Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Plug pulled on single gender academies

Due to lack of signups the single gender academies will be pulled. There will be a single gender classroom option offered as a magnet.

36 comments:

Questioner said...

Single gender might have worked in a really popular location like Oakland; or a popular option like a great CTE and entrepreneurship academy could very well work at the Westinghouse location.

But single gender was not a big enough draw to pull students to the Westinghouse location.

Anonymous said...

How much money was spent/wasted on this? It keeps adding up and I am tired of paying for incompetence.

Questioner said...

The projected number of students for 9-12 at Westinghouse is around 400. But, all along we have been told that a HS needs at least 600 to offer the full range of activities and electives. This was a justification for closing Peabody in the first place.

And people still don't like the 6-12 format. Prediction that there will need to be ever wider feeders to fill Westinghouse, with the feeder eventually encompassing both sides of Negley up to the current U Prep feeder.

Questioner said...

From the Tribune, "1 gender academies get scant interest"

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_732148.html

Anonymous said...

Yes, wasn't that really true all along -- that they needed most of the Peabody and W'house kids to all go to W'house? That's why they had to close one -- they've both been highly underenrolled for years.

But heaven forbid they should ask parents or the community what they want. Once again we learn that the BOE doesn't listen to words only to feet leaving.

Questioner said...

Although, there was a third option- increase enrollment by offering attractive programming.

Currently a huge percentage of students in these areas drop out or choose charter and private options because what has been offered does not meet their needs.

Anonymous said...

I understand and support merging schools, it needs to be done, however the board has to listen to the community, there are factors that can't be ignored. I am tired of all the lies and smoke screens & distractions thrown out by PPS.

I don't understand the opening & closing, the revolving spin of; Peabody/Obama, opening Sci-Tech, spending money on Reizenstien, moving/not moving? Single gender, magnet, classic academy, feeder pattern, charter and the cluster-muck of language it takes to navigate through PPS. It is confusing.

Questioner said...

A policy of requiring uniforms is also being considered for Westinghouse- which raises an new legal issue of whether a uniform requirement violates students' right to a free public education.

Anonymous said...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11104/1139279-53.stm
City schools faced with enrollment imbalance


1-gender academies get scant interest
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/education/s_732148.html#ixzz1JTyixio8

Anonymous said...

there we go again nobody from PPS did not go visit a single gender school as a fact finder in research to see what they did to sell the concept and what type of ways use also for recruiting that is the main engine RECRUITING PPS
problem could not sell the program
my other point is maybe this is not the right time so PPS go do
some HOMEWORK fact finding and research.meaning another failed attempt.don't worry PPS you got two
strikes left you are still in the game.maybe we can outsource our sigle gender students from PPS another option.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Also proposed is the closing of the robotics program at Peabody and allowing the students who are currently enrolled to go to the engineering program at Allderdice! How much did it cost to move the robotics program from Schenley to Peabody, move the students from Schenley to Reizenstein- now to Peabody, and end up with an even more attractive school for the enchanted people who live in the feeder pattern of the the kingdom of Allderdice! Talk about equality of education!!!!!

Questioner said...

Have to give credit to Dr. Lane for acknowledging the problems and being willing to change course.

Questioner said...

From the PG article:

"While recruiting will continue for the single-gender academies,..."

Huh?

Questioner said...

It cost $3M to prepare a space at Peabody for robotics and move the program there.

One of the main reasons for the formation of PURE in 2008 was to seek a logical, comprehensive plan for high schools in Pittsburgh- BEFORE piecemeal changes, moves, and renovations were made.

Mark Rauterkus said...

A single gender school does not include two genders. Duhh.

Westinghouse was for both boys and girls.

FAIL.

Poor planning. Poor design. Poor execution. And there is still no solution that makes sense.

Stay WHAT course???

Once trust levels of public education in the city hit the level of the sewers we'll have a huge victory. Trust and faith is gone and won't be back for this generation.

Plus, what they want to do next is YANK families around some more. Yank here. Yank there. The yanks are needed to cover the blunders, and that piles onto the lack of trust and makes for more yanking.

That is the course PPS is on -- keep yanking the families and kids as administrators wish. Steady that course, perhaps.

Rightsize = yank from PPS administration.

Now, as in the past, and for the future, people vote with their feet. That's the root of the 'scant interest.'

PPSParent said...

PPS motto for students, teachers and parents:

Never think we can't make it worse for you!


The lack of ability to see reality and plan for it is unbelievable.

Anonymous said...

The absolute best part of this story is that in reward for outstanding planning and execution of UPrep and Westinghouse we have one Assistant Superintendent promoted to be in charge of planning for THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

Right here, on display for all, is the kind of cutting edge personnel management and decision making we are enjoying in Dr. Lane's first 100 days.

Priceless.

Questioner said...

The general feeling seems to be that Dr. Lane inherited the mess and is doing what she can to deal with it. As a deputy, how much room really was there to object?

But, it will be critically important not to make the same mistakes again. "Community involvement" cannot be primarily through organizations with a financial incentive to comply with district proposals.

Anonymous said...

The promotion occured under HER watch, not MR's.

