New York City Students & Teachers To Dream Up Innovative Learning Projects Designed To Impact Their Classrooms And Communities At "Think It Up Live" Event

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Think It Up™, an Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) initiative designed to refocus the national education conversation on the great work happening in America's classrooms, heads to New York City this week, capping off a year of bringing students and teachers from around the country together to make change in their classrooms and communities. The event, the fourth nationally, asks local students and teachers to identify the most pressing issues they face today and develop actionable projects to address them.

Leaders from across the city and across industry will provide mentoring and coaching, helping student teams hone the skills of effective project design and storytelling.

In advance of "Think It Up Live: NY," students received a simple prompt: "Identify a source of inequity in your classroom, school or community and develop a project designed to help address it." On Tuesday, December 13 at the Time Inc. building, they will gather to share their first-hand perspectives and develop their original ideas for making the country more equitable. 

Once the concepts are developed through an innovative design challenge and group brainstorm, teachers will be invited to post projects at ThinkItUp.org – a first-of-its-kind platform available to all public school students and educators (grades 7-12) in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, the popular teacher crowd-funding charity. Think It Up will offer a total of $20,000 in direct funding for the projects dreamed up at "Think It Up Live: NY."

The event is a collaboration of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, NYC Department of Education and The Fund for Public Schools. Participating schools span the five boroughs and include:

• Brooklyn Preparatory High School
• EPIC High School
• HCZ Promise Academy Charter School
• South Bronx Community Charter High School
• Innovation Diploma Plus High School
• Puente Academy for Peace and Justice
• Murray Hill Academy
• Brooklyn International High School
• Academy for Software Engineering
• East Side Community High School
• Special Music School
• The School for Human Rights
• Leaders High School
• HERO High School
• Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School
• Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School
• The Facing History School
• Harlem Renaissance High School
• High School for Law and Public Service

The event follows the success of EIF's inaugural Think It Up telecast that aired in September, and three previous Think It Up Live events in Denver, Austin and Washington, D.C.

For more information on Think It Up, go to www.thinkitup.org. Find Think It Up on social media at Facebook.com/thinkitup.org, Twitter: @think_it_up and Instagram: @think_it_up.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), established in 1942, harnesses the collective power of the entire industry to generate awareness and funds for critical health, educational and social issues.  Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), EIF's largest initiative, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry's resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. SU2C accelerates research to get new therapies to patients quickly. Since its founding seven years ago, SU2C has launched 16 collaborative "Dream Teams" comprising over 940 scientists from 123 leading institutions around the world. That research, including 151 planned, initiated or completed clinical trials, has led to Food and Drug Administration approval of two new treatments.  In just 15 months, Hunger Is, EIF's collaboration with The Safeway Foundation, has significantly raised awareness of childhood hunger in the United States and over $10 Million to support breakfast, afterschool and out-of-school meal programs.

About Think It Up
Think It Up is an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, created to bring broad cultural attention to the urgency of improving the learning experience in America. The national education initiative seeks to reframe the public discussion about education, create a culture of excitement about learning everywhere in America and build a sense of optimism about the potential of education in classrooms across the country.

Think It Up invites public middle and high school students to work with their teachers to develop projects that draw on their passions and help pursue their educational goals. Posted on thinkitup.org, in collaboration with DonorsChoose.org, the student-powered, teacher-led projects are crowdfunded by citizen donors. The projects will entail rigorous skill development that prepares American youth for post-high school life, helping pave the way for career success, regardless of the path.

About DonorsChoose.org
Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Teachers at over two thirds of all the public schools in America have created project requests, and nearly 2 million people have donated $380 million to projects that inspire them.  Over 16 million students -- most from low-income communities and many in disaster-stricken areas -- have received books, art supplies, field trips, technology, and other resources that they need to learn. 

About the Fund for Public Schools
The Fund for Public Schools has consistently and rigorously dedicated itself to improving New York City's public schools through public-private partnerships since 1982. The Fund has secured unprecedented investment from foundations, businesses, and individuals, raising more than $440 million for the DOE's initiatives and the city's 1,800+ public schools and 1.1M students. We support some of the most innovative programs in K-12 education at the largest school district in the country. We facilitate partnerships between the philanthropic community and the NYC DOE to pilot innovative projects; accelerate promising, outcome-driven initiatives; and respond quickly and strategically to emerging needs across the NYC public school system. With our partners, we have the potential to make significant impact in the lives of millions of New Yorkers.

http://www.thinkitup.org | facebook.com/thinkitup.org | Twitter: @think_it_up | Instagram: @think_it_up

SOURCE Entertainment Industry Foundation

Related Links

http://www.eifoundation.org