For Sienna Striner, a typical school day involves lots of careful orchestration.
Sienna, a third-grader at Pittsburgh Fulton PreK-5, is in special education and has an individualized education program (IEP). Sienna, who has Down Syndrome, spends about three-quarters of her day in a general education classroom and the rest of her time in another classroom where she gets one-on-one learning support from a special education teacher.
All school day, a personal care assistant (PCA) works with her on personal needs, transitions between classes, getting her supplies out or accessing her speech device. During lunch, the PCA stays by her side to ensure she eats safely, as Sienna has dysphagia and is at risk of choking. At least once a week, Sienna is pulled out for occupational, speech and physical therapies to help with her hypotonia, or muscle weakness, that can cause delayed motor skills.
When, earlier this year, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) went remote for five days due to the snowstorm in January, Sienna’s carefully structured routine was thrown off.
Her mother, Shannon Striner, whose primary job is being Sienna’s caregiver, said attending remote classes when schools are closed is “a complete waste of time.”
Without the in-person support she relies on, Sienna can struggle to keep up, and often finds herself overwhelmed and anxious. During remote stretches, Striner and Sienna sometimes ended up doing independent work instead of attending class online.
“I don’t know, other than having someone physically come to my home, how they can mimic what happens in the classroom with remote learning,” Striner said. “It’s just not possible.”
Not all remote days are the same
This year alone, PPS has used nine remote days across the district. Introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning options have become common in school districts all over the country.
Most recently, PPS went remote during the NFL Draft for three days. Most students learned asynchronously, meaning they were given packets to study around their preferred schedule. At Pioneer and Conroy special education centers, teachers were present on screen and students participated simultaneously, known as synchronous learning.
The district used a flexible instruction day (FID) during the NFL Draft.
State law requires that schools provide students with at least 180 days of instruction, or 900 hours of instruction for kindergarten and elementary students and 990 hours for secondary students. School districts may apply to the state Department of Education for an FID plan, which allows districts to go remote for up to five days in a year and still meet the requirements of instructional time.
Outside of FIDs, school districts can provide remote learning alternatives, as often as they want, as long as they meet the requirements of instructional time.
The remote learning menu
Flexible instruction day: A state-approved program for public schools to provide virtual instruction in circumstances that prevent the delivery of instruction in its customary manner or location. Schools can use up to five FIDs as long as they meet the instructional day requirement. FIDs may be synchronous or asynchronous.
Synchronous remote learning: Students and teachers engage with course materials simultaneously in real-time over virtual platforms.
Asynchronous remote learning: Students engage with course materials at the time of their convenience and learn on their own.
Climate change has led to increasing extreme weather events around Pittsburgh, including record heat waves, storms and snow. That, coupled with aging infrastructure in PPS buildings, has led to increased remote days in the district. Many district schools lack the infrastructure for central air conditioning due to their old age.
In 2023, PPS introduced an extreme heat protocol to monitor building temperatures and determine whether schools needed to be remote when outdoor temperatures exceeded 85 degrees.
For some families, these alternatives provide flexibility, but for many others, remote learning poses unique challenges. In particular, special education students often face challenges with learning, resulting in compensatory education services. Other students across PPS schools face difficulties accessing stable technology.
Pam Harbin, a former PPS board member and co-founder of advocacy group Education Rights Network, said the district does not clearly communicate the difference between synchronous and asynchronous learning to families or staff. Three parents interviewed for this story all said they were unfamiliar with the distinction.
Harbin said there is limited guidance from the state on remote learning, and the district lacks clear policies or oversight and added that the district should make that information and its FID applications available on its website so that teachers and parents have a better understanding of what to expect.
The Mullens: Charter laptop better than PPS computer
Laura Mullen’s son, Jack, is a fourth grader at Fulton. Her daughter, Ava, is in third grade at Provident Charter School, which follows PPS’ calendar and schedule.
Mullen’s biggest hurdle with remote learning is navigating technological issues in PPS. She said Jack struggled to connect online during the snowstorm and spent most of the day troubleshooting. His laptop did not charge or hold a connection well, which led to some missed assignments.
