Press KitAutumn Barszczowski

Corporate BackgrounderAutumn Barszczowski

Corporate Backgrounder

Mission

Career Tech Charter High School is an independent, public high school with a curriculum that

focuses on traditional and modern skills in technology and trade fields. It was founded by

Maureen Anderson and Angela Musto, educators with a passion for helping their students

achieve success. Career Tech was built on the foundation that not all students learn in the same

manner and that not all will pursue college after finishing high school. Career Tech builds

brighter futures, one student at a time.

Location

The charter school will be located on the North Side of Pittsburgh, preferably near Community

College of Allegheny County (CCAC). As of right now, Career Tech has not received their

charter or non-profit status.

Educational Model

Students at Career Tech will receive a hands-on education of skills in traditional trades, such as

engineering and modern technology, like cyber security and robotics. This bridge between the

traditional and modern trades is unlike vocational and career tech schools around the country

that typically focus on one set of skills.

Career Tech is intended for urban students who are looking for flexibility in their education and

the chance to collaborate with the community in and outside of the school. It features a new

education model that breaks down the six arcs of education, including:

Mental and physical health

Basic skills and knowledge

Decision making and goal accomplishment

Healthy relationships

Financial literacy

Civic engagement

These arcs put the student first and maximize what they are capable of accomplishing while in

school. This model makes time for students to interact with different people like teachers, peers,

administration, supportive staff and community resources. This breakdown of time changes to fit

the individual needs of students.

Flexibility for Students

Career Tech will also individualize education by offering paths that a student can take to

graduate. They can graduate in three, four or five years, either with an associate’s degree or

certification along with their high school diploma. This will give students a chance to further

pursue an education or enter the career field of their choosing.

Service Learning Opportunities

Students and faculty will participate in a monthly, school-wide service learning project where

they will work to better their community. This program will teach them how to build sustainability

in the city and to cultivate life-long learners in the process.

Projected Timeline

The idea of Career Tech began in 2014; the founders hope to open the doors by the end of

2018. The proposed timeline for the next two years includes:

Begin hosting community meetings – December 2016

Formalize advisory board and board of directors – January 2017

Incorporate and apply for 501(c)3 status – January 2017

Secure funding sources and grants for development year – June 2017

Complete charter application and submit to PPS – June 2017

Petition state for charter approval – August 2017

Recruit and hire principal – September 2017

Find and secure location – December 2017

Recruit students  – January to August 2018

Hire educators – May through June 2018

Students first day – September 4, 2018

For more information, visit careertechcharter.org or contact anderson@careertechcharter.org.

BiographiesAutumn Barszczowski

Maureen Anderson Biography

Maureen Anderson is a co-founder of Career Tech Charter High School. She completed

her bachelor’s degree in international relations at Pennsylvania State University and her

master’s in instructional leadership at Robert Morris University. She is currently pursuing her

doctorate of education and principal certification at Point Park University.

Anderson has worked in a variety of careers over her lifetime. From 1985 to 1994, she

worked in the United States and in Spain, as an analyst, a president of different organizations,

and an English as a second language teacher.

When she returned to the United States, she worked as a business owner and instructor

for Creative Memories from 1997 to 2000 before becoming a substitute instructor at the

Community College of Beaver County. This led to her current position at City Charter High

School in 2003. She began at the school as a career readiness teacher and, in 2012, became

activities director. She assisted with after-school programs at City High including Students for

the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE), in which students create and run their

own businesses.

This diverse background of education and work experience led her to create the basis of

Career Tech Charter High School. She began to understand the need for a personalized

educational experience for urban students that will allow them the opportunity to step beyond

the mold of traditional high school graduates.

Angela Musto Biography

Angela Musto is a co-founder of Career Tech Charter High School. She completed her

bachelor’s degree in physics education in the Robert E. Cook Honors College at Indiana

University of Pennsylvania and her master’s in educational psychology at Capella University.

She is currently pursuing her doctorate of education and principal certification at Point Park

University.

Musto started her professional career by training in the reserve officer training core from

2001 to 2003.She was the summer honors program head counselor in 2003 through 2005,

where she made arrangements for the honors students in a three-week program.

