SUMMER 2007 The Magazine of The Heinz Endowments CHOOSING SIDES IN SCHOOL CHOICE In the often bitter debate about public schools and upstart charters, the big question remains: How are students faring? LIBRARY MAKEOVER GLASS IS A GEM 072959.indd c4 10/9/07 3:50:37 PM The Heinz Endowments was formed state of knowledge and practice in from the Howard Heinz Endowment, the fi elds in which we work. Our fi elds established in 1941, and the Vira I. of emphasis include philanthropy Heinz Endowment, established in in general and the disciplines 1986. It is the product of a deep represented by our fi ve grant-making family commitment to community and programs: Arts & Culture; Children, the common good that began with Youth & Families; Education; H.J. Heinz, and which continues to Environment; and Innovation Economy. this day. In life, Howard Heinz and Vira I. The Endowments is based in Heinz set high expectations for their Pittsburgh, where we use our region philanthropy. Today, the Endowments as a laboratory for the development is committed to doing the same. of solutions to challenges that are Our charge is to be diligent, thoughtful national in scope. Although the majority and creative in continually working of our giving is concentrated within to set new standards of philanthropic southwestern Pennsylvania, we work excellence. Recognizing that none wherever necessary, including statewide of our work would be possible without and nationally, to fulfi ll our mission. a sound fi nancial base, we also are That mission is to help our region committed to preserving and enhancing thrive as a whole community — the Endowments’ assets through prudent economically, ecologically, educationally investment management. and culturally — while advancing the h magazine is a publication of The Heinz Endowments. At the Endowments, we are committed to promoting learning in philanthropy and in the specifi c fi elds represented by our grant-making programs. As an expression of that commitment, this publication is intended to share information about signifi cant lessons and insights we are deriving from our work. Editorial Team Linda Bannon, Linda Braund, Donna Evans, Maxwell King, Carmen Lee, Grant Oliphant, Douglas Root. Design: Landesberg Design About the cover This brutish joining of two different apples represents the forced process and painful experiences on all sides of the debate over whether school choice helps or hurts public education. The Endowments and other funders of public education systems and alternative schools are still dealing with unanswered questions about quality and performance. 072959.indd c5 10/9/07 3:50:49 PM 4 The Next Chapter The old adage about not judging a book by its cover apparently doesn’t apply to the renovation of seven libraries in the Pittsburgh area. Attendance fi gures have spiked, there are added resources and the neighborhoods around them are getting an economic boost. 10 Making Choices Traditional public school or alternative school? Many families now have the ability to choose, but the debate still rages about what’s lost and Volume 7 Number 3 Summer 2007 what’s gained for students in both settings. 20 Through the Looking Glass Pittsburgh’s successful marketing of glass as a year-long mega event perfectly models a national trend. 2 Feedback 3 Message 28 Here & There Chapter, page 4 072959.indd 1 10/9/07 3:50:50 PM feedback Our Spring 2007 issue examined how faith-based mentoring is building hope and expectations for young African Americans, and offering a way for adult volunteers to infl uence the future. We also reported on entrepreneurs and foundations in western Pennsylvania that are nurturing “Ed-tech” 2 startups that can take tutoring services to students who need them. One on One in our organization continue to feel a great The software has been successful because Big Brothers Big Sisters staff is keenly aware sense of urgency to mentor more children it allows students to work at their own of the positive infl uence mentoring can and to reach our goal of serving 10 percent pace while providing unique problem- have on the life of a child. The statistics of the at-risk kids in our community. solving situations that support what has demonstrating this impact cited in We understand that what we achieve has been taught previously. It also offers Christine O’Toole’s article “One on One” greater signifi cance than what we do. teachers a way of closely monitoring are from an extensive and widely known This is part of our organization’s culture. student progress. mentoring report conducted by the What we do is mentoring; what we achieve I personally had success with national nonprofi t Public / Private Ventures is changing lives. Cognitive Tutor when I took my geometry for Big Brothers Big Sisters in the 1990s. Jan S. Glick students, who were not in a technology- This randomized, nationwide study Chief Executive Offi