Preserving History.

Building Futures.

The Portals Initiative preserves history while preparing students for the future through digital technology, storytelling, and real-world community projects.

WHAT IS THE PORTALS INITIATIVE?

Close-up of a red, weathered wooden door with peeling paint, surrounded by a concrete archway and a brick building facade; a mounted animal skull with horns adorns the top of the arch; a panning machine partially visible in the foreground.

The Portals Initiative is a place-based education and digital preservation program connecting students, educators, artists, and technologists through real-world community projects.

Students document historic sites using 3D scanning, photogrammetry, modeling, animation, oral history, and immersive storytelling tools.

What begins as preservation becomes workforce development, civic engagement, and creative leadership.

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

  • 3D scanning & photogrammetry

  • digital modeling & rendering

  • VR/AR storytelling

  • documentary filmmaking

  • oral history collection

  • design thinking

  • public presentation

HOW IT BENEFITS THE COMMUNITY

  • digitally documented historic assets

  • community workshops

  • public art activation

  • planning visualization

  • cultural tourism support

  • preservation advocacy

  • intergenerational storytelling

WHY IT MATTERS

  • preservation through participation

  • identity formation

  • rural workforce pathways

  • technology applied to real civic challenges

  • students becoming stewards, creators, and contributors

OUR ACADEMIC PARTNERS

  • Carnegie Mellon ETC: Immersive storytelling and emerging technology

  • Pitt Swanson School of Engineering: Engineering and community research partnerships

  • Autodesk: Digital preservation and workforce technology

  • Regional school districts: Place-based education and student engagement

  • National Road Heritage Corridor

  • Rivers of Steel

  • The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

“We believe the most powerful classroom is the community itself. ”
— Joe Barantovich, Founder

From Brownsville to Autodesk.

From local history to global classrooms.

Developed through the Portals Initiative, the Snowden Towers project was selected by Autodesk as a featured sample project for Revit 2024. Today, students, educators, architects, and designers around the world learn from a model created in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. What began as a local preservation project became part of a global learning platform, demonstrating how place-based education can produce world-class skills and real professional impact.

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A REGIONAL LEARNING NETWORK.

What began in Brownsville has expanded to more than seven high schools across Pennsylvania and West Virginia, connecting students through preservation, technology, storytelling, and community development projects.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF MAKERS, LEADERS & DOERS.

  • Group of six diverse people standing behind a table with equipment, in front of a beige wall. The table has a computer, white headsets, and other electronic devices, with a black and yellow tablecloth bearing the words 'BROWNSVILLE AREA.'

    BROWNSVILLE AREA HIGH SCHOOL

    BROWNSVILLE, PA

  • A group of five young men standing behind a table with gaming and computer equipment at Albert Gallatin High School. The table is covered with a black cloth with the school's name and logo. The background shows windows and a beige brick wall.

    ALBERT GALLATIN HIGH SCHOOL

    UNIONTOWN, PA

  • Group of four people standing behind a table with laptops, monitors, and headphones, in front of a beige brick wall and a television, with an UNLV banner on the table.

    CALIFORNIA AREA HIGH SCHOOL

    CALIFORNIA, PA

  • Four young men standing behind a table with a white architectural model, a computer monitor displaying a 3D design of a wooden structure, and gaming controllers in the foreground.

    JEFFERSON-MORGAN HIGH SCHOOL

    JEFFERSON, PA

  • People standing behind a table with a blue cloth that has yellow text and a graphic, within a classroom or meeting room with beige and gray walls. There are computer monitors, a VR headset on the table, and a whiteboard in the background.

    WEST GREENE HIGH SCHOOL

    WAYNESBURG, PA

  • Group of diverse young adults and an older man standing behind a table with laptops, monitors displaying outdoor scenes, and VR equipment, at a university event with a red tablecloth featuring the university logo.

    UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL

    MORGANTOWN, WV

  • Group of six students and a teacher standing behind a display table with a black cover that has the words 'Keyser High School Golden Tornado' printed in yellow and a tornado illustration. There are desks with computer monitors in front of the table, one showing a 3D house model and another displaying 'Keyser High School Portals Project.' The students are smiling, and the setting appears to be a school event or presentation in a room with beige brick walls and high windows.

    KEYSER HIGH SCHOOL

    KEYSER, WV

  • Group of seven young people standing behind a table at a tech or gaming event, with computer monitors, keyboards, headphones, and a desktop computer in front of them.

    MOUNT PLEASANT AREA HIGH SCHOOL

    MT. PLEASANT, PA

Student Work. Real Impact.

Students participating in the Portals Initiative are not completing simulations - they are producing meaningful work that preserves local history, supports community development, and builds professional skills.

This feature highlights students presenting their projects, sharing their ideas, and demonstrating how place-based learning can create real impact in the communities they call home.