Pittsburgh SD District Level Plan 07/01/2015 - 06/30/2018 To provide feedback, email it to [email protected] or mail it to the following address: Pittsburgh Public Schools Office of Strategic Priorities 341 S. Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 2 District Profile Demographics 341 S Bellefield Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 622-3500 Superintendent: Linda Lane Director of Special Education: Donna Westbrooks Martin Planning Process Throughout 2012, the senior leadership team of the Pittsburgh Public Schools reviewed the PDE planning requirements and the overall state of the district. From those discussions, it became clear that the district needed to embark on an extensive process to develop a strategic plan for the next several years. This need was driven by two major challenges. First, our academic progress had faltered well below acceptable levels and we still had significant racial achievement disparities. Second, our financial projections forecast a large chronic budget deficit facing the district in a few years, significantly driven by an escalation in pension costs. Addressing these problems simultaneously required a robust plan development process. Accordingly, the Superintendent, Dr. Linda Lane, with the support of the Board of Directors, began our "Envisioning" process. The plan development process was led internally by the Executive Director of Strategic Priorities with extensive leadership input and guidance from senior cabinet members, including the Deputy Superintendent, Chief Academic Officer, Chief of Human Resources, and Chief Operations Officer, among others. The process was also supported with external expertise provided by FSG and Bellwether Education Partners. The resulting plan, Whole Child, Whole Community: Building a Bridge to the Pittsburgh Promise was released to the community in December of 2013. It was developed through an inclusive process, with deep input from more than 1,000 District staff, Board of Directors, students, parents, funders and other community members over the course of 2013. Moreover, a diverse advisory group, comprised of 57 people representing various constituencies, met on six different occasions in 2013 to provide input and feedback throughout the process. After the release of the plan, six follow-up community meetings were held in the spring of 2014 throughout Pittsburgh, to raise understanding of the plan, improve district-community communications, and get feedback on the plan. During the summer of 2014, the senior leadership team was convened by the Executive Director of Strategic Priorities, Brian Smith, to further develop the specific plan elements required by PDE, pursuant to the PA school code requirements. As individual elements were developed, the leadership team, including the Superintendent, Dr. Linda Lane, the Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Donna Micheaux, the Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services, Dr. Dara Ware Allen, among others reviewed the plans for further refinement. The professional education subcommittee 3 was also formed to provide broad input from various staff and stakeholder groups, pursuant to PA Code requirements. In accordance with Chapter 4, the main body of this plan submission contains five elements: Professional Education, Teacher Induction, Gifted Education, Student Services, and Pre-K program. Note that our special education plan was already submitted in June 2014. Mission Statement District Mission The Pittsburgh Public Schools district will be one of America’s premier school districts, student- focused, well managed, and innovative. We will hold ourselves accountable for preparing all children to achieve academic excellence and strength of character, so that they have the opportunity to succeed in all aspects of life. Vision Statement District Vision 100% of our students will complete a two-or four-year college degree or workforce certification. Shared Values At the Pittsburgh Public Schools, we hold the following beliefs: • All children can learn at high levels. • Teachers have a profound impact on student development, and should have ample training, support and resources. • Education begins with a safe and healthy learning environment. • Families are an essential part of the educational process. • A commitment from the entire community is necessary to build a culture that encourages student achievement. • Consistent and effective leadership guides improvement in education. • Central office exists to serve students and schools. 4 Educational Community About Pittsburgh Public Schools The Pittsburgh Public School District is the largest of 43 school districts in Allegheny County and second largest in Pennsylvania. The District serves approximately 26,000 students in Pre- Kindergarten through Grade 12. In addition to 53 brick and mortar schools offering a wider variety of programs and services, the District provides an online academy for students in grades 4-12 and provides full day pre-kindergarten at 9 centers and over 90 pre-k classrooms. The School District has a governing board made up of nine elected representatives of districts within the City of Pittsburgh and the Borough of Mt. Oliver. It also serves as the Board for the Pittsburgh-Mt. Oliver Intermediate Unit, one of 29 regional Intermediate Units in Pennsylvania established to provide such services as Special Education and programs for non-public students. Since 2006, the Pittsburgh Public Schools has been on a journey to improve student achievement at every level. In 2009, the Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers were awarded a $40 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and more than $40 million in state and federal grants to help launch the Empowering Effective Teachers initiative. Now, in its fifth year, the District now has ways to understand and respond to differences in teacher effectiveness and is using this information to drive recruitment, development, evaluation, promotion, recognition, retention, and compensation. A priority for the District is to eliminate racial disparities. In 2012, the District created the Office of Equity and released the “Getting to All” plan that outlined specific ways to decrease racial disparities in student achievement within the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Through this work, the District launched “We Promise”, a program uniquely designed to support African-American male students by providing the resources they need to ensure they are prepared and eligible to receive a scholarship from The Pittsburgh Promise®. In December 2014, the District released it Whole Child, Whole Community plan to improve the quality of all District schools while also directly addressing the District’s fiscal challenges. The recommendations outlined steps to: 1) improve fiscal sustainability; 2) Invest in People, Structures and Culture; 3) Refocus on Student Milestones; and 3) Partner with the Community in a New Way. District Goal • Accelerating academic achievement, • Eliminating racial disparities • Creating positive school and district culture • Fostering innovation 5 Professional Education Subcommittee (provided feedback on the PE Plan) Name Role Lauren Byrne Community Representative Sharon Cercone Business Representative Jaline Cunningham Parent Rick Flanagan Community Representative Gina Godfrey Parent Derrick Hardy Administrator Pam Little-Poole Community Representative Marisol Medina Parent Donna Micheaux Administrator Rodney Necciai Administrator Allyce Pinchback Administrator Suresh Ramanathan Business Representative Kellie Skweres Administrator Shaqeir Womack Parent 6 Core Foundations Safe and Supportive Schools Assisting Struggling Schools Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) uses the Student Assistance Program (SAP) as a core foundational strategy for assuring that its students have a continuum of support for developing learning-related skills, socio-emotional competence, citizenship, as well as competence in setting college and career goals toward achieving academic success and overall wellness. The following is an overview of the essential elements and benefits of SAP: • SAP is a foundational framework that mirrors public health work, i.e. primary prevention, secondary, tertiary. Services are available at every grade level in all Pittsburgh Public Schools. • When implemented correctly, SAP has the potential to fit well into an “integrated systems of care” mode – alignment is an essential goal of our implementation of the program. • SAP is a supportive arm for creating and maintaining positive school climate and culture, especially w/prevention education. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is a national organization we use as a resource for aligning our work. CASEL promotes the development of non-academic competencies, e.g., self-awareness, self-regulation, resilience, social agility and healthy/safe/responsible decision-making. • SAP is required to utilize evidence-based practices, services and programs, which enhance our credibility with parents and school leaders. • SAP encompasses a continuum of services, from least to most intensive. • SAP is individualized for school, classroom, group or child within a ‘best practice’ framework. • SAP is grounded in Pennsylvania School Law: Chapter 12, Act 211. • Parents are our partners. SAP is parent-friendly and engages parents through each phase of the process: Pittsburgh Public Schools has an 84% consent rate. • SAP is an “early identification” approach with the goal of preventing problem onset and interrupting