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CP Photo: Jared Wickerham Delancey Walton The COVID-19 pandemic upended education for Pittsburgh youth in ways the community is still working to recognize. But while some point to the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary culprit for the district’s challenges, education activists and residents say they’ve seen an educational crisis brewing in Pittsburgh Public Schools for some time. With the impending May 18 primary, candidates running for school board see this moment as a chance to alchemize the educational system to ensure better outcomes for Pittsburgh youth, especially Black students, teachers, and others involved in the district. Twelve candidates will face off for five school board seats districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 a majority of the nine-seat board of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS). Four board seats have incumben
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Five of the nine Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors seats are up for election this year, and education advocates say the outcomes could mean a “sea changing” shift for the district one that could result in a board that is more skeptical of the district’s leadership.
Tracey Reed, one of the challengers seeking a board seat, says the district must be held to higher standards. “What are we doing if we’re not able to get kids up to a place where they can read with proficiency and do numeracy with proficiency?” she asks. “We have to think about outcomes not like ‘this is inevitable’ but ‘this is what’s possible. ”
PPS board candidates debate on April 7, 2021.
The first public debate between candidates for the Pittsburgh Public Schools Wednesday evening was a relatively sedate affair, made only mildly contentious by the fact that three of the candidates have children who attended charter schools.
Three incumbents and eight challengers took part in the three-hour-long forum, which was hosted by a coalition of progressive groups and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Only District 9 incumbent Veronica Edwards did not participate.
Over the course of the evening, the 11 candidates frequently acknowledged they were echoing each other on many subjects. But a discussion of charters public schools that receive public tax dollars but operate independently of the city district’s administration and board provided a rare moment of contention.
Sarah Schneider / 90.5 WESA
The first public debate between candidates for the Pittsburgh Public Schools Wednesday evening was a relatively sedate affair, made only mildly contentious by the fact that three of the candidates have children who attended charter schools.
Three incumbents and eight challengers took part in the three-hour-long forum, which was hosted by a coalition of progressive groups and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Only District 9 incumbent Veronica Edwards did not participate.
Over the course of the evening, the 11 candidates frequently acknowledged they were echoing each other on many subjects. But a discussion of charters public schools that receive public tax dollars but operate independently of the city district’s administration and board provided a rare moment of contention.