Interview with Principal Colbert at Obama Academy

Article was published in the school newspaper, The Obama Eagle:

The Life Behind the Principal

Posted: 24 Jan 2018 07:07 AM PST

Yalonda Colbert is the new principal at Obama Academy, and if this isn’t your first year here you may remember her as the Assistant Principal and Middle School Director. But do you know how she came into this position? There are a lot of things about our principal that you may not know, but I got to sit down with her and take a look into the life behind our principal.

How would you describe being the Principal so far based on this school year?
So far, first of all I’m super excited. But, there’s a lot of paperwork. And I think that, that sometimes interferes with my ability to be as visible as I would like to be sometimes and as supportive as I would like to be. Especially in the classrooms to help students and thinks like that. It’s been really good, parents have been very welcoming, students are I think really giving me an opportunity and a chance to provide support and insight on things that we want to change, things that we want to keep, things that we want to improve upon. But it’s been a lot of work, which I expected. But like I said the paperwork piece is really- I don’t want to say overwhelming because I knew that there would be a lot just being here the past to years. But the paperwork is intense. Kind of like, you guys’ class schedules and managing all of your papers and projects you guys do. I’m having to do that for the entire school. But it’s definitely been fun, I’m enjoying it. Just kind of getting to know all of our systems that we have in place and how to make things better. So I’m just looking forward to the second semester.

What was your position before becoming Principal?
Before I was Principal for the past two school years I was the Director, so that’s kind of like being Assistant Principal. The only difference is that I was responsible for a lot more of the paperwork than someone who is an Assistant Principal in the District. So there was a lot of work that I did side by side with Dr.Walters these past two years just because of the nature of my role. So on top of being in charge of discipline for middle school, I also had to support discipline for high school. But then also having to be like Dr. Walters’ right hand person, whether he was physically in the building or not. I had to make sure that school was still happening, students were being taken care of, parents were listened to and taken care of, activities were still going on, the budget, all of those types of things. It was really fun but last year I just felt like I was able to get out into the hall space a lot more.

What were some jobs you had before that helped you prepare for being a Principal?
I began in the district in 2006, I started at Arsenal Middle School. I was a middle school math teacher. After that, I applied to be one of the founding teachers to open up University Prep at Milliones here in the district. So I left Arsenal Middle School and started over at U-Prep in the 2008 school year and I stayed there until 2013 I think. So I was a middle school and a high school math teacher for about seven, seven and a half years then I became a high school and middle school math coach for U-Prep. So I did that for one year and then I had the opportunity to apply to become a Secondary Supervisor over curriculum for mathematics for grades 6-12 math at the district where I was able to be a supervisor and go over and write the curriculum and kind of get some things going on to support students in their learning and teachers in their teaching. And with that I was able to learn all about budgets, all about writing, board tabs to like say “Hey we need this program to come in or we need this person to come in.” So I learned a lot of the back end paperwork from growing from a teacher to a coach to being an assistant supervisor over in the central office, so the math department. And then, like I said just with Dr. Walters’ leadership and challenging me to learn. I learned a lot in two years, he always tells me that. We learned a lot in two years and you don’t often see that from a lot of people. Those are basically the things that really helped me but I think the biggest thing that helped me is just that I’ve always been pushed by others to be a leader. I enjoy leading people and helping, you know to be their best and that really began for me when I used to help my friends who were struggling in math and were struggling in French because I really love French and I really love math, coming through 6th grade to 12th grade. I always loved math probably since I was really little but I didn’t even really get the chance to take French until middle school. So I’ve just always tutored people, helped my friends’ kids, my cousins, and always just being pushed to be a role model so I think that those are my early year experiences all the way through like becoming a teacher and things like that.

