Throughout the fall, DesignPhiladelphia’s Design Education program partnered with the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia to deliver a nine week design curriculum for 8th grade students that centered equity and the future of Philadelphia as part of recognizing Philadelphias 250th anniversary celebrations.

Guided by Rashida Ng and Eduardo Rega Calvo, the program brought together a collaborative teaching team that included four University of Pennsylvania students serving as teachers and volunteers, with additional leadership from Michael Spain. Together, the group co-designed a nine class curriculum that blended design thinking, storytelling, mapping, drawing, and model making. The workshops were hosted at Germantown Friends School and engaged approximately 20 Breakthrough scholars, offering them hands-on exposure to creative problem solving in a real-world context.

Students were invited to explore a shared theme developed by Penn faculty and DesignPhiladelphia, using design as a tool to imagine more just and equitable futures for their city. Over the course of the program, Michael Spain led two classes and introduced students to emerging AI tools while expanding how students think about design and authorship.

The final weeks of the program drew citywide attention. Reporters from Next City and KYW, along with representatives from Penn and Breakthrough, visited to observe the students’ work and document the impact of the collaboration. Additional interest from the Philadelphia Citizen further highlighted the significance of sustained, community-centered design education.

At its core, this partnership reflects DesignPhiladelphia’s ongoing commitment to investing in young people and expanding access to design as a way to build agency and belonging. The creativity and leadership throughout the sessions remind us that when students are given tools, trust, and time, they are more than ready to help shape the future of Philadelphia.