Top School Board Agenda Items

• School board directors to make closure decisions before summer
• Board denies Montessori charter application amid broader magnet program debate

School board directors to make closure decisions before summer

The Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) Board of Directors agreed to make a decision before the end of the year about closing the nine school buildings according to the recommendations of the controversial Future-Ready Facilities Plan.

The agreement was made during a three-hour discussion about the plan on Feb. 17 when President Gene Walker of Brighton Heights asked board directors if they would commit to making a decision before summer.

The plan was initially voted down 6-3 in November, but the discussion of the plan started again after directors voted 8-0 to reconsider the proposal during the January legislative meeting.

The initial version called for the following schools to close by the end of this year:

• Friendship School PreK-5
• Fulton PreK-5
• Woolslair PreK-5
• Morrow Primary
• Baxter Student Achievement Center
• Schiller 6-8
• Spring Hill K-5
• Miller African-Centered Academy

If those schools are closed, according to the report from the consultants, Education Resource Strategies, 4,233 seats would be eliminated in the schools, far short of the excess capacity of 18,000 seats that the district currently has by the 2024-2025 enrollment figures.

Parents opposed the closures and warned against making hasty decisions during a public hearing on Feb. 23.

Emily Sawyer, a PPS parent and substitute teacher, said she does not understand why directors are still making a decision when they already voted “no” to closing schools in November.

“There are dozens, if not hundreds of unanswered questions,” Sawyer said, calling the plan underdeveloped.

Parents said there has been no meaningful change made to the plan’s original version and that details such as individualized education programs for students with specific learning needs are not being considered.

Parent Kara Britanik called enrollment data flawed and inaccurate. She said the exclusion of pre-K student numbers with the inclusion of early childhood classrooms artificially lowers the utilization rate.

Directors said during the Feb. 17 discussion they would like more transparency and communication and asked for additional information about staffing and the buildings themselves if they close.

Board denies Montessori charter application amid broader magnet program debate

PPS directors unanimously voted to deny an application for Three Rivers Wildflower Montessori to become a publicly-funded charter school during a legislative meeting on Feb. 25.

This came just over a week after Director Tracey Reed, of Greenfield,  said the existing Pittsburgh Montessori School should be eliminated if the Future-Ready Facilities Plan is passed.

The facilities plan proposed eliminating most of Pittsburgh’s K-5 magnet programs. Reed said that while she deeply believes in the Montessori method, that program should be considered alongside other magnets for fairness.

About 20 students, parents and teachers spoke during a public hearing meeting on Feb. 23 in support of the Montessori method, an alternative education style with an emphasis on student autonomy and specialized pacing across 3-year age groups.

Parents described research about the academic benefits of Montessori schooling and said their students have become more focused and social since starting the program. They also referenced Pittsburgh Montessori’s waitlist, which one parent said has thousands of students on it.

First-grader Charlie Britanik said during the public hearing he enjoys Montessori materials, the emphasis on nature and having the same teachers for several years at a time.

Raeed Chowdhury, whose child attends Pittsburgh Montessori, said during the Feb. 23 meeting it is the only fully public Montessori school in Pennsylvania and that it consistently ranks in the top 20% of schools statewide.

“What we should really be talking about is expanding the program and building on its success,” Chowdhury said. “If the district wants to attract and retain families, you need programs that families want, and you already have one.”