Where did you go to college and what did you major and minor in?
So I first started off at Penn State. I had a full ride scholarship, so all I had to pay for was my books. So I was very blessed and thankful for that experience. I declared myself as an Accounting major at first, because I loved math. But I found it to be quite boring so I kind of left that alone and enrolled myself, well declared myself to be an Education major. I transferred up to the main campus and I didn’t have a good transition from the branch campus to the main campus. So what I ended up doing was transferring back to Pittsburgh and I came to the University of Pittsburgh, their main campus and I enrolled in a program that was under the psychology branch. My Bachelor’s is in Developmental Adolescent and Adult Psychology so that helped me to really begin to learn why people behave the way they behave, why they think the way they think and things like that. So I would also say that my Bachelor’s learning and stuff also helped me to be able to really help children and be in the position that I’m in right now. I remained at the University of Pittsburgh where I got accepted to their secondary mathematics education program there so I became certified as a teacher in secondary mathematics. So middle school and high school mathematics. I am still certified to teach, like if I decided I don’t want to be a principal anymore I can go back to teaching math. And then I went to IUP to get my principal certification. And so you learn a lot about community engagement and what it means to be a principal and how to support all three entities in the school. So not just the students but the parents and the community, they make up the school. It’s not just your school and you run it, you have to really make sure that you pay attention to all of those variables.

What was your first choice in careers?
My first choice was accounting, when I was going to school Penn State had a partnership where they helped students get jobs and if you had a certain GPA and you passed your exams, you were guaranteed to be starting out at like $80,000. So like what kid–you know you’re 19-20 years old. I was a very good kid, I was always on the Dean’s’ list. I had to be on the Dean’s list to keep my scholarship. And so just the incentive of, “Oh my gosh, I can really work for a really prestigious accounting firm for $80,000. I’m young, single, I can do this by the time I’m 22 or 23.” That was like really awesome for me but I was missing the whole relationship piece which is what drives me to do what I do like interacting with human beings. Sitting and crunching numbers all day, that just wasn’t going to work for me I couldn’t do it. And so knowing that I still love numbers and I love math I knew that a lot of African-American students in particular just reflecting back on friends they would say, “I hate math, I don’t know how you like it, what is it about it? What is your obsession with it?” It just kind of makes me feel powerful and strong and confident. So I just thought that I could be a role model in that space if I sought to become a mathematics teacher. Not only being an African-American but being a female. You really have a female math teacher so that was how I chose what to do. So first accounting but I quickly switched over to education.

What were some other passions you had that could have affected your career choice?
Middle school was really when I became– people would always say like “Yalonda you are so ambitious” like kind of just know what you’re going to do. And so, I actually applied to go through the Magnet process here in Pittsburgh Public Schools. I’ve been in PPS all my life. I went to Oliver High School which is now closed, but I went there because I actually wanted to be a lawyer at one point. And then somewhere my teachers kind of turned me off, which I would never advise a student to let anybody get them into that kind of space. But I had a rocky road with a couple teachers in that program which caused me to not even be focused on it or love it and enjoy it, and pursue it as much as I probably would have had I not had those encounters. But I would say early on that was one of the spaces that I really wanted to go into and be this voice of justice, voice of reason because of all the stuff I was witnessing in that community. You know with the drug epidemic at that time when I was growing up and I had my peers thinking that early encounters with sexual promiscuity meant that “Oh I’m going to be ok” versus staying in school and being educated and things like that. So I just knew something had to change. I saw a lot of my friends, not necessarily my friends but just people I went to school with being arrested, getting into gangs, just the typical statistical type of thing. What people would say “You’re another statistic” about or something, so that’s why I was interested in pursuing law and just becoming an attorney and I hoped I could be a judge at some point. I can give someone someone a second chance if I really have evidence and I can really see that they deserve a second chance.

Do you ever wish you had chosen a different career?
Sometimes I really do wish I would have at least stuck with pursuing law to at least achieve earning my Juris doctorate. Sometimes I even consider it, will there ever be a point in time in my principalship where I could go to night classes and take those classes so I could at least be certified and go through those courses because I feel like those courses may give me the opportunity to still support some other places that students would need my help and support here in school. So that would be one thing I kind of still have on my bucket list. I haven’t quite put it off but, that’s one thing I still hope to be able to do.

