Here’s an insightful letter from a faithful reader on the recently published Allegheny Institute op-ed regarding the continuing struggles of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS).
Additional paragraph breaks have been added for clarity; the writer’s name has been withheld to protect his privacy:
“Dear Mr. McNickle,
“Hi! I have been reading your columns for a number of years and wanted to write, but I always kept my thoughts to myself.
“Well, being an educator for 52 years, I just had to write about the thoughts on the Pittsburgh Public Schools (based on Policy Brief Vol. 21, No. 1).
“I have spent 10 years in the public schools and 42 in community colleges, colleges and universities. I’ll address a few of the topics you highlighted because I believe you are ‘spot on’ with your observations.
“The spending is out of hand and the taxpayers are not receiving a fair return on their tax dollars. There is no real effort to reduce costs to come in line with other school districts nationwide or within the region.
“I have encountered some of the ‘products’ of the PPS and felt they were not prepared to be within a university environment. They were not prepped to be in a classroom, study habits were nil, attention to coming to class was not good and performance on exams was horrific.
“I taught some entry level Intro to Psychology classes and recall a few student’s scores were a paltry 32 percent out of a possible 100 percent. I offered to tutor the students, showed them how to study for the exams and how to pass the courses. Many wouldn’t take me up on the offers.
“I conducted over 2,500 employment interviews in the business world and when I saw what the PPS did to recruit its current superintendent, I was appalled with the candidate.
“When there is a question about credentials, it raises a red flag. But the school board glossed over the questions and hired the current person. …
“To date, I have seen nothing to impress me in press releases, objectives to be achieved, support personnel to be hired or the implementation of new principles of instruction. It seems to be a great place to ‘stack’ new hires.
“I have seen the stats on the achievement levels and they are sad for the students. They are not coming out of the schools prepared to meet the needs of the workplace.
“Moreover, the ratio of the employees per students should be showing excellent results. But it isn’t. I have used a mantra in my classroom and administrative duties: ‘That which can be measured can be improved.’ I’m not seeing that in the PPS.
“Now with the pandemic, the students have lost the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2020. There is talk of not going back this term. I have been a critic of online learning. Students are not very good at sitting at a computer for six to eight hours a day.
“I don’t consider it sound educational procedure to be online. Everyone has a different learning style and it doesn’t mean it results in quality learning in front of a computer.
“I coined a phrase for the teachers who want to teach via the computer. I call them ‘keyboard jockeys,’ as they are setting up formats but not necessarily conveying the right message.
I heard a TV reporter saying some of the PPS students have not even logged in (since) this past September. Hence, they are falling even further behind in their lives.
“Finally, I could go on, but this is enough. I think you will see some real problems in Pittsburgh and the person in charge will leave and walk away with a very nice salary for trying to turn the district around.
“I have watched many teachers who are only interested in ‘padding’ their salaries and enjoying their summers off. I heard one of my colleagues say the best part of my job has three elements — June, July and August.
“Watch as the school board proceeds and you’ll see more folks will be hired, more debt will be amassed and the taxpayers and students will be the losers.
“Thanks for reading my thoughts. The facts have been laid out in your article. But no one will act on them. I’ve seen this in other districts and the main objective is for money in the pockets of the employees.”
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org)
