New club aims to teach Penn Hills middle-schoolers about real world workforce

A new club will give Penn Hills Linton middle-schoolers an understanding of the world of work from a variety of professionals.

School board members recently approved Career Club, the latest project from the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity’s Adopt-a-School program.

The historically black international fraternity has offered its free educational program for at least 20 years.

Its Gamma Lambda Sigma Chapter adopted the school at 250 Aster St. in September.

The new club is designed to give eighth-graders a head start on future plans and prepare them for the transition to high school.

“We have a lot of guys that have master’s degrees, that have doctorates, that have their own businesses and own properties,” said Yusef Thompson Sr., a school board and fraternity member. “A lot of times, kids don’t see regular people that make an impact and make a lot of money. That’s what this is about — getting them ready for the workforce.”

The idea of Career Club emerged through discussions with members of the fraternity and district administration.

“I think it’s a very exciting initiative,” Superintendent Nancy Hines said. “The fraternity brothers have put in time and demonstrated that they have a true commitment. They want to make an impression with the kids. We welcome that.”

Thompson said the goal is to have schedules and other things ready for next school year, and hopefully hold an introduction to the club within weeks.

“We’re still trying to finalize when we would start,” Thompson said. “We’re in the process of making flyers and making a meet-and-greet with the parents. It’s close to the end of the school year. I’m not sure how much business we’ll get done. It will be a good opportunity for everybody that’s involved. We’re trying to make sure we don’t impede on any type of instruction.”

The club also will help fill a void left by the dissolution of Magic in the Middle, an after-school program at Linton funded through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant obtained through the state Department of Education.

District officials dissolved Magic in January after an independent study showed the program was not improving student performance.