Pittsburgh Dilworth PreK-5

[PPS Parent Forum]

This group is open to all parents of children in the Pittsburgh
Public
Schools. This forum is intended to allow for public incident
reporting
regarding safety related issues in our schools. The only posts that
will be subject to moderation are those that contain the names of
minors, offensive language or personal attacks on any individual.
Please feel free to post and comment at your discretion. We recommend
not mentioning students names in these posts. "My son' or "my
daughter" or "the second grade teacher" or "the lunch room attendant"
are appropriate descriptions for public posts. Parents who recognize
trends in their school's safety or lack of safety related diligence
are encouraged to contact each other privately for follow up with
their school's administrators. We feel that these discussion groups
will allow parents to be more accurately and fully informed about
these types of issues and thus allow them to make better decisions
about what schools provide the best atmosphere for their children.
Posts about effective and positive safety related incidents and
measures in our schools are also welcome. There is a page for each
school in the district. Please find the page associated with your
child's school. Thank you for posting!

[OW]

Here is some backgound on the evolution of this group. It started with
a post on my neighborhood email seeking parents that had also had some
safety related problems at Dilworth.
here is that post "If you are a current or former parent of a
Pittsburgh Public School student or students and
have experiences or problems and frustrations that you would like to
share please contact me.

My family has experienced recurrent problems with student safety
related matters as well as with a lack of accountability from staff
and administrators up to and including the superintendent's office.
Although I've been quite vocal about addressing these issues, my
complaints have fallen on mostly deaf ears and have netted zero
progress or results.

We are considering private school and I'm interested in communicating
with parents who have pulled their children out of PPS to pursue
alternative avenues of education.

Please email if you have anything to share or just want to blow off a
little steam.
(I may also have a public forum available for anyone who wishes to
tell their tale to an audience of more than one.)
Thanks!"

Here are some responses-
You read my mind. I was just about to send an email to the listserve
regarding my recent experiece with Dilworth. My son just completed
kindergarten there. In June just before school ended I had a horrible
security issue that I almost took to the news. My son left school
unnoticed and walked several blocks away from school where he was
spotted and taken back to the school thank God by good people who
recognized him. It was horrible. I called the board of education and
spoke with the head of the student safety/school police who was no
help and didn't express concern or apologies. He directed me to the
parent hotline; he didn't even know who worked in that office. I spoke
and met with principal and also filed a police report. I asked the
principal along with the assistant superintendent dr.rudiak to send
notices to all Dilworth parents notifying them that such a security
issue occurred. They refused. Nothing else has come of it on their end
and I do not like the way they tried to keep it quiEt and go away. My
son will no longer be going there. This was the icing on the cake as
there were already things I didn't like for my son. He didn't get the
attention he needed in a class with one teachr and 26 students. Along
with some other educational dislikes I've chosen to send him to Propel
a wonderful charter school that I've been looking into for over a
year.
I would like to hear some of the issues you are facing. I am active in
the city education matters and even attend board meetings.
something needs to change. There are obviously issues in these schools
that aren't being treated. I asked dr. Rudiak if there were records
available to the public on safety and security matters and she said
no.
I could have easily went to the news but didn't want myself or family
subjected to the media.
Thanks for the email to the listserve. Look forward to hearing from
you.'

" I can't even imagine the frustrations with public schools and I
think it will only get worse. The much needed education cuts, (trust
me I have two college students and the waste is OFF the CHARTS)
Anyway, there seems to be a "chip" on the shoulders of many in the
world of academia since the cuts coupled with the fact that the union
teachers pretty much can never be fired and are compensated and given
raises based on time served rather than how good they are at their
jobs! I would get the heck out now. My kids went to parochial
schools (yes expensive but it was worth it) for grade school, my
daughter high school as well, my son, I caved and let him go to Mt.
Lebanon HS. He did okay but I had to put up with a very liberal
system even in a fairly conservative school district. I used to love
when they would bring home permission slips for me to sign from the
parochial schools, asking for permission to accept anything at all
from the govt. Even if it were books! Amazing that even in Mt.
Lebanon, St. Bernard spends less than 2K a year on a student, the
public schools spend 9K per student. Perhaps because it is someone
else's money? I think you will get more frustrated as the years go
up. Make your move now."

"we were on that bus coming back from the airport with the band last
year when 2 wheels fell off.

I contacted the board and was told "there would be an investigation".
Since then I have heard nothing.

I have not had any issues related to personal safety, I am sorry to
hear that you have. But that bus issue is a safety issue."

"We are also looking into Environmental Charter School and Pittsburgh
Urban Christian School (good reps, but I know little else about them).
I am interested in knowing where your children go to school (feeder
school or magnet?) and specific problems which you have encountered. I
think the only way we can change the system is if the parents get
demanding and vocal in regards to their kids' education instead of the
usual apathy, which is what the teachers usually encounter in the
public school system."

"We had [one child] at Perry High School and it was terrible. I would
call and email the adviser and she would never get back to me. He was
going down hill every term and we couldn't get anyone to help us
figure out what to do about it. Last year we put him in Career
Connections Charter High school He is doing much better. But it was
very frustrating.
[Our other child] is about to start Obama- I sure hope we have a
better experience, but I am doubtful. My kids went to public school
until 8th grade. All three of the older ones has so so- to bad
experience in the public schools they went to for High school. This
is not how it should be. For what we pay in school and city taxes we
should have wonderful schools, not a lot of excuses!"

