Editorial Notes: Alexandra Ball & Teach for America

Posted by P.I.E. | September 15, 2010

Mary Welsh Schlueter, PIE Founder and Chief Executive

Alexandra Ball is not your typical young and passionate teacher.  In fact, if you read any of the latest articles about Teach for America graduates, the fact that she remains a teacher after ending her TFA experience is unusual.

TFA has been profiled as the “Peace Corps” for Ivy Leaguers who want to take off two years before getting “a real job”.  TFA critics note the teaching profession doesn’t need short-term teachers, when so much upheaval takes place every year among its more seasoned personnel.  Proponents talk about the “best of the best” criteria for TFA applicants and the energy and passion these smart kids offer to the profession, whether short or long term.

With TIME Magazine dedicating an entire issue this week to “What Makes A School Great”  (September 20, 2010), people are interested in ways to improve America’s school system.   With America’s current ranking of 25^th (among 30) in math literacy, 21^st in science literacy and 5^th in cumulative K-12 education spending per student, some say education’s price-value ratio is heading downward.

And we haven’t improved with better student-to-teacher ratios (16:1 vs. 22:1 in 1970), smaller classrooms, modern school facilities, technology access and enrichment curriculums.   In fact, with a 123% increase in per-pupil education spending from 1971 to 2006, there has been a 0% change in academic performance among 17 year olds from 1971 to 2004 in a national test for reading.   Worst of all, 69% of all 8^th graders scored below proficient in reading, and 68% scored below proficient in math.

Yeah, America needs help.   But by whom?  Paid volunteers, retired school teachers, parents, and community groups must be prepared to take up the slack as baby boomer school teachers begin to retire in droves.

Read about Alexandra Ball and you can hear the dynamism and hope she represents – and how her students respond to her work.  Think about how this teacher might positively affect your child, grandchild or the child next door….   How do we get more teachers just like Alexandra?

Whether it’s volunteers or young, aspirational kids wanting to make a difference, is it really so bad for these people to help fill a void, with the chance that they might actually stay – and motivate others to join their mission?

Odd Couple: Rhee & Heimlich on Education

Posted by P.I.E. | September 13, 2010

Mary Welsh Schlueter, PIE Founder and Chief Executive

Almost everyone agrees:  Education provides a lifeline to future opportunity.  Of course, how we realize those goals separate people across gender, ethnicity, regional and economic lines.  Where is the common ground?

Michelle Rhee and Phil Heimlich voiced similar views on education.  I’ve attached two “Odd Couple” commentaries on kids and schools:

Phil Heimlich (conservative political commentator) and Michelle Rhee (Chancellor, Washington, D.C. School District) see education as a valuable, highly expensive commodity currently being squandered.  Both offer their comments on how the system can be corrected, pointing their fingers at stakeholders who – in their opinion – stand in the way of innovative forward progress.

Michelle Rhee talks about how teachers are the lifeblood to the education process, and how their commitment must be upgraded to prepare children for the 21^st century.  And as she has shown with contested teacher firings and probational measures used in the past year, she is not afraid to walk her talk.  Of course, once D.C.’s mayoral Democratic primary concludes tomorrow, she may be out of the job as current D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is predicted to lose his battle against challenger Vince Gray.  But  no matter, she’s received extensive exposure among media and movie film outlets that her message will not be soon forgotten.

Michelle Rhee on Why Teach For America Works

Phil Heimlich, former politician and current conservative radio talk-show host, is not happy with the teacher’s union representatives or the elected school board members who routinely talk about transformational improvement, but continue to deliver marginal results in school districts with high numbers of failing schools.   He exhorts the common person (i.e., voters) to step up and demand change.

Phil Heimlich on Teacher Compensation

What can we learn here?  First, strong leadership counts – and a leader with some “skin in the game” (i.e., school-age children) has incremental investment in the results.  Second, establish measurable and identifiable goals with stakeholder support.  Once those goals are established, elected officials stretch to meet those benchmarks.  Without the benchmarks, they can give us a wink, talk about progress and offer irrelevant facts.   Third, dedicate the education process to the student.  Commit school administrators, teachers, parents, union members, and elected school board members to offering appropriate, well rounded and a rigorous education to children on an individualized basis.

