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WHEREAS, The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, or PHLF, created its "Building Pride/Building Character" Trolley Tour in 2007 as one of the field-trips and in-school activities available to some Pittsburgh Public School students through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, and;
WHEREAS, Since 2007, PHLF has involved a total of 4,336 third-grade students and their teachers from 20 different Pittsburgh Public Schools in the 6-hour Trolley Tour adventure, connecting the third-grade Social Studies unit on Pittsburgh History and strengthening math, reading, and life skills, and;
WHEREAS, During the trolley tour, students visit five historic landmarks in the City of Pittsburgh. Each landmark is associated with "character-building" words. The City-County Building is the first stop on the tour and the following words are associated with its classically-inspired design: "Respectful, Responsible, Tolerant, and Proud." Students are encouraged to be like the City-County Building--respectful, responsible, tolerant, and proud, and;
WHEREAS, these students have the opportunity to interact with City Council members and staff, where they share their concerns, or describe what they like about their neighborhood, building pride among the students and helping them feel a sense of belonging and connection to the City of Pittsburgh, and;
WHEREAS, students leave the City-County Building to visit the Allegheny County Courthouse, "Robust, Dignified, Impressive," the Fort Pitt Museum, "Disciplined & Loyal," the Fort Pitt Block House, "Adaptable, Surviving, Caring," and the Duquesne Incline, "Ingenious, Courageous, Cooperative," and;
WHEREAS, Louise Sturgess, Executive Director of PHLF and fifth generation Pittsburgher, artfully guides students on these tours, facilitating their learning through each stop. We are grateful to Ms. Sturgess, along with all other staff and volunteers who make this program available, for tea...
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