What are some hobbies you have outside of being a principal?
I don’t know if it’s a hobby but I enjoy being a mom, I enjoy being a wife, I enjoy like– I don’t think you guys would even know because I don’t think you guys kind of give me the opportunity to like interact in that way but I love to dance, I love to sing, I really like to eat, I love movies, I just really love to be silly and hang out with my friends. I guess that’s kind of boring but that’s who I am.

What would you say to a student that wants to become a principal some day?
I would say that you have to accept that this position is not necessarily a position of power. So don’t let the title get your head big. You have to approach the position and the work that you have to do through a servant’s heart. The work that you will be charged with as a principal is very delicate and you have to be ok with being lonely. Because it is a very lonely job. And at the end of the day you’re held accountable and responsible for everything and even like your assistant and other people aren’t always going to be there for you or physically in the space when everything is happening. So you have to be ok with working in solitude because it is a very lonely space.

Incline covers today's ballot question

City employees as coaches

source: https://theincline.com/2017/11/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-yes-or-no-questions-on-tuesdays-ballot/

Pittsburgh city employees currently cannot coach a sports team for Pittsburgh Public Schools and get paid for it. But the ballot question before city voters asks if that should change. Here’s what you’ll see on the ballot:

Shall Section 707 Multiple Employment Prohibited, of the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter be amended to permit a compensated City employee to hold a compensated position as a part-time athletic coach in a public school system or a compensated part-time educational position at a public institution of higher learning, as more fully described in Pittsburgh Ordinance 36?

City employees can have one paid job with the city. They can’t have a second paid job with other public entities, including schools or public universities. According to the city’s Home Rule Charter, exceptions include:

• Member of the Pennsylvania National Guard or federal reserve
• The city controller and deputy controller can have the same roles for Pittsburgh Public Schools.
• A city treasurer can also be a treasurer for PPS.
• Member or employee of a sinking fund commission or pension board
• PPS employee from May to September

If approved, more exceptions would be added to the list — like the ones on Tuesday’s ballot.

Since this is part of the Home Rule Charter, changing it required a ballot question. Legislation authorizing the ballot question was first introduced to city council in May and signed by Mayor Bill Peduto in July. The legislation specifies: “For each exception, the Department of Personnel shall develop a strict multiple employment policy and enforcement procedure to ensure employee integrity and compliance.”

Council Member Corey O’Connor, who sponsored the legislation with Natalia Rudiak and Bruce Kraus, stressed that when it comes to coaches, school employees are always given first preference. But if there’s an opening after that, this change would allow a city employee to apply, he said. City workers could also apply to teach a class at a public university or community college.

Rudiak said she heard from constituents that there was a need for coaches in the public schools, so the legislation started as a way to make city employees eligible for those part-time jobs. City employees can already teach or coach at private schools, Rudiak pointed out.

City employees also showed interest in being able to teach in higher education, she said.

The rule prohibiting multiple employers was likely designed to prevent city employees from collecting full-time paychecks and other benefits from two entities funded with public dollars, O’Connor said. But coaches don’t make much money, he said.

“You’re not getting paid thousands of dollars here,” O’Connor said.

Conservative foil: Sue Kerr of Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Conservative foil:Sue Kerr of Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Let's ponder the definition. “Conservative” is holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.

Sue Kerr, a blogger, (I am a blogger too) is playing the role of a conservative and asking people to vote “NO” to the City of Pittsburgh ballot measure that I have championed because:

- She has not found anyone with actual facts, however, she refused to answer my friend request on Facebook and refused to discuss this with me despite my repeated approaches to her. So, her seeking is more like planned avoidance. Come on Sue. Why can't we be friends? One of my central themes as a coach and advocate for better government is “playing well with others.”

- Then she writes, “the narrow exclusion would only benefit a few people.” Really? You really want to put hardships on super-minorities? You think that because only a fraction of the population is (insert letter of your choice) that they don't deserve the rights of others? What about protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity? Hey, that is a “narrow” and those protections only benefit a few people. So, let's let things as they are. So conservative of you.