cer enhanced course, to the computer lab as involved more than 1,000 youth and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh an experiment. It was the last nine weeks their mentors. of the school year, and I decided that we As head of the organization’s would spend one day a week using the Pittsburgh offi ce, I have found that our software. By the end of the grading period, From Chalkboard to Keyboard studies consistently reveal a broad range I had many students say they now had As the dismissal bell rings at Plum Senior of positive outcomes in a child’s attitude, a better understanding of some of the High School, I stand in the hallway just academics and behavior from community- material we had discussed in classes weeks mesmerized by all of the different types based and school / site-based mentoring. and months earlier. I also had students of sophisticated technology that pass my The literature continues to explore the complain about the experience, but I feel door: from CD players to the latest and extent and depth of these outcomes. It is the reason for their complaints was the greatest MP3 players, cell phones and clear that organizations that use identifi able fact there was no escape from thinking portable gaming devices. Students these and positive program practices — such as for themselves in the one-to-one learning days are so tech savvy; those of us who Mount Ararat Baptist Church, featured environment. are educators would be foolish not to in O’Toole’s article, and Big Brothers Big Our students are growing up in a use technology as a way to enhance our Sisters — regularly yield improvements digital society, and technology is naturally daily instruction. among youth. motivating for them. Teachers should Plum’s high school math department Because our organization recognizes view technology as an enhancement, not embraces technology through the use of the importance of assessing program as a replacement, for classroom instruc- Carnegie Learning’s Cognitive Tutor outcomes, we use a comprehensive tion. Instructional software, whether it is instructional software, which was featured outcome evaluation system that demon- for drill and practice, tutoring, simulation, in Reid Frazier’s story “From Chalkboard strates how youth are affected by the gaming or problem solving, can provide to Keyboard.” We use the program in a mentoring relationship. We are committed learning opportunities for all students. series of “technology enhanced” classes: to validating the connection between Algebra I, Plane Geometry and Algebra II. Tamar McPherson short-term outcomes and long-lasting These courses are designed specifi cally to K – 12 Mathematics Department Chair impacts. The dedicated staff and volunteers Plum Borough School District help struggling math students understand Pittsburgh, Pa. algebra and geometry concepts by using the Cognitive Tutor software to reinforce and extend their classroom instruction. Comments: The staff of h magazine and The Heinz Endowments welcome your comments. All print and e-mail letters must include an address with daytime phone number(s). We reserve the right to edit any submission for clarity and space. Published material also will be posted on The Heinz Endowments’ Web site, which offers current and back issues of the magazine. 072959.indd 2 10/9/07 3:50:53 PM message By Teresa Heinz Chairman, The Heinz Endowments 3 he Pittsburgh Public Schools ran into trouble earlier At the same time, as public institutions, charters operated this year when the district, anxious to move beyond within the context of the public education system. They were a urban education’s battered “brand” and broaden different way of committing to public education, but they were community ownership of the city schools, fl oated an still very much public. odd proposal to drop the word “public” from its name. They were not without risks, however. Chief among the T Critics derided the idea as an attempt to substitute marketing potential pitfalls was that charters might underperform, or that for real reform. That was unfair, given that Pittsburgh’s school even if they performed well, they might simply drain resources board and leadership deserve credit for undertaking one of the away from existing schools and weaken the overall system most ambitious and earnest school reform efforts anywhere in rather than help it. the country. Our cover story for this issue examines how the promise and Still, district offi cials were right to quickly drop the scheme. risks of charters have begun to play out in our community. There It was a remarkably bad idea reminiscent of the New Coke fi asco is reason to be guardedly optimistic, but no one reading this story two decades ago, when executives at Coca-Cola decided their can be cavalier about whether Pittsburgh’s and Pennsylvania’s signature taste and brand had grown stale and should be jettisoned.