PPS officials announced plans Monday to open a fifth satellite campus for students at Oliver Citywide Academy this year.
The district first relocated students from Oliver’s North Side building last fall after two students were killed in separate incidents of gun violence just outside the school. In addition to the tragic losses, a teacher was assaulted inside the school, allegedly by a student, in September 2022.
During Monday’s back-to-school update, PPS assistant superintendent Patti Camper said the smaller class sizes the satellite model has provided are improving outcomes for many Oliver students, including those relocated to King PreK-8, UPrep Milliones 6-12 and Perry Traditional Academy. Each school served no more than 18 students last year.
Oliver students share facilities with the other schools and programs located in each satellite building, but maintain separate classrooms, teachers, administrators and support staff.
“Students in these satellites have higher rates of transition out of full-time emotional support, fewer incidents of suspensions and increased daily attendance,” Camper said.
That said, PPS is splitting up its satellite location inside Greenway Middle School in Crafton Heights. The school was the largest of the four, serving 36 students in grades 6-12 last year.
Camper said students at Greenway were less likely to transition out of full-time support than students at the other satellite schools and faced more suspensions, as well as lower average attendance rates.
Criminal charges were filed against one student at the Greenway satellite campus earlier this year for allegedly assaulting multiple educators there.
Officials said Monday that students in grades 6-8 who were previously served there will move to Clayton Academy on the North Side. Students in grades 9-12 will remain.
“This change aligns with our goal to continue to improve outcomes for all students serviced through Oliver Citywide Academy in smaller settings,” Camper said.
PPS is also chipping away at a massive undertaking to provide students with disabilities more services to remedy pandemic learning loss.
A WESA investigation earlier this year found the district owed at least 603,000 hours of compensatory education to nearly 8,000 eligible students.
Schools closed due to COVID-19 must comply with federal disability law by delivering these missed services, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Camper told board members that more than 20,000 of these compensatory service hours were delivered during the 2023-2024 school year. An additional 10,000 hours were provided to 128 students this summer.
In doing so, the district has adhered to its December 2022 settlement agreement with the Pittsburgh-based law firm KidsVoice. The firm agreed to withdraw complaints with state and federal education bureaus after the district committed to implementing a new plan for delivering these remedial hours.
“We now have the systems and partnerships in place to meet the needs of our students and fulfill our requirements,” Camper said. “We’ve already begun planning for this school year and the summer of 2025, and expect to provide even more hours of services.”
