Pittsburgh Public Schools

Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet says district-wide reform is a marathon, not a sprint.

Public schools in Pittsburgh will dismiss two hours earlier than scheduled Tuesday due to expected high temperatures.

Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh says the early release is intended to provide relief to students and staff, especially those in schools without air conditioning.

Middle and high school athletics will continue at the discretion of head coaches. Schools will contact families if practices or games are canceled or rescheduled. All other after-school activities are canceled. Central administration offices will remain open.

Monday is the first day of school for a new Pittsburgh Public Schools early childhood classroom located in the Carnegie Science Center. The classroom will serve 20 children who were chosen through a randomized lottery, according to PPS.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale will begin a performance audit this month of transportation contracts and costs in the Pittsburgh Public School District.

The last audit of the district from his office was released in 2015 and did not cover transportation.

PPS has a dozen transportation contracts, something he said could be justified, but is concerning.

“One of the things we’re going to see is would it make sense to have only one vendor or potentially do it in-house,” he said. “Or to see maybe if that could be paired down.”

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board approved a resolution Wednesday night opposing state or federal legislation that would arm teachers.

More than 100 Pittsburgh students marched out of their school Friday and stood in Market Square for 13 minutes in memory of the people who died 19 years ago in Colorado's Columbine High School Shooting.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board approved three employee contracts Wednesday night, more than a month after a planned teacher and support staff strike was averted.

A new contract for Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers was accepted by 90 percent of voting members Wednesday night.

Standing on a platform in front of hundreds of her peers who attend Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, freshman Sophia Levin said she didn’t want to be the next victim of gun violence.

After school, 16-year-old Maleeke Reid works at a community gardening program in Homewood. He gets paid $5 per day for tending the vegetable gardens and attending classes, where he and his friends sometimes joke about being fed “vegan food.”

Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers and support staff are reviewing a summary of proposed changes to their collective bargaining contract including pay raises, new health care benefits, changes to teacher scheduling and sick leave. 

A strike by Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers has been averted just days before members of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers had planned to walk out.

Negotiators for Pittsburgh's teachers union and school district wrapped up a marathon bargaining session late Friday night without a deal in place, but with no imminent plans for a strike.

Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, said the two sides made progress Friday. They will meet again this week for another negotiating session.

The 2,400 teachers who work for Pittsburgh Public Schools are one step closer to a strike, but will hold off doing so as the union representing them continues to negotiate with the district. 

Two main issues are keeping the Pittsburgh Public Schools district from settling a contract dispute with the union representing its teachers, according to PPS administrators. 

The vast majority of members of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers who voted Monday authorized the union to call a strike.

Many schools have delayed opening after a blast of snow moved through western Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh Public Schools is operating on a 2-hour delay Monday morning. 

Several inches of snow covered roads and slowed motorists in the Pittsburgh area Monday.