Friday, April 15, 2011

Shots fired behind Peabody

From wpxi:

http://www.wpxi.com/news/27561196/detail.html

38 comments:

Questioner said...

As has been noted before, there just seem to be more indcidents on half days. It would be wise to schedule a greater police presence near the high schools on those days.

Anonymous said...

I cannot fathom why PPS wants to move Obama, a school which has a campus-like setting, to this area. Unless of course...like the Schenley building...there have been some behind the scenes negotiations.

Questioner said...

Between the windowless building, neglected buildings in the immediate neighborhood and lack of outdoor recreation facilities the move will not be a plus for the school.

Anonymous said...

Oh right on, Questioner, right on.
This is simply a bad idea.

Anonymous said...

The Facilities study suggested keeping Reizenstein & dumping Peabody. Now we may not like the R building, but it's a nice property in a neutral neighborhood, with ample parking.

Sell a property like that and you may never again in the City be able to assemble or afford to assemble it.

Anonymous said...

yea have a ever present of policing
ok but will it still address the PPS problems low enrollments in some schools,high drop out rates
afro males etc. among other things
for the last couple of blog comments is nothing but negative problems in PPS why don't we just
outsource the whole PPS Dist. administration,staff,school board
everything meaning when will we get to the point about EDUCATING students in the PPS Dist. not to mention U Prep one of the fail schools in Pa.at this point of time the only Prep school i heard of is a failure that is truly sad or the other option let the STATE
run PPS like Duquesne School Dist.
this is getting out of hand will the school be in operating this upcoming school year i just don't see it as results of problems going on how can we have a successful new school year in which
be repeating the same problems going on now.enclosing not only have no child left behind also PPS is left behind as well,we need to resolve PPS so the state can give money to schools who are trying to educate students right now PPS is just wasting TAX PAYERS DOLLARS

Questioner said...

Since communication between Pitt and PPS seems to be a problem- why not contract w/ Pitt to run the school as a laboratory school? U Prep gets the expertise of Pitt and Pitt gets a training ground.

Anonymous said...

PPS would hire another project manager just to manage the contract with Pitt since they don't have "capacity."

At least this give them a reason to award another no bid evaluation contract to Mathematica or Rand.

PPS had approved a partnership agreement with Pitt but the Solicitor - now making so much money at PPS he's turning away long term clients - and Dr. Lopez never managed to get it executed.

The occasion could be celebrated with a wine and cheese benefit at the Carnegie. We could bring in another Broad graduate like they did John Deasy a few years back to be the keynote speaker.

I can almost picture the rainbow bright card stock invitation.

The current PPS agenda of trying to train their own teachers at academies is an afront to Pitt who for years has provided high quality graduates to the best public schools in PA.

Questioner said...

A good dose of common sense would probably cure a lot of what ails PPS. There is still time.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 9:15

If anyone is seeking "common sense" I suggest they reference your comments, as they usually hit the target with remarkably insightful, yet witty, analogies, metaphors, fact/opinion dichotomies, cause/effect relationships, etc. all done in a stream-of consciousness style that is captivating! Keep it coming!

Questioner said...

Tribune article on the Peabody incident:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_732533.html

Nothing in the PG so far- that tends to be how it goes.

Questioner said...

Another incident in the East Liberty area, involving a CAPA teacher:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_732488.html

Anonymous said...

Would you send your kid to Peabody?

Questioner said...

Do you mean the Peabody building, since Peabody High School is set to close in 2 months?

Questioner said...

Developers really want the Reizenstein property, and the Reiz building would need major renovation be be useable for the next 30 years.

So, here's a plan- sell the Reiz building and use the money to renovate a property developers do not want, such as Peabody and the surrounding area or that other school building in Oakland. While some Reiz money would have to go to satisfy outstanding debt on the Reiz building, the remainder- plus the approximately $3M additional yearly school tax that would be received if the building was returned to tax rolls- could be used for renovations elsewhere. THAT would be a long term solution, rather than kicking the can down the road for someone else to deal with in the future.

Anonymous said...

"Do you mean the Peabody building, since Peabody High School is set to close in 2 months?

April 15, 2011 11:45 PM"

The building.

Anonymous said...

Why did CAPA have a 24 yr old full time substitute teacher for Chemistry? (Regardless of bank robbery.) There are a lot of bright experienced chemistry teachers in the district that would have loved that job!

What is a full time substitute?

Anonymous said...

http://www.wtae.com/news/27560327/detail.html

CAPA teacher and the bank robbery - more good PR for the district!

and she is on paid leave for the laptop thefts pending a hearing - no charges have been filed on that yet.

Anonymous said...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_732488.html

CAPA teacher used to sub at Peabody also.

Anonymous said...

