By Anita Guy BurgessPhotos courtesy Mary Welsh Schlueter
In
2009, Hyde Park resident Mary Welsh Schlueter founded the nonprofit Partnership
for Innovation in Education (PIE) as a way to highlight innovative ideas and
educators around the country. A website was created that featured original blog
content, a real-time RSS feed to educational news and video interviews. Hyde
Park Living interviewed her at the time about the organization and her
plans.
Fast
forward to 2018 when Mary was named a Woman of the Year by the Cincinnati
Enquirer and The Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Her nomination was not
based on her professional credentials which are very impressive, but rather on the success of her nonprofit to spearhead case-based
learning approaches in the local schools.
December marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of PIE,
so we wanted to check with Mary to find out how the organization has grown and
evolved.
And
we learned plenty. In 10 years, PIE has evolved from an educational website
into an organization which actively develops and implements transformational
educational tools in order to prepare the 21st century workforce for
success in the global marketplace.
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| 2018 Enquirer Woman of the Year honor for Mary |
The
results speak for themselves. To date, more than 30,000 K-12 students in over
75 local schools have joined with 50 industry partners to collaborate, utilize
skills and develop new skills in order to solve real world problems. These
programs have improved academic achievement and brought excitement to the
classroom. PIE programs also have sparked career aspirations and led to
certifications, internships and job opportunities.
PIE
has garnered numerous local and state-wide awards for its impact on student
learning. PIE was recognized with Business WE Watch Awards in 2013 and 2015.
More recently, PIE was named the Top Ohio Nonprofit of 2017 by the State of
Ohio. At the time, Lt. Governor John
Husted said, “PIE programs feature bold and innovative partnerships creating
transformational and result-driven educational tools that prepare Ohio’s 21st
century workforce for success.”
 |
| Mary Welsh Schlueter |
Michael
Turner, principal of Taft IT High School has said, “Rarely can one nonprofit
deliver so many opportunities to students …PIE’s work continues to excite our
students.”
In
addition to being named an Enquirer Woman of Year, Mary has also been
recognized as a Difference Maker by Cincinnati Children’s Science Museum, as a
Volunteer Citizen of the Year by Direct Energy and WKRC Local 12 and with a
Civic Leadership Award by Venue and LEAD magazines. Eve Bolton,
member of Cincinnati Public School (CPS) board of education, has applauded Mary
for her legendary persistence and unmatched ability to leverage assets to
benefit the students of CPS.
Mary
shares with you the impressive evolution of PIE.
How
did PIE evolve over the years?
“Well,
I really thought that PIE would be a vehicle for education news. At the time I
was a small-business owner and professor at University of Cincinnati (UC) in
the business school teaching marketing classes.
I was using case-based studies like I was taught at the Harvard Business
School. I found students to be more engaged in learning when asked to solve
real-world problems.
“I
had children at Kilgour Elementary and I was always very involved. Next thing
you know I was asked to teach a Monday course involving a case study. I reached
out to my contacts at Harvard University and they allowed me to use one of
their case studies, which I adapted for elementary school-aged kids. I taught
every grade from 1st through 6th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“So
in 2011 we explored why lemon sales were down and what we could we do to increase
sales. I taught SWOT [Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities & Threats]
analysis, the 5 Ps of marketing and the product life cycle. The kids were
really engaged with learning new concepts and working on solutions. I learned
that 1st through 3rd graders were highly innovative in
their thinking and approach, while 4th through 6th
graders were more focused on making money!
“The
next year we partnered with Northern Kentucky University to create an app for
Android devices called Lemon Smash.” [The app was launched in 2012 with
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory issuing a formal proclamation recognizing June 5
as Lemon Smash Day.] “This made Kilgour
Elementary the first public school to use a case-based, problem-solving
approach in the classroom and the first to develop and launch an app.”
What
was the next major step for the organization?
“It
was winning a 1.1 million dollar grant from the Straight A Fund created by then
Governor Kasich in 2014. This funding really catapulted us into the next phase.
Of the 600 grant applications received state-wide, our PIE project was the only
one funded in Southwest Ohio. We proposed to expose 4-6th graders in
12 Cincinnati Public schools and six Milford schools to case-based,
experiential learning and development of an app. PIE partnered with UC to
develop 18 different case studies, along with industry leaders and with NKU to
create the apps.
“In
the first year, the grant funded 35 iPads at each school, teacher training and
teacher stipends. The students collaborated on their case study for 10 weeks
for a minimum of 10 classroom hours the first year. We followed up with student
evaluations in the following four years. We partnered with Miami University on
the evaluations, and their research indicated that 85% of all participating
students showed increased academic and career-based competency. Other research
showed participating students were better able to set goals, problem solve and
perform analytical skill sets.
“We
received recognition from the Dean of the Harvard Business School, who noted
that PIE was the only organization globally to introduce case-based learning at
the elementary level. And it’s interesting that, as of this year, the first
year curriculum at Harvard is almost entirely case-based, experiential learning.”
What
have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced?
“Early
on it was grant writing, but I’ve become adept at that. Educating people about
the benefits of case-based learning is time consuming. Writing a case study is
time consuming. Getting funding can be challenging. There are a lot of
non-profits out there doing good work. It can be hard to break through.
