Request a digital or hard copy of the full Report to the Community by emailing info@aplusschools.org, or explore key sections below.

“The quality of a city’s public schools reflects a city’s commitment to the well-being of its children and to its own future.”

Keeping the Promise, The Mayor’s Commission on Public Education, September 2003

Twenty years ago, A+ Schools was founded to organize the talent, resources, and know-how of our City to help create schools where Pittsburgh’s children could thrive. Our approach to supporting schools as places where children can learn and teachers can teach has continued to evolve as we learn by doing. Our long-term commitment to getting it right, to measuring the impact of changes, and to solving problems in partnership with parents, school staff, and community organizations has never wavered.

To that end, A+ Schools has evolved to become a partner with our families, school staff, and schools to address the issues that get in the way of learning, and connect our community’s resources to have impact. While we know that viewing the data we provide in this report is necessary for us to understand what’s happening in schools, we also know these data don’t paint the full picture of what families are facing, what children are experiencing, and how policies from housing to health to transportation to education all impact whether our children show up to school every day ready to learn.

As an independent non-profit, we have an obligation to be transparent with you. So here’s what we understand to be true about what it will take to make sure every child thrives in our schools:

• “Every system is designed perfectly to get the result that it does.” Schools are one of many systems that impact a child’s ability to show up and learn. For the past few years we have expanded our viewpoint to understand the interactions of aspects of community systems and where they affect learning: because the outcomes we’re getting are not arbitrary. They’re a function of what we’re currently doing.

• There’s no magic bullet solution to the complexities of education. No superman is coming to help our kids. Changing one policy or set of practices is hard. Yet, if we want to change systems, we have to be able to work across our specific areas of expertise to make changes across multiple areas at once. That means understanding that partnership and collaboration are the only way to improve outcomes for kids. It’s what drives our commitment to supporting the growth and learning of the Pittsburgh Learning Collaborative. Together over 100 organizations are working around a common set of goals using a common set of methods to make measurable improvement for kids so they show up and learn every day.

• We have everything we need to succeed by children. We have to face the fact that the resources, programs, and innovation that exist in Pittsburgh are the envy of almost every other urban area in the country. Solving problems requires us to embrace the boring consistency it takes to get things done.

With these truths in mind, we were glad to see the superintendent and the school board take the courageous step to try to address the inequities that exist through racial economic segregation and differential access to resources and opportunities with their Facilities Utilization Plan (see our summary and links for more information here). From reforms to how gifted supports are provided, to establishing larger middle schools so all children have access to algebra, to creating school assignments that are more socioeconomically diverse, the plan acknowledges that the status quo isn’t working. While implementation is now paused for a year, when it does move forward, our team will work to support students and families to ensure that the plan is executed well and with attention to their needs.

We know that when we listen, plan, and do the work, our kids can benefit. Please read on to learn more about some bright spots, where challenges remain, and how you can help meet this moment to help get every kid succeeding in every school every day.