In 2005, she was hired as a physics, biology, chemistry and math teacher at City Charter

High School. She became a tutor for those classes in 2006 until 2010. She was then hired by

City High as an educational leader, in which she helped to make educational decisions and

worked with the science curriculum within the school.

The diverse background of education and work experience led Musto to create Career

Tech Charter High School, because she began to understand the need for a personalized

educational experience for urban students that will allow them the opportunity to step beyond

the mold of traditional high school graduates.

She has attended conferences and professional development workshops, where she

has listened to or led presentations about her field.

Fact SheetAutumn Barszczowski

Fact Sheet

Mission:

Career Tech provides students with a seamless transition between high school and community

college, including opportunities for career exploration and training in the technology and trades

fields.

Students will graduate with a wealth of preparation -- a high school diploma, experience in

community action and entrepreneurship, computer and coding skills, a thorough understanding

of our democratic government and judiciary system and strong workforce skills -- they will have

the opportunity to earn the important career credentials they need in the form of a certificate or

associate’s degree.

About: Career Tech High School is unique in its educational philosophies and practices. It is an

independent, public school founded by Maureen Anderson and Angela Musto. It was built on the

foundation that students need a more personalized education focusing on real world challenges,

research and analysis, collaborative problem solving and viable career preparation.

The current system of education, operating on an educational model created during the era of

the Industrial Revolution, does not provide students with the range, depth and style of learning

and skills that are compatible with our country’s rapidly evolving workplace.

While the school is not yet open, it’s projected first day is on September 4, 2018. Career Tech

will be located in the innovative Energy Innovation Center, where downtown Pittsburgh meets

the edge of the lower Hill District. This facility was created specifically to provide space for

research and development, entrepreneurial start-ups, offices for area non-profits and state-of-

the-art training in trades specialties.

Contact: Maureen Anderson, info@careertechcharter.org or visit careertechcharter.org

Visit the Career Tech Facebook page to place your child’s name on the early admissions list.

Press ReleaseAutumn Barszczowski

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Maureen Anderson

Co-Founder, Career Tech Charter High School

724-709-3383

anderson@careertechcharter.org

Doctorate Students Develop New Education Model

PITTSBURGH, PA, November 8, 2016 -  Maureen Anderson and Angela Musto, co-founders of

Career Tech Charter High School, have created an innovative education model that shifts the

focus of learning to a student’s well-being. This model defines the core of Career Tech and how

the founders develop the curriculum to better educate their students.

The educators will focus on mental and physical health in students as the core of their program,

allowing students to receive a quality education.

This educational structure includes:

Basic skills and knowledge

Decision making and goal accomplishment

Healthy relationships

Financial literacy

Civic engagement

The educational model will help their students grow as individual, healthy learners in the

community. Students will be assisted by Career Tech in partnership with community colleges,

trade unions and other training programs.

“We have looked at the science at what leads to real, actual learning. Other than physical and

mental health, you also can put students in new situations,” Musto said. “We want to get them

out of the classroom. We want people working on real-world problems.”

To learn more, contact Maureen Anderson at anderson@careertechcharter.org

###

About Career Tech Charter High School

Slated to open in 2018, Career Tech Charter will be an independent, public high school that

prepares students for the workforce in the local Pittsburgh industry. It focuses on creating a

hands-on experience and developing technology and trade skills through partnerships with the

community college, trade unions and other training programs. Career Tech will provide students

the opportunity to receive credentials in their field, like certificates or associate degrees, in

addition to their high school diplomas.

Pitch LettersAutumn Barszczowski

MONTH DAY, YEAR

Sheldon Ingram, ReporterWTAE-TV400 Ardmore Blvd.Pittsburgh, Pa. 15221

Dear Sheldon,

I noticed that you have written about community involvement and the development of the

city of Pittsburgh. My co-founder and I have created Career Tech Charter High school, which is

for the hard-working, hands-on students in Pittsburgh, and we believe that our standard for the

school aligns with your own set of ideals.

