tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post2875972622861623086..comments2023-10-24T11:05:25.288-04:00Comments on Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates ponder current events: Athletics in city high schools is a losing propositionMark Rauterkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post-36811588600907717352010-04-26T12:56:40.258-04:002010-04-26T12:56:40.258-04:00Please check out my blog post concerning my feelin...Please check out my blog post concerning my feelings about the future of the City League and my thoughts about potential mergers w/ the WPIAL at <br />http://moonlightscribbler.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-to-do-with-pittsburgh-city-league.html<br /> I'd like to hear your thoughts about this piece and what you think about a merger. Being a teacher in the PPS you could also correct any inaccuracies found in the piece as I am only a regular citizen who was educated in the PPS and is writing from the viewpoint of an outsider.<br /><br />Pierre WheatonPierre Wheatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04722724998689214649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post-89683529788039304562010-04-08T10:35:21.271-04:002010-04-08T10:35:21.271-04:00part 2
The 140-page audit report, which assessed ...part 2<br /><i><br />The 140-page audit report, which assessed all aspects of student athletics -- including practice and training facilities, the number of experienced coaches and staff and availability of sports uniforms -- at the nine city high schools found that, compared to the national average, far fewer city high school girls participate in sports.<br /><br />Despite the district's shortcomings, Ms. Pennepacker commended it for opening itself to public scrutiny on the question of gender disparity in sports.<br /><br />Heather Arnet, executive director of the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania, and a former school board member who pushed for the audit, agreed.<br /><br />"This took courage on the part of the school board because they knew it would shine a light on the district," she said. "But you can't fix the problem until you quantify it and now we know the disparity."<br /><br />Another key finding of the report was that city schools have not taken steps in recent years to significantly expand sports programs for female students.<br /><br />And because female athletes in the district remain significantly under-represented in interscholastic athletics, Ms. Pennepacker recommended that the district develop a strategic action plan to expand female athletics and create a timetable for implementation.<br /><br />Part of that plan, she added, should explore the idea of creating some oversight over high school sports booster clubs, which can create a disparity because of their fundraising for certain sports.<br /><br />Among her recommendations, Ms. Pennepacker said the district ought to create a Title IX compliance officer position, specifically to oversee what would be the implementation of the school system's Title IX action plan.<br /><br />Derrick Lopez, assistant superintendent for secondary schools said the district is already taking steps to implement such a plan.<br /><br />Karamagi Rujumba: krujumba@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719.<br /><br /><br />Read more: http://post-gazette.com/pg/10098/1048748-53.stm#ixzz0kWGGoMT4<br /><br /></i>Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post-74421310906598357452010-04-08T10:35:16.253-04:002010-04-08T10:35:16.253-04:00full article in the PG:
Athletics in city high ...full article in the PG:<br /><br /><i><br /><br />Athletics in city high schools is a losing proposition<br /><br />By Karamagi Rujumba, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<br />Athletes in the Pittsburgh Public Schools generally have low self esteem because of a lack of high-quality programs and resources.<br /><br />That was a key conclusion of an audit of the district's compliance with Title IX, the federal law requiring gender equity in athletic programs, which was released at the school board's education committee meeting on Wednesday.<br /><br />Commissioned by the district in 2008 after cursory research by the Women's Law Project revealed "pervasive and severe" inequities in girls' athletic opportunities in the district, the report by consultant Peg Pennepacker, concluded that the district not only breeds gender disparities among athletes, but it generally has a low emphasis on student sports.<br /><br />"The interscholastic athletic program overall appears to suffer from poor self-esteem," said Ms. Pennepacker of High School Title IX Consulting Services.<br /><br />The consultant, who signed a $10,000 contract with the district said that her survey of student athletes and coaching staff found that they have a "general notion of apathy, hopelessness and anger regarding the quality and perceived lack of importance that the school district in general places on interscholastic athletics."<br /><br />Mark Rauterkus, a swimming and water polo coach at Schenley High School said he was not surprised by the report's conclusions.<br /><br />"We have known this all along. I haven't seen any types of reforms in student athletics in a long time," Mr. Rauterkus said.<br /><br />School administrators "have been focused on other things for a while now, and yet we know that student athletes can be even better students when they are given the support they need," he added.<br /><br />Mr. Rauterkus said the school district "now knows that this is something they need to pay more attention to and the fact that we are talking about it shows they understand that we have a problem."<br /></i>Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post-57462207181406843892010-04-08T09:49:41.126-04:002010-04-08T09:49:41.126-04:00Area high schools are struggling with Title IX
Buz...<i>Area high schools are struggling with Title IX<br />Buzz up!By Daveen Rae Kurutz, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW<br />Thursday, April 8, 2010 <br /><br />Pittsburgh Public Schools officials are forming an athletic program task force to study female participation in athletics to help close the gender disparity gap in district sports.<br /><br />The district responded Wednesday to a Title IX audit report completed by Peggy Pennepacker, a former athletic director and consultant with High School Title IX Consulting Services in Schuylkill Haven.<br /><br />The 139-page report found that all of the district's nine high schools had gender disparity in participation, sports offerings and schedules. Under Title IX — a law the requires men and women to have the same athletic opportunities — the ratio of male and female student athletes should be equal to the ratio of male and female students. None of the high schools met this requirement.<br /><br />Additionally, just two of the high schools — Perry and Langley — have expanded their girls' sports offerings in recent years. Allderdice and Carrick have added girls' sports clubs.<br /><br />"We're taking this report seriously," said Derrick Lopez, assistant superintendent of secondary schools and Title IX compliance officer. "We're really looking at how to better meet the needs of the young people in our school."<br /><br />The audit was commissioned in November of 2008 by the school board at the request of former school board member Heather Arnet, who is CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation.<br /><br />Among her recommendations, Pennepacker encouraged the district to allow teams to play schools outside of the City League, which consists only of schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools. She also noted that booster clubs need guidance and oversight.<br /><br />"It doesn't matter where the money comes from — just who uses it," Pennepacker said. "There needs to be some sort of monitoring of how it is used."<br /><br />Several of Pennepacker's suggestions are already being implemented, including increased oversight of booster organizations and a review of practice and game schedules, Lopez said.<br /><br />Despite her concerns, Pennepacker praised the way the district is trying to comply with the law. She called Pittsburgh Public Schools a "model, you're way ahead of the curve." Pennepacker said heir audit was the first completed by a high school — they are required at the college level. She acknowledged that all schools, as well as society, has a long way to go to meet the law's standards.<br /><br />"Guys have been playing sports since the beginning of time — girls are just getting into it now." Pennepacker said. <br /></i>Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.com