What would YOU do about Pittsburgh's schools? (Reading, Mount Lebanon: school district, gated)
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"The maximum award for graduates of the Class of 2012-2016 is 10,000 per year or $40,000 total. The maximum award for graduates of the Class of 2017 and beyond is $7,500 per year or $30,000 total. Scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale that awards longevity in the Pittsburgh Public School District. An individual student's award is pro-rated for the grade from which continuous, uninterrupted city residency and Pittsburgh Public School enrollment began."
"...and cue being called racist again for pointing out, correctly may I add, how many fellow liberal middle-class whites will proselytize about being "color-blind" while moving their family to a nearly all-white suburban school district for "better schools" (i.e. "less brown people")."
I'm torn. I have thought over this so much, trying to figure out what I believe, and what my opinions are. I do believe that home life/background are probably the most likely factors that will affect a child's academic success...which means in theory that any individual kid going to a "bad" city school can still do well given a stable home environment, supportive and caring parents, regular meals etc. That is why I ultimately am ok with sending my kid to Langley...for the time being (he's only 6).
However. While a kid CAN be successful, it seems to me to be an uphill battle, especially as they get older. When younger, their parents and home life exert more influence but when they get into middle school and high school, peers become a much bigger influence. If he's spending 90% of his time around kids who don't value academic success, where being "smart" and making good grades is looked down on by peers, where things like drugs and fighting may be prevalent... I as a parent am going to be battling against that. Some of those things you are going to encounter in any school but in my experience, not as much in a better ranking suburban school (i went to Peters Two btw).
That is my reason for ultimately wanting my kids out of pps. However then I have to deal with the lack of diversity, which is another important issue for me. I don't mind one bit my white kid going to a black school and in fact would prefer him to be exposed to different races/ethnicities. I just don't want him to be in a place that is unsupportive of academic success. But it doesn't seem like you can have both.
I don't mind one bit my white kid going to a black school and in fact would prefer him to be exposed to different races/ethnicities. I just don't want him to be in a place that is unsupportive of academic success. But it doesn't seem like you can have both.
You absolutely can have your kid go to a public school in PPS with a substantial number of black students and an environment supportive of academic success. You just have to have them go to the magnet schools.
My daughter just started first grade at Linden. Kindergarten worked out fine for her. Her teacher pushed her class very hard. She learned a lot regarding reading, albeit not quite enough to be an independent reader yet - we still need to push her to read and help her with words she doesn't recognize. But she made incredible progress with math - by the end of the year she was not only doing addition and subtraction, but doing it with two-digit numbers, along with simple multiplication and division.
Around 60% of her class was black. While it did seem like there was around a third of the class who was underperforming (all of them boys, and all but one of them black sadly - she publicly posted the progress of each child on the wall so they could "compete") the rest of the class was all on track and engaged. Most of the parents I talked to, regardless of their race, were professionals. Her best friend who is black has a mother who is a doctor and a father who is a principal.
"...and cue being called racist again for pointing out, correctly may I add, how many fellow liberal middle-class whites will proselytize about being "color-blind" while moving their family to a nearly all-white suburban school district for "better schools" (i.e. "less brown people")."
I'm torn. I have thought over this so much, trying to figure out what I believe, and what my opinions are. I do believe that home life/background are probably the most likely factors that will affect a child's academic success...which means in theory that any individual kid going to a "bad" city school can still do well given a stable home environment, supportive and caring parents, regular meals etc. That is why I ultimately am ok with sending my kid to Langley...for the time being (he's only 6).
However. While a kid CAN be successful, it seems to me to be an uphill battle, especially as they get older. When younger, their parents and home life exert more influence but when they get into middle school and high school, peers become a much bigger influence. If he's spending 90% of his time around kids who don't value academic success, where being "smart" and making good grades is looked down on by peers, where things like drugs and fighting may be prevalent... I as a parent am going to be battling against that. Some of those things you are going to encounter in any school but in my experience, not as much in a better ranking suburban school (i went to Peters Two btw).
