Yesterday afternoon, everybody at the PASA offices spent some time cheering on Executive Director Hillary Salmons as she gave a rousing and inspiring presentation at the BIF-8 (Business Innovation Factory).
Hillary spoke about how the middle school mind is super-primed for learning—ready to take in new experiences, asking questions constantly, striving for new social opportunities, and trying to make connections to the larger world. She also talked about how we, as adults, need to work together as a community to make sure we don’t let this developmental opportunity pass our young people by.
Here in Providence, we’ve built two systems (the AfterZone and the Hub) that maximize existing community resources—both public and private—and work together to provide rich and dynamic learning experiences for our young people.
As part of our mission to serve as a national model, PASA is committed to sharing what we’ve learned through the years with cities interested in replicating our approach. Each year, PASA hosts a City Institute for cities who would like to learn from PASA’s work, adapting our model for their own particular needs and available resources.
If you you saw Hillary’s inspiring presentation, or if you’re simply interested in learning how your city can implement a similar system for its young people, contact Eric Collins at ecollins@mypasa.org to find out how you can attend this year’s City Institute!