Pittsburgh passed a law with sexual orientation protection and that benefits few – and I'm proud to have that as part of the fabric of our city's legacy. Helping a few people helps us all be better, be stronger, be more whole. At its roots, the ballot question is about non-discrimination. I don't like discrimination, even for a few, and I'm puzzled why you favor it.

- Vote no, posts Sue, “because some are already coaching and teaching in public universities as adjunct faculty (just Google a few names.)” What? Who? Name names! I know of none. Should we google the entire city payroll? And, what might that uncover? I don't have the names of all the city workers. Sue, why don't you send this posting to Michael Lamb, city controller. Does your partner work for CCAC? I don't know what to think. I lost my decoder ring anyway. And, let's say it is true in that perhaps there are a few workers in the city who are already working another part-time job, against the norm and city charter's stipulations, for CCAC and /or Pittsburgh Public Schools – then what? Do you want to whistleblow? Or, would you just forgive them and not allow others the same opportunities? Then vote YES with me. Or, are you just without any logic and wishing to spread fog and doubt?

- Since, as Sue posted, “enforcement of this ban has certainly not been consistent” then it makes sense to vote YES and be done with this opportunity for meaningless rule-breaking. All should know that I championed this ballot question because last year a newly-hired coach was forced off of the PPS job because of his city employment with the department of public works. Real work actions, to my knowledge, have been fully consistent and ethical. He should not have worked last year – and he didn't. But, he should be able to work as a coach next week if we change the charter. And, I hope he applies, gets hired and takes another coaching job as soon as possible.

- Sue thinks a no vote is wise because of a lack of an informed perspective. Wrong. The matter before the voters in the election is for part-time employment. Part-time employment for public-school coaching and adjunct teaching at CCAC is different. The charter's authors didn't visualize every possible situation under the sun for the future of our city. This is an enhancement. Be progressive.

The quote from Mr. O'Connor of city council speaks against a broader exemption as being problematic, but this ballot question is specific and NOT A PROBLEM.

Ms. Rudiak of city council defends the ballot question too. The change is what it is. It is not an exemptions for all types of government side work. It is a question with focus. Perhaps Sue likes uncertainty and sinister plots within her ballot questions. I don't.

- Sue goes on to slam Natalia Rudiak for leaving office at the end of her term. She didn't seek re-election because she is moving on to other chapters in her life. “Who would champion such a thing?” is a direct question from Sue. Answer: A reasonable person who listens to citizens' concerns and does her job while she is hired to do her job. I'm happy that Natalia has not been a lame duck for an entire year.

Sue attempts to throw stones now at the messenger and not the message, a childish ploy.

Sue then plays the not forthcoming victim yet won't converse with me. Joke is on Sue.

Sue gets it wrong again when she posts that the goal is to create more employment and side income opportunities for City employees. Wrong! That is not the goal. Sue knows what the goal is, as the first line of her blog post reads, “… I think students in Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) deserve good coaches.” That's the goal. We had a good coach knocked off of a part-time coaching job opportunity because of a city-charter provision that worked AGAINST good coaching. Here is the formula from 2016-17 season on the PPS pool deck: 2 coaches, minus one, equals less coaching. That's bad. Help fix it.

- Sue asks a question for another day and another referendum, “Why not allow employees to do holiday temp work with the postal service?” That's not the issue. Your thinking that voters should pick “NO” because this ballot question is not going to help the postal service is crazy talk. I'm happy Sue thinks coaching is important. No amount of her lengthy googling should get in the way of a YES vote on this simple measure.

- Sue asks: Is it reasonable to amend our City constitution to address select employment vacancies in PPS? Isn’t that the responsibility of PPS? NO! The sticking point is the city, not PPS. The problem is with the city's charter, not PPS. When fixing a problem, go to the source of the problem. Victims are not to blame.

We’re talking 3,100 people who would be ineligible out of the whole population of the City. Is that a reason to change the constitution? YES. Vote yes. Problem fixed. Changes made. No blood required. This is not a drastic measure. I hate to write such a drastic blog post too.

