Assemble was founded in 2011, and has since empowered over 20,000 youth in the Pittsburgh area. Through dedicated afterschool and weekend programs, Assemble provides an on-ramp for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) education. Assemble’s educational philosophy encompasses the growing Maker Movement and the push to reinvent Pittsburgh as a “city that makes things.” Access, opportunity, and diversity are central to our values; Assemble strives to work with youth and their families in a healthy, inclusive environment to learn empowering skills that are also valued in the workforce.
Assemble is an open, physical community space for arts and technology located in Garfield, in the East End of Pittsburgh. We envision diverse neighborhoods of empowered people who create, connect, learn and transform together. We build confidence through making by uniting communities of artists, technologists, makers, and learners. Assemble's programming provides STEAM opportunities with two primary goals in mind: 1) to enable all youth to succeed in school and to feel confident about participation in science, technology, and art classes, and 2) to give students the necessary skills to participate in the 21st-century workforce.
Many of our students report that they do not receive the type of instruction that Assemble offers during their school days. Assemble has committed to addressing these educational gaps by ensuring that young people are experiencing fun, interactive, and technically rigorous instruction during out-of-school time. Assemble offers programs free to those in our neighborhood of Garfield, a distressed community. We also program programs in a range of schools from Pittsburgh Public Schools, Propel Charter Schools, and more. We also work with other out-of-school education providers in the community.
Moreover, Assemble provides a space for children K-12 and adults to engage in STEAM based activities in a fun, relaxed, and safe environment, through dedicated school year. Hence, Assemble's programs: After School and Saturday Crafternoons are the backbone of the programming area. These programs provide engaging activities designed to increase STEAM educational opportunities for K-12 students who need it most. Assemble’s programs work to positively empower our community’s children and young population in the 4824 Penn Avenue Location.
Assemble has been steadily gaining the capacity to serve youth both in Garfield and across the city. Garfield is home to nearly 4,000 Pittsburgh residents, with 44.5% living under the poverty line. With a median income of $22,821 and a high school graduation rate of 54.6%, the neighborhood lags far behind other Pittsburgh neighborhoods and national averages. Assemble provides a space for learning, community, and public art to improve quality of life for Garfield residents. Currently, there is no access to a wide range of STEAM opportunities available for the Garfield Community besides Assemble’s offer. Since 2011, Assemble has provided a space for accessible learning, community, and public art to improve quality of life for Garfield residents.
Over the past seven years, Assemble’s context has changed significantly as STEAM education and the maker movement have taken off. Our organization’s neighborhood home, Garfield, is undergoing a transition. As our organization and our context evolves, Assemble is committed to critically evaluating our programs to determine if they are still well aligned with our values, in addition to evaluating potential new programs. This includes alignment with internal beliefs (mission and model), alignment with Assemble’s place (space requirements, internal resources to execute, funding ability, and staff capacity), and alignment with the market (demand for programs and comparison to what Assemble’s competitors and partners are already doing). As a result of this commitment, Assemble created a strategic plan with the help of EvolveEA.
With the support of from the Hillman Foundation in 2017, Assemble was able bring our first year goals from our 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. We created and hired two full-time positions as to build capacity; a Place Operations Manager and a Platform Program Manager. Hannah Sauder, our Pulse Fellow from 2016-17, was hired as the Place Operations Manager, with the responsibilities of marketing and community outreach, parent communications, volunteer coordination, tracking student information, intake of evaluation data, and managing program materials. Jess Gold, a long time Assemble teacher, was hired as our Platform Program Manager, managing and growing Assemble’s teachers, coordinating curriculum, ensuring high quality experiences, reflecting on the learning processes, and assisting the development of a “Platform Playbook.” This Playbook will be the DNA of Assemble’s work, include overall programming goals, teaching methods and techniques, and unique processes of STEAM learning. In the fall of 2018, Assemble was able to hire our previously contracted teachers as part-time staff.
