Greater Latrobe and Derry Area High School students and teachers (Kara Olecki-Leeper, Carol Croll, Tammy Self and Jeff Kelly (among many others)) work with a variety of community professionals one day each year to study a potential change coming to their community.
Students hear presentations from city, borough, and township officials, PennDOT officials, Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, Arnold Palmer Airport Authority, and others before they work in teams to decide the best solutions to suggest for wise land use for the area that will be affected by the changes. Several topics in recent years included expansion of the Arnold Palmer Airport, the Laurel Valley Connector, and the placement of the new Casino. In 2024 the event focused not only on new developments, but also how to make the communities more “Intergenerational“:
Agenda for the 2024 event. Photos.
The event is sponsored by project coordinator Randy Strayer of Latrobe Specialty Metals/Carpenter Technologies Company and the Latrobe Chamber of Commerce and facilitated/coordinated by the Smart Growth Partnership and Penn State Extension staff.
