Press Release. 3-19-2020
PITTSBURGH, PA. In response to the
Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forcing school closures, Smart Futures, a
Pittsburgh-based nonprofit technology company, is inviting Pennsylvania school
districts and charter schools not currently subscribed to their service to
utilize their career planning and portfolio platform at no charge for the
remainder of the 2019-20 academic year. The SmartFutures.org platform allows
students to build mandated career readiness artifacts from their homes while
schools are closed due to the pandemic.
The artifacts are a requirement of a
new mandate called Future Ready PA that has made Pennsylvania the first state
in the United States to require that each student develop a K-12 career plan
and portfolio.
SmartFutures.org offers online
activities that are aligned to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Career
Education and Work for each grade band (K-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-11). These activities make it easy for students
with access to a computer, tablet, or cell phone to create artifacts that
comply with Future Ready PA career readiness indicators. Furthermore, these
artifacts are portable between schools and districts. The resulting plan and portfolio will carry
with the student after graduation. Tools for simplifying the audit visit and
PIMS file creation are also provided.
“We created SmartFutures.org to help
schools be in compliance with this career readiness mandate,” says David Mosey,
Smart Futures Executive Director. “Now the challenge posed by the Corona Virus
has opened the door to getting more schools the help they need. Beginning this process now will make it
easier for districts and charters to move forward once the pandemic is over.”
To take advantage of this offer or to learn
more, a district or charter school representative should email dmosey@smartfutures.org to
express interest in moving forward. Smart
Futures will send out a startup kit and invitation to a Zoom Meeting for an
overview SmartFutures.org and the onboarding process required to get students
started quickly.
For more information, contact:
Phone: 412-288-3900