On AN UNDECIDED DATE, we will be holding an informational session regarding the

structure and mission of the school. The session will include our fellow colleagues commenting

on the plans we have in place and give their ideas for how to improve the high school

experience in Pittsburgh. We invite you to come write about the session as we explore how to

improve the lives of high school students through their experiences with us and discuss the

importance of the hands-on training for our students.

This event is the chance for Pittsburgh to have a voice in how our youth are educated in

the future and how we, as educators, can help to tailor each individual’s time during school to

set each student off on the right career path after high school. This will include a question and

answer panel in which we will help Pittsburgh citizens to understand our mission in the school.

We will also premiere our promotional video for the school and introduce the student

perspective of how Career Tech will help students in their chosen career fields. This is the

chance to learn about a school that is unlike traditional vocational or high schools in the area.

I will follow up with you about this story within the next few days, but if you have any

questions, feel free to contact me before then. I hope to see you at the informational session.

Sincerely,

Maureen AndersonCo-Founder, Career Tech Charter High School724-709-3383 - anderson@careertechcharter.org

MONTH DAY, YEAR

Brenda Waters, ReporterKDKA - TV

Dear Brenda,

I noticed that you care deeply about the empowerment of women and highlighting them

as role models in society. My co-founder Angela Musto and I have been female educators in the

science and career development fields respectively, and we have dedicated our time to creating

a school to empower the students in Pittsburgh. We have been working to build a school that

will allow students who learn through hands on experience to get the individualized education

that they deserve and give them the chance to work on their own leadership skills.

On AN UNDECIDED DATE, we will be holding an informational session regarding the

structure and mission of the school. The session will include our fellow colleagues commenting

on the plans we have in place and give their ideas for how to improve the high school

experience in Pittsburgh. We invite you to come write about the session as we explore how to

improve the lives of high school students through their experiences with us and discuss the

importance of the hands-on training for our students.

This event is the chance for Pittsburgh to have a voice in how our youth are educated in

the future and how we, as educators, can help to tailor each individual’s time during school to

set each student off on the right career path after high school. This will include a question and

answer panel in which we will help Pittsburgh citizens to understand our mission in the school.

We will also premiere our promotional video for the school and introduce the student

perspective of how Career Tech will help students in their chosen career fields. This is the

chance to learn about a school that is unlike traditional vocational or high schools in the area.

I will follow up with you about this story within the next few days, but if you have any

questions, feel free to contact me before then. I hope to see you at the informational session.

Sincerely,

Maureen AndersonCo-Founder, Career Tech Charter High School724-709-3383 - anderson@careertechcharter.org

MONTH DAY, YEAR

Heidi Brayer, Contributing WriterNEXTPittsburgh

Dear Heidi,

You have written about my co-founder Angela Musto and I’s school Career Tech Charter

High School in your article about Chris Valasek. We are rapidly developing new ideas and

getting closer to opening Career Tech, so we are inviting you to do a follow-up article on our

informational session.

On AN UNDECIDED DATE, we will be holding an informational session regarding the

structure and mission of the school. The session will include our fellow colleagues commenting

on the plans we have in place and give their ideas for how to improve the high school

experience in Pittsburgh. We invite you to come write about the session as we explore how to

improve the lives of high school students through their experiences with us and discuss the

importance of the hands-on training for our students.

This event is the chance for Pittsburgh to have a voice in how our youth are educated in

the future and how we, as educators, can help to tailor each individual’s time during school to

set each student off on the right career path after high school. This will include a question and

answer panel in which we will help Pittsburgh citizens to understand our mission in the school.

We will also premiere our promotional video for the school and introduce the student

perspective of how Career Tech will help students in their chosen career fields. This is the

chance to learn about a school that is unlike traditional vocational or high schools in the area.

I will follow up with you about this story within the next few days, but if you have any

questions, feel free to contact me before then. I hope to see you at the informational session.

