Woodland Hills School District (Penn Hills, Shaler Township: low income, chapel, neighborhoods)

[princesspolamalu]

Does anyone have any information or opinions on the woodland hills school district? I have lived in the city my entire life and have heard of the district but never knew anything about it. My son will be attending kindergarden at the Edgewood Primary School and I have very little information on the school or where he would go from there and so on. Any insight would be helpful.

[Hopes]

Woodlandhills has been integrated by merging different racial neighborhoods together. Since the merger is relatively new, there is heavy racial tension and problems within the student body. I know it took over 15 years before merger tensions subsided in Shaler when city neighborhoods were merged in the 70s, and that wasn't a racial merger, just social economic. Just within the last few months, my husband was at cyber school orienation to enroll our son because he was on a medical leave of absence. There are MANY Woodland Hills parents at the orientation because they were pulling their children out of the district due to all of the tension resulting from racial conflicts.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Woodlandhills has been integrated by merging different racial neighborhoods together. Since the merger is relatively new, there is heavy racial tension and problems within the student body. I know it took over 15 years before merger tensions subsided in Shaler when city neighborhoods were merged in the 70s, and that wasn't a racial merger, just social economic. Just within the last few months, my husband was at cyber school orienation to enroll our son because he was on a medical leave of absence. There are MANY Woodland Hills parents at the orientation because they were pulling their children out of the district due to all of the tension resulting from racial conflicts.

I think the racial issues may mask an even bigger problem. Drive through other neighboring integrated districts like Gateway or Penn Hills and you will notice an important difference. There is relative economic parity between black and white. In fact, I think Penn Hills Blacks have higher average income than Penn Hills Whites. In Monroeville the situation is similar, there is no impoverished area. In both of these districts racial issues are small compared to Woodland Hills.

Now, drive through the Woodland Hills district. The wealth disparities are striking. You've got towns like Braddock and Rankin and towns like Churchill or Forest Hills...all in the same district. Huge estates in Churchill feed into the same schools as the projects in Rankin.....it's crazy. We're talking about average incomes of 13k in Rankin and 67k in Churchill.

The problem may manifest itself as racial, but at it's core...I think the real problem is economic. These are two groups of people coming from wildly different worlds.

I bet the problems would disappear if the district were split up, not by race, but by economics.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by zip95

The problem may manifest itself as racial, but at it's core...I think the real problem is economic.

That's probably true.

The riots resulting after the 70's Shaler merger was an economic issue.

The entire district of Shaler Township is mostly white; however, there were still riots for quite a few years after that merger.

Unfortunately, I highly doubt the children in the Woodland Hills School District realize the issue isn't racial.

And that makes it a racial problem.

Originally Posted by zip95

These are two groups of people coming from wildly different worlds. I bet the problems would disappear if the district were split up, not by race, but by economics.

It's a shame that we'll never know.

[princesspolamalu]

I appreciate the comments that you folks have made. I actually live on the border of Edgewood and Wilkinsburg and totally understand the points made. Luckily we are in the Woodland Hills District as opposed to Wilkinsburg but I am a bit concerned about the racial issues. We are African American but my son is currently in a child care center that is approximately 90% white so he should have no problem making the transition but I am concerned about his acceptance from his new class mates. I strongly considered using a city address and sending him to either Linden or Minedeo. I am not sure what to do. I went to Linden and it was a great school some 20 plus years ago and I havent heard anything negative about it as of yet. I am truly stuck. I dont know what I am going to do.

[Hopes]

I doubt he'll run into problems in kindergarten, but it's good that you're considering his overall future education.

Have you considered a Catholic school like St. Bede in Point Breeze? They are relatively affordable---a few hundred dollars per month. I just looked up St. Bede's tuition and it's $1,400-$4,680 per year. There are other Catholic schools that are $2,600 per year. I found a tuition list of some private schools, but it's not all inclusive because I noticed that St. Raphael in Morningside isn't on the list. I'm sure St. Raphael is cheaper than St. Bede.

Don't count on much tuition assistance from the Catholic schools though. Their idea of tuition assistance is a laughable few hundred dollars per year.

I highly recommend looking into all options. Here's the list: WQED Multimedia (broken link)

Also, don't be afraid of Winchester Thurston and Shadyside Academy. They both have scholarship programs. It's entirely possible that your child could attend those at a very minimal cost.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Unfortunately, I highly doubt the children in the Woodland Hills School District realize the issue isn't racial.

And that makes it a racial problem.

Yea, it's a real shame.

Especially, since many of the towns involved are somewhat integrated, and as far as I know there aren't big problems within the individual towns. It's just that well-to-do and ghetto mix like oil and water.

For those who are interested, I'd really recommend a drive around the district. It's literally jaw-dropping. Drive down Churchill Rd., then drive down Braddock Ave.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by zip95

For those who are interested, I'd really recommend a drive around the district. It's literally jaw-dropping. Drive down Churchill Rd., then drive down Braddock Ave.

Those same differences exist in suburban school districts bordering the rivers. Fox Chapel and Shaler both have a wide mix of social econimic backgrounds. Fox Chapel has Sharpsburg and Shaler has Etna, Millvale, Spring Garden, and part of Troy Hill. Heck, Fox Chapel's median family income is $191,378 and Sharpsburg's is $30,500!

However, there are two differences between Fox Chapel and Shaler, and Woodland: 1) The mergers for Fox Chapel and Shaler happened decades ago. There's no longer tension and confict because the districts have assimilated. 2) Fox Chapel and Shaler don't have diversity confusing the real issue of the problem being economic, not racial. What might have taken a decade to neutralize the atmopshere in Fox Chapel and Shaler schools will probably take much longer in Woodland Hills.

Although it seems it would have been wiser to separate the Woodland Hills School District into two separate districts according to income, the reality is that low income children benefit from being integrated into wealthier districts because there is more money available in those districts to provide better quality education and services.

Unfortunately, Woodland Hills will simply have to weather it's storm like every other district has done after a merger. In the meantime, parents will need to search for alternatives.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Heck, Fox Chapel's median family income is $191,378 and Sharpsburg's is $30,500!

I agree with everything you said. The bad news is that Woodland Hills is the worst example of them all. 30k in Sharpsburg means people go to work everyday, while 191k in Fox Chapel means no one goes to public school...However, 13k in Rankin means people pay for crack with food stamps, while 67k in Churchill means a lot of people still go to public school.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by zip95

I agree with everything you said. The bad news is that Woodland Hills is the worst example of them all. 30k in Sharpsburg means people go to work everyday, while 191k in Fox Chapel means no one goes to public school...

Many families in Fox Chapel send their children to public school. I live in Fox Chapel.

Originally Posted by zip95

However, 13k in Rankin means people pay for crack with food stamps, while 67k in Churchill means a lot of people still go to public school.

Median family income is $18,625 in Rankin and $74,969 in Churchill. The difference between a family making $18,625 and a family making $30,000 is that the family making $30,000 doesn't qualify for many services whereas the family making $18,625 receives assistance. That assistance can make a huge difference. I'm not saying that it's great by a long shot but free or reduced rent, food stamps, medical assistance, energy assistance, etc. can make a huge difference. Families that are just outside of qualifying for assistance can actually suffer more than the families that qualify for assistance. And trust me, crack is a huge problem in Sharpsburg regardless of if they're paying for it with food stamps or cash.