UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The third annual PSU-Pitt Education Summit will convene at University Park at 11 a.m. today (Sept. 27) at the Nittany Lion Inn to continue a partnership aimed at providing better services and resources for K-12 students in Pennsylvania.
The conference — "Re-Inventing Tomorrow's Schools: Innovations in Pennsylvania through Community-University Partnerships" — was established in 2015 under the leadership of Cristin Hall, assistant professor of education (school psychology), and Stephen Bagnato, distinguished professor of education at the University of Pittsburgh, who sought to increase networking and research opportunities among interdisciplinary service professionals.
"The partnership between Penn State and Pitt is important because both institutions have a vested interest in the ways in which research and outreach can be blended more effectively," said Hall, who once again is serving as the conference co-chair.
"Because Penn State and Pitt are both concerned with the children and youth of the Commonwealth, we address various needs and geographic locations, with Pitt concentrating on an urban, western PA focus and Penn State with a rural and central PA focus," she added.
According to Hall, this year's summit emphasizes implementation and sustainability of university-community-school partnerships. Presentations center on specific partnership-themed research that faculty from both universities have conducted and have an interdisciplinary approach.
A highlight of this year's conference, Hall said, is the keynote presentation, presented jointly by David H. Monk, dean of the Penn State College of Education, and Valerie Kinloch, dean of the School of Education at Pitt. The leadership chat between the two deans will explore how university-community partnerships can be supported and sustained.
The two-day conference also will feature a special presentation by Kevin Kearns, professor of public and nonprofit management in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at Pitt. Research presentations, including projects focused on military-impacted public schools, using online technology in schools, and the use of partnerships to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline are on the schedule as well.
Hall said she is excited to see the continued to success of the partnership between the two schools and the effects the collaboration has across the Commonwealth.
"The emerging collaborations between our leadership and researchers open doors for continued advancement of research that will continue to serve the needs and education of children and youth in Pennsylvania," Hall said.