And our efforts must occur at warp speed.   To that point, I bumped into a friend from China, who was debating whether or not to keep her kids in the U.S. school system.  She said American kids performed “lazier” curriculums, running at least one year behind the Chinese academic requirements. She wondered just how America would keep up with her country, both in academic rigor and overall business entrepreneurship.  As Ivy League admissions overflow with qualified, international applicants, where would ill-prepared Americans fit into their own competitive undergraduate system?   She wondered if the United States really wanted to be known as the nation where kids from other countries could recite the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights faster than American kids?

Yeah, an odd couple is still better than a sparring one.  But a collaborative union of competing, yet respectful, points of view gets the job done faster.   Anniversary cake, anyone?

Measuring Teacher Performance: Can It Be Done?

Posted by P.I.E. | September 10, 2010

Dr. Jim Mahoney, Executive Director of Battelle for Kids

Several years ago, while speaking to a group of largely non-educators, I posed the question:  “Do you believe we can take something as complex as the development of intellectual capital (i.e., student learning), measure the effectiveness of this learning through standardized achievement tests, accurately link teachers to the students they taught and label teachers based on that measure to pay them differently, offer promotions or fire those who aren’t producing positive results?”

The group overwhelmingly said “yes.”  Yet, anyone who has ever spent a warm afternoon with middle school students in an un-air-conditioned building teaching them to successfully convert fractions to percents to decimals, understands how incredibly complex teaching really is.  And, it’s usually the people who haven’t been in that classroom who quickly advocate how easy this process would be.

Why is it that the same groups of students, who go from one classroom to the next, behave and engage differently? Is it the subject? Perhaps. But in all likelihood, it’s the teacher. We often treat teachers the same, expect the same of them, and even act as if they are interchangeable assets, but they aren’t.

Research confirms that teachers are our most important asset in schools—accounting for 65 percent of the impact on student progress in a given school year. As schools strive to provide every classroom with an effective teacher, the question is: How can we discern, develop, and reward effective teachers?

Use multiple, strategic measures. It’s a disservice to the complexities of teaching to suggest that student learning can be captured by a single measure. But, it’s an equal disservice to suggest that teaching talent and effectiveness are too complex to be discerned. For example, using a reliable growth metric, or value-added measure, is critical because it measures the rate of academic progress that districts, schools and teachers are helping students make from year to year. The purpose of progress is to get somewhere, and knowing location relative to the final destination (achievement), is essential. Simply labeling a teacher according to student performance results is judgment—not improvement. Others might include attendance, peer evaluation and student surveys

Discern teaching talent. We cannot throw our hands up and declare that teaching is too noble of a profession to measure its impact. We cannot treat teachers as commodities. In this challenge lies enormous opportunities to develop measures that help schools identify highly effective teachers so that we can learn about and apply their best practices.

Provide teachers with support. Good teachers make learning targets transparent, provide feedback and modify instruction in response to reliable data. Teachers need support too. Teaching is hard work, but with focused, support, teachers can improve their skills and become more effective.

Recognize teaching excellence thoughtfully. While there is no clear roadmap, districts need to determine how to reward effective teachers in ways that are fair and offer motivation and encouragement. Districts must identify their goals for developing recognition programs and consider anticipated and unanticipated consequences of various approaches and solutions. If not done carefully, it is possible to raise salaries, increase costs, de-motivate teachers and have no improvements in student learning.

Remember that culture matters. Coaching conditions and culture can make or break schools.  Schools should be places where students and teachers want to be, learn and grow. Many teachers would forgo money for the chance to work with capable, inspiring and strong leaders.

Having the right teachers and school leaders, developing their skills, and rewarding them in ways that are motivating are the keys to ensuring that students have the greatest opportunities for success. With Race to the Top, growing global competition and an economy that is increasingly dependent on education, it’s time to move forward with ideas that offer promise and transformation.

About the Author

Jim Mahoney, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Battelle for Kids, a not-for-profit organization that works with school districts across the country to improve teaching and learning.  He can be contacted at jmahoney@BattelleforKids.org.  For more information about Battelle for Kids, visit www.BattelleForKids.org.

