Intensive Partnership Factsheet: Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS)

Investment summary

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $40 million to support Pittsburgh Public Schools in the implementation of groundbreaking approaches to ensure that all students have access to effective teachers in every classroom. The district will also receive additional funding from the foundation to support research over the next two academic years to develop fairer and more accurate measures of effective teaching.

Reform Progress to Date

Three years into its Excellence for All reform agenda, Pittsburgh Public Schools has realized student achievement gains through a new, rigorous core curriculum, expanded professional development for teachers, and data-driven initiatives to improve learning. In 2007, the district launched a comprehensive development program system for principals called the Pittsburgh Urban Leadership System of Excellence (PULSE).

Boosting college access

A cornerstone of the district’s efforts to ensure that all students graduate college-ready is The Pittsburgh Promise, a scholarship program launched in 2008 with broad community support that has eliminated money as an obstacle to higher education for at least a generation. Last year, 757 graduates, or 67 percent of eligible students, won Promise scholarships. By tracking recipients into college, the district hopes to identify indicators of college readiness and completion.

Expanding school options

PPS has also expanded school options through new, innovative school models, including eight Accelerated Learning Academies (ALAs) featuring a more rigorous curriculum, additional professional development, and a longer school day /year linked to higher pay for teachers; a university partnership school; and a new STEM 6-12 school that opened this fall. The district has also consolidated its Creative and Performing Arts and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs to create two new 6-12 school models.

District/Union partnership

The district has laid the foundation for success through a collaborative relationship with the teachers union, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Together, they have made progress on issues including curriculum design, staffing for new schools, and a new teacher evaluation system called RISE (Research-Based Inclusive System of Evaluation). They are now working to develop a measure of teacher effectiveness, or a Value-Added Measure (VAM), to anchor a new compensation plan that would reward teachers for improvements in student achievement.

Key Components of Teacher Effectiveness Reform Plan

PPS is committed to dramatically boosting student achievement and college-ready graduation rates through the following actions:

Increasing the number of highly effective teachers by:

Piloting RISE in half of all schools in 2009-10 with participating teachers having a minimum of eight observations per year and receiving constructive feedback;

Creating an equitable performance-pay plan linked to a Value-Added Measure;

Recruiting the best teachers through “Teach for Pittsburgh”, including non-certified candidates in Math, Science, and Special Education.

Launching the PPS/PPT Promise Academy, a 13-month induction residency for new teachers hired in core content areas.

Changing the tenure policy so that it is a meaningful milestone in a teacher’s career linked to evidence of impact on student achievement.

Exiting ineffective teachers who fail to improve performance after reasonable interventions.

Capturing and sharing information related to teaching and and teacher effectiveness in an electronic teacher performance dashboard.

Matching High-Need Students to Effective Teachers. The district and union will work together to create new career ladders for highly effective teachers with increased compensation. One of the first career ladder opportunities is the new 9th and 10th grade Excellence Corps wherein teachers stay with the same students for two years to help them make a smooth transition to high school.

Creating better environments to support effective teaching and learning by setting and reinforcing high standards for all students; providing wraparound supports, including social services, “Be a 6th Grade Mentor” project, assistance for special-needs students; and empowering teachers as leaders in maintaining a positive learning environment.