“It seemed like almost the whole day was spent with people dropping [off] trying to get back in, getting kicked out of their classes, and very little learning was done,” she said.
Ava’s experience was markedly different, their mother said. The charter school provided relatively newer laptops and she had a smoother experience with remote learning.
Mullen feels remote learning has become a “default option” for PPS since COVID, instead of using snow days or giving a day off and making up for it at the end of the year. She said PPS should limit the number of virtual days schools can use in a year.
“I just think that virtual learning has made it sort of reflexive for the district to cancel school, and it sends a message to families that they’re checking the box on education instead of really striving to give the best educational experience possible to students,” she said.
James Fogarty, executive director of advocacy group A+ Schools, said the experiences of students with remote learning vary across PPS schools based on the quality of technology and how they integrate it into their regular teaching.
“It makes it a little more difficult when you switch to remote for schools where devices aren’t used that often, right? And so it’s just not kind of a regular part of a student’s day versus some schools where it is,” he said.
I just think that virtual learning has made it sort of reflexive for the district to cancel school, and it sends a message to families that they’re checking the box on education instead of really striving to give the best educational experience possible to students
Laura Mullen
Melissa Pearlman, assistant superintendent for instructional leadership at PPS, said the district meets with school principals at the beginning of every school year to plan for emergency events such as weather or a water main break that can lead to remote learning.
“There should be no hesitation that we can immediately switch so that planning really happens at the school-based level at the beginning of the year, because no one has a crystal ball to understand the changes and all the things that could happen,” she said.
The Knights: Apple smooth, Dell bumpy
Thirteen-year-old Ila attends CAPA 6-12 while her sister, Loretta, is a fourth-grader at Fulton.
At CAPA, students are issued Apple MacBooks, and Ila’s mother said she has had few, if any, technical problems. The reliable device enables her to navigate virtual learning independently.
Most other PPS students, however, receive Dell laptops. Ila’s and Loretta’s mother, Meredith Knight, said Loretta requires a lot more help figuring out IT support or getting her laptop to work properly when she needs to complete her homework. Knight, who works from home, often has to step out of meetings to help Loretta.
“If we’re going to start littering the calendar year with a bunch of remote learning days just because we can — I find that really frustrating, because it’s not the same level of education as the kids are getting in the classroom, and it also just creates such a logistical challenge for parents when they do it,” Knight said.
Pearlman said the district conducts regular technology audits to ensure student devices are working properly. She added that families without reliable internet access are provided support, including mobile hotspots.
For extreme weather events such as snow or heat waves, Fogarty said the trade-off was a “less-than-ideal instructional situation” of remote learning, rather than extending the school year deep into June and paying for that staffing. He said PPS needs to leverage technology in a way that optimizes remote learning for all students.
The Fishers: Elementary students getting ‘nothing’ from screen ed
Molly Fisher’s sons Eli and Aaron are in third and fourth grades at Colfax K-8. Fisher is a full-time doctor and her husband works from home. Although they don’t need to arrange childcare, neither parent can consistently give their sons full attention during virtual school days. At times, when both are busy, the boys have missed school altogether.
Aaron and Eli struggle to stay focused and often give up before finishing the school day. Fisher said her kids learned “nothing” during the remote week in January because there was no one to sit with them and make them learn.
“I feel so bad for those teachers trying to keep these little guys engaged over a screen,” Fisher said. “I know that when my work is over a screen, it’s hard to stay engaged with a grown-up brain. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for these kids to try and pay attention to a screen all day.”
A 2025 study by the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard and Stanford’s Educational Opportunity Project found that Pittsburgh students are significantly behind pre-pandemic achievement levels — close to a full grade in math and more than half a grade in reading. Recovery is slow, and worse for students in poverty across all races.
Shawn McNeil, chief academic officer at PPS, acknowledged there is no substitute to in-person learning but said there are systems in place, such as consistent check-ins and live synchronous discussions, to make sure students are engaged. Pearlman added that PPS has used interventions such as phone calls or text messages to ensure students are logged on and learning during virtual days.
