Washington, D.C. Students & Teachers To Convene To Dream Up Innovative Learning Projects Designed To Impact Their Classrooms And Communities

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14, 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 American classrooms, heads to Washington, D.C. The event asks local students and teachers to identify the most pressing issues in their classrooms and communities and develop actionable projects to address them.

At "Think It Up Live: D.C." on Tuesday, November 15 at Cardozo Education Campus, D.C. public and charter school students will collaborate to build projects to answer the simple scenario: "You have been appointed to a task force on Classroom & Community Leadership. Identify an issue that affects your school or community and present a project that helps to address it." Leaders from across the city and across industry will lead breakout sessions to help students develop the skills of effective project design and storytelling, then join the students as mentors, providing in-the-moment feedback to help them shape their ideas into real-life project plans.

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 $30,000 in direct funding for the projects dreamed up at "Think It Up Live: D.C."

Participating schools span the D.C. market and include:

• Anacostia High School
• Ballou High School
• Capital City Public Charter School (High School)
• Capitol Hill Montessori @ Logan
• Cardozo Education Campus
• Charles Hart Middle School
• Columbia Heights Education Campus
• Coolidge High School
• Hardy Middle School
• HD Woodson High School
• Inspired Teaching Public Charter School
• Kelly Miller Middle School
• Luke C. More High School
• McKinley Technology High School
• Ron Brown College Preparatory High School
• School Without Walls
• Sousa Middle School
• The Children's Guild DC
• Theodore Roosevelt High School
• Washington Metropolitan High School

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

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. 

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