Parents, students and staff at Pittsburgh Conroy are urging school board members not to close their current building. The school, located on the city’s North Side, serves nearly 200 students with developmental disabilities and on the autism spectrum.
Last month, consultants hired by Pittsburgh Public Schools released their final recommendations for school closures. The Boston-based consulting firm Education Resource Strategies (ERS) proposed permanently shuttering Conroy’s North Side building and nine others throughout the district, though no changes will take place until after the 2025-2026 school year.
Under the proposal, students at Conroy would relocate to a building in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood that currently hosts both a traditional middle school, South Brook 6-8, and Pittsburgh Pioneer, the district’s center for students with disabilities who require more comprehensive care.
Consultants suggested relocating South Brook’s 242 students to Arlington while Pioneer’s 58 students would remain in the building. ERS said locating Pioneer and Conroy together would allow for staff and programming to be shared, benefiting students at both schools.
Students with disabilities make up nearly a quarter of the total PPS population, and consultants said their recommendations would broadly enhance accessibility districtwide.
But educators like Eric Spielman, a health and physical education teacher at Conroy, said doing so would remove his students from the building that was specially designed to accommodate them.
Each classroom at Conroy has access to private bathrooms, which teachers and parents said are necessary for students who need assistance with basic hygiene skills. The school has multiple speech and occupational therapists, an accessible climbing wall and weight room, and a full commercial kitchen where students can learn to cook and develop career skills.
“All their needs are met and catered to at Conroy, but they're done in a way that allows these students to live fun, normal and confident lives,” Spielman said. “That's something that can be devastating if taken away from them.”
Many speakers at Monday's PPS public hearing also stressed the convenience of Conroy’s current location, which is minutes from the Allegheny Center light rail station and within walking distance of many storefronts and job sites used for community-based learning. The school, which serves students through age 21, works to help students develop practical life skills, like navigating store aisles, practicing social skills and ordering at a restaurant.
The school also boasts sensory rooms and wide hallways, as well as a large gym and easy access to the equipment and field at McKnight Playground, located across the street. The field is used by the school’s athletic teams, which have earned multiple state championships through Special Olympics Pennsylvania.
Johnathan Oaks is captain of the school’s flag football, basketball, hockey and soccer teams and has been nationally recognized for his efforts to make sports more equitable.
“I'm there for my friends and my family, and my coaches, I'm proud of them,” Oaks told board members. “They helped me along the way.”
Monday night’s speakers voiced fears that the school would lose access to outdoor space and its athletic programs if relocated to Brookline. They also said classrooms at South Brook weren’t large enough to meet students’ needs and wouldn’t allow for private bathroom access.
Jessica Kwasniewski said the school’s longstanding partnership with UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital has been lifesaving for her son, who has significant behavioral needs. While her son is able to get the services he requires and feels safe at Conroy, Kwasniewski said South Brook is not designed to suit children with high levels of behavioral needs.
“My son can become extremely aggressive and without the supports that Conroy already has in place, I do not feel confident that his needs can or will be met elsewhere,” Kwasniewski explained.
Parents at Conroy also expressed the need to maintain stability for their students, many of whom depend on routines.
“For many of these students, even small changes can feel overwhelming, let alone a move that takes them away from the one place where they feel understood and supported,” said Mimi Welsh, whose son has attended Conroy for more than a decade.
“This isn't just about a building. It's about their safety, their comfort and their ability to thrive.”
