Thursday, July 03, 2008

School's Out - City Paper coverage of Schenley's closure

School's Out - News - News - Pittsburgh City Paper - Pittsburgh: "Shortly before school-board members voted on June 25 to close Schenley High School -- the building -- some board members pledged to seek funding to reopen the historic landmark in the future, while one board member made a last-ditch effort to save something he sees as more important: Schenley -- the school.

Asbestos removal won't cost $76-million. Here we go again. You know, we don't have that much energy to fight with those who are so clueless that they'd trip over the truth if it was set down in the path before them. Progress like this we don't need.

I was very warm to the proposals of Randall Taylor. Moving the entire Schenley school into Peabody, with the capacity, made good sense.

However, his approach to the battle was a puzzle. Taylor went into a battle where guns were blazing and armed himself with a pea shooter. I don't like the war lingo as we are all fighting for the sake of the kids. But, it would help to have a few of the proposals put on paper before they are made into motions within a school board meeting.

At least it would be wise to leak something to a blog or an email list.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You could put Harvard University at Westinghouse and parents would be wary of sending their children there. Note Rogers CAPA middle school was proposed to go there (in the Baxter building)briefly and parents complained about neighborhood violence. Homewood Montessori is now in Friendship...same reason. PEOPLE WONT SEND KIDS TO HOMEWOOD. Stop trying to make it some enticing choice.....parents know better. Even Homewood parents want their kids to go to other high schools.....thats why Westinghouse is so empty.
Peabody is not much better of a neighborhood, either. Folks from Highland park and Morningside dont send their kids there, do they?

Mark Rauterkus said...

Not so sure if I agree with the Harvard example. People go to Penn, Columbia, etc. And, Harvard is in Cambridge.

Well -- if you are right, then, you have to move the PPS Administration to Westinghouse. Employees don't have a choice.

But, people do send kids to Lincoln-Lemington and Rodgers now, without fussing.

Anonymous said...

but Lincoln and Rogers are not in Homewood. Do not disregard the location's importance. Neighborhood rivalries are a serious safety concern. The decline of Milliones, Gladstone and Reizenstein as comprehensive middle schools was primarily due to parents concerns about too many fights in school between neighborhood loyalties.

Anonymous said...

You probably do not remember parents camping out to hold places in line to sign up for magnet spots. Folks would sob for joy over a childs luck in getting chosen in the lottery for Sterrett. We parents thought we knew how to navigate the system and get our kids into schools that were best for them. I was part of the group who fought for a K-8 school so we could avoid the inadequate middle school, so I sympathize with those who have unacceptable choices.