Editorial Notes: Dr. James Mahoney

Posted by P.I.E. | September 10, 2010

Mary Welsh Schlueter, PIE Founder and Chief Executive

Understandably, some teachers may seem suspicious of Dr. Jim Mahoney.  On one hand, he resembles a senior executive committed to education with 30 years as a teacher, principal, superintendent, professor and author.  On the other, he serves as Executive Director of Battelle for Kids, a nonprofit education organization, specializing in the use of value-added analysis for recognizing and rewarding teaching efficacy.

In the recent flurry of press regarding pay-for-performance measures, Mahoney has been in the hot seat.  In the most recently touted “Race to the Top” competitive state grant program, the Obama Administration has given special consideration to states willing to implement new measures rewarding teachers, teams and schools willing to base some percentage of pay on student academic acceleration.

Jim discusses how he believes the science of learning can be measured, and why such analyses must “discern, develop and reward effective teachers”….

It’s the Community, Stupid!

Posted by P.I.E. | September 8, 2010

Tim Kraus, Social Studies and Technology teacher with Cincinnati Public Schools

Call me crazy, but I like working in an urban public school system.  As a teacher, parent and former teacher union organization president, I am proud to exist in the middle of a dynamic push-pull relationship within living, learning and working communities.  So, in my opinion, if the clamoring public calls for a school system to be “fixed”, they are really asking to transform the living communities surrounding urban schools.

Not surprisingly, studies indicate cities with large indigent and poverty populations will have higher numbers of failing schools. Conversely, wealthier areas tend to breed more successful schools, and are able to better serve their student population.  A two-tiered educational system (one for middle and upper classes and one for the poor) has existed in our country for many, many years, and it is foolhardy to believe we will change this reality rapidly with a few quick infusions of innovation dollars from private philanthropical or governmental sources.  It is equally foolish to believe there is a genuine appetite for the true social change necessary to build a just and equitable society where educational, social, and economic opportunity exists for all citizens.

This reality places public educators into a difficult position. Because they are unable to change the core societal drivers of poverty and inequality, they engage in “reform tidbits”.  We know schools cannot single-handedly solve the most blatant social and economic ills, homelessness, poverty, and hunger; however, by failing standard accelerated curriculum and achievement benchmarks, public schools across the nation are then considered a failure. This, in turn, opens the door for all kinds of solutions ranging from the well meaning, engaged community leaders building constructive school partnerships and those educational opportunists who see this crisis as a golden opportunity to build a privatized education system that will drink deeply from the public treasury.

Given this tough-love scenario, there are still ways to engage in meaningful educational reform.  First, we must recognize that it is essential to alleviate the most obvious results of poverty—hunger and malnutrition, the lack of health and dental care, the lack of psychological and family counseling, inadequate pre-school intellectual stimulation, and the lack of a safe place to play and learn—by providing as many services and opportunities as possible on site in all of our struggling schools.  Children in poverty who receive this kind of support will do better academically and socially.  We need to rekindle a sense of community pride and ownership in our schools so that families will once again see their neighborhood school as a community center.  If we expect our public schools to address the crises in the communities they serve then we need to give them the resources to do so.  This is a perfect place for building public-private partnerships to deliver these services.

Schools that are failing academically also need to have the opportunity to re-invent themselves. Low achieving schools must have the freedom to set high goals and expectations.  Like their accelerated counterparts, they must have the freedom to remove students who refuse to meet appropriate performance expectations.  Currently schools do not have that freedom as they subsidize the success of the higher achieving schools by providing the safety valve and landing spot for students who fail to meet the standards of those high achieving schools.  Most high achieving urban schools regularly remove 20% to 45% of their students for performance reasons.  That percentage is too high.

Second, schools and teachers must focus on ways to become more diagnostic, utilizing quantitative (measureable) data to reveal student needs and achievement.  Such tools would empower teachers to direct their students to appropriate academic and social services. This would help to ensure each student would receive individualized and appropriate instruction.  Focusing on student needs also requires attention to family needs, as schools become community learning centers (CLC) and provide a welcoming atmosphere for families.

Third, teachers and schools must provide the best teaching and learning environment possible by:

• Establishing an atmosphere of respect,
• Paying attention to the quality of the teaching staff through site-based hiring and consistent teacher support systems,
• Providing teachers with time to plan and work collaboratively,
• Providing time for teachers to observe each other’s practice,
• Creating professional development driven by the immediate needs of teachers,
• Creating a culture of learning requiring every new teacher to receive an orientation of the school, studying its unique nature of work life, and
• Offer ownership into the process by allowing educators and administrators to make changes as a school team.

