Five days after Pittsburgh Public Schools sent a letter to families saying schools would be delayed next year for one hour of staff professional development each Wednesday, the district is putting the proposal on hiatus.
Superintendent Wayne Walters sent another letter Wednesday, saying that change will not be carried out next year. He said he made the decision after hearing "the voices of concern and potential challenges."
Walters also said he would pause a second proposal to schedule two additional half-days for parent-teacher conferences. Instead, later this month the administration will propose a calendar which, similar to this year, will include eight professional learning half-days and a week of spring break.
Still, Walters wrote, professional development "is a core value and an urgent need," as the coronavirus pandemic "has revealed the need for added layers of learning to improve student outcomes and experiences. While I carefully listened to and heard your concerns and challenges, we must understand that change is necessary to positively elevate our students’ outcomes and experiences."
Before he was hired as superintendent, Walters oversaw the district’s professional development. In his letter, he said that the district would seek feedback from stakeholders on the one-hour delay during an upcoming process to develop a five-year strategic plan.
“This process creates an opportunity to engage stakeholders collaboratively in task force work regarding multiple items including consistent job-embedded professional learning for staff and school start times,” he said.
The district’s Science and Technology Academy has used the professional development model since it was opened in 2009, according to Walters. In the letter announcing the proposals, he said the approach provides opportunities for collaboration and “professional learning that connects to each student’s opportunity to access rigorous learning.”
District spokesperson Ebony Pugh said the administration will propose a calendar to the school board for a vote during its next meeting, on March 22.