“Lining
up industry partners who actually come into the classroom to present the
problem and give the background is the easiest part. They are more than willing
to be involved and they act as mentors with a window to the real world and
opportunities for internships. And they really want the kids to learn and they
value their input.”
Tell
us about your proudest moments or accomplishments.
“Our
gelato flavor case study at Kilgour is up there at the top because it has been
on-going now for six years. The kids love it and look forward to working on it
as 6th graders. The case study asks students to create a new gelato
flavor that is packaged by Madisono’s, our industry partner, and sold at the
Kilgour Festival. A portion of the profits go to school. The case study
involves taste preferences, taste testing, flavor development, cost analysis
and packaging considerations. This work has been life-changing. Seeing the
light come on and kids become confident in their abilities and desire to learn
and create has just been amazing!
“I’m
also proud of the drone program. Lt.
Governor Jon Husted emphasized the need for programs that provide credentialing
and a pathway to employment. We responded by developing and getting funding
from the Ohio Department of Education Community Connectors for the drone
program at Taft IT High School. Students who are at least 16 years old and
complete the program earn six points out of the 12 required for industry
credentials as an FAA drone pilot.
“I
am proud of work we have done with our industry and academic partners and the
recognition we received. The Enquirer Women of the Year was a huge
honor. And I was also honored to be the keynote speaker at Heidelberg
University last spring. I was thrilled to have PIE recognized by the city of
Cincinnati in a formal proclamation of PIE Day and by the State of Ohio as the
top nonprofit in 2017. It was so
encouraging when Governor John Kasich recognized PIE is a pipeline for hope and
when the 2018-2024 Department of Education Strategic Plan mentioned several
times the value of case-based learning in the classroom”
What
projects are exciting you right now?
“I’m
excited about the summer GEEK Squad Academy that started this summer. PIE
facilitated and wrote the grant that allowed 200 CPS students to go through
GEEK squad training at Taft High School. This training can result in
certification and potential job opportunities. I’m looking forward to being
able to offer it again next summer.
“We
just received a larger grant for our Tableau/Data Visualization program in Ohio
high schools. This is a really big deal. Completion of the program can lead to
career tech points which can accelerate high school graduation.
“Our
Consulting Clubs are doing really well in Cincinnati Public Schools. Partners
in the business community present case studies for kids to solve in these
clubs. Cincinnati public is the first Ohio school district to launch this type
of club. It is really cool.”
What
are your future plans?
“We’ll
continue to develop two to three new case studies each year to keep it fresh.
Many case studies are currently available for use on the PIE website. We’ll be
launching a portal to access CaseLab, our patented method of writing case
studies, which will be accessible to interested individuals. For example, it
could be used by students to design a Capstone project.
“I’m
looking forward to resubmitting grants for two case studies which I expect to
be very popular among students. One involves sports analytics using math and
statistics skills in collaboration with the West End YMCA, FC Cincinnati and
other partners.
“I
dream about doing a case study on the continuing success of the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland and how they revived their attendance after
the typical drop off. I dream about training teachers in case-based learning
methods. I’ve also considered going to law school. It’s a background that is
good to have when operating a nonprofit organization.”
How
you can learn more about PIE.
To
learn more about the organization, view testimonials from industry partners,
educators and students, sample case-based problems or to get involved, please
see visit www.piemedia.org or contact Mary at 513-378-8370.
Total number of…
|
2009
|
2019
|
Students impacted
|
93
|
30,000+ *
|
Schools involved
|
1
|
75+
|
Summer programs
|
0
|
3
|
Case studies written
|
0
|
25
|
Industry partners
|
1
|
50
|
Employees (FT, PT & contract)
|
1
|
20
|
$ in grants/awards
|
0
|
3.5 million
|
$ in in-kind gifts
|
0
|
12.2 million
|
Program/individual awards & recognition
|
0
|
25+
|
Note * indicates new & re-occurring in-classroom & after school programs, student conferences & summer programs (not included - digital classrooms)
| ||
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| Matt Madison and Lucy Schlueter, a member of the first class going through the program) talking about Madisonos Gelato case |
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| Pat Bruns (State Board of Education Rep - District 4), Mary and Ms. Stephanie Bisher (CPS Lead Educator, Director Madisonos Gelato curriculum program at Kilgour |
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| Kilgour Classroom in action with gelato project |
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| Kilgour Classroom in action with gelato project |
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| The State of Ohio Straight A Fund has supported PIE in its endeavor to launch creative new ideas to improve education |
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| PIE provided over $750K of computers to CPS in Straight A Innovation Grant given to PIE CaseLAB program |
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| Drobots Students and Educators (Located at Hyde Park School, Summer 2018) |
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| George Valcarcel (Student, OSU; Kai Vogeler (both Ohio State students) - University Innovation Fellows Program and Members of the University Innovation Club - who taught students at Walnut Hills High School an entire session on Design Thinking. |
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| PIE CaseLAB® CPS Educators and PIE Business Partners Honored with Lt. Governor Jon Husted (Center, Mary to his right) |
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| Mary, awarded an Honorary Doctorate, gave the Heidelberg University Commencement Address. |
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| Mary, who was teaching at Harvard Business School, with Professor Jim Dowd - Senior Fellow, Executive Education at Harvard Business School; Professor Bill Schiano. Professor of Computer Information Systems at Bentley University |
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