What can I do to keep the conversation going?

Contact your school board rep, your other elected officials and community leaders (see our Get Involved page), and reach out to us at ppscommunityproposal@gmail.com.

Why did you create this Community-Driven proposal?

The community response to ERS’s proposal was very strong, at least in part due to PPS’s history of undertaking similar widespread school closures with poor results. It was difficult to fully understand and catalog the complaints, needs, desires, and concerns of the community in the format that was presented. Therefore, we volunteered to compile and coalesce the input from the community. We were able to develop an alternative plan rooted in community wisdom and driven by community input.

What was your community engagement process?

We engaged community organizations, district experts, teachers, parents, and students. We also collaborated with professionals within our parent and community populations. Our presentation and proposal were created by a parent team. We followed the 12 tenets of Dr. Walters’ strategic plan, while also incorporating community feedback, creating distinct pathways for achievement, retaining school choice, and improving equity.

What did you hear during your community engagement process?

The community told us a few key things: 

1. Stop the school closure process until you really listen to the community.

2. Assess community needs by polling all PPS families, asking the important questions (e.g., where do you educate your child, and what factors mattered in that decision?).

3. Make bold changes that turn the current environment of “managing decline” into a “growth mindset” that makes PPS the best public school system in the U.S.

4. Retain some degree of choice in our education model.

What about equity?

The community responded clearly to the current lack of equity in the district. PPS’s own 5-year strategic plan names equity as a priority. Equity is at the heart of every aspect of our proposal. See our Equity page for more details.

What are the implementation concerns about ERS’s proposal that you seek to address?

ERS’s proposal lacks detail around the timeline, cost, or the impact of their proposal on transportation, attrition, school-based support systems within communities, building vacancy, and logistics (e.g., operationalizing STEM, languages, and arts/humanities at every school). There are detail pages about many of these in the “Plan Details” drop down at the top of the page.

What is a “regional choice model”?

Enrollment in school would require parents/guardians/students to rank the schools in their region based on personal priorities and preferences (ie: proximity to a school, thematic preference, extracurricular opportunities, love the principal or whatever reason a family has for what is best for them). Greatest weight will be given to students coming from traditionally marginalized zip codes. Proximity to school would also carry a weight. Siblings would automatically gain admission at a school together if desired.

Why pursue a regional choice model?

We believe a regional choice model is the best model for PPS because it: 

1. Retains parent and student choice, which many parents cite as important to their decision to stay within PPS

2. Distributes resources geographically throughout the district

3. Eases transportation burden. See our Transportation Plan

4. Enables structured community engagement and partnership

5. Allows for pathways of achievement

6. Helps to integrate a historically economically and racially segregated city

How were your regions created?

This is Pittsburgh! Our regions were created based on rivers and bridges (plus a couple of major roads). There are 5 regions for preK-5, two regions (created by combining preK-5 regions) for 6-8, and one region for 9-12.

What are the other basic tenets of your model, beyond regional choice?

1. No traditional ‘feeder’ patterns or attendance zones.

2. Small class sizes. K-5: 25 or less, 6-8: 28 or less, and 9-12: 30 or less. These are maximum numbers per class in general education.

3. Standardized curriculum at every grade level and at every school.

4. Community input, community input, community input! The community will be invited to determine the thematic areas needed for the schools in their region. Examples of possible themes could include environmental sciences, STEM, language and culture, arts and humanities, Montessori style, and African-American studies. We envision a similar palette of options to be offered in each region. 

5. Each region will also have a community hub, facilitating interaction between the school and the surrounding community. This will be a space for professional development and district/community engagement, extracurriculars, etc.

Which schools are proposed to close?

• West: Banksville

• North: Spring Hill

• Central: Woolslair

• Several schools would be repurposed to serve as community hubs.

What does your proposal say about ELL?

English language learners are the fastest growing population in PPS with a very specific set of needs. In each region, there will be a school selected to serve as an ELD center in order to use itinerant staff effectively and allow students to benefit from gen ed teachers with ELD interest and experience. In addition to these select centers, we propose creating a Newcomer Academy for the brand new English language learning students in grades 6-12. This population is at high risk of not completing their high school career due to the language barrier. The new comer academy would serve students with the highest language needs, while also providing extended services (e.g., trauma and social services, social assistance for the whole family), with the goal to quickly return students to general education with a base level of English proficiency. We recognize the challenges this may create with regard to segregating refugee children; this is a conversation that we want to continue to have with our partners in these communities.

What does your proposal say about special education IEPs?

Our special education plan is based on the idea of general education integration and inclusion. Therefore, we propose to strengthen special education services by increasing paraprofessional access (1 paraprofessional for every 4 IEP). This would also necessitate paraprofessional education, which we would operationalize by creating a paraprofessional CTE program.

What does your proposal say about the gifted and talented program?

We propose to introduce opt-out testing, instead of the current model where a student must be nominated by a parent or teacher which introduces severe inequities. The gifted center would be eliminated, and rather, gifted education would be incorporated into a student’s day using a flex period (see below). Kids aren’t just gifted one day per week! We also propose to create a regional “talented” program, collaborating with community partners within each region. This could include athletics, music, art, engineering, and other community resources available here in Pittsburgh.

What is the purpose of the “flex period” you propose?

Flex Periods can be used in ways tailored to the individual student’s needs; for example, to meet gifted IEP needs, provide special education, or provide “talented program” activities.

What would happen to CAPA?

CAPA 9-12 would be the only school in the district to stay as a full magnet, as it is performance-based. CAPA 6-8 is relocated and accessible to all through regional choice rankings. This allows more kids to enter CAPA 9-12, and the non-magnet 6-8 helps more kids develop the skills to gain admission to CAPA high school. See more at CAPA page.

What would happen to Montessori?

Given the existing demand for Montessori education, it would expand! “Friendship” would keep a Montessori focus without the magnet application process; and a second Montessori school would be created. See Montessori for more info.

What would happen to AP offerings?

Our goal would be for thematic AP offerings to exist at different high schools, and to overall increase AP offerings across the district.

How will this plan bring students back to the district?

We desperately need a community needs assessment to try to understand why people are leaving the district. Attrition is occurring disproportionately at the elementary level, and those kids don’t come back. In the absence of a needs assessment, we feel that allowing parents and students the ability to have choice in their education will allow individuals to select options that fit their own needs - whatever those may be, rather than choosing charters, private, or leaving the city entirely.

What happens when there are ‘loser’ schools not being ranked or picked?

The district ultimately has control over the number of students selected for each school. If there is a school that is chronically falling low in the ranking, it will trigger a community discussion regarding what is needed at that school to make it more desirable for the community. Does it need an after-school program? A different thematic learning choice? A change to disciplinary practices? Regional liaisons can also help in this instance to assess what is happening in the other schools in the region and hold a discussion with the community regarding needs and desires. See more in our School Choice Process page.

Why not just offer everything at every school?

There is no way financially, logistically or practically to offer everything at every school, especially at a preK-5 level. Themes like STEM, Montessori, Arts and Humanities, and International Baccalaureate are styles and methods of teaching. It cannot be faithfully enacted as a class once a month, especially in the setting of learning based general education. We believe it is more meaningful to have schools with thematic learning practices where students and teachers can align with the focus that resonates to them. Exposure to other methods can be explored via extracurriculars, clubs, and other opportunities offered via Regional Community Hubs.