Top agenda items
- School board votes 8-0 to reconsider controversial plan to close nine schools after November defeat
- Philips K-5 to pilot 'walking classroom' program where students learn while moving
School board votes 8-0 to reconsider controversial plan to close nine schools after November defeat
The Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) Board of Directors was not ready for the Future-Ready Plan, which proposed the closure of nine school buildings, when it was voted down 6-3 in November.
However, directors agreed to reopen discussion about the plan in an 8-0 vote with one absence in a Jan. 28 meeting.
The original plan was voted down after being heavily opposed by students, teachers, parents, and neighbors of the schools slated to close. That version called for the following schools to close by the end of this year:
- Friendship School PreK-5
- Fulton PreK-5
- Woolslair PreK-5
- Part of Morrow K-8
- Baxter Student Achievement Center
- Schiller 6-8
- Spring Hill K-5
- Miller African-Centered Academy
- Manchester PreK-8
The proposal would have meant about 6,000 of the district’s 18,000 students would have had to change schools, and most of the magnet schools would become neighborhood schools. Some schools would retain their magnet programs, such as the International Baccalaureate Program at Obama High School, which would also be the curriculum for Arsenal Middle School, and the Science and Technology Program at Sci Tech High School and Milliones Middle School.
The remaining citywide magnets would be the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) school which would teach sixth through 12th grades and the Montessori elementary school program, which would move from The Friendship School in Friendship to The Linden School in Point Breeze.
Another change is that every school would become either an elementary (K-5), middle (6-8) or high school (9-12). Only the CAPA would have sixth through 12th grades.
Currently PPS does not have uniform grade configurations in the schools.
The plan also called for the gifted program to be taught in student’s home buildings. That program would also test every student with the top 10% of the children in each school accepted into the program instead of the top students tested in the district.
The Future-Ready Plan remains controversial to the PPS community, with 22 parents, students and teachers addressing the proposed closures during public comment on Jan. 26.
Most of the speakers asked for open dialogue, more communication and consideration to details like transportation.
“Include students in the conversation…remember that behind every decision are students whose lives are directly affected,” Isabella Whitney, a junior at Pittsburgh Carrick, which would have merged with Pittsburgh Brashear in the plan, said.
Board president Gene Walker of Brighton Heights clarified that Jan. 28’s vote did not approve the Future-Ready Plan. It meant the item was referred back to the board’s education committee, who he said will facilitate public meetings and discussion to determine changes to the plan.
Director Eva Diodati of Carrick suggested reconsideration be added to the agenda so the board can move forward with issues the plan was meant to address.
School Director Devon Talifero of East Allegheny said while she would like to address necessary issues, “I am in no way, shape or form interested or have the intention to support this item as is.”
The plan’s timeline has yet to be decided, Walker said.
Question 1
Philips K-5 to pilot 'walking classroom' program where students learn while moving
Instead of carpet time, notebook doodles and other things associated with sitting through lessons, some Philips K-5 students will learn while walking.
Oregon-based nonprofit Alliance for a Healthier Generation offered for the school to pilot their “walking classroom” technology, valued at about $5,700, at no cost. The package will include audio devices, learning materials, teaching guides and help with implementation.
The PPS board of directors authorized the pilot program by an 8-0 vote during its Jan. 28 meeting.
Director Yael Silk of District 4 said students will use the school’s website to engage in a “Walk-and-Listen Content Journey”, which includes them walking indoors while listening to a curriculum-aligned podcast.
Students will also talk about the lesson after after the walk, Silk said.
“This integrates physical activity with learning and provides about one third of the daily recommended movement,” she said.
Chief Academic Officer Shawn McNeil said during a Jan. 21 meeting that PPS is considering rolling out this initiative to other schools over the next several years.