Pittsburgh Public Schools News

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8/30/12

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Instructional Teacher Leaders will accelerate teacher growth.

In August, 65 teachers began their work as an Instructional Teacher Leader2 (ITL2), a new Career Ladder role. Career Ladders are promotional roles for effective teachers with a proven record of advancing student learning. These roles are just one way that PPS has begun to recognize and empower teacher leaders and respond to differences in teacher effectiveness.

The ITL2 role is designed to accelerate teacher and student growth through frequent observation and quality feedback to teachers. ITL2s will help a caseload of peers in their school grow their practice by conducting frequent formative evaluations using the RISE formal and informal observation processes, and designing and delivering customized feedback and professional development based on these formative evaluations.

Following the initial year of service in the Career Ladder position, ITL2s will contribute to the summative evaluation of peers in other schools through observations of teachers in their content area.

These two major functions of the position allow ITL2s to play an important role in both teacher evaluation and professional growth. However, the structure of the ITL2 schedule also entails ITL2s continuing to spend part of their day as classroom teachers, which allows for direct impact on students and the ability to serve as an active model and resource for other teachers.

The structure and functions of the ITL2 role increase the exposure of highly effective teachers to the teachers and students who need them the most.

ITL2s join Clinical Resident Instructors (CRIs), Learning Environment Specialists (LESs), and the Promise Readiness Corps (PRC) as effective teacher leaders working toward decreasing racial disparities and acclerating student achievement.

Click here to learn more about how ITL2s will be supporting your school! Also, feel free to revisit the original role description for the ITL2 posted online at My Teaching Career.

The District sets new goals for achieving Excellence for All.

On August 1, Dr. Lane shared with the Board of Directors a working document that outlined a plan to decrease racial disparities in student achievement within Pittsburgh Public Schools. The plan, driven by a goal set for Dr. Lane by the Board, was developed by the Equity Office with input from expert sociologist Dr. Pedro Noguera.

The Equity: Getting to All plan acknowledges our progress to date is insufficient and sets specific goals for eliminating racial disparities. These goals are divided among three categories: Achievement, College and Career Readiness, and Student Engagement & Special Programs. Dr. Noguera said, “Pittsburgh is doing all of the right things. So it’s not about doing more things, rather about doing what you are already doing better.”

To read the plan, click here.

Click here to watch a video that outlines the development of and purpose for the plan.

House Bill 1901 confirms we are following the right path.

A comprehensive education reform bill (House Bill 1901) passed the Pennsylvania state legislature on June 29 and was signed by Governor Corbett (Act 82 of 2012). Act 82 changed the evaluation system for public school districts across the Commonwealth in the following ways:

• The legislation requires that evaluations include multiple measures. As one of few districts with multiple measures in administration, this confirms that we are following the right path and continue to be ahead of the curve.
• For teachers and principals the legislation gives equal weight to professional practice and student outcomes (50/50) and includes a reasonable timeline for implementation (2013-14 for teachers and 2014-15 for principals and other professional staff). These factors are compatible with the PPS evaluation system that we’ve developed.
• It affirms our commitment to treating individual data with care by ensuring that individual ratings shall not be subject to disclosure under the Right-to-Know Law.
• It ensures that there is some flexibility granted to individual districts to develop a unique rating tool, so long as it works within the established framework and is of equal rigor to the guidelines that the legislation establishes.

In sum, the changes to the evaluation system coincide with the work we have been embarking on for the last two years. Instead of racing to catch up, Pittsburgh Public Schools is leading the change.

Act 82 includes, but is much broader than, changes to our evaluation systems. Click here to read the full text of House Bill 1901 (Act 82 of 2012).

Over 2,300 campers participated in academic and enrichment activities.

This year, the Summer Dreamers Academy provided students with the opportunity to stay engaged with learning throughout the summer. Camps were hosted at three different schools, Pittsburgh King, Pittsburgh Milliones/University Prep, and Pittsburgh Carmalt, each of which were led by a leadership team comprised of teachers who took on new responsibilities and successfully managed a summer program unlike any other in the region.

All campers participated in fun and engaging academic classes to practice and enhance their reading and math skills. Science and social studies were incorporated into literacy classes while math programs focused on providing interactive and experiential tools to help students learn. In this way, teachers were encouraged to shape the curriculum to fit the needs of their students. Additionally, PPS partnered with 20 organizations to deliver programs that engaged students in new experiences, helping them learn new skills and develop interests in potential career paths. Highlights of this summer include:

• The MGR Foundation hosted Positive Spin at Pittsburgh King, a program that taught 36 kids the basics of bike riding, safety, and equipment care. The program culminated in a 38-mile bike ride to Connellsville, where kids camped overnight before riding their bikes 50 miles back the next day.
• Pittsburgh Milliones/University Prep celebrated their summer with an Olympics theme that included hosting their own closing ceremonies featuring presentations on each activity offered and recognizing campers with a variety of academic achievement awards such as Hardest Worker and Most Enthusiastic!
• Students at Pittsburgh Carmalt worked with artists and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts to build a classroom-sized art installation. Called Imagination Land, found materials such as water bottles and CDs were used to construct robots, trees, and other creativity-fueled components of the installation.

A special thank you to all the teachers, staff, and organizations that made this a great summer for so many kids!

Click here to see a special Back to School video to hear what campers and teachers had to say about Summer Dreamers Academy!

Pittsburgh Magazine

September