which school district is better in pitts. (Pittsburgh, Lebanon: lawyer, school districts)

[right-here-i-say]

Things have changed a lot in the past 30 years. I remember as a child having trouble walking through the waist high snow while the bus waits for me.

Now, my kids get the day off if there is 3 inches of snow.

[Buzz858]

I left Pittsburgh 48 years ago and it must have changed a lot from all have I have read here. When I left the steel mills were on strike and that just about shut the city down as far as jobs. I had just gotten out of the Navy and gotten married and decided to come back to Rhode Island. I was born and raised on the North Side of Pittsburgh and ehrn i went back when my parents passed away i was surprised how much thearea had changed then and that was in the 80's but it still seemd like a depressed area. But you know what I still have great memories of the Burgh and of the Steelers and the Pirates but have grown to ne a Red Sox fan and a Pats. fan.
I love where I live now but I do miss Pittsburgh and Ring of Bologna.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by Seaharbour

Good lord..talk bout dramatics and sour grapes~!

Seriously.............*shrug*

[rd620]

haha ... and we walked through five feet of snow ... uphill both ways.

Anyway, I think you need to answere some questions like .. where you will be working? Do you want to be close to the city ... in a suburb or out in the country ... then I am sure many people on here will help you out.

[alleghenyman]

For an answer to your question, the suburban schools are the best: Mt. Lebanon, upper St. Clair, North Allegheny, Peters Township. The city has some good magnet schools and the regular schools aren't terrible but there are kids from bad neighborhoods and the resulting social problems. You may think this is racist, but it's the plain truth, and when I grew up in Upper St. Clair there were black kids whose parent moved to USC for the schools, while my cousins in Squirell Hill got picked on and beat up at Taylor-Allderdice.

Blacks do poorly in Pittsburgh because of poverty, not racism. This is not a racist city compared to other cities. Whites in poverty get trapped and do poorly too because there isn't much job growth in the economy. Black professionals do as well as everyone else.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by alleghenyman

For an answer to your question, the suburban schools are the best: Mt. Lebanon, upper St. Clair, North Allegheny, Peters Township. The city has some good magnet schools and the regular schools aren't terrible but there are kids from bad neighborhoods and the resulting social problems. You may think this is racist, but it's the plain truth, and when I grew up in Upper St. Clair there were black kids whose parent moved to USC for the schools, while my cousins in Squirell Hill got picked on and beat up at Taylor-Allderdice.

Blacks do poorly in Pittsburgh because of poverty, not racism. This is not a racist city compared to other cities. Whites in poverty get trapped and do poorly too because there isn't much job growth in the economy. Black professionals do as well as everyone else.

wow, honest post. Props to you!

[simetime]

Alleghenyman, I'm curious just how many NATIVE black professionals do you know? I'm a blackman with a degree and know very very few black professionals who are native to Pittsburgh. Hate to disappoint you but racism is a bigger probelm here than you think in the hiring of native professional blacks here. Many of them leave after realizing that they can't get the same pay as their counterparts. Sorry to give you the bad news

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by simetime

Alleghenyman, I'm curious just how many NATIVE black professionals do you know? I'm a blackman with a degree and know very very few black professionals who are native to Pittsburgh. Hate to disappoint you but racism is a bigger probelm here than you think in the hiring of native professional blacks here. Many of them leave after realizing that they can't get the same pay as their counterparts. Sorry to give you the bad news

I wish suburban schools would hire black teachers. I believe that single change would do wonders for Pittsburgh in so many ways. All children will benefit from a diverse representation of professionals in our schools, instead of the only representation being the security staff. All children need to have access to professional role models.

Also, with more and more black families moving to the suburbs, I believe minority teachers in the schools could help prevent white flight. So far, townships today haven't experienced white flight like Penn Hills did a few decades ago. We need to do everything possible to prevent it from happening.

We really need to think of a way to promote the idea of bringing more black teachers into our schools.

[karmel]

Responding to the first question about schools - the top districts in the Pittsburgh area are North Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Upper Saint Clair, Pine Richland and Mt. Lebanon. I also like Hampton - much smaller.

People either love Pittsburgh or hate it. There are some wonderful people here, good universities, culture, and history. The ethnic qualities add interest as well. We have the hilly roads, and getting around can be tricky, but it can also be very pretty.

There was a very interesting article in Time Magazine about how Pittsburgh has weathered the recent economic problems better than most cities. Yes, the mills have closed and there are some areas that were hit hard by that, but Westinghouse is building here, PNC is also building, a casino is being built (maybe good or bad), but there is progress.

I am thinking about moving to be closer to my daughter in the East, but Pittsburgh has some great qualities. I live in the North suburbs and like it. Wish we had a Whole Foods here though.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by rd620

haha ... and we walked through five feet of snow ... uphill both ways.

You beat me to it!

I only need to add, "and we were miserable, and we LIKED it."