Important learning time has been lost in kindergarten as teachers had to work with students who were not used to the routines of school By Mary Niederberger The start of the new school year was…
Does tutoring + culturally relevant lessons + double…
District leaders look for solutions to alarmingly low math proficiency—especially among Black students By Mary Niederberger Illustration by Kinsley Stocum If all goes as planned, next year students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools who are…
Student teachers and K-12 students help each other…
By Mary Niederberger [Alana Mason, a kindergarten student at Manchester Academic Charter School, works with tutor Natalie DiGiorno. Photo by Heather Mull] Jaion Pollard, 7, stepped away from his laptop at The Pittsburgh Project’s Northside after…
For homeless students transportation issues mean new schools…
By Mary Niederberger As the COVID-19 pandemic eases its grip on education, local homeless students have yet to return to a normal school day. Many are sitting at desks in strange classrooms surrounded by classmates…
First pandemic state test results paint a somber…
Lower testing scores were expected due to COVID-19 disruption By Mary Niederberger — Standardized test scores for the 2020-2021 school year, released by the state Department of Education today, show proficiency rates in English language…
Pittsburgh Public Schools “Fresh Start” for the school…
“The pandemic really threw us for a loop.” By Mary Niederberger — “Good Morning. Welcome to the first day of school.” That was the greeting for students at Pittsburgh King PreK-8 on Tuesday, an unusual…
Pittsburgh Public Schools and other districts encounter obstacles…
Students’ social and emotional needs, chronic absenteeism, discipline issues, staffing shortages and high COVID infection rates make progress difficult By Mary Niederberger — Weeks before classes started in the Pittsburgh Public Schools last fall, school…
Author Brian Broome shares his story of growing…
By Mary Niederberger “People made me believe I was born wrong.” Pittsburgh author Brian Broome has become famous for his memoir about the difficulties of growing up as a queer Black boy in small town…
Post-pandemic chronic absenteeism plagues the Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Schiller 6-8 may hold attendance solutions By Mary Niederberger UPDATE: Since this story originally appeared in November, chronic absenteeism has continued to increase to alarming levels in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. As of Jan.…