THEGismondi Neighborhood Education Program

Created in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program (GNEP), which is made possible by a generous gift from The Gismondi Foundation, is a collection (group, medley) of education programs and services provided to elementary-aged students in certain neighborhoods of the City of Pittsburgh where Pitt has made a long-term commitment to community engagement. Those neighborhoods are Homewood, the Hill District, Hazelwood, and Oakland. 

Each neighborhood’s education program has unique features that are based on expressed community goals and University collaboration: 

• Literacy and math tutoring and enrichment in Homewood,
• STEAM and digital equity in the Hill District,
• Life sciences education in Greater Hazelwood, and;
• Homework help and mentoring in Oakland.

See below for more detail on each neighborhood program.

Among the core services or programs provided by the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program are in-school tutoring for math, reading, and other basic subjects, and after school or weekend sessions that feature a variety of fun, yet educational, activities. For example, during one of the weekend sessions, Pitt engineering students will talk to the students about how to build a roller coaster, a fun and exciting exercise, but one which also teaches them about basic physics concepts such as momentum, speed, and centrifugal force.

For weekend sessions conducted at Pitt’s community engagement centers, the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program provides transportation to and from the center, a meal or snacks, incentive prizes for attendance, and the opportunity for parental involvement. 

While the common goal of the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program is to stimulate student thinking or improve performance in core subjects such as reading, math, and science, each of the neighborhood programs is tailored to meet the unique interests, needs, and identity of that community. Here is a more detailed description of the service or program customized to each of Pitt’s neighborhood partners.

Homewood: Literacy and Math Tutoring and Enrichment

PittEnrich, one of the first programs developed in the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program, uses a unique blend of in-school tutoring and Saturday learning-through-play sessions to help Homewood students in grades 1 through 5 improve their reading and math skills.

Working closely with the principals and teachers at Homewood’s Faison and Lincoln elementary schools, Pitt students provide tutoring in more than 23 elementary classrooms Monday through Friday. Then, on Saturdays, first- through fourth-graders are welcomed to the Homewood Community Engagement Center to extend their learning, but in a fast-paced, fun way. 

In addition to reading and math, the program collaborates with several community partners including Homewood Children’s Village and Homewood Community Sports to offer enrichment sessions on topics ranging from various forms of the health sciences to fun ways of engaging with the natural sciences.

Hill District: STEAM and Digital Equity

Another offering in the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program is S.T.E.A.M. Saturdays & Summer Camps, a collection of educational programs delivered by Pitt students and offered to students in grades 3 through 8 at the Hill District Community Engagement Center. The programs aim to increase confidence, problem-solving skills, technology skills and interest in STEAM careers through engaging lessons and hands-on experiences. In addition to the Hill District CEC, S.T.E.A.M. Saturdays have expanded to take place in the Oak Hill and Bedford Dwellings housing communities. 

With programs ranging from coding to biology, engineering and more, students who participate in S.T.E.A.M. Saturdays at the Hill District Community Engagement Center can explore their interests and gain a passion for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. S.T.E.A.M. Saturdays are offered over a six-week period each fall, spring, and summer.

Beyond S.T.E.A.M. Saturdays, in-school tutoring will be offered at Miller elementary school on Mondays through Fridays.

Greater Hazelwood: Life Sciences Education

In line with, and complimentary to, Pitt’s commitment to Greater Hazelwood and the development of the cutting edge BioForge project, the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program will launch a collection of programming devoted to the life sciences and to be held at the forthcoming Greater Hazelwood Community Engagement Center.

Programming will include opportunities for youth to gain hands-on, foundational experience with various forms of the life sciences to hopefully build an interest in pursuing a career in the field. The Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program will also support out-of-school-time programs that are already in place throughout the community, with planning already underway for PreK-12 support. 

In addition to life sciences programming, in-school tutoring will be offered at the Mifflin school K-8 on Mondays through Fridays.

Oakland: Homework Help and Mentoring

The Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program team coordinates the involvement of existing University programs, such as Black Youth Connection, Jumpstart, and America Reads, in providing homework help and mentoring through Oakland-based community organizations, including a partnership with The Corner, a neighborhood organization located in West Oakland, which provides a homework help tutoring program for students in grades K-8. 

Cross-Neighborhood Initiatives included in the Gismondi Neighborhood Education Program are these:

P.E.E.R. Read Aloud Program

Panthers Encouraging Early Readers (P.E.E.R.) encourages reading at an early age in the hopes of developing a lifelong passion for reading and learning. Through a partnership with Pitt Athletics and the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs, Pitt athletes (the “P” in P.E.E.R.) perform read aloud sessions to students from K-5/K-8 schools in the Neighborhood Commitments neighborhoods.

Partnering with The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore, a mobile bookstore founded by Pitt alum Nosakhere Griffin-El, PhD, Pitt athletes participate in a one-hour training session to equip them with the skills to assist our young readers and to select a book to read to the students. 

The students are encouraged to think about their own interests, passions, and hopes for the future. With this knowledge and with help from Pitt athletes, all students will get to choose a book of their choice to keep from The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore. 

Tutor Collective

The Tutor Collective works across the University to coordinate training and development for University students who tutor or mentor our local K-12 students within the region. The collective engages across both University staffed and student-led opportunities.