A solution to combat some of the remote learning issues would be to increase the annual number of FID days, according to Harbin. That’s because applying for the FID program requires planning and board authorization; and unlike remote days, school districts have to submit instructional plans for FIDs to the Department of Education for approval.
“There’s public notice, public accountability that’s already built in,” Harbin said.
The state approved an FID plan for PPS from 2021-22 to the 2023-24 school years but the district did not utilize any FID during that three-year cycle. Until this year, PPS has only used synchronous remote learning days. The district applied for a FID plan in 2024-25 to be used during the 2025 through 2028 school years. This school year, PPS has used all of its five FID days.
The latest FID application sent to the state indicated the district’s primary mode of instruction during FIDs would be synchronous learning, which was approved by the board. PPS has historically used only synchronous learning during remote days.
For the NFL Draft, the district sent a request to the state to switch to asynchronous learning and move the state exam testing dates. District spokesperson Ebony Pugh said PPS considered multiple factors in deciding to switch to asynchronous but did not specify when asked. Pugh also did not reply when asked if the board sought board approval to make this request.
The Striners: Remote learning means dependence
Striner, who takes on freelance and volunteering jobs on the side, had to cancel all of her schedule during the week of the snowstorm because PPS went remote.
“If I have anything on my schedule, it has to be completely erased, and I have to sit with [Sienna] and make sure that she is … gaining something for the day, because otherwise, she’d just be parked in front of the TV all day,” she said.
At school, Sienna’s teachers and helpers work with her to help her be more independent. Being in a general education classroom alongside her peers also supports her emotional growth and helps ease anxiety. When her PCA or teachers have to step out, her friends will help her if needed. At home, however, that independence disappears, and Striner must stay with her throughout the day.
“There is no independence when it comes to remote learning,” she said.
Harbin said remote learning disproportionately impacts students with disabilities, students facing housing instability, students without a reliable internet connection or English language learners.
“It doesn’t impact all students equally,” she said. “It lands hardest on the students who are already the most vulnerable.”
Students with disabilities are legally entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), but Harbin said remote learning can shift that responsibility onto families. If districts cannot provide required accommodations or modifications virtually, students may be entitled to compensatory education.
PPS is still making up for the 600,701 hours worth of missed special education services during COVID.
In an email response, Pugh said the absence of a PCA or other support staff does not automatically result in a denial of educational services or mean that compensatory services are owed. She added that the district takes a proactive approach in identifying situations where compensatory services may be appropriate. These can include circumstances such as lack of transportation, extended absences of certified instructional staff, or periods when a student is removed from the school setting.
Until Striner hired an education advocate at the beginning of this school year, she said a state-required remote learning plan was never robustly discussed during IEP meetings with the district. With the help of the Local Task Force and Harbin, Striner was able to make an agreement with the district on getting compensatory education for physical and speech therapy and missed time in general education. She said there was little communication from the district about how asynchronous learning would play out during the NFL Draft.
“The free part [of FAPE] is, you know, you shouldn’t have to arrange child care or lose your work income,” Harbin said. “The moment that a parent has to step in to make instruction work, the district has shifted their legal obligation onto the family.”
Pugh said during remote instruction, the responsibility remains with the IEP team to determine the specially designed instruction and related services necessary for a student to receive FAPE, adding that if a parent believes their child is not receiving the services outlined in their IEP, they are encouraged to request an IEP team meeting.
Harbin said without legislation to regulate remote learning, disparities between districts will increase. Harbin said she is concerned that districts will use remote days if they are unable to provide transportation due to budget issues, as long as they meet the instructional time requirements.
Fogarty said remote learning might be beneficial for some students, and can work well for the increased share of parents who now work from home. He said PPS has an opportunity to create online programs and tools that more effectively engage students on a screen and lead to better outcomes.
To address the needs of students with disabilities, Fogarty said the conversation should start with asking parents to state their ideal accommodations. “How do you accommodate for something that’s out of the district’s control while also meeting the needs of the kind of rights that the child has?”
Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org.
This story was fact-checked by Emma Folts.
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