That is my reason for ultimately wanting my kids out of pps. However then I have to deal with the lack of diversity, which is another important issue for me. I don't mind one bit my white kid going to a black school and in fact would prefer him to be exposed to different races/ethnicities. I just don't want him to be in a place that is unsupportive of academic success. But it doesn't seem like you can have both.
As a retired educator and facilitator, who has worked in schools throughout the Pittsburgh region for 35+ years, I do not believe that any school will be "unsupportive" of academic success. The real differences between the highest performing schools and those that perform at a lesser level have more to do with the rigor of the curriculum-driven, learning expectations for the students . The "bar" for attaining success is often much more demanding at the highest performing schools, where an expectation of learning/behavior is instilled school-wide and supported at home. Sometimes outside factors, such as widespread poverty and/or a community-wide prevalence of dysfunctional families force the schools/teachers to "water-down" (significantly lower the bar, or reduce student expectations) just to have students attend. This premise correlates with the overall poor performance of the PPS on achievement tests. Nightly homework in the best performing school districts, for example, is an essential part of learning process and is required at all academic levels. If the support network is unavailable at home for the child of an impoverished/dysfunctional family, then the educational process ends at the school doors.... no way will he/she test on a level comparable to a higher performing district.
Bottom line.... Diversity comes with its own baggage in PPS. That baggage is in the form of large communities having a majority of impoverished citizens, often showing itself in the form of dysfunctional families that force schools to lower standards and expectations. The effects of this "baggage" greatly asserts itself in the upper grades, and will often place the highly motivated PPS graduate in a marked disadvantage when attending college.
As a retired educator and facilitator, who has worked in schools throughout the Pittsburgh region for 35+ years, I do not believe that any school will be "unsupportive" of academic success. The real differences between the highest performing schools and those that perform at a lesser level have more to do with the rigor of the curriculum-driven, learning expectations for the students . The "bar" for attaining success is often much more demanding at the highest performing schools, where an expectation of learning/behavior is instilled school-wide and supported at home. Sometimes outside factors, such as widespread poverty and/or a community-wide prevalence of dysfunctional families force the schools/teachers to "water-down" (significantly lower the bar, or reduce student expectations) just to have students attend. This premise correlates with the overall poor performance of the PPS on achievement tests. Nightly homework in the best performing school districts, for example, is an essential part of learning process and is required at all academic levels. If the support network is unavailable at home for the child of an impoverished/dysfunctional family, then the educational process ends at the school doors.... no way will he/she test on a level comparable to a higher performing district.
Bottom line.... Diversity comes with its own baggage in PPS. That baggage is in the form of large communities having a majority of impoverished citizens, often showing itself in the form of dysfunctional families that force schools to lower standards and expectations. The effects of this "baggage" greatly asserts itself in the upper grades, and will often place the highly motivated PPS graduate in a marked disadvantage when attending college.
That's more what I meant when I said an unsupportive environment...not the school so much as the kids he will be surrounded by, and their influence. Though I have nothing to compare it with, my first grader at Langely is already getting nightly homework and reading assignments. I assume this helps the standard for helping kids achieve as well as possible from the get go. I don't know how this changes from first grade into higher grades though.
As a retired educator and facilitator, who has worked in schools throughout the Pittsburgh region for 35+ years...
...was followed with an explanation that teachers, administrators and all others imposing a "rigorous" curriculum on students and setting lofty "expectations" for them were the most critical component in a child's education. I call shenanigans. I understand why, given your ex-profession, you are hesitant to acknowledge that the inputs into any particular educational system (namely, kids into a school district) are far-more important and determinative than anything that's done to the kids, or not done to them by teachers and administrators.
...was followed with an explanation that teachers, administrators and all others imposing a "rigorous" curriculum on students and setting lofty "expectations" for them were the most critical component in a child's education. I call shenanigans. I understand why, given your ex-profession, you are hesitant to acknowledge that the inputs into any particular educational system (namely, kids into a school district) are far-more important and determinative than anything that's done to the kids, or not done to them by teachers and administrators.
