About A+ Schools |
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2010 Highlights A+ Schools is pleased to serve the Pittsburgh community as an independent community advocate for improvement in public education. Our vision is a community mobilized to improve public education to produce successive generations of young people who thrive and who build their families and futures in Pittsburgh. Our purpose is to be a community force advancing the highest educational achievement and character development for every public school student. Our strategy is to inform, engage, and mobilize families, youth and the community so that:
The following are highlights from our work in 2010. Our work will be done when Pittsburgh has a school board that functions effectively to set and monitor policies that improve student outcomes. Approximately 50 volunteers were mobilized to observe and evaluate school board governance through Board Watch in 2010. They observed 24 agenda review and legislative meetings and 12 education committee meetings. Volunteer evaluations were the basis for 4 Board Watch report cards issued in 2010 – showing that the board consistently earned a B- for their governance. The school board has implemented in full or in part 5 out of 10 Board Watch recommendations for better governance. The area of greatest concern continues to be role clarity reflecting the board’s performance as policy makers. Stay Tuned: A+ Schools staff has been working with Board Watch volunteers to upgrade the Board Watch evaluation form to evaluate the board using higher standards of governance. The new form will also provide more specific volunteer feedback for ways the board could meet those expectations. Since the program’s inception in 2008 110 volunteers have been recruited and trained as Board Watchers. There were very few people in the online survey or in the community meeting that felt as though a new superintendent should just start over or undo everything that has been done. The general sense is that there were things that people wanted to be strengthened and others re-evaluated. The public’s priorities for school reform can be summarized by:
The full report can be found here. A+ Schools thanks co-sponsors The Black Political Empowerment Project and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh for their partnership with the community forum. What has changed as a result of our work?
Our work will be done when every public school student benefits from excellent classroom instruction.
We are pleased that the recommendations in Tools, Rules, and Schools are being put into place in the District and PFT Empowering Effective Teachers initiatives. We believe our findings and recommendations independently substantiated the need for change and support the EET plans goals of focusing attention on our most vulnerable schools. In the spring of 2010, A+ Schools launched the Community Campaign for Empowering Effective Teachers that collected over 1800 supporters of the EET plan. Supporters wore campaign t-shirts, signed petitions, texted their support, and even carried signs at major public events. What has changed as a result of our work?
Our work will be done when Pittsburgh has an equitable public schools system resulting in the elimination of racial achievement gaps and all students achieving at high levels. We published the 2010 Report to the Community in November 2010 which included an Executive Summary. The report was mailed directly to every PPS household and households with children under 5. Copies of the report were delivered to 59 Pittsburgh Public Schools and 5 charter schools as well as libraries, after school programs and elected officials’ offices. A+ Schools staff has already presented the 2010 report findings to over 190 parents, educators and community members through 10 schools and community meetings. At least 6 more presentations are planned at the writing of this report. Students Engaged in Leadership continued through 2010 with participation of thirty local high school students in the 2010-11 school year. In August of 2010, a new cohort of students was recruited to participate in Students Engaged in Leadership. Students from the 2009-2010 class returned and formed a 2nd year cohort, while a new class of students to form a 1st year cohort was recruited. The first year students have been concentrating on their leadership development with sessions led by Coro and the MGR Foundation. The second year students conducted research and hosted a debate about school issues to help refine the area in which they’d like to take action. In November, the 2nd year students had the opportunity to visit Philadelphia, PA with the staff of A+ Schools and the MGR Foundation to meet the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), a student run organization much like Students Engaged in Leadership. The students benefitted from learning about the work that the PSU has done and how they’ve organized themselves into taking action in the Philadelphia School District. The students returned with plans for putting their ideas into action which they will implement in the winter and spring of 2011.The program is coordinated by A+ Schools in partnership with the Coro Center for Civic Leadership and the Marilyn G Rabb Foundation (MGRF). We look forward to ensuring that the voice of the student community is represented in the current and future work of A+ Schools. School Works grew in 2010 to engage over 250 Pittsburghers in community conversations about the findings from year one and to mobilize 100 volunteers to interview principals and guidance counselors in the second year of the action research program. The year one findings and community deliberations resulted in the articulation of the following School Works priorities to insure every student graduates from Pittsburgh Public Schools ready for college and/or career training: Equity and excellence at scale requires, at minimum, that for each student every school equitably provides:
These priorities were the basis of the 2010 School Works interviews with principals and guidance counselors in 23 district and charter middle, high, and 6-12 schools. Findings from these interviews are being released in 5 community meetings throughout the spring of 2011 to further develop our community policy agenda for insuring that all students have the resources and opportunities so that school works to prepare them for post secondary education and training and to eliminate racial achievement disparities. Waiting for Superman Screening: In October 2010 A+ Schools, along with the United Way of Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Promise sponsored a viewing of Waiting for Superman. Over 250 Pittsburghers joined sponsors and co hosts Superintendent Mark Roosevelt and PFT President John Tarka for the screening and facilitated discussion after the movie. The event energized participants – parents, teachers, principals, and community advocates - to recommit themselves to the difficult work in which they were already engaged. What has changed as a result of our work? Parents continue to report using the Report to the Community to monitor progress of their children’s’ schools as well as using the report to help inform school choice. Principals tell us they are using the report in discussions about school improvement with their instructional cabinets as well as with parents. Principals also tell us they use the report to see how their school compares to others. Principals are also telling us that they are using the findings from School Works to improve their schools. When we asked principals what, if anything they’ve done differently as a result of the School Works action research they told us things like:
These are among many responses that are an encouraging sign that community expectations can help drive school improvement. Expanding our reach In 2010:
Organizational Changes: Three new board members joined the A+ Schools Board in November 2010:
A+ Schools said farewell and thank you to the following board members in the past year: Mrs. Cindy Shapira, Ms Julia Morris, Mrs. Karris Jackson, and Ms. Joslyn Rhodes. A+ Schools filled two new, full-time, permanent staff positions in 2010-11. Ms. Amy Scott joined the staff in September 2010 as our Data Analyst and Mr. Keino Fitzpatrick joined the staff in January 2011 as the Youth and Community Organizer. [ top ]
A+ Schools |
Pittsburgh's Community Alliance for Public Education |
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