Pittsburgh Sterrett 6-8 & Point Breeze (public schools, community college, vs.)

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by xdv8

If you decide to listen to this, first read the rest of GG's posts so you have proper context.

Yes. Thank you for putting this diplomatically.

[Scientist Mom]

When I was discussing this thread with my husband last night, he thought I should have stressed more that the principal at Sterrett is a strong principal who is very good for the school. He thinks, and I agree, that the school would be in much worse shape if she was not there.

Re: language. Info on website is not up-to-date.

Sports have been Fall: cross country, boy's and girl's volleyball and flag football. Winter: Boy's and Girl's Basketball, Spring: Boy's and Girl's Soccer. It is pretty competitive to get on the basketball teams and girl's volleyball team. There is also a golf program offered each Spring to students in good standing (behavior and academics)

Other extracurriculars (either in school or afterschool) have included cheerleading, ski club, art club, History Bee/ African American History Bowl, Glee club, STEM stars (science club for girls), some mentoring groups, school newspaper, yearbook, NJHS/ Sterrett Scholars, NJAS, robotics clubs, Project Lunch tray, perhaps a rock climbing club (new this year, I don't know if it formed or not), and LGBTQIA. Some clubs meet regularly; others only sporadically.
For the afterschool clubs, I think getting enough activity buses to take the kids home afterwards is a challenge, esp. because kids need to be bused to multiple city neighborhoods and some Wilkinsburg neighborhoods due to the magnet program admissions.

All grades get a 15 min lunch and 15 min recess either on the field or in the gym. 1/2 of each grade eats at a time.

The building is fine. Upkeep seems good. I think there was some renovation around the same time that Colfax renovated involving the cafeteria, gym and library. Most of the school is not air conditioned, but I don't think that is uncommon in the city. There is password-protecetd WiFi in the building, and they have enough tablets/ ipads for all the kids, that are sometimes used for instruction. There is a computer lab.

[Goinback2011]

What are the reading and arithmetic proficiency scores for students in the school? Those measures have to be available, and every parent should use them to evaluate a school. Everything else is just opinion.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

What are the reading and arithmetic proficiency scores for students in the school? Those measures have to be available, and every parent should use them to evaluate a school. Everything else is just opinion.

Math: 14% proficient/advanced (43% for white students, 8% for African-Americans
Reading: 46% proficient/advanced (82% for white, 37% AA)
Science: 38% proficient/advanced (82% for white, 27% AA)

Source:

On the whole, a big racial gap, as is the case in most schools in the city. White students don't tend to perform quite as well as the East End magnets, but similar to Colfax, other than the math scores, which seem weirdly low.

Regardless, the results are pretty much what you would expect considering the SES of the different demographic groups - a majority poor black student body with a smaller white middle class group as well.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

What are the reading and arithmetic proficiency scores for students in the school? Those measures have to be available, and every parent should use them to evaluate a school. Everything else is just opinion.

The bolded is opinion.

[idontwannamove216]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

What are the reading and arithmetic proficiency scores for students in the school? Those measures have to be available, and every parent should use them to evaluate a school. Everything else is just opinion.

While I think that the scores are important, they are not the end-all, be-all to a school. I had already reviewed them on the PPS website which is why I didn't ask for them initially. A firsthand experience from other parents or students is another important factor, as well. None of these can guarantee anything but it's like reading a review for a particular product before you purchase, or a restaurant before you dine there...sometimes you just want to know what others thought before you try it for yourself (or your kids).

[idontwannamove216]

Originally Posted by Scientist Mom

When I was discussing this thread with my husband last night, he thought I should have stressed more that the principal at Sterrett is a strong principal who is very good for the school. He thinks, and I agree, that the school would be in much worse shape if she was not there.

Re: language. Info on website is not up-to-date.

Sports have been Fall: cross country, boy's and girl's volleyball and flag football. Winter: Boy's and Girl's Basketball, Spring: Boy's and Girl's Soccer. It is pretty competitive to get on the basketball teams and girl's volleyball team. There is also a golf program offered each Spring to students in good standing (behavior and academics)

Other extracurriculars (either in school or afterschool) have included cheerleading, ski club, art club, History Bee/ African American History Bowl, Glee club, STEM stars (science club for girls), some mentoring groups, school newspaper, yearbook, NJHS/ Sterrett Scholars, NJAS, robotics clubs, Project Lunch tray, perhaps a rock climbing club (new this year, I don't know if it formed or not), and LGBTQIA. Some clubs meet regularly; others only sporadically.
For the afterschool clubs, I think getting enough activity buses to take the kids home afterwards is a challenge, esp. because kids need to be bused to multiple city neighborhoods and some Wilkinsburg neighborhoods due to the magnet program admissions.

All grades get a 15 min lunch and 15 min recess either on the field or in the gym. 1/2 of each grade eats at a time.

The building is fine. Upkeep seems good. I think there was some renovation around the same time that Colfax renovated involving the cafeteria, gym and library. Most of the school is not air conditioned, but I don't think that is uncommon in the city. There is password-protecetd WiFi in the building, and they have enough tablets/ ipads for all the kids, that are sometimes used for instruction. There is a computer lab.

This is great information and so appreciated. Thank you. In regards to your first comment regarding the principal, do you worry that if she were to leave or be transferred to another school that things could decline? What exactly does she bring to the table - improving academics/teaching, strong discipline, both?

[eschaton]

I should say that broadly speaking I think using aggregated test score results to determine if a school will be good for your child is like using aggregate marathon results to determine how fast it's going to take you to complete a race.

My daughter goes to Linden K-5. She's eight and finishing up third grade. Over the last few months, she's read all of the Harry Potter books, finishing the last few (which were 600-700 pages) in a few weeks each.

In contrast, some of the other students in her class still have trouble reading simple sentences. Even students who have been in the exact same classes with her for each of the past four years.

[Goinback2011]

So are you saying the other students are incapable of learning to read at grade level? If the school and teachers have no influence on reading success what does?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

So are you saying the other students are incapable of learning to read at grade level? If the school and teachers have no influence on reading success what does?

Children enter kindergarten either primed for success or failure already. I'm not 100% sure on the reasons. Some of it may be due to being in a home environment where they aren't exposed to academic subjects. Some of it may be due to peer dynamics (black kids often tease other black kids for "acting white" if they study hard in school). Some of it may be due to environmental contaminants - black children are still way more likely to be exposed to lead in childhood, which can lower your IQ permanently. Sub-clinical levels of fetal-alcohol syndrome are also much, much more likely to affect black kids than white kids (this is the reason why in the U.S. doctor's tell pregnant women to drink no alcohol, while the say it's okay to have one a day in Europe - any level of alcohol consumption can cause brain damage to a black child, but white people seem to be more tolerant - maybe because we had access to alcohol for thousands of additional years).

Regardless of the reasons, although I would very much like it if the gaps in performance were eliminated by schools, I don't have high expectations. There is literally no school I'm aware of in the country which has eliminated performance gaps entirely (although they can be shunk a bit with tons of resources). If I pull my high-performing white child out of a mostly black school it doesn't actually improve her life, and just makes the school look that much worse in aggregate, continuing the vicious cycle. The only way that PPS will improve in its perception is if more parents like me stick it out and enroll our kids in the public school system.

Moderator cut: orphaned