing in Student performance- Refocus on Academic Milestones, and Partner with the Community in a New Way.
District Spokesperson Ebony Pew said these conversations are key for PPS to partner with the community in a new way, and parents can receive information and ask questions that they might have not known already.
Pew said many community partners around the city have stepped up to host the Whole Child, Whole Community Conversations, such as the Institutional Church of God in Christ along with YouthPlaces and Hill House Association, Trinity AME Zion Church, and Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee and Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
“I hope people can come out and learn about this work,” Pew said. “We cannot do this without the community, and we look forward to engaging with the community [to benefit] Pittsburgh children.”
For more information of the Whole Child, Whole Community Conversation, please visit www.pps.k12.pa.us/wholechild. To give or get feedback from the meetings, email [email protected]
