Change Agents in Education

In this pictured workshop, a student cohort of Change Agents in Education learned human-centered design methods and focused on developing solutions to issues in their schools and communities.
In this pictured workshop, a student cohort of Change Agents in Education learned human-centered design methods and focused on developing solutions to issues in their schools and communities.

The Pittsburgh Foundation seeks up to 21 highly motivated youth from the Pittsburgh region to participate in a Human-Centered Design Workshop – Change Agents in Education: Social Justice and the First Amendment.

WHO: Students from grades 10, 11 and 12.
WHAT: Learn Human-Centered Design to create youth-designed and youth-led projects that will improve your schools and your communities.
WHEN:

Attendance is required at all of the following in 2019: 

  • Thursday, Nov. 14 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Friday, Nov. 15 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 16 from 8 a.m. to noon
WHERE: The Pittsburgh Foundation, located at Five PPG Place, Suite 250, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, in downtown Pittsburgh. Bus passes or parking will be provided.
DETAILS:

The Foundation will provide: training offered by LUMA Institute, all supplies; breakfast and lunch; student stipends of $150 each and future financial support to carry out selected student projects developed in the seminar. With approval from a school administrator, participation will count as an approved school absence. 

What is the Change Agents in Education Program?

The Change Agents in Education Program was developed to provide training in Design Thinking and Human Centered Design as a toolkit to introduce innovative ways to create change in public education and in the quality of life for youth and their families living in Pittsburgh.  Since the 2012 creation of the initiative in partnership with donors Joe and Sue Ballay, six cohorts of educators and students from across Allegheny County have participated. More than 100 teachers, administrators and students have taken these new skills back to their schools, where they have worked with colleagues, students, parents and community members to begin to transform education in our region.

Change Agents in Education – Social Justice and the First Amendment -  is designed and executed in partnership with LUMA Institute in Pittsburgh to provide youth with the tools to develop and lead efforts to create change in their school and communities. Participating students will learn Human Centered Design methods. This way of working places the needs of the people at the center of designing innovative responses to problems or social issues. Human-centered design practitioners learn to watch and actively listen, to ask people what they need rather than telling them, and to respect and value diverse opinions and points of view.  Human centered design practitioners utilize the learnings gathered from observing and listening to design innovative responses to user needs. Ultimately, student teams are eligible to receive grants to carry out rigorously designed, collaborative projects they have created. See more examples of Human Centered Design in action.

Social Justice and the First Amendment - Student Cohort
 

The First Amendment states that:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Over the past 18 months, The Pittsburgh Foundation has been working with multiple individuals and organizations to generate dialogue and to better understand the current threats to First Amendment freedoms in the United States.

In this workshop, students will learn about, define, and create projects with a First Amendment focus. 

Through Human-Centered Design, participants will develop problem solving skills, think critically about issues facing their schools and communities and conceive projects that have the potential to be transformative and create positive social change. 

The goals of the Change Agents in Education Youth Cohort are to:

  • Introduce students to the principles and practice of Human-Centered Design.
  • Equip youth with tools to serve as active leaders working for social justice regarding issues of the First Amendment in their own schools and communities.
  • Advance students’ ability to work collaboratively in teams across multiple schools and school districts and within their home school.

Requirements

Responsibilities of the student participants in Change Agents in Education include:

  • Submission of an application with a team from a school and/or a community-based organization with which you are involved. Students may be in grades 10 through 12. A team must be at least two students, with at least one student in either 10th or 11th grade. A team can also be comprised of three or four students, as long as at least two students are in either 10th or 11th grade.
  • Evidence of support from an adult ally in a school or community-based organization to provide guidance and assist in carrying out a student-led project after the workshop. The ally may be a principal or other administrator, a guidance counselor, a teacher or community/nonprofit leader connected with an organization.
  • A description of the issue that the team members would like to address within their school or community and why this qualifies as a First Amendment issue.
  • If selected, students under 18 years of age will be asked to submit a parental permission slip at least two weeks prior to the program’s start date.
  • All students are required to participate in all program sessions listed above.

The Pittsburgh Foundation will provide:

How to apply

APPLICATIONS DUE: Friday, Oct. 4 by 5 p.m. If you have any questions, please call the Change Agents team at 412-394-2617 or 412-394-2634 or email changeagents [at] pghfdn.org (changeagents[at]pghfdn[dot]org).  Submit your application through the online form or download the full application (Word | PDF), complete it and email to changeagents [at] pghfdn.org (changeagents[at]pghfdn[dot]org). 

Before you begin the application, please review full program guidelines and gather the following information:

Change Agent Team Info 
(For each team member)

  • Student Name
  • Address
  • Cell Phone #
  • Email
  • School and Grade
  • Neighborhood of Residence
  • Social Media Handle(s)
  • Parent/Guardian's Name
  • Parent/Guardian's Phone
  • Parent/Guardian's Email

Adult Ally Info

  • Ally Name
  • Cell Phone #
  • Email
  • School District, School or Organization and Position
  • School District or Teacher Social Media Handle(s)
  • Ally Letter of Support
    Letter to include a brief statement about the school/organization's support for the project and description of the strengths of the team and its individual members.

Answers to the these questions (answered by students as a team):

  • Describe a First Amendment issue that your team would like to address. Please include information about those who are most affected by this issue, why the issue is important and what will be different if your team is successful.
  • Tell us about yourselves.
  • Describe what the term "social justice" means to your team.
  • Describe what the First Amendment means to your team.
  • Describe the reasons you are all interested in becoming Change Agents.
  • Describe your team's adult ally and why your team asked them to work with your team.

 

APPLICATIONS DUE: Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at 5 p.m.

submit your application online 

 

 
[1] Adapted from the United Nations Statement on Youth and the Sustainable Development Goals 2018. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/youth/.  Retrieved July 10, 2019.