|
When it
went on the air in 1954, WQED’s primary mission was, and
remains, education. Children’s programming has always been WQED’s
greatest connection to the community, and its most measurable means
of success.
WQED’s
Education Resource Center is the hub of the educational connection
with the community. The Center focuses on four key areas: literacy;
workforce development; arts and culture; and community education.
The Center connects with educational partners throughout the region
to enhance existing initiatives and educational programs. Community
partners include the Mon Valley Educational Consortium; the Carnegie
Science Center; the National Association of Manufacturers; the Pittsburgh
Technology Council; the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania and
Family Communications, Inc., producers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
The Education
Resource Center’s literacy programs reach out to child care professionals,
parents, teachers and families throughout the region.
Through
the popular PBS Ready to Learn training program for child care professionals,
the Education Resource Center has provided high-quality programming
to more than 600 professionals in the Pittsburgh region, and has touched
the lives of more than 1,200 children. Ready to Learn trains early
child care professionals to use popular PBS Kids programs and materials
to help children gain a love of learning and reading through media
literacy, and to help them learn through viewing, reading and doing.
The Education
Resource Center also provides literacy workshops to regional after-school
programs in schools and community centers. The Stories Start Action
program brings literacy activities to schools through themed workshops.
In addition, after school programs are provided with activities kits
that can be used to reinforce the themes learned during the program.
The Education
Resource Center has been chosen to participate in the Maryland Public
Television Ready to Grow pilot program. Based on the PBS model, Ready
to Grow trains after school program providers how to help children
develop a love for learning through the use of PBS Kids programs.
A grant
from the Department of Education is funding development of a pilot
for a cooking show that teaches math and science concepts to middle
school students. Partners include the Carnegie Science Center, which
will help develop content, and the Mon Valley Educational Consortium,
which will aid in curriculum development, teacher training for credit
and marketing to schools. Family Communications, Inc. is studying
gender inequity in math and science and will help with targeted ancillary
programming.
WQED has
been at the forefront with workforce development, and has produced
programming and educational outreach materials to help employers and
employees adapt to a changing work environment. WQED has been able
to develop regional programs with partners that address the image
of manufacturing and the communications gap that exists between the
workforce and potential employers, which causes skilled labor jobs
to go unfilled. WQED can help to create awareness that manufacturing
is now a high-tech industry with jobs for those with the right skills.  
|
Brain
Food pilot, a cooking show
for children pilot has been
produced that uses math and
science in cooking as a way to
educate middle school students
For
the Love of Books: The goal of
the program is to gather 100,000
new or gently used children’s
books for distribution to area’s
neediest children
TeacherLine:
Via the Internet,
TeacherLine offers professional
development classes and modules
to Pennsylvania educators
Making
Our Region Work, a
multimedia project in partnership
with the Mon Valley Educational
Consortium that called attention
to the need for workers with
specialized and two-year degrees
in the workplace
|
|