Sincerely,

Maureen AndersonCo-Founder, Career Tech Charter High School724-709-3383 - anderson@careertechcharter.org

Newsletter StoryAutumn Barszczowski

Urban Charter School Provides Personalized Education

PITTSBURGH, PA, MONTH DATE, YEAR - High school students all over the United States

read about the career fields that they could go into after high school. However, many do not get

the chance to experience the workload of these careers, leaving them clueless as to whether a

particular field is the option for them. This means that when these students enter the workforce,

they are faced with the dilemma of whether they are making the right choice for themselves.

In 2014, co-workers Maureen Anderson and Angela Musto created the concept of

Career Tech Charter High School, an innovative approach to on a technology and trade school.

Career Tech is based on creating an environment in which high school students gain hands-on

experience in different technology and trade fields, while contributing work to their local

community. This tech and trade school is unlike other vocational schools that only provide the

basic training for their fields; it gives students the chance to personalize their education and

create their own path to earning their high school diploma.

Career Tech partners with other programs, like the Community College of Allegheny

County (CCAC), to allow students to earn other degrees or certificates in addition to their high

school diploma. Unlike traditional schools, the curriculum will not focus on leading students

towards a secondary education. Instead it will give students the chance to pursue a college

degree or prepare them to enter their career field. Anderson and Musto want their students to

graduate knowing that they are ready for life after high school and that their options are not

limited.

“There is an unmet need for personalized education in this city, in this country, in this

world, and we would like to address that need,” said Anderson. “We want to give learners who

feel marginalized in traditional schools, who may not think that they can be successful because

they don’t fit the traditional mold, an opportunity to be successful in this non-traditional

education model.”

Career Tech will blend traditional and modern trade skills for students. It will offer the

traditional trades, like engineering, and with modern skills in coding, cyber security and robotics.

The program is targeted toward urban students who learn more from working with their

hands, rather than sitting in traditional classrooms. This new design is intended to optimize what

students gain from their high school experience, rather than molding them into the same type of

student. Career Tech also wants students to interact with the community as a whole. This

includes school-wide service learning every month to develop skills and expose students to new

environments.

Career Tech’s educational model challenges the structure of traditional schools, putting

the mental and physical health of students at the core of learning, rather than focusing on basic

skills. While the education itself is important, the students must come first in their education.

Career Tech aims to create an innovative learning environment that will focus on the

students, rather than just what they can hope to learn. With community involvement, a focus on

personal health, and the individualized educational paths, students will earn their high school

diplomas in a way that other schools will not be able provide.

Social MediaAutumn Barszczowski

Tweets:

Applications for the 2018 to 2019 school year can be found at careertechcharter.org. Let

us help you find your #success

Check out this article on the need for #HandsOnLearning in #STEM curriculum

http://bit.ly/2fUzENX.

Join Career Tech and @CityPGH on Nov. 9 for #ServiceLearning day. More info:

careertechcharter.org

We have received our #charter. Join us for a celebration on June 9. RSVP:

careertechcharter.org

Open house on April 30 for prospective students. #BuildBrighterFutures RSVP here:

careertechcharter.org

Facebook:

Learning Model

o PICTURE: Of the circular model

o Co-Founder Angela Musto created a new education model that centers on

students’ physical and mental health. How would  a health-focused learning

model help you as a student? Learn about how Career Tech can apply their

model to your success. Visit careertechcharter.org.

Open House

o PICTURE: Informational flyer about details for the open house

o Career Tech is holding an open house for hands-on learners who are interested

in developing their skills in the STEM field and various trades. Come discuss the

flexibility Career Tech gives students their pathway to success. What do you

hope Career Tech can do for you? RSVP for the Open House:

careertechcharter.org

Service Learning

o PICTURE: Students helping to pick up trash around the North Side near the

school

o Career Tech students and faculty have made a commitment to give back to the

community at least one day of every month. In _____ (month) they helped to

clean up the streets of their campus. What organizations in Pittsburgh should we

partner with for future service learning days? For more information on service

learning, visit careertechcharter.org

Mental health

o PICTURE: Students practicing meditation

o Career Tech students will dedicate a portion of their time to improving and

bettering their own health. This focus on health will contribute to building their

success during and after high school. What do you do to improve your mental

health? Visit careertechcharter.org for plans regarding the health of students.

