16 Pittsburgh Public schools could close under consolidation proposal

By Megan Tomasic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Public School officials on Tuesday got their first look at several different scenarios that could drastically change the district’s footprint in coming years.

The scenarios, presented by Massachusetts-based education consulting firm Education Resource Strategies during the district’s education committee meeting, are the next steps in Pittsburgh Public’s facilities utilization plan, a blueprint that could lead to the closure and consolidation of some school buildings as PPS faces declining enrollments and a growing budget deficit.

Under the proposal, 16 existing schools would close, 14 would change their grade reconfiguration, six magnet schools would phase out and become neighborhood schools and five new programs would open in existing buildings.

The recommendations focus heavily on streamlining the district’s class structure — a priority identified by the district in April — into PreK-5 and 6-8 rather than having PreK-8 and 6-12 schools. They also consider building age — district schools on average are 90 years old — and building condition. Currently 37 schools need moderate or major renovations. The recommendations also focus on improving school capacity and program and course offerings.

Officials with ERS also proposed changes to magnet programs. The three options presented included reserving full magnets for 6-8 and 9-12 only, changing full magnets to neighborhood schools or creating new “neighborhood magnets,” which would operate like full magnets but would guarantee seats for neighborhood students.

Scenarios laid out Tuesday are not final. Further public input is planned in the coming month.

“Ultimately it will be up to you all, the board, to decide if these final recommendations truly reflect the collective priorities of the PPS community,” Joseph Trawick-Smith, an ERS partner, said.

Here are how the recommendation scenarios would look across the city:

South and West

Under the proposed scenario, Brookline PreK-8 would become a K-5 school and Carmalt PreK-8 would turn into a 6-8 school. Current Brookline sixth through eighth graders would attend Carmalt and Carmalt kindergarten through fifth graders would be split between Brookline and West Liberty. In doing that, the Carmalt magnet would be phased out.

Langley PreK-8 would become a K-5 school. Sixth through eighth grade students from Langley would go to Classical 6-8. Classical’s magnet program would be phased out.

Arlington PreK-8 would turn into a 6-8 school. Kindergarten through fifth grade students from Arlington would be split between Grandview, Beechwood and West Liberty K-5 schools.

Whittier and Roosevelt K-5 schools would close. Whittier students would be split between Langley and Westwood. Roosevelt would be split between West Liberty and Concord.

On the 6-8 level, South Hills and South Brook would close. South Hills students would move to Arlington. South Brook students would go to Carmalt.

Additionally, Carrick 9-12 would close. High schoolers would move to Brashear.

Under that plan, the existing Carrick High School building would be converted into a career and technical center, which could be used by high school students for parts of the school day while also being accessible to the community outside of school hours.

While the CTE center was applauded by some board members, it raised concerns for others.

“Carrick is not an easy school to get to. … It’s going to be very difficult,” School Director Sylvia Wilson said.

Director Jamie Piotrowski suggested that removing a traditional high school from the neighborhood could dissuade families from moving into the area. She added that nearly 25% of Carrick residents don’t own a car, which could make it difficult to get to Brashear.

In addition to those proposals, early childhood centers would also be relocated. Carmalt and Arlington would move to Roosevelt and the South Hills 6-8 English as a second language program would move to Arlington.

Other options were also presented by Mr. Trawick-Smith, including building a new K-5 school in the south, keeping Whittier open and closing Grandview and keeping the early childhood program at Arlington.

North

In northern parts of the city, King PreK-8 would turn into a 6-8 building. Allegheny 6-8 would become a K-5 building. Kindergarten through fifth graders currently attending King would go to Allegheny and sixth through eighth graders would go to King.

Morrow PreK-8 would turn into a K-5 building and would be expanded to house more K-5 students living on the North Side. Sixth through eighth graders currently attending the school would go to King.

Both Spring Hill K-5 and Manchester K-8 would close. Spring Hill students would go to Allegheny. Manchester students would be split between King 6-8 and Morrow K-5.

CAPA 6-12, a creative and performing arts magnet in Downtown, would be split into two schools, one for sixth through eighth graders and a high school. Sixth through eighth grade students would move into the Manchester building, which would be renovated to include creative and performing arts spaces such as dance studios, music labs, specialized art studios, a renovated auditorium and performance spaces.

Additionally, Schiller 6-8 would also close, and students would go to King.

Under that scenario, King 6-8 and Perry 9-12 would become STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — programs, which would include rigorous, STEM-focused curriculum and access to lab spaces.

Other options presented under that scenario include keeping Spring Hill open and converting it to a K-5 school or co-locating a CTE center at Perry High School.

East and Central

Under the scenario, several changes would be made to schools in the eastern and central parts of the city.

Sunnyside PreK-8 would become a K-5 school. Sixth through eighth graders would move to Arsenal 6-8, which would offer an International Baccalaureate program, with students progressing into the Obama IB Diploma program. Arsenal and Obama would become neighborhood magnets.

Colfax K-8 would become a 6-8 school and Greenfield PreK-8 would turn into a K-5 school. Kindergarten through fifth graders from Colfax would be split between Greenfield and Minadeo. Sixth through eighth graders from Greenfield would go to Colfax.

Similarly, Mifflin PreK-8 would turn into a K-5 school. Sixth through eighth graders from Mifflin would go to Colfax.

Westinghouse 6-12 would turn into a 9-12, with sixth through eighth graders attending Sterrett. Westinghouse would be expanded to include full-scale entertainment technology and entrepreneurship programs. The Science and Technology Academy would also be split into a 6-8 and 9-12 program. Milliones 6-12 would turn into a 6-8 building, housing Sci Tech middle school students. Milliones ninth through 12th graders would go to Sci Tech.

Magnet programs at Liberty, Linden and Dilworth K-5 schools would be phased out. The schools would return to a neighborhood school model.

Additionally, Woolslair, Arsenal, Fulton, Lincoln and Weil K-5 schools would close. Woolslair and Arsenal students would be split between Sunnyside and Liberty. Fulton students would go to Dilworth, which would have its magnet program phased out. Lincoln students would move to Faison. Weil students would be shifted to Miller.

Montessori K-5, which will not have its magnet program phased out, would move to the vacated Linden building.

Under those school closures, the Fulton early childhood center would move to Dilworth, Woolslair to Sunnyside, Lincoln to Westinghouse and Weil to Miller. The Milliones Oliver Citywide Academy satellite would be relocated to Obama.

Other options in the scenario include closing Mifflin and sending students to Greenfield and Minadeo, closing Montessori K-5 and having students attend their neighborhood school and keeping Weil open and closing Miller.

A final recommendation will be made to the board in September.

“From a board perspective obviously this is the next step in the process,” board President Gene Walker said. “Now that we have these recommendations it gives us an opportunity to both review them individually, but I think in the next two weeks we will come together as a board and have a broader conversation … so that we can begin to formulate the next steps.”