From Pizza Nights to the ISS: Totally PBL That Elevates Student Voice

How do you connect Project-Based Learning (PBL) with authentic community partnerships, entrepreneurship, and student voice while embedding technology and ISTE Standards across grade levels? Conn Magnet Elementary School of Entrepreneurial Design will share how PBL has transformed learning through innovation and partnerships that extend beyond the classroom.From a Kindergarten Idea Factory transformation to a school-wide pizza contest with Timber Pizza that integrates literacy, math, social studies, and science, students experienced authentic entrepreneurial design thinking while building real-world connections. Through a PTA-sponsored collaboration event, students amplified their voices in a pizza contest where two student designed pizzas were on sale during their fall seasonal menu! Students also created marketing plans, designed prototypes for an effective pizza kitchen, and strengthened family and community engagement.We’ll also highlight our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a direct radio communication with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ARISS) that occurred in January 2026. With support from NASA educators, amateur radio societies, podcasters, and local museums, our students prepared for a global learning moment that blends STEM, entrepreneurship design thinking, and digital literacy.Attendees will leave with concrete strategies, digital tools, and partnership models to design PBL experiences that are mission-aligned, technology-rich, and totally community-powered.