“Building Pride, Building Character” Program Nurtures Citizenship Skills

This year, the “Building Pride, Building Character” program is being offered in a virtual format, teaching Pittsburgh Public School students about Pittsburgh’s history and architecture, and the people who work to improve our communities. Pictured here are videographer Randall Coleman of Reddvision and sound technician Tyler Vietmeier filming James Hill (Special Assistant to Mayor Bill Peduto) sharing the historic beauty and function of Pittsburgh’s City Council Chambers with students.

As part of our Building Pride, Building Character EITC program, Pittsburgh Public School students from Dilworth met virtually on March 12, with City Councilwoman Deborah Gross to learn more about city government and to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their neighborhood.

After a 30-minute conversation, Dilworth teachers Stephanie Hornick, Cory Herschk, and Lauren Freeman, sent thank you notes created by the students to Councilwoman Gross and noted that “you gave us lots of great things to talk about during Social Studies class.”

“It was inspiring to hear third-grade students sharing their concerns about vacant buildings, roads, and green spaces in their neighborhoods,” said Co-director of Education Sarah Greenwald. “They clearly know and value their community and want to take care of it––and that is a primary goal of our EITC program.” This was the second virtual meeting between third-grade students and City Council representatives: students from Pittsburgh Roosevelt met with Blake Plavchak, Councilman Coghill’s Chief of Staff, on February 23.

We also recently released another educational video for use in third- and fourth-grade classrooms. The “Dollar Bank Heritage Center” video is the first stop on our virtual Pittsburgh People & Places field trip. “Through exhibits and artifacts housed in the remarkable Dollar Bank Heritage Center, we introduce the art of writing biographies to fourth-grade students,” said Education Advisor Louise Sturgess. “We especially thank Dorothy Spangler of Dollar Bank for providing historical images and information for our use.”

Videographer Randall Coleman and Tyler Vietmeier, a sound technician, are in the process of editing six more videos; three more architectural landmarks will be filmed in April, with editing to follow.

We thank S&T Bank for recently contributing to PHLF’s “Building Pride, Building Character” educational program, made possible through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. Click here for a complete list of donors who are underwriting our virtual programming with the Pittsburgh Public Schools through mid-June.