It's a brutal world out there, and the resulting consequences of inadequate preparation have much more of an adverse effect upon the learner than expecting very little, and just "moving him/her along" in both the short and long term. I would defy any objective person to spend a day at Perry Traditional Academy (or most any other city high school), and then, a day at any of the higher achieving suburban school districts. Without hesitation, that objective person would choose to have his/her child in the setting where education is valued, respect and behavior are mutually shared, and the students are challenged to the maximum of their abilities- regardless of race, religion, and/or sexual orientation. Sorry to say, given the option and the financial resources of finding the best educational setting for each child, the knowledgeable parent will almost unilaterally choose the suburban option. The PPS need to do something drastically different, as their educational philosophy is failing too many children. It is too easy, prejudicial, and simplistic to place the blame along racial boundaries. Roborob might be on to something with the 12 month school year.
The PPS need to do something drastically different, as their educational philosophy is failing too many children. It is too easy, prejudicial, and simplistic to place the blame along racial boundaries. Roborob might be on to something with the 12 month school year.
The thing to keep in mind is that educational underperformance of minority-heavy urban schools is not unique to Pittsburgh, either in the region or nationwide. Indeed, Pittsburgh actually over-performs compared to other urban school districts.
If it merely boiled down to bad policies, wouldn't some urban school district somewhere come up with the right policy prescription? I mean, we are talking about hundreds of potential laboratories here.
The thing to keep in mind is that educational underperformance of minority-heavy urban schools is not unique to Pittsburgh, either in the region or nationwide. Indeed, Pittsburgh actually over-performs compared to other urban school districts.
If it merely boiled down to bad policies, wouldn't some urban school district somewhere come up with the right policy prescription? I mean, we are talking about hundreds of potential laboratories here.
The PPS, as well as many urban school districts, have a disproportionate number of impoverished children walking through their doors each day. These children are coming from any number of dysfunctional settings that require them to continually deal with personal adversities affecting their survival. Schoolwork and learning become secondary when a child has little to eat, minimal sleep, limited/no nurturing, support or structure within the family setting. This is the real problem that the PPS face in establishing the curriculum- too many children continually falling behind their chronological peers from the more affluent communities . This is because of this missing environmental component, not bad policies set forth by the administrators and teachers. As it stands now, those who place a high priority upon their children receiving the best education possible from K-12, and have the financial wherewithal, will probably forego moving within the city unless the private school option is readily available.
The PPS, as well as many urban school districts, have a disproportionate number of impoverished children walking through their doors each day. These children are coming from any number of dysfunctional settings that require them to continually deal with personal adversities affecting their survival. Schoolwork and learning become secondary when a child has little to eat, minimal sleep, limited/no nurturing, support or structure within the family setting. This is the real problem that the PPS face in establishing the curriculum- too many children continually falling behind their chronological peers from the more affluent communities . This is because of this missing environmental component, not bad policies set forth by the administrators and teachers. As it stands now, those who place a high priority upon their children receiving the best education possible from K-12, and have the financial wherewithal, will probably forego moving within the city unless the private school option is readily available.
You do an excellent job of regurgitating the conventional wisdom that the reason "good" school districts reside in affluent suburbia is due to the synergistic relationship between engaged, involved parents and a demanding and motivated administration. You even tie in the revolting proposition that "knowledgeable parents" will most assuredly choose the suburban options.
What you do not do however, is address the central point that Eschaton raises, namely that demographically similar students at 3 or 4 City of Pittsburgh High Schools perform as well as, if not better than, their suburban counterparts. If you assessment of PPS is accurate, how are these statistically significant results possible? Are parents that send their apparently high-achieving kids to CAPA, Sci-Tech, Obama or Allderdice ignorant of the "truths" you espouse or do they consciously not have the best interest of their kids at heart? A major positive for PPS is the great amount of choice afforded to the individual family with regard to their kids education.
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