The 3,100 people who work for the city account for the second largest block of employed people in the city. If five great coaches come from the ranks of the city's work force, they could impact hundreds of kids a year. Whole schools and neighborhoods could change. Teen violence might reversed itself. I know that I help to teach about 200 kids how to swim and swim better every year. In the course of my career, more than 10,000 kids have called me “coach.” The impact of a few coaches can be tremendous. I think that some of the folks who work in the city should have the same opportunities to contribute to the community in meaningful ways as I have had the good fortune to do as well.

I've been known to recruit coaching help for employment needs anywhere and everywhere. Even at UPMC and at AGH. Last year, an kid of an AGH employee was employed with our Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo Camp. Furthermore, it is HARD to find qualified candidates to coach in part-time positions. There is a world-wide shortage of lifeguards. Coaching shortages are, well, just google it yourself, Sue.

Sue says that this proposed change will disproportionately benefit men. Sue, ever hear of Title IX? There are not fewer opportunities for women coaches. And, women and men make the same money in coaching with PPS as it is a union-negotiated amount. Double-wrong.

OMG Sue, here is my answer for your absurd question that follows. Yes. Anyone can sue anyone at any time. Sue's Q: “Does this set up the possibility for excluded employees to sue the City because they are not able to pursue a sorting gig with the USPS over the holidays?” No one answered that question – except me.

Only a conservative crank would use the lack of a robust research process on the charter provision’s history – paralysis by analysis – as an excuse for a no vote.

Coaching is a privilege. I am privileged. I coach boys and girls. Title IX insures that the boys and girls get equal treatment.

I do not want to see our police union in Harrisburg at the PA Supreme Court in litigation seeking rights to move their homes and their kids into school districts that are out of the city. Rather, I'd be more willing to permit employees of the city, such as those on the police force, to be permitted to coach their sons and daughters and their classmates in the city's schools programs of sports, music, chess, drama, debate – with part-time jobs. For some, being engaged in the lives of their children is important. And, it is important enough that if my city prohibited that from happening, moving out of the city makes great sense. Let's keep those people here.

And you'd rather have a volunteer coach from the ranks of city employees – for further hardships on families. A volunteer coach isn't accountable. A volunteer coach has no standing with the district and can be flicked aside by the PFT in a heart-beat. Clueless odds are high. I do not want evenly applied coaching employment. I want talented, inspiring coaches. You seem to want to keep employees of the city within financial distress.

Your commending of the city employees who put forth this suggestion is misplaced too. A city resident and a PPS coach, acting on my own, seeing the reality of situations, put forth the ballot measure. The city and the district have been reserved. Let's all applaud people who act with integrity and let's all fix flaws, together. Both big and small flaws count. Don't get in the way of progress because it has always been done in another flawed way. This is fair. This is complete for what it is. If you want utopia, put it on the ballot yourself.

A good reason for you to block this YES vote is because a women helped get it in front of the voters and she is quitting. We are losing women in elected roles so we should not pass measures that they help to advance. Come on.

You, Sue, can write the post-office ballot measure for 2018. Go for it.

By the way, off of society's needs can't be put into one YES or NO ballot measure. By voting YES, the citizens of Pittsburgh get to side-step and fix a WORST-PRACTICE clause in the city's charter. It isn't about “best-practices” – but rather about making improvements.

BOOK PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION: Nov 14, 2017

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

6:30 p.m.

Letter Carriers Union Hall, 821 California Avenue, 15212

THE PLOT TO SCAPEGOAT RUSSIA by Dan Kovalik

How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin, while continuing their policy of permanent war

“A powerful contradiction to the present US narrative of the world… As shown here, fake news is thriving in Washington, DC.” —OLIVER STONE

Dan Kovalik is a union lawyer with the United Steel Workers (USW), and an internationally-recognized Human rights activist and attorney, having travelled more than 30 times to Columbia and Venezuala, as well as to the Congo, Iran and other hotspots around the globe. His firsthand accounts and union perspective are critical contributions to understanding US military activity around the world.

For those involved in important domestic fights, such as healthcare, the environment, labor rights and union drives, immigration, discrimination, upcoming elections, etc., the US military wars and fronts around the world, as well as the yearly increasing already bloated military budget for these adventures, will greatly impact budgets and available funds, domestic programs and every struggle down to the local and community level. We hope you will attend this important presentation and discussion.

Fwd: Preaching to the Choir

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John H

I am sending along the attached article by Rebecca Solnit from this month's Harper's Magazine because I believe it makes some extremely important (and generally overlooked or dismissed) points about how those of us seeking constructive change need to focus on moving forward.  I am all for engaging with those with whom we disagree, but we must not forget the importance of being together with and supporting those with whom we agree on most, if not all, things.  This means we cannot just focus in one direction.  We also need to heed Solnit's words in the final paragraph of her article:

"Within most examples of broad consensus lie a host of questions and unresolved differences.  Agreement is only the foundation.  Yet from here we can build strong communities of love, spirited movements of resistance.  'We cannot walk alone,' Dr. King said that day in 1963.  Find people to walk with – and talk with – and we find power as well as pleasure."

I would only add that therein lies the courage and the willingness to fight on by going out into the larger community and living our beliefs with strength and conviction.

John

Link

• Preaching to the Choir, a PDF of 130K

Email blast with lots of invites

https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/412-public-news/2017-October/000048.html

Divorce of a sports coop

Posted to Facebook about the looming discussions of sports team in Pittsburgh Public Schools with students from U-Prep, Sci-Tech and Obama. 

This (above) does not need to be the case. It is an option. The students, parents and community can make another, better demand.

Sci-Tech could field its own sports teams too. 

CAPA does have X-Country and Track as a HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS TEAMS. 

Sci-Tech could do the same and pick and choose what sports to support -- and then other sports could be left for students to join with their neighborhood schools.

I think it is POSSIBLE that Sci-Tech could have the #1 boys and girls varsity swim teams in the city -- and a team that could climb in the ranks to the top 10 in the state.

Sci-Tech does have a swim pool. It would need to swim its HOME meets elsewhere, but there are plenty of options. Most of the other schools in the WPIAL would be happy to always host swim meets if against Sci-Tech. Or, some of the meets could be squeezed into other suitable pools within PPS, such as at Obama, Perry, Oliver, PCA, and even Dice. Tri-meets (with 3 teams) are also possible and would be encouraged.

As for other sports, it would be GREAT to have Sci-Tech kids join with other city kids to play WATER POLO with Obama as well. That is a fall sport and it leads into winter swimming.

Furthermore, the Sci-Tech middle school swim team should move its season to the SPRING, and not the winter. In the winter, the Sci-Tech MS kids are in the way of the HS kids. And, in the spring, with swimming, the Sci-Tech kids could compete against the other MS programs around the WPIAL, such as at Montour, WA, Carlynton.

Furthermore, it would not be out of the question to have the Sci-Tech kids KEEP the sports Co-Op with other individual sports teams. For example, Sci-Tech boys and girls could play BASKETBALL with U-Prep. I imagine the U-Prep gym is not suited for varsity games. Go figure. So, the practices and games could be at Sci-Tech, with its better gym. The issue is then where to put the MS hoops teams at Sci-Tech? Perhaps one of the squads should practice before school?

On a sport by sport basis, facility by facility, -- this needs to be examined by an athletic sports reform task force from PPS, in a district-wide effort as was done in the past. We made great strides in some areas with the PPS Sports Reform Task Force in the end of the Roosevelt era. Linda Lane killed it. Now it is time for it to resurface. And, if needed, I'd be happy to serve as the chair, without any consultant fees.

Ellen, Ex-Obama Swimmer, goes to college and stars in an insurance commercial

Way to go Ellen!

Thinking more about Tech Captains

Greenfield..... ACTION.... Play

Pssst.

Check out this memo from Greg at City of Play. 

What are you doing tomorrow, Wednesday, night? First meeting. 

Call to action from City Charter High Post High School Planning Team (PHSP Team)

To whom it may concern,

We recently received a grant through Partners for Work for 10 City Charter High School students will complete the Patient Care Technician training program at CCAC.

We are establishing a professional Roundtable of businesses and organizations to provide career resources and guidance to prepare our students for work as a Certified Nursing Assistant. We cordially invite you to be a part of this group and share best practices, professional workplace expectations and other pertinent information.

The goal of the Patient Care Roundtable is to engage local businesses in discussions of student preparation for careers, City High curriculum and business needs for a pipeline to employment.

The Patient Care Roundtable will take place on Friday, October 6th from 10:00 am - 11:30 am, at City Charter High School located at 201 Stanwix Street Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. A wrap-up session will also be held on Friday, March 16th (same time and location).

If you are interested in participating, please reply to this email NO LATER THAN September 11, 2017 with the following information:
Organization Name
Attendee Names and emails
Organization Industry

We thank you in advance for your consideration.


*If this email should be forwarded to another person in your organization, please feel free to send it to them or reply to this email with their contact information.

Sincerely,
City Charter High Post High School Planning Team (PHSP Team)

Antonietta Riley
Transition Manager & Alumni Coordinator
City Charter High School
201 Stanwix Street
Pittsburgh PA 15222

Phone: 412-690-2489
Fax: 412-690-2420

Wanted: Running Mates and places to run to!

Time to hit the road to share insights about this ballot question for city voters in the 2017 general election.

Who wants to help spread the word?

Where and when are the meetings being held? 

Who can we talk to about getting an invite to speak to the audiences -- for only a couple of minutes.

Physical Literacy for kids

Sports Town Pittsburgh

The Final Post - Sports Town will cease operations in October, 2017

Written by Ken Wunderley on Saturday, 26 August 2017 5:05 am.

Below is a message from Sports Town Editor Ken Wunderley.

In 2010, Tri-State Sports & News Service and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette teamed up to form the Sports Town web site. Sports Town provided excellent coverage of all high school sports for 6 1/2 years.

We were fortunate to have McDonald's as our sponsor during a six-year run, but the corporation has decided to end its sponsorship.

After an unsuccessful three-month search for a new sponsor, the Sports Town web site will cease operations in the near future.

The web site will be shut down at the end of October, so feel free to go back and find any posts or photos that you would like to save.

I would like to thank all the writers and photographers who contributed to Sports Town, especially writer Brad Everett (my right-hand man) and photographer Marilyn Schwilm. The full list of writers and photographers who have contributed over the years are listed below.

I also would like to thank McDonald's, for its six years of sponsorship, along with the many high school coaches, athletes, and fans who visited our site. Your support is greatly appreciated.

And lastly, I would like to thank Post-Gazette Executive Editor David Shribman, for giving me the opportunity to head up Sports Town, and Post-Gazette Assistant Managing Editor Matt Kennedy, for all his help with creating the web site and overseeing its operations.

I am currently working on a WPIAL and PIAA history site. My hope is to find a sponsor and unveil the site on Oct. 1. I will keep everybody updated on my progress.

Sports Town Alumni:

Writers

Chris Adamski 

William P. Allmann Sr.

Keith Barnes 

Stephen Catanese 

Justin Criado 

John D'Abruzzo 

Brad Everett 

Brittany Goncar 

Joe Greiner 

Drew Karpen 

Joseph M. Koch 

John Perrotto 

Ryan Riordan 

Nicholas Tolomeo 

Ken Wunderley

Photographers 

Marc Billett 

Cara De Carlo 

Marsha Green 

J.J. LaBella 

Jim Nagle 

Matt Kruth 

Dean Longwell 

Lynda Scahill 

Marilyn Schwilm 

Susan Wentzel

Musical Showcase and end of summer event on Thursday night

Startable Pittsburgh, Innovation Works and The Lighthouse Project with Alphalab Gear. Looks like a great event at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty.

Fwd: American delusions, er innocence

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John H

Linked below is an excellent article, Unlearning the myth of American innocence, and a review I wrote for Dan Kovalik's excellent new book The Plot to Scapegoat Russia.  Both the article and Kovalik's book deal with very similar subject matter, how the United States deals with the rest of the world and the fact that Americans are the least aware of all the peoples of the world of the horrendous impact of our national policies – and I just don't mean recent policies.  The United States has been invading, overthrowing and supervising the massacre populations since the very founding of the nation – and even before.  There is a giant hole of trained ignorance in the American psyche which tends to prevent Americans from even asking the appropriate questions about our relations with the rest of humanity.  We are, for the most part, a delusional population unable to even conceive of the possibility that the policies of our nation are not as pure and necessary as the driven snow. 

Read this article, then buy a copy of Dan Kovalik's wonderful book and expose yourself to a reality which will never be told by mainstream media in this nation.  Without understanding what we do as a nation in the world and why we do it (hint:  it has nothing to do with spreading democracy and helping others in need or protecting the helpless and downtrodden) we Americans will never be able to confront the our own direct responsibility for many of the ills which continue to befall humankind.  And, above all, come to the realization that neither of our mainstream political organizations are in any way or fashion innocent or even one better than the other in this regard.  And, don't be deceived by the title of Kovalik's book, it's not really about Russia.  It's about United States policies in the wider world and Dan Kovalik has been there, seen the results and reports on the reality of our depredations.    

John

Links

• Unlearning the mytho of American innocence, PDF article, 384k
• Dan Kovalik, The plot to scapegoat Russia - PDF article 198k

Mayor Peduto linked to an article by @mattiekquinn about GOVERNMENT and the OPIOID crisis

My $.02: 

Let other cities worry about testing WASTE WATER for daily spikes within neighborhoods of opioids -- as Pittsburgh has a problem testing and delivering TAP WATER, the clean stuff. First things first.

In the South Side we drink beer because it is know to be LEAD FREE. We use the water to wash away the piss on the sidewalks -- and that goes into the rivers.

People who "look out the window and they don’t think that tomorrow will be any different than today" will have VALIDATION of that FACT the day our GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ponder articles that suggest the TESTING OF WASTE WATER for hints of OPIOIDS in flushing piss.

Article: http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-opioid-epidemic-conversation-countries.html

Fwd: Neoliberalism is opposed to people

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From: John H

Neoliberalism is a market centered ideology which is opposed to all government social programs focused on people, but supportive of government programs supportive of and for subsidizing corporations.  It is not for 'free enterprise'.  Rather it encourages and rewards monopoly power.

John

Link: Neoliberalism Is Real and Fundamentally Opposed to Left Principles

Fwd: Switching to electric cars. . . or not

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John H

All of those of you who believe that the adoption of electric vehicles will somehow save the environment and prevent further global warming, should give close attention to the two attached articles.  The second also nicely explains why neoliberal capitalism can never operate in socially useful manner.  I would add to the information in the articles that very few commentators mention the major secondary problem related to the switch to electric vehicles, that is the fragility of the nation's electrical grid; which, the last time I can recall seeing requires at least 3 trillion dollars to bring it up to reliably service near-term needs which do not include a massive switch to EVs.

John

Links:

• Cobalt Production as the Hidden Choke Point on...
• The Two Capitalisms 

Fwd: FW: Healthcare symposium

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John H

Worthwhile event:

John

Subject: Healthcare symposium

Hello, fellow Indivisible sisters and brothers!  We are asking for your assistance in advertising and attending an upcoming event.  We represent a multi county planning committee for a symposium for Thursday, August 10th at North Catholic High School in Cranberry, Butler County. Which is close to the turnpike and 79.   We are trying to remain nonpartisan but will discuss pros and cons of whatever legislation is proposed or recently passed at the time of the event.  

The info is being shared by advocacy groups from Erie to Washington counties to show legislators we are united in wanting affordable care.  We hope to fill the 900 seat auditorium. That is why people have to register.  You will need to share your confirmation email to enter.  

Please forward to like minded people and groups.  We follow you on Facebook and applaud your organization. Together we are stronger and can make a difference. 

https://we-the-people-talk-healthcare.eventbrite.com/