Additional Certificates

o Community College of Allegheny County is offering a variety of certification

programs and associate’s degrees to Career Tech students upon graduation.

What fields are you interested in pursuing through these programs? For more

information regarding your path to graduation, visit careertechcharter.org

Public Service AnnouncementsAutumn Barszczowski

Radio PSA 30 Second Script - School Tours:

o Career Tech is having an open house where prospective students and their

families can stop by to tour the facilities, discuss the curriculum, and meet the

faculty. The open house will take place on UNDECIDED MONTH AND DAY from

eight a.m. to five p.m. For more information, visit career tech charter dot org or

call Maureen Anderson at seven-two-four-seven-zero-nine-three-three-eight-

three. Once again that is seven-two-four-seven-zero-nine-three-three-eight-three

Radio PSA 15 Second Script - Service Learning:

o Join Career Tech on UNDECIDED MONTH AND DAY when students and faculty

will be partnering with Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to help tidy up the

streets. For more information, visit career tech charter dot org.  

TV PSA 30 Second Script - Physical Health:

Video Audio

Founder InterviewTitle: Maureen Anderson, co-founder of Career Tech

ANDERSON: Career Tech Charter is holding an informational session about the importance of physical health in education.

B-roll: Shot of gym facilities, with students working on a variety of physical activities

ANDERSON: We want to hear from you about our new charter school, and how we can educate the community on the impact health can have on a child’s education.

B-roll: Students having a discussion with Maureen Anderson and Angela Musto (founders)

ANDERSON: This event will open the dialogue about the health of our youth and give us a chance to discuss how we can provide students with the best opportunities.

Logo with career tech charter dot org

For more information, visit career tech charter dot org

TV PSA 15 Second Script - Service Learning:

Video Audio

Student InterviewTitle: Name, Age, Year

STUDENT: Career Tech holds monthly service learning days where students and faculty volunteer within the local community

B-roll: Students cleaning up trash and graffiti in downtown Pittsburgh.

STUDENT: This month we will partner with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to brighten the community.

Logo with career tech charter dot org

For information on how to volunteer, visit career tech charter dot org.

Feature Story from NEXTPittsburghAutumn Barszczowski

Chris Valasek in control

The Pittsburgh hacker, now with Uber security, who got famous taking over the controls of a Jeep

By: Heidi Brayer

One day last summer, Pittsburgh hacker Chris Valasek and fellow researcher Charlie Miller

huddled over a laptop in Miller’s St. Louis home. From there they took over the controls of a

Jeep Grand Cherokee that was driving on a highway ten miles away. First, they commandeered

the air conditioning, blasting cold air into the vehicle. Then they messed with windshield wipers.

Then the radio. And then? They cut the transmission.

Despite how it looked, they weren’t intent on harm — and the driver of the Jeep was in on it.

Their mission was to expose the vulnerability of automobiles that increasingly rely on software.

And they did it well.

Known as the “Jeep Hack” and detailed in a July 2015   Wired   article , their exploit—the

culmination of several years of research—was a game-changer in the field of vehicle security.

Less than a week after their exploits went public, Fiat Chrysler announced the recall of 1.4

million vehicles that contained the wireless entertainment system that allowed Valasek and

Miller to take control. In March of this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an alert

warning motorists of the threat of attacks on their vehicles via remote access.

When he’s not hacking for the greater good, Valasek works as security lead at Pittsburgh’s Uber

Advaned Technologies Center in the Strip District. Who better to hire to protect the fleet? (As

reported by Wired in an updated article last month, Miller now works there as well.) 

Chris Valasek, left, and Charlie Miller hamming it up.

Over an iced coffee at Lawrenceville’s Espresso a Mano—a short distance from the Uber center

—the 34-year-old Valasek talked about his love of all things Pittsburgh, his latest research, and

his involvement with a group of educators to start a high school that aims, among other things,

to teach kids the fine artistry of hacking.

Valasek’s formal training in computer science began at the University of Pittsburgh.

“It was the only school I applied to,” says Valasek who, less than two weeks after graduation,

was offered a job in programming in Atlanta and moved south. Eventually, he worked for a

company that allowed him to work remotely. He moved back to Pittsburgh in 2011 and started

working at Uber in September of last year.

