Through innovative high school classes and hands-on internships, plans for the future are blooming in western PA 

This story is one in a series created in collaboration with Future-Driven Schools to celebrate the work of groundbreaking school districts in the Pittsburgh region. Kidsburgh will share these stories throughout the 2025-26 school year. (Photo above of students working with intern Jeanelle Stiteler by Ben Filio for Remake Learning.)

At its core, high school has always been about the future. A haze of possibility meets a dose of teenage trepidation: What will students do with their lives when senior year is over? What paths will they choose?

Now more than ever, school districts in western Pennsylvania are incorporating tomorrow’s hopes into today’s curriculum, offering students a range of opportunities to move their lives forward — everything from hands-on internships to classes focusing on skills they’ll need for success beyond the classroom.

“At graduation, when it’s a happy time and we’re celebrating the students, the conversation naturally comes up: ‘What’s next? What are you doing?’” says Laura Thomson, the workforce coordinator at South Allegheny School District.

Thomson’s goal each year is to make sure “we’re not having that conversation with students at graduation and hearing them saying, ‘I don’t know.’”

No one knows what the future holds. But schools can help students prepare. And at South Allegheny, Northgate, and Elizabeth Forward school districts, educators are finding increasingly innovative ways to make that happen.

PREPPING FOR TOMORROW BY GOING TO THE ‘HOSPITAL’

Years ago, Allegheny Health Network’s Suburban Hospital shut its doors. But that wasn’t the end of the story. The healthcare provider partnered with Northgate School District and other local organizations to redevelop the building as a community asset.

Today, the building is home to more than 30 startups and health services, supporting the local community and creating a place where students forge relevant and rewarding futures. For Zack Burns, a guidance counselor at Northgate High School, Suburban has become fertile ground where teens build valuable skills through internships — earning school credit in the process.

“At 17, my resume had, like, grass-cutting on it. But the internship allows students to put something on their resume — some real, quality skills, and sometimes certifications, too,” Burns says.

Students help with everything from crunching numbers to working with robotics technology. Some do internships with food businesses connected to Catapult Kitchen, an umbrella organization for startup food-service providers. Inglis, a company that retrofits homes for differently abled adults, has taken on student interns to help with everything from adaptive gaming to retrofitting kitchen utensils to marketing.

Whatever a students’ interests, Burns mentors them through the process of applying for an internship — complete with creating a resume and sharpening their interview skills.

Jeff Evancho, Northgate’s director of partnerships, has seen a growing number of students discover potential careers within the walls of Suburban and elsewhere in the community. He and Burns are working hard to make sure every high schooler gets meaningful work experience, and maybe discovers a career calling before graduation day.

“How can all secondary students have this kind of experience?” asks Evancho. “That’s the goal.”

EXPOSURE AND MENTORING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

So much of the work happening at Suburban grows from relationships — one person picking up a phone and calling another, or dropping by in person to make a connection. That spirit of collaboration and relationship-building inspired all three of these districts to join Future-Driven Schools.

Future-Driven Schools is a regional alliance of school districts working to prepare every learner for tomorrow. Together, these districts help teachers, administrators, and board members do what they do best: innovate and collaborate in ways that benefit their students and communities.

At South Allegheny, that spirit of collaborating is threaded through all of the district’s efforts to help students discover their career path.

“We invest a lot of time into kids, taking them to the trade unions and to see jobs in healthcare, and also cybersecurity is another. And if they’re not ready to apply to a trade union, or maybe one of the allied health jobs when they graduate at 18, that’s OK, because we’ve given them that exposure,” Thomson says.

“So when they are ready, maybe not until they’re 24 or 25, then they have it to go back to. They know: ‘I’ve been to the carpenters union hall. I know where it is. I know how to apply. I felt good there. I can see myself there.’ We’re very fortunate to have had many students accepted to an apprenticeship with a trade union right at graduation.”

No matter what a student’s interest, there is something for them at South Allegheny. From aviation to cybersecurity to sports media production to — yes — the thrill of working at nearby amusement destination Kennywood Park, kids can chart a path to follow their interests and propel themselves from high school into college, trade school, or wherever their trajectory takes them.

Thomson works with students to develop clear plans for next steps by the time they’re seniors. She knows where potential job opportunities might be and which kids might be good fits.

Even after graduation, she remains a supportive voice. She has a habit of carrying different kinds of paperwork with her, so that if she’s out in the community and encounters a graduate still seeking a career, she can reach into her car and pull out some possibilities.

“These kids are my neighbors, and to put them in jobs when they’re 18 that put them squarely in the upper middle class is a great feeling,” Thomson says. “They say about half of Americans are working in low-wage jobs. We want jobs for our kids that are more career-based — jobs that let them support themselves and support a family.”

And she doesn’t wait until high school to begin these conversations. Thomson visits middle school classrooms and even talks with elementary schoolers about careers.

STARTING YOUNG TO ENTRENCH SKILLS AND IDEAS

Thomson isn’t alone in starting career conversations with elementary schoolers.

This year, all of the school buildings at Elizabeth Forward — three elementary schools, the middle school, and the high school — each have “future-ready” themes to get kids thinking about what’s ahead.

Each building is styled as a laboratory school that leans into its own theme. In the high school, for example, they’re focusing on artificial intelligence. From teacher training to student programs, every activity is suffused with the theme. It’s specific, focused, and grounded in emerging technology.

“I really wanted each school to kind of have some say in what they chose to do,” says Keith Konyk, Elizabeth Forward’s superintendent. “This idea of picking a future-ready theme came from the district, but which one you choose is really up to you and your principal. So, we’re looking at ways to help teachers engage and have some ownership or some agency with what they choose to do.”

All of the themes help prepare students for the future. But one elementary school in particular, William Penn, is focusing on building key skills like communication and collaboration, which are vital for real-life success. The school’s principal, Brad Simala, thought waiting until high school to focus on such skills was too late. So, his elementary learners are diving deep this year.

As William Penn’s teachers explore how best to impart these skills and gather data on their progress, they’ll be able to share that knowledge with other teachers throughout their district and beyond. And they will measure the ways that these skills help students become ready for tomorrow’s careers.

While these aptitudes are often called “soft skills,” Konyk begs to differ: “They’re anything but soft, right? They’re just important,” he says. “We’ve been referring to them as ‘essential skills.’”

Educators cannot know what kinds of careers the students of today will one day pursue. Planning for the future can be intimidating. But to look at the future-ready approach of these school districts is to realize: Kids are in good hands and, more than ever, they are being prepared — and inspired — for whatever the future brings.