And fourth, we must recognize local school leadership can make or break a school.  A terrible principal/administrator will dampen  and eventually extinguish the drive, dynamism and overall efficacy of educators.  I cannot say it too many times:  Find a failing school, and often you’ll discover a poor administrator who lacks talent, credibility and the ability to stretch teachers’ and their capabilities.

Successful AND innovative schools don’t just happen. Their existence is the result of hard and focused work from all education stakeholders.  We cannot lose sight, however, of the larger context in which American schooling takes place.  We live in a highly stratified class society placing intense negative pressure on any institution seeking social and economic opportunity for all children. Public schools will forever be caught in this vice.  The reality for public educators is that we must get used to being squeezed in this way and work to decrease the most burdensome aspects of our society.

For eight hours every day, it’s up to me — and every other urban schoolteacher — to push back these barriers to learning.  We must help children recognize their role as change agents responsible for leading communities to a brighter and more equitable future.  That’s why I enjoy walking into my classroom every morning.  Won’t you join me?

About the Author

Tim Kraus is a Social Studies and Technology teacher with Cincinnati Public Schools.  He is also a past President of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers and former Lead Teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools’ Office of Innovation. Kraus served three terms on the Commission on Media for the National Council for the Teachers of English from 1999 to 2005.  Kraus is also a founding board member of Media Working Group Inc, a non-profit media organization that has created programming for regional, national, and international public television and radio audiences for 25 years.

Editorial Notes: Tim Kraus

Posted by P.I.E. | September 8, 2010

Mary Welsh Schlueter, PIE Founder and Chief Executive

Tim and I first met at a political event.  We chatted for over an hour, while people bustled by, hovered and rushed away.

At the time, Tim represented the most politically powerful stakeholder in the education system.   Serving as President of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT), affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers in Washington, D.C., the union had a powerful voice regarding changes in their profession, and I wanted to clarify some points.  Naturally, the CFT was cautious about their upcoming contract demands, considering talks were about to commence, and they were prepared for a hard slog with the school board as the economy and tax revenues lagged.

Tim’s opinions were especially interesting, both from a union perspective and from his experience within the CPS Central Office – Department of Innovation.  Months later during our PIE interview, I learned Tim joined the teaching staff of the STEM school – an innovative school program combining the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math curriculums intertwined with an arts and humanities core.

Read and discover how a union leader-teacher-mentor also became an edupreneur in both the classroom and the community….

Everybody Loves Duncan

Posted by P.I.E. | September 8, 2010

Mary Welsh Schlueter, PIE Founder and Chief Executive

Everybody loves U.S. Cabinet Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  And who wouldn’t?  If you listen to Republican and former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, moderate New York Times syndicated columnist David Brooks, and conservative writers from the Wall Street Journal, it’s not just Democrats who lay claim to Duncan and his programs.

Who wouldn’t agree with Duncan’s education policies?  Since Obama appointed him to the Education post, Duncan has supported policies and instituted programs such as college and career readiness standards, State-wide core curriculum standards, student academic growth assessments, incentives to reward teaching excellence, and the Race to the Top competitive grant program.  And the money has followed these programs:  $100Billion from the Economic Recovery Act, $350M for better assessment tools gauging both teacher and student achievement, $4.35B for Race to the Top, and a $10B one-time grant to school districts to avoid teacher layoffs.  Such funding cannot compare to financial bailouts or defense spending, but it’s a chunk of money.

Currently, the United States spends almost $11K per public school child, and the numbers don’t include the most recent funding appropriations.  As one education executive enthusiastically relayed to me, the education system is experiencing a “feeding frenzy” in incremental funding and financial opportunity right now, and 50M enrolled public school children are benefitting from such aid.

As a parent, maybe that should make me feel good.  But as a taxpayer, I look at the achievement results, and I wonder if the money is being plowed into the same old methods of teaching.  Currently, our achievement gap has narrowed; however, it has narrowed downward, with more academically gifted kids realizing fewer achievement gains, and the lowest tier of children realizing negligible increases.  With a national drop-out rate of 27%, we have to do better in the United States.  Our economic future depends on how well our students are prepared to compete in a global marketplace, both for entrepreneurial opportunities and long-term, financially rewarding jobs .

