Statement from Mark Rauterkus
I am Mark Rauterkus.
We reside at 108 S. 12th Street on Pittsburgh’s Historic South Side.
I am a former PPS Varsity Coach. I led the first city league team of any sport to a WPIAL Sectional title. I also had the privilege to coached the first PPS athlete to win a WPIAL event and set a WPIAL record.
I directed Swim & Water Polo Camp as part of PPS Summer Dreamers for 10+ years. At the peak of the program we coached more than 200 students with 35 employees at five different sites for 27-days, including running the Liberty Mile.
I'm an afterschool provider with other nonprofits.
I'm on the Take a Father to School Day Committee too, did PPS Sports Reform Task Force and other community projects.
Presently I'm webmaster with the International Swim Coaches Association.
Vice President for the World Aquatic Federation of Schools and Universities. – WAFSU.org.
My sons are proud PPS graduates, and I’ll be happy to share proud dad updates on their whereabouts after my 3-minutes have expired.
In my view, the swimming pool is the best learning laboratory ever. It is a classroom where students get to learn thousands of lessons.
Swimming – so when a family vacation happens people can enjoy themselves and come home, not in a coffin.
Physics, biology, training, goal setting, accountability, safety, hospitality, – and above all, Teamwork.
Sports, swimming, water polo – is about playing well with others. Sadly, that’s not being developed at our pools in the city.
The Olympics are happening in a matter of days. We have two OLYMPIC Swimmers from PA. Good luck to Josh Methaney from Upper St. Clair – now a IU Hoosier.
At the Swim Trials, high school swimmers were striving to make the team from Mt. Pleasant and Bedford, PA.. An Oakland Catholic grad was racing in finals too.
Sadly, in the city, we’re not creating literate Olympians here.
The city isn’t hosting its swim meet, nor teaching lessons.
There used to be dozens of PPS teams in meets for Elem Schools and Middle Schools. It is sad as to how that experience has been allowed to evaporate.
I do all these things internationally, and when I put in an ESSER Grant Proposal in December of 2023, I don’t even get a score or a call back. Seven great letters of reference, and not a peep from PPS.
https://read.swimisca.org/esser-pittsburgh-public-schools/
Meanwhile, we are very happy to be utilizing the swim pool at PPS Oliver High School throughout the winter with the Renegades. I gathered folks (adults and HS kids) every Monday evening to play water polo. We had a fine year. Some players went to events in Ocala, Florida and Cleveland even.
This summer, we had 30 people playing water polo at Citiparks Ammon pool – Bedford Ave, Hill District – every Tuesday and Thursday, 6 to 7:30 pm. See the poster on my Facebook page.
Consultants are here!
My invite is clear.
I will be happy to meet with them to explain what SHOULD happen at PPS pools. With a little cooperation and latitude, the aquatics programs could be a bright start for the district and generate jobs, community engagement, scholarships, sponsorships and wellness. – PLUS – I dare say, over time, REVENUE.
Rather than having our district and city in decline – we’d be retaining kids and their families.
Call me: 412-298-3432
Mark@Rauterkus.com
WAFSU.org@Gmail.com
The swim pools are the low rungs on the ladder for civic engagement. The activities there should be for all ages too.
Ironic how many of the issues before the PPS Board today are matters that citizens battled against as they were hatched by Mark Roosevelt. Get rid of those 6 to 12 schools. We knew that they were a bad idea.
But, it is the parents and community that knows best. Listen. Engage. Let's build that capacity at the PPS pools.
PITTSBURGH BOARD OF EDUCATION
PUBLIC HEARING
JULY 22, 2024
6:00 P.M.
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
CONFERENCE ROOM A
1. Ja'Bree Wiginton - Organization
412 Justice
Estudiantes preocupados
2. Shirley Hill - Retired PPS Teacher
Unfair treatment of Montessori teacher. Lack of Black teachers at Carrick High School. Scheduling concerns at Carrick High School.
3. Karen Sloan - Parent
Montessori Administration Concerns
4. Shannon Striner - Parent
Town Halls are performative
5. Gina Grotelueschen - Parent
PPS Fulton Parents
6. Lauren Abt - Parent, Community member
Frustration multiplied
7. Jalayne Allison - Organization
412 Justice
Concerned Student
8. David Abt - Student
Course offering at Schiller
9. Meredith Knight - Parent, Community member
Extend the Timeline for the Facilities Utilization Pan for better process efficacy, community feedback and future-proof planning
10. Laura Mullen - Parent
Facilities Utilization Plan
11. Jacquelyn Schriver - Family member
Ripple Effect Counseling, LLC
Do not close Fulton. These students matter. Their educations matter just as much as any of Pittsburgh resident.
12. Katy Rank Lev - Parent
Lainey Davis
Plan to increase or maintain enrollment?
13. Martha Riecks - Parent
Concerns regarding school closure plans and strategies
14. Goldette Shields - Organization
Shields Of Joy
Grieving and health awareness in the schools
15. Jessica Merlin - Parent
Jessica Merlin
16. Jala Rucker - Parent
412 justice
Don’t close Manchester school
17. Angel Gober - Organization, Community member
149.99
Stop the FU Process
18. Lily Allman - Student
A Student's Perspective on the School Closure Process
19. Valerie Webb-Allman - Parent
Rushed process leads to terrible outcomes
20. Lauren Stuparitz - Teacher/Staff, Parent, Community member
412 justice. Education rights network.
Closed Minds Close Schools
21. Andrea (Andy) Kubis - Parent
Attracting Families to the District
22. Jude Abt - Student
Manchester
23. Alice Valenta - Parent
Disappointment
24. Walitta Abdullah - Community member
Not providing testimony
25. Laura Gallagher - Organization
Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network and 412Justice
Not failing schools, as some say, but schools that are being failed
26. Debra Hall - Community member
None
27. Emily Sawyer - Parent, Other substitute
And the band played on
28. Marcia Bandes - Community member
School Closures
29. Pam Harbin - Community member
Stop the facilities utilization - AKA school closure - plan. Accountability for authentic community input and access
30. Rachel Schlosser - Parent
Authentic Community Input
31. Holly Munson - Parent
Stop the school closure process and start listening to what students actually need
32. Lars Munson - Student
Don't close schools
33. Rita Porterfield - Parent
The Silence Is Deafening
34. Jude Porterfield - Student
I've Had Enough of It
35. David Munson - Parent
Stop the school closures
37. Ghadah Makoshi - Parent
Accessibility and Accountability
38. Naomi Chambers - Parent
Concerned Parent…
39. Laura Petty - Organization
Advancement Project
School Closures Harm Children and Families
40. Paul James Dell - Parent
Response to initial facility presentation and listening sessions methodology
41. Jazlynn Worthy - Parent
The Foundation for the Future
42. Annette Hall - Parent
Taking away online public hearing attendances is taking away accessibility for many
43. Mark Rauterkus - Parent, Organization, Community member, Other Afterschool partner & former scholastic coach
Renegades Water Polo, International Swim Coaches Assn, World Aquatic Federation of Schools & Universities
Swimming, our pools are the best learning labs - yet under utilized
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