Pittsburgh Public Schools parents quizzed district leaders about transportation, school culture and other expected changes during the first of five transition meetings ahead of a sweeping reconfiguration that’s getting underway next school year.
“I don’t know how they’re going to work that out between now and then. I just don’t know how they’re gonna do it,” said Andy Kubis, who has two kids in PPS. “But I’m glad they’re starting to ask those questions.”
During Tuesday’s meeting at Sci-Tech 6-12, Superintendent Wayne Walters said local teams were working on different areas of implementation, but emphasized the importance of parent input to understand the unique needs of schools and families.
“I also want to acknowledge that while we have made progress, there are still decisions to be made and details to be offered,” he said. “We are committed to being transparent by what we know, what remains under development, and when families can expect additional information.”
The school board voted in May to close 12 schools and reconfigure the district’s entire footprint, after years of planning and several setbacks. School closures and consolidations are set to go into effect beginning next school year.
Four additional meetings will be held at schools across the district to update parents and take in their feedback about the Future-Ready Plan.
The meetings, grouped by neighborhood regions, will give parents an opportunity to raise questions about topics including transportation, school culture, curriculum and instruction, facilities, attendance zones and feeder patterns, gifted education, programs for students with disabilities and English language learners.
Remaining PPS transition update meetings:
- Oct. 29, Pittsburgh Carmalt (South region)
- Nov. 5, Pittsburgh Allegheny (North region)
- Nov. 19, Pittsburgh Langley (West region)
- Nov. 30, Pittsburgh Faison (East region)
Transportation plans a major concern
Several parents voiced concerns about the lack of detail about transportation for the next year.
Chrissy Ovenden has a seventh-grader at Sci-Tech in Oakland, which will be reconfigured to a neighborhood magnet high school next year. Middle school students there will be assigned to Milliones, which will become a neighborhood magnet middle school.
Ovenden said this change would mean her son will need to leave much earlier to take two Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) buses from their home in Lawrenceville to reach Milliones. Currently, PRT buses are the default transportation option for students in grades six through 12. Ovenden worries her son could be waiting outside of school, in the dark, for about 25 minutes each day.
Megan Patton, director of pupil transportation, said that taking two buses to school was not unusual. The district is considering running a shuttle between Sci-Tech and Milliones to transport students, she added.
“A lot of the questions that are being asked [have] received, ‘We’re not sure, we don’t know the deadline,’” Ovenden said in response.
The board voted last month to provide PRT passes for all high school students, beginning next month.
Walters said transportation plans are typically communicated with parents three weeks before school starts, based on student enrollments and the number of students living in the neighborhood.
Parents want to preserve school culture
Some parents wonder how the closures and grade reconfigurations will alter school cultures.
Maria Guyette, who has two children in ninth and 11th grades at Sci-Tech, said she worries about how the school will coordinate supports for students transitioning into the school next year.
Sci-Tech will receive all high school students from Milliones, a school where nearly 90% of students are Black and 90% are economically disadvantaged. Today, only 37% of Sci-Tech’s student population is Black and 42% of students are economically disadvantaged.
“We’re talking about school integration. And that’s really important and can be really valuable and can be done really well,” Guyette said. “But we’re not explicitly saying integration right now, and I think that misses an opportunity to have a deeper conversation.”
Sara Costigan, who has a fourth-grader at Allegheny Traditional Academy (ATA) in Allegheny Center, said she was frustrated with the lack of transparency around staffing allocations as the school prepares to relocate to King next year. Per the Future-Ready Plan, King K-8 will close, and the building will operate as an elementary school called Allegheny at King.
The school Parent-Teacher Organization sent an open letter on Oct. 2 to Walters and the school board raising concerns about the relocation. They asked for a guaranteed transfer of ATA teachers to King, saying the staff was integral to student success.
Costigan said while the transition update meeting was helpful, she still did not see the full picture about projected enrollment at the new school, and how that will determine how many teachers will stay at the school.
Walters said staffing allocations will be decided with the union once the district has passed next year’s budget and made enrollment projections for the next year.
Some parents said they left with a clearer understanding about the next school year after the meeting. Emily Sawyer, who has four kids in PPS, said many of her questions around school culture and transitions were answered, helping her feel more connected to the plan.
She still wishes the district will increase communication about the meetings with the wider community.
“I’m really hopeful that we’ll, like, step up and create something great,” she said.
Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.
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