On Thursday, May 31 at 10 a.m., Erie's Public Schools seventh grade students from Woodrow Wilson, Strong Vincent and East Middle Schools will participate in the Ice House Showcase Event at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center at Mercyhurst University. The event will include a student forum presentation, display tours and a panel discussion.
The Ice House program, a partnership of Erie’s Public Schools, United Way of Erie County, the Innovation Collaborative and IU5, was launched as a pilot for all 7th graders in Erie’s Public Schools in October of 2017. Throughout the spring semester of this school year, all 7th grade students participated in interactive classroom lessons based on a curriculum developed by the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. Funding from the United Way of Erie County supported the purchase of the curriculum which is intended to teach students ways to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and expand their individual potential.
Each school held a showcase event earlier this month, where students presented their ideas for projects that use an entrepreneurial mindset to solve real-life problems. On May 31, students selected from their schools will present these projects at a showcase event to be held at the D'Angelo Performing Arts Center.
Mr. Gary Schoeniger, founder of the ELI will attend the event and lead a panel discussion with students, parents and community members to discuss what they learned as part of the project. United Way of Erie County President Mr. Bill Jackson will also be in attendance.