Dear Highland Park Community (and all other communities in Pittsburgh),

City Council Proclamation—Thanks Lenny!

We’d like to thank Len Bodack (and Mary Kay in his office) for sponsoring the recent City Council proclamation acknowledging the work of Education Innovations, including our Young Entrepreneur’s Club and our work towards starting the Education InnovationsLAB Charter School. Lenny has supported us since the beginning and we appreciate his commitment to education in Pittsburgh. I’ve attached the text of the proclamation at the end of this email.

Public Hearing for the Education InnovationsLAB Charter School

The Education InnovationsLAB Charter School has an important public hearing before the Pittsburgh School Board next week on Wednesday, December 6 at 5:30pm at the Board Administration Building located at 341 South Bellefield Avenue.

Your support will allow us to offer a high-quality public education choice in the city:

6 Laboratories of Inquiry that allow students to get deep and broad experiences in Technology, Language, Science, Engineering/Architecture, the Arts, and Community;
K-12 Spanish instruction required for all students;
K-12 Entrepreneurship instruction required for all students;
K-12 community year-long community projects; and
The only K-12 International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) school in the region

Please call the school district starting on November 29, at 412-622-3600 to be placed on the agenda. Tell them you want to be put on the list in support of the Education InnovationsLAB Charter School. The cutoff time is noon on the day of the hearing. If you want more information about the hearing procedure, please see the attached file. If you need more information about the school email me.

The District tends to use the number in attendance at public hearings to deny charter applications. So, I am asking for your support. If you can’t make it, you can send me a short email which we can submit in lieu of your attendance. But the important thing is that you call and place yourself on the list. We’d love it if you would make the meeting, though. You speak for three minutes or less, so it’s not difficult.

Your support will add to the 90% student enrollment we have: nearly 90% of the teachers we have, organizations such as Free Ride!, East Liberty Development, Inc., East Liberty Chamber of Commerce; the political support from State Representative Jake Wheatley and City Councilman Bill Peduto; a recent proclamation from Pittsburgh City Council sponsored by Councilman Len Bodack; and many individuals who have written letters of support.

Won’t you please help?

Thanks,

Sal Wilcox

Salvador Wilcox

CEO

Education Innovations, Inc.

6435 Frankstown Ave., 2nd Floor

Pittsburgh, PA 15206

412.661.8751 ext. 150

www.educationinnovations.org

Pittsburgh City Council

Proclamation

WHEREAS, Education Innovations was founded by Salvador Wilcox, in 1999 to develop educational programs; and,

WHEREAS, Education Innovations, Inc. started the Learning Club in Highland Park in 2003 to provide needed educational services in the East End; and,

WHEREAS, Education Innovations, Inc. created the Young Entrepreneur’s Club, which gives students business training including visiting local entrepreneurs; and,

WHEREAS, Education Innovations, Inc. has involved many parents, students, and community members to develop NatureLABcommunity, a community gardening, science, and community building program in an empty lot in Uptown, and,

WHEREAS, Education Innovations, Inc. is now involved in creating the Education InnovationsLAB Charter School which will be located in East Liberty and the Hill District and serve students from throughout the city; and,

WHEREAS, the eiLAB Charter School will provide a world class education through extensive workforce and entrepreneurship education K12, foreign language fluency K12, and deep connections to all Pittsburgh neighborhoods through six Laboratories of Inquiry; and,

WHEREAS, the eiLAB Charter School will seek certification through the International Baccalaureate Organization, making it the only K12 IBO school in the city; and

WHEREAS, The Education InnovationsLAB Charter School enjoys the support of the East Liberty Chamber of Commerce, East Liberty Development, Inc., Free Ride!, teachers, and nearly 160 students and parents,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize Education Innovations, Inc., and EI, its management, and Board for their commitment to the betterment of education in the region.

Passed in Council Tuesday, November 28, 2006