The Reizenstein building--I am sure--has been promised to the developers of the Bakery Square area--a development that we will all look back upon in 20 years as being an example of money going into the toilet. Have you been to Bakery Square? Do you really see a future?
Anyway, money talks and I am sure that either as a housing or business area, this building--a very good building--will be gone within a few years.
For shame. Reizenstein provides a campus setting and should be kept at all costs. It's largely a good building.
It needs a new roof, sure, and the heating/AC issues are uneven given the room your are in, but easily correctable.
I will be lending my support to keeping Obama where it is.
To Questioner, I am also sure that Schenley has been promised. I'm of the belief that we never should have moved and that we should have kept the name---and that's nothing against the current president.
But now, even though MR is gone, it's a keeping up appearances thing. They can't back down on this.

I know of similar schools that also were closed in South Hills, South and Fifth Avenue. They served a purpose, too. And like them, I just don't see Schenley coming back.
Just a question....has anyone ever given you cause for hope that the building may be re-opened?

Questioner said...

The main cause for hope, is that the alternatives are so inadequate.

Re: Reizenstein- the district started to commission an architectural firm to evaluate the building, then pulled the study when the results were looking bad. And is it really fair and equitable for this group of students to have no auditorium?

Now a NEW building on the site would be an entirely different story. But to do a quality building this time around- it would cost more than Schenley.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you're right...I forget the auditorium issue.

parent1 said...

There should be a one event limit per day in reporting on any negative stories even vaguely connected to anything PPS.

Are you sure the substitute teacher is on paid leave? If so why is it necessary to rob banks for rent money?

Sad that a life of potential is so offtrack.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet they were spending money on drugs and that is why they couldn't pay the rent. How stupid can you be to rob a bank you used to be a customer at and then just walk down the street? They weren't "Promise Ready."

Anonymous said...

Yes, if she was still a sub, I'd be surprised if she's actually on paid leave. Subs can just be dismissed.

If they offered her a contract for this year, it does seem odd that she was at CAPA and that no contract teacher snapped it up instead.

Anonymous said...

If drugs are involved could this be a teachable moment for students?

Anonymous said...

Drugs - and she was teaching chemistry class "ok" on a daily basis and no one noticed? And charges in the laptop case "may" be filed... They should have been filed!

In affidavits supporting charges of robbery and conspiracy against the couple, police said both suspects told them they were desperate for money after their landlord came seeking rent Friday morning. Police said Mr. Carter further told them that he and Ms. Barbieri have a bundle-a-day heroin addiction and were months behind in their rent.

Ms. Barbieri told police that she and Mr. Carter had been a couple for four or five years and they only started using heroin about six months ago.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11106/1139922-100.stm#ixzz1JhsQjQp6

Anonymous said...

Can someone tell me the gist of the story and then list three significant moments?

Anonymous said...

Can somebody tell me where the holes in the lap top case are that might prevent charges from being filed? Did the district get the laptops back? Are school districts insured for such thefts? Incredible story.

Anonymous said...

Sub was in at CAPA for a teacher on leave--there is no position for a contract teacher to "snap up."

aparent said...

Anonymous 1:09, the situation education is as serious as a heart attack and I just got the humor in your post!! It took me two readings, did anyone else get the joke? I bet most students would have caught it quickly.

Anonymous said...

Students and teachers "got it" immediately!

And, "its" one "significant" reason that the situation is as "serious as a heart attack."

Anonymous said...

"Sub was in at CAPA for a teacher on leave--there is no position for a contract teacher to "snap up."

Ok. What is a full time subtitute? We are in big trouble if all we can scrape up are 24 yr old heroin addicts to replace exerienced teachers. They don't even have a residency requirement!

She was already in trouble for stealing computers! Someone asked earlier if she was on paid leave.

Thank goodness she is not a math or economics teacher. They went through all of this trouble for 2,000 dollars.

Anonymous said...

If a teacher is going to be out for more than a few days (maternity leave, surgery, chemo, etc.) they find a "permanent sub. " Subs are paid at a daily rate until/unless they have 40 straight days in the same classroom. At that point they do get a bump up in pay.

While the original article on the Trib said she was suspended with pay, that seems extremely unlikely for a sub (and for theft).

Anonymous said...

I don't know if I can be surprised anymore.

"While the original article on the Trib said she was suspended with pay, that seems extremely unlikely for a sub (and for theft)"

Would you really be shocked if indeed she was on paid leave? I wouldn't.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't there a random security breach at CAPA, or the building recently? I can't recall it, I wonder if this is related.

Questioner said...

Update on CAPA teacher situation:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11108/1140192-100.stm

Anonymous said...

""While the original article on the Trib said she was suspended with pay, that seems extremely unlikely for a sub (and for theft)"

Would you really be shocked if indeed she was on paid leave? I wouldn't. "

Actually, I would. They do run the subs very differently. If you are sick and miss ONE day of those 40, you don't get the bump up and the 40 days starts over from the day you were sick.

It's a day to day thing, even for permanent subs.