Pittsburgh Public Schools is the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...

serving the city of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

(except for two small parts served by the Baldwin-Whitehall School District) and adjacent Mount Oliver. As of the 2021–2022 school year, the district operates 54 schools with 4,192 employees (2,070 teachers) and 20,350 students, and has a budget of $668.3 million. According to the district's 2021 budget, based on the 2010 U.S. Census, the combined land area served is , with a population of 309,359.

History

The formation of

's public schools in 1835 was due to the passing of the Pennsylvania Free Public School Act of 1834. This act provided government aid for establishing a city school system, which included the creation of four self-governed wards. Twenty years later, the wards were disbanded, and the Central Board of Education was founded. This board would govern the entire school district, which would consist of nine wards or sub- districts. The first city superintendent of schools was elected in 1868. In 1911, the School Code of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

modified the existing system to include a Board of Public education that would oversee sixty-one sub-districts and two central boards. The Public School Code (Title 22) of 1949 further regulated the provisions and establishment of Pennsylvania state schools. As stated in numerous district annual budgets, including 2021, "Although public education in Pittsburgh dates back to 1835, the consolidated District was founded in November 1911, as a result of an educational reform movement that combined the former 'ward' schools into one system with standardized educational and business policies. Initially the district was governed by an appointed Board of 15 members, but since 1976 has been governed by a nine-member Board elected by districts of relatively equal populations."

Academics

In February 2006, eight underperforming schools were transformed into Accelerated Learning Academies(ALAs). The schools had 10 days added to their school calendar and 45 minutes of instructional time were added each day. The ALAs use the ''America's Choice'' Design Model, developed by the National Center on Education and the Economy. In March 2006, the district contracted with Kaplan K12 Learning Services to develop a single, district-wide curriculum.

The Pittsburgh Promise

On December 13, 2006

Mayor

Luke Ravenstahl Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980) is an American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 until 2014. A Democrat, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history in September 2006 at the age of 26. He wa ...

and then Superintendent

Mark Roosevelt Mark Roosevelt (born December 10, 1955) is an American academic administrator and politician serving as the seventh president of the Santa Fe campus of St. John's College. He was the President of Antioch College from January 2011 to December 2 ...

announced an initiative called The Pittsburgh Promise. In 2008, the program became available to all graduates satisfying the criteria for a scholarship to any accredited

post-secondary Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

institution within Pennsylvania. The five to seven million dollars per year necessary to fund the program would be raised through private contributions from foundations and corporations. In January 2007, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers made the first contribution to ''The Pittsburgh Promise'' scholarship program. In 2008, the

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and d ...

made a $10 million donation with a commitment for as much as $90 million in additional matching funds over the next nine years.

Board of Public Education of Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Public Schools has an elected, nine-member Board of Directors. The members serve a four-year term and represent districts within the city and the nearby borough of Mount Oliver. Like all other school board members in Pennsylvania, they receive no pay.

Schools

Elementary schools (K–5)

*Allegheny Traditional Academy Elementary School *Arsenal Elementary School *Banksville Elementary School * Beechwood Elementary School * Concord Elementary School * Dilworth Traditional Academy *Faison K-5 * Fulton Academy of Geographic and Life Sciences *Grandview Elementary School * Lincoln School (two campuses: K–4 & 5–8) *Liberty Elementary School * Linden Elementary School *Miller African Centered Academy *Minadeo Elementary School *Phillips K-5 *Pittsburgh Montessori (also: Pre-K) *Roosevelt Elementary School (two campuses: Pre-K–1 & 2–5) *Spring Hill Elementary School *West Liberty Elementary School *Westwood Elementary School *Whittier Elementary School * Woolslair Elementary School

K–8 Schools

*Arlington *Brookline School *Carmalt Academy of Science and Technology * Colfax K-8 * Greenfield School *King PreK-8 * Langley *Manchester PreK-8 * Mifflin School * Morrow Elementary School *Sunnyside PreK-8

Middle Schools (6–8) and Accelerated Learning Academies

* Allegheny Traditional Academy Middle School *Arlington * Arsenal Middle School *Pittsburgh Classical Academy Middle School *Murray Accelerated Learning Academy * Schiller Classical Academy Middle School *South Brook Middle School *South Hills Middle School * Sterrett Classical Academy *Weil PreK-5

Secondary Schools, grades 9-12 and 6-12

Barack Obama Academy of International Studies 6-12 The Barack Obama Academy of International Studies, also known as Pittsburgh Obama 6-12, is a public school in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school is named in honor of Former President Barack Obama who served as ...

* Brashear High School * Carrick High School *

Perry Traditional Academy Perry Traditional Academy, also known as Perry High School, is a high school in the Perry North (Pittsburgh), Perry North neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Perry is one of ten secondary schools in the Pittsburgh P ...

* Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School (6-12) * Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy (6-12) *

Taylor Allderdice High School Taylor Allderdice High School is a public high school in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened in 1927 and is part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools district. It was named for industrialist and S ...

University Preparatory School A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educatio ...

(6-12) * Westinghouse High School

Special schools

* Conroy Education Center *McNaugher Education Center *Pioneer Education Center *

Pittsburgh Gifted Center Pittsburgh Gifted Center (PGC) is a special school that provides gifted education, to students in Pittsburgh. Until May 2006, the Pittsburgh Gifted Center was located at the McKelvy building in the Pittsburgh Hill District. In September 2006, th ...

*Student Achievement Center High School *Student Achievement Center Middle School

Charter schools

As required by

state law, the District funds a number of

charter schools A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

: *Academy Charter School (9–12) * Career Connections Charter High School (9–12) — Charter renewed for five years on 21 March 2007 * City Charter High School (9–12) — Charter renewed for five years on 8 November 2006 *The Environmental Charter School at Frick Park K–8 *Hill House Passport Academy Charter School *Manchester Academic Charter School (K–8) *Northside Urban Pathways Charter School (6–12) *Renaissance Academy of Pittsburgh Alternative of Hope (K–5) — Charter renewal denied by Board on 25 April 2006 *Urban League of Pittsburgh Charter School (K–5)

Closed schools

*Career Connections Charter Middle School - closed 2006

Notes and references

External links

Pittsburgh Public Schools
* * * {{Authority control Education in Pittsburgh 1794 establishments in Pennsylvania School districts in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania