Who We Are:
Pittsburgh Public Schools offers a wide variety of educational options and offerings for our diverse student body. We aim to provide options that not only match our students’ passions and unique needs, but also help to prepare them for the real word through diverse experiences.
As the largest of 43 school districts in Allegheny County and second largest in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Public Schools serves approximately 25,000 students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 in 54 schools. In addition, Early Childhood programs serve 1,614 three and four year-olds in classrooms across the city.
We believe that every child—at every level of academic performance—can achieve excellence. To help our students get there, we are committed to continually improving performance at every level of the District. By doing so, we will help prepare our students to take maximum advantage of The Pittsburgh Promise® scholarship, and we will better prepare our District to thrive in an era of unprecedented competition.
At Pittsburgh Public Schools, we have all the right ingredients to help us tackle urban public education problems and to help our children succeed in a world where it’s increasingly important to have more than a high school diploma.
District Goals:
We have four primary goals at Pittsburgh Public Schools:
To accelerate student achievement
To eliminate racial disparities in achievement;
To create positive school and district culture; and
To foster innovation.
While many factors contribute to accelerating student achievement, teachers are the most important school-based factor, which is why we are working hard to have an effective teacher in every classroom, every day.
As we tackle one of the District’s longest-standing achievement issues – eliminating racial disparities – we are focused on staff training, a culturally relevant curriculum, and other measures in our Equity plan, Equity: Getting to All, which will help ALL of our students achieve excellence.
Creating positive school and District culture means making decisions that ensure our students will be able to take advantage of The Pittsburgh Promise. We are refocusing on milestones that are critical to a student's academic success: kindergarten readiness, ensuring third graders are reading on grade level, algebra readiness by high school and college and career ready.
And, finally, we want to foster innovation in Pittsburgh so that we can attract and retain the best students and teachers. We know that public schools play a key role in a vibrant economy and community, and we hope to do our part by ensuring a more educated city population that contributes to the local economy.
District Vision:
All students graduating high school Promise-Ready and completing a two-or four-year college degree or workforce certification.
District Mission:
The Pittsburgh Public Schools will be one of America’s premier school districts, student-focused, well-managed, and innovative.
We will hold ourselves accountable for preparing all children to achieve academic excellence and strength of character, so that they have the opportunity to succeed in all aspects of life.
District Beliefs:
All children can learn at high levels.
Teachers have a profound impact on student development, and should have ample training, support and resources.
Education begins with a safe and healthy learning environment.
Families are an essential part of the educational process.
A commitment from the entire community is necessary to build a culture that encourages student achievement.
Improvement in education is guided by consistent and effective leadership.
Central office exists to serve students and schools.
