Pittsburgh Public Schools

Some Pittsburgh Public Schools students experienced slow connections or none at all on the first day of online classes Tuesday. All classes are being held online through at least the first nine weeks of school.

Mark Stuckey, the district’s interim chief technology officer, said there was a configuration issue with the district’s Internet bandwidth provider, causing students to bottleneck through a smaller backup server when trying to access the district’s web resources. 

About 18,000 Pittsburgh Public Schools students are enrolled in a visual arts class this fall. The district, though, did not purchase supplies to send to those students while they learn remotely for the first nine weeks of the school year.

Just days ahead of the start of what will be an unusual school year, the Pittsburgh Public Schools board voted to renew Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s contract for another four years.

Four years after Superintendent Anthony Hamlet took the helm at Pittsburgh Public Schools, the school board is expected to vote Wednesday on whether he should lead the district through the 2025 school year.

The group Black Women For A Better Education demand transformational change.

Central office staff for the state’s second largest school district outlined a comprehensive plan for remote learning Tuesday, a plan that requires nearly 19,000 computers and tablets that the district doesn't have on hand yet.

Pittsburgh Public Schools' nearly 23,000 students will not return to classrooms for the first nine weeks of the year.

In a virtual hearing Wednesday evening, Pittsburgh Public Schools administrators heard public comment about a proposal to start the school year exclusively online instead of a hybrid model that would include some in-person instruction. The majority of statements were in favor of the remote-only model.

Jill Biden says her husband, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, would have had a plan for safely reopening schools.

Pittsburgh Public Schools students might not be back in classrooms for at least the first nine weeks of the school year, although a final decision on the matter will not be determined for another two weeks.

A coalition of advocacy groups is calling on the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors to remove police officers from school buildings.

Pittsburgh Public Schools board members Devon Taliaferro and Pam Harbin say it’s time for the district to be police-free.

Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Colfax K-8 Principal Tamara Sanders-Woods spoke to a crowd gathered on the front steps of her school Monday morning, asking for white accountability.

As the city’s public school district serving 23,000 students launches a planning group to reopen schools in the fall, a newly-formed local collective wants the school board to find another leader. They say the district’s response to the statewide closure of schools was ineffective and students weren’t learning for weeks.  

Most Pittsburgh Public School students with district-issued computers cannot video conference with their teachers when they’re asking questions or completing assignments.

Pittsburgh Public Schools anticipates budget shortfalls ranging from $17 to $82 million, as the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to district revenue collections.

Chief Financial Officer Ron Joseph presented four scenarios to the school board Tuesday during a business and finance committee meeting. The scenarios assume lost property, earned income and realty transfer tax revenues. Joseph’s projections anticipate a $55 million loss in earned income tax revenue compared to 2019.

Two Pittsburgh Public Schools board members told administrators Wednesday that the way the school district has transitioned to remote learning is unsatisfactory.

Pittsburgh Public Schools said an employee will be under self-quarantine for the next two weeks, though the district is not concerned the woman has exposed students or staff.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools district is working with the Allegheny County Health Department to develop an action plan in the event that a case of coronavirus is confirmed in the county.

Pittsburgh Public Schools board members approved a resolution Wednesday that calls for the state’s General Assembly to significantly reform the way it funds charter schools.

A program meant to diversify the ranks of teachers at the Pittsburgh Public Schools could soon be re-launched. The program was postponed in October after issues surfaced with the partner university selected by the district.

The Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program will employ what it calls “Promise Coaches” next fall in three Pittsburgh Public high schools in an effort to increase the number of students who are eligible for and take advantage of the post-secondary funding program.