“For me, Pittsburgh offers all the amenities of a city, but it doesn’t feel suffocating to me like

New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco. All my people are here,” says Valasek, who grew

up north of Pittsburgh in Ford City. Since his return, he has resided in Shadyside.

Valasek wasn’t so much surprised as excited to find that when he returned, Pittsburgh had

firmly established itself as a state-of-the-future tech hub.

“We have some of the hottest biggest companies to work for here in tech,” Valasek says, adding

that one of his favorite new pastimes is showing West Coast friends around the city. “You’re like

‘Here’s a house you can buy,’ and they are like ‘What?’ I have friends that own a house, and

they are thinking about starting a brewery too. It’s not just a pipe dream. You can accomplish

something like that here.”

Not long after his return, Valasek began volunteering with Maureen Anderson, who at the time

was the career readiness and post-high school planning teacher at City Charter High School in

Pittsburgh. The two started an after-school club to get kids interested in cybersecurity.

The club didn’t take off the way they had hoped and the pair realized that they needed to

expose kids to cyber concepts at an earlier age. So they partnered again, this time with a group

of educators trying to start a technologies and trade space charter school for Pittsburgh

students. For Valasek, it was critical that the school include a cyber education component.

“I want to create a curriculum for kids in 7th through 12th grades,” he says. “I realize that getting

them in 10th grade, you are already too late. They have already made up their minds of whether

they want to do computers or not.”

Chief among Valasek’s priorities is teaching students that they do not need to be a programmer

to work in tech. There are countless unfilled positions in the field of cybersecurity where ethical

hackers like Valasek can thrive.

“I was a terrible programmer,” says Valasek. “I like to think that I am fairly good at breaking

other people’s stuff. Not everyone has to build. We need breakers to make builders build better

things.”

The high school envisioned by the group that Valasek and Anderson are working with builds off

the recent success of the maker movement and will target urban students who may not be

college-bound directly out of high school.

“What’s a year of college going to cost you these days? We’ll say at least 30 grand. If you can

come out of your senior year [of high school] making 40 Gs a year, and you don’t have any

student debt, you are so far ahead of your peers that it is ridiculous,” Valasek says.

Their plans morphed into high gear when, in the fall of 2015, Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’

widow, launched a $50 million initiative called XQ: The Super School Project inviting teams of

educators and students to rethink high school. Valasek and Anderson competed to be one of

the five winning schools to receive $10 million each.

Anderson explained that Valasek’s input was crucial; he prepared a detailed cybersecurity

curriculum that will ideally allow high school students to graduate with a university-backed

certification and begin working in the field. Their team in the XQ competition—they were team

number 1,574—made it through the first two rounds of vetting in the XQ project and submitted

their final proposal in May. While they weren’t one of five schools selected in the extremely

competitive project, their attempt served a purpose.

“No matter what, it was the most amazing experience because I got to work with really

phenomenal people like Chris,” says Anderson, who in addition to working full-time at City

Charter High School, is in grad school at Point Park University to earn her principal’s certificate

and doctorate in education. “He wanted to get involved with youth in school. He’s very

enthusiastic about more young people learning about coding and cybersecurity.”

When Valasek is not working, he spends time boxing and wakeboarding on weekends at a

property he owns north of Pittsburgh that he shares with two shelter dogs: Karma and Ada. The

latter is named for Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician from the 1800s who is widely

credited with writing instructions for the first computer program.

It takes some prodding to get Valasek off the topics of Pittsburgh’s awesomeness and the

importance of cybersecurity education and back to his latest research. Namely, any plans for

future hacks with Miller?

In late July, the two presented their latest work at Black Hat, a global meetup of cybersecurity

researchers.

“The last couple of years have been ‘Can you control a car? What can you control? and ‘Can

you do that remotely?’, he says. “Now, we are looking back at this and saying ‘Say you want to

fine tune this, and say that we can control in any granularity that we want. It’s kind of refinement

of the beginning of the process, which is cool.”