THE EDUCATION & TRAINING CENTER HOSTED A RURAL TOWN HALL DISCUSSION ON CHALLENGES RURAL COMMUNITIES FACE
Faculty, staff, and administrators from several University of Pittsburgh campuses convened earlier this month with education and community partners at the Education & Training Center - ETC for a rural town hall meeting to facilitate collaborative, solution-based discussions.
The event was hosted by Stephanie Fiely, Executive Director of the Education & Training Center at Pitt-Titusville, and Darris Means, Executive Director for Rural and Community-Based Education at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education -Pittsburgh campus.
The Rural Town Hall was an opportunity for those in attendance to discuss challenges facing rural communities, as well as collaborative opportunities to work alongside rural community leaders and residents to address pressing challenges.
Some challenges discussed included: internet access, cost of education, transportation, childcare, and pay rates, just to name a few. Applicable solutions provided included collaborative working space, and upskilling options through local university and public libraries, taking advantage of state and federal funding for workforce development, partnerships with school districts and vocational schools, as well as working with inter-county transportation.
“Our campus community, partners, and community shared great aspects that administrators and leaders need to consider when looking at programs, resources, and services in rural communities,” Fiely commented. “What we heard from professionals in the afternoon built up on the feedback students shared with us earlier in the day and related to ETC’s focus to educate and train the workforce within our region within two years, at an affordable cost, that allows them to work within our region.”
This is part of a larger initiative in the School of Education to bring together faculty, staff, administrators, students, and community partners across the University of Pittsburgh campuses and across multiple sectors to collaborate on scholarship, engagement, and teaching that can be leveraged to support rural communities in the region, Commonwealth, country, and world.
If you are interested in learning more about the School of Education’s Rural and Community-Based Education Initiatives, please visit https://www.education.pitt.edu/centers-and-engagement/centers-projects/rural-and-community-based-education-initiative/