Questioner said...

A watch she began with instructions to stay the course.

Maybe the Board needs to review its instructions.

Anonymous said...

The Board needs to look at the promotion she made of the person responsible for the strategic initiative of both UPrep and Single Gender Academies. That person or persons need to be help accountable. Why are they being kept in decision making positions?

Questioner said...

As the district is fond of saying, there are "pockets of excellence" throughout the district. But at some point, intentions to "expand those pockets" just isn't enough.

MR won the Schenley battle but partly as a result, lost the Excellence war. DL won the battle to hold closed meetings but partly as a result, failed in his East End reform efforts.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe they ever had any intentions to expand on any of the pockets of excellence -- other than maybe CAPA's model of a stripped down high school with a theme.

Everything else? They considered it bad and thought people who thought it was good were stupid, provincial Pittsburghers, by which they meant uneducated and insular.

Unfortunately, over and over they were warned about problems with their plans. They ignored those. Many of those warnings are now seen to be the root of their problems.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the slogan should be "Pockets of Excellence"?

Anonymous said...

Pockets of Excellence
Point 'em out, we'll
Stamp them out!

Anonymous said...

From what I've read about Dr.Lane and from her quotes, she is a good soul. But she is surrounded by agenda-laden, incompetent (insofar as the realities of the urban classroom), angry idiots.
I hope, no, I pray that she can find her own path.

Anonymous said...

From what I've read about Dr.Lane and from her quotes, she is a good soul. But she is surrounded by agenda-laden, incompetent (insofar as the realities of the urban classroom), angry idiots.
I hope, no, I pray that she can find her own path


Ms. Lane disposed of admin staff that had an IQ over 130 or had an opinion, idea or question.

Fall in line.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how much was spent on glossy brochures, mailings, billboards, etc. to advertise the single gender academies.

Questioner said...

Mailings and billboards, but also trips for students to Chicago and NYC to see other single gender schools; salaries for people like the coordinator of the girls school; and 6k for community groups to knock on doors and tell people to choose Westinghouse or U Prep.

Anonymous said...

The creation of a comprehensive neighborhood 6-12 in a urban school district may be unprecedented. The children of Lincoln who are going from a good academic setting to Westinghouse are the biggest victims here. Although Mark Roosevelt left without care for the children he hurt, can Linda Lane?

This is simply putting more children into the abyss of Westinghouse. Just think about the Parents who desparately did not want to sign their children up. They had to be hoping something would change. They must feel that they have let their children down. If they do not have the money for a tuition, They have no choice.

It is sad to think that an African-American Superintendent and 3 African-American board members could do this to African-American children and families

Questioner said...

It sounds like the parents that actually went ahead and elected uprep 6-12 already can keep that choice, and there are some additional spaces open. And there will be some enhanced services offered at Westinghouse. But at the facility community meetings there was very strong opposition to the 6-12 configuration.

Anonymous said...

Currently, there are four African American Board Members: Mark Brentley, Thomas Sumpter, Sharene Shealey, and Dara Ware Allen

Anonymous said...

"Ms. Lane disposed of admin staff that had an IQ over 130 or had an opinion, idea or question.

Fall in line."

If she disposed of pinheads NOT in the classroom, I'd call it a good start.

Anonymous said...

"If she disposed of pinheads NOT in the classroom, I'd call it a good start."

As long as they fall in line and never question wtf is going on? Our kids deserve accountability on every level. Some "pinheads" really care even when being called names.

We do not need more lemmings.

Anonymous said...

Where are they, anon? Who are they? Are they you?
What you have in the upper echelons of Bellefield Avenue are charlatans, plain and simple. They are stealing great paychecks and enabling consultants to also steal their pay. They enact policy, they scan the internet under the pretense of research and then push that into PPS policy to appear to be "cutting edge".
It's all window dressing.
Nay-sayers? You're kidding, right?
The 'deputy superintendent' and assistant superintendents keep pushing the idea of effective teaching. That's pretty funny.
A school psychologist, gym teachers, and people who were in the classroom for a couple of years are trying to come up with what is effective by looking at models online? If it wasn't so sickening, it would be funny.
And to any teacher who thought that Dr.lane was going to push these people out, please, stop drinking the kool aid long enough to keep saying "Gates money" repeatedly.
Dr.Lane is not going to rock the boat and tell gates and Broad 'no thanks.'
Nay-sayers?
Please tell me where they are, anon. Please.
Go to inservices, see them come to your schools---they are almost robotic in the way they speak the same language.
Reminds me of '1984' or the brainwashed of Nazi Germany.

Anonymous said...

"Where are they, anon? Who are they? Are they you?
What you have in the upper echelons of Bellefield Avenue are charlatans, plain and simple. They are stealing great paychecks and enabling consultants to also steal their pay. They enact policy, they scan the internet under the pretense of research and then push that into PPS policy to appear to be "cutting edge".

I am having trouble getting a post allowed here regarding this.

Lane and Roosevelt disposed of central office personal that did not fall in line. The people that questioned what was going on and had opinions no longer work for the district.

People that disagree with the cult like mentality are cut loose. They are no longer there to stand up for the kids.