The United States is ripe for exposure to new, innovative programs supported among regional communities, school districts and States themselves.  Considering the high drop-out rate, it is necessary for us to identify who, within every part of the education system, is finding creative ways to increase academic achievement and compare notes.  Education affects a wide range of stakeholders.  Whether you run a global Fortune 500 company, pay taxes on a tiny bungalow, or are a parent with kids in various public, private, parochial or charter schools, you are affected by the depth, breadth and quality of education.

The results of Duncan’s policies and programs are expected to have a positive impact.  But is it enough?  Duncan regularly talks about “educating our way to a better economy”  and producing a “world class education”.   Strategically, I believe increased funding will serve as one method to re-energize our education system, but it is not the golden bullet for academic achievement.  Simply, funding cannot incent entrepreneurial passion, commitment and hope.

Realizing that funding is only one tool for academic improvement, Duncan has stated his interest in continuing a working relationship with stakeholder communities outside the education system. For instance, he speaks about incenting parents to show an interest in their child’s school work, encouraging mentoring programs with outside partnerships and community programs, and continuing university and community college alliances allowing high school students to receive college credits and career ready training.

I believe Duncan when he states “every child can be successful.”  But to be successful, we need to create an education program filled with options, flexibility and rigorous, well-rounded curriculums.   And teachers need to be key players in these changes. As the Gates Foundation as indicated, teachers are the primary “change agent”  within the classroom.  Their influence will – in many instances – dictate students’  lifelong opportunities.

Finally, entrepreneurs see opportunity in chaos.  Some might say our current US public school situation is in turmoil. But this is nothing compared to the New Orleans school system following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina flooding.  After the floods receded, an educational renaissance occurred for kids who remained in the decimated areas.  Innovative schools sprung up, and passionate community members helped create new rigorous opportunities not previously seen in a school district known for failure and mediocrity.   But it begs the question:  Does the American education system need a complete breakdown before it can rebuild itself?  Let’s hope not.

Yes, everyone loves Arne.  But let’s hope he maintains an entrepreneurial and bipartisan spirit that also reflects the joy of every child learning at their fullest potential.  Simply put, our country’s future is counting on it.

Reform and Revolution

Posted by P.I.E. | September 3, 2010

Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building

An education “revolutionary” isn’t how you might initially describe Brad Jupp, President Obama’s Department of Education senior administration education adviser.   With 20+ years as a career teacher, union negotiator, and teacher’s union president, you might question why community activists regularly request meetings and speeches from this soft-spoken reform advocate.

Once Jupp begins to talk about his break-through success strategies working in alternative public schools employing varying curriculum standards and compensation systems, it is easy to understand his synergy with the current reform-minded Administration.

“In the past, teaching was both a noble and lonely profession, where teachers worked in isolation from their peers (“eggcrate workplace structure”),” said Jupp. “They shared their insights with other faculty members once per month during structured meetings.  Teachers kept to their classrooms, and their job performance had little to do with student measurement or teaching effectiveness.”

However, New York City Schools Chancellor Joe Klein and his team began using data in 2004, to measure the impact teachers have upon child learning, critical thinking skills and information retention.  Klein employed economists who were able to viably measure some forms of student improvement by working with quantitative data — and these measurements also revealed data on teachers themselves.

Coined the “Human Capital Spillover Effect”, research indicated an individual teacher’s capabilities had a significant impact not only on students, but on other teachers as well.  High performing teachers raised lower performing teachers’ scores, while lower performers did nothing to affect higher performers.

For underperforming and “emergency” schools, it was common sense to place experienced, dynamic, and passionate teachers to help “infect” other teachers within their sphere of influence.  In tandem with compensation incentives, effective teachers were deemed mentors and team leaders, and a new transformative culture was created with turnaround strategies for districts having the lowest performing schools.

With these results in mind, Jupp led a joint district and union effort within the Denver Public Schools to reform their teacher compensation system.  Forming the Professional Compensation System for Teachers (ProComp), Jupp was able to reverse the tradition of a seniority pay-based system, and replace the system with one where teacher compensation — both annual and career — was affected by students’ academic achievement.   Within one year of implementation, schools saw a significant rise in achievement, overall school performance and teacher mentorship, and efficacy.

Jupp stresses these findings re-affirm programs such as President Obama’s Race to the Top $4.35B Program where states compete for incentive funds by implementing innovation, reform, and technology initiatives driving student achievement, curriculum rigor and career-readiness goals.   Although Race to the Top expects States to serve as change agents, the federal government is dangling the financial carrot.

Jupp had one final bit of advice:  Compensation is a judgment measure.  Choose compensation criteria carefully and discern a fair method to make those judgments.  Student achievement must be one of those assessment criteria; however, because the ability to effectively impart knowledge is an abstract and subjective exercise, no test will fully measure passion, innovation and commitment.

Jupp admits the pace is never satisfactory in education reform.  Everyone wants American kids to have the most globally competitive and equitable education NOW.  Transformative, innovation-based reform requires revolutionaries, he notes and adds, “Answer the call.”

Editorial Notes: Brad Jupp

Posted by P.I.E. | September 3, 2010

Mary Welsh Schlueter, PIE Founder and Chief Executive

When I first heard Brad Jupp talk about education, he didn’t seem your typical firebrand.  As a teacher, union president, and union contract negotiator, he might seem an odd advocate for education reform.

However, as he talked about education and his efforts to accelerate achievement both in student AND teacher ranks, it was obvious why he sits in key advisorial posts for Cabinet Education Secretary Arne Duncan in the Obama Administration.

And later as we personally discussed his efforts to challenge the status quo, introduce innovation into the education system, and enter into the 21^st century with a competitive strategic plan, he talked about Race to the Top and how it will serve as a carrot to change.

Jupp added the Obama Administration is tired of seeing incremental changes that barely affect positive change for America’s children. Jupp wants a revolution, and he wants you to participate.  Tally ho and read on….

P.I.E. Launch-National Press Release-9/2/10

Posted by P.I.E. | September 2, 2010

Contact: Mary Schlueter – President/CEO – (513) 378-8370

Sandra Guile – Communications Director – (513) 284-3114

Press Release

New Non-Profit Launches National Website

Group encourages conversation about education, offers innovative ideas

Cincinnati, Ohio – Thurs. Sept. 2:  Seeking ways to innovate the country’s education system, a group of local ‘edu-preneurs’ are launching a nationwide web site, www.piemedia.org today.

Partnership for Innovation in Education, or P.I.E., based in Cincinnati, is identifying individuals, or ‘edu-preneurs’, who leverage their business knowledge and expertise to create dynamic educational opportunities positively impacting wide stakeholder communities.  Using compelling profiles of innovation practiced by educators, business executives, nonprofit leaders and government representatives, featured P.I.E. commentators discuss strategies for developing accelerated achievement, career readiness, critical thinking, financial literacy, economic development and tax revenue savings.

“The purpose of P.I.E. is to generate excitement and buzz about how people are using education and innovation to provide a competitive, value-added opportunity for students. These days it’s difficult to talk about the quality of education as the current system continues to suffer financial, technology and employment challenges. So, we thought why not offer a way for people to share ideas on how to significantly improve the situation.  There is never the perfect, one-size-fits-all solution for schools stuck in academic and financial hardship.  However, we believe P.I.E offers practical knowledge pathways, with the reader able to choose his or her own direction,” said Mary Welsh Schlueter, founder and CEO of P.I.E.

The website features blogs, daily national news feeds on educational innovation, and video of the profiled commentator, when available. Users are invited to share ideas and solutions as it relates to their regional area. P.I.E also will serve as a consultant to groups interested in finding best practice innovation-based solutions.  In the near future, P.I.E wishes to become the national aggregator of educational innovation information, with satellite offices offering regional updates.

“We are excited about this new endeavor and very passionate about injecting innovation, creativity and dynamism into the education system,” Schlueter said. “We provide smart talk about education because educational rigor and success determines the opportunities we offer our nation’s children and ourselves.  With an educational sector operating both effectively and inclusively, we guarantee our relevance in the competitive economic marketplace.”

P.I.E. is a registered non-profit organization and is planning future fundraising events and activities. More information about P.I.E. is available on the website, www.piemedia.org, or contacting Mary Welsh Schlueter, (513) 378-8370.