"Sorry about your trouble with the Schools. If they cannot safeguard
your child, you should definitely pull him or her out, in my opinion.
That's job one for a school, and they can't be allowed to fall down on
that one. Although we have probably not had the same safety issues as
you, we switched from private to public. The environment of our
private school, however, would likely meet your needs for safety
because, in our experience, it is the one area that you can tell
you're paying for. It is controlled, and standards for behavior are
very specific (Anglosaxon Protestant paternalistic...). The best way I
can describe it is that through all the academic and non-academic
activities, there is a feeling of cushioning--"cushiness"--that is
reassuring and that we frankly miss.

If you switch to private, however, it's good to be aware that
Pittsburgh's private schools have their problems, too. You might do
well to avoid the more well-known and "fancier" schools and
investigate places like the Waldorf School, Falk, Montessori, etc. The
Big Money in the expensive schools contributed, I believe, to the
problems we had to finally leave behind.

The drawbacks for us were that despite a lot of activity and work in
academics, there was no clear indicator that the results are any
different than what the better public schools get. The workload, the
curricula, and the assemblies/presentations seemed no better than busy-
ness. This was at a time when our private school shared the same math
and reading curricula as the public schools, the science curriculum
was factoid-learning rather than inquiry-based, and the music class
was simply rehearsal time for the two elaborate musicals of the year--
no ear-training or music theory/appreciation. The social atmosphere
was also a problem for us. Attention and encouragement was clearly
given first and most to families who had contributed large sums to the
school's endowment. Competition among parents for being perceived as
having the child with the brightest future came out in a majority of
conversations with them. Sometimes the curriculum changed if high-
value families made specific requests even though they had no
background for judging pedagogy. They ran the teachers ragged trying
to get more advanced content driven down to earlier grades in the
belief, counter to findings in education research, that "earlier is
better" in achievement and development. This competition, because it
was so much a part of how families thought of the goals of school,
filtered down to the students and came right out of their mouths to
each other. Students also argued matters of race and sexual
orientation. The more aggressive students won a number of arguments
espousing shocking bigotry. We left when we saw that as middle-class
members of the school unable to give large amounts we had no power to
change these things, not even to ensure that our child was getting an
education of the quality that one would hope for after paying $15K a
year.

Leaving the private school was vaguely like getting a divorce.
Families still there pretended they did not know us or gossiped to us
about the speculation they "had heard" about why we had left. Much of
the speculation was unflattering, to say the least. My formerly-
private-student still gets the same treatment eight years later
whenever she is at a party where there are former classmates. They
laugh and point but won't talk to her. There is a different kind of
bad-element in the private school from what you get in the public
school, but it is disturbing in its own way.

My complaints about the public school system echo yours about no
accountability. Briefly, some of them are:
1. The curriculum and classroom management practices for the early
grades are developmentally inappropriate.
2. Male students and African-American students, as groups, are
completely under-served.
3. Female students are not supported to resist misogynist behaviors
and expectations. Also, there is no Women's History celebration.
4. Precious time is wasted on non-academic activities like Disney
movies, especially in the last two weeks of school, but during the
year there is "no time" for bathroom, feeding, and mental health
breaks. This extends through middle school when female students need,
but are refused, breaks to change a sanitary pad, take pain
medication, etc.
5. Capricious grading abounds. Further, some students also report
illegal coaching during PSSAs by proctors of the exams. Imagine seeing
your own teachers do something you understand to be cheating!
6. Parents who volunteer their skills are turned away. We are only
wanted for our ability to bake for the bake sale or raise money some
other way. 'Got higher degrees in child development and cognition and
learning? Do not mention them, especially the PhD.
7. The buses are manned by ill-trained and unintelligent drivers.
8. The administration does not solicit in any systematic way the
experiences and views of their school's families about strategies for
successfully navigating each grade, not to mention what the problems
are. Emails and voicemail are ignored for anything other than
litigable matters (and it sounds like some litigable ones too).

As hard as it has been to navigate the public schools with children
who get As and Bs and good citizenship "awards" and are in the
"Gifted" program (the content of which is appropriate to all students
and should be offered as such), I often wonder how children survive
the public system with less support and resources at home. Their
experience must be utterly depressing.

I'm happy to participate in projects to improve schools. One thing I
have wanted to do for some time now is to survey families about their
tips and advice for navigating a particular school or grade or
developmental milestone for their children. Parents acquire knowledge
for getting through a school or grade, but that knowledge is not
disseminated except opportunistically through friendships, etc. We
need to pass on our knowledge to the families coming up through the
system. And we need to make the Schools aware of the very unique,
ignored experience that different families have of a school's
practices.

Thanks for reading..."

"My daughter has been sexually and physically assaulted, accused of
racism and punished for stopping a fight between two other students in
which one was taking a fairly severe beating. I'm extremely vocal in
my complaints, have written letters to everyone, spoken to the state
dept of education lawyers and still, nothing happens. The school's
number one priority seems to be protecting its statistics.
I'm thinking of organizing some parents who've had similar expereinces
but to what end, I'm not sure. "

" I’ve been speaking to many parents who have had issues/problems with
PPS schools so that we can somehow provide that information to the
community and work to improve the schools. Do you have in mind some
way of sharing your responses with the community – perhaps in some
kind of controlled/confidential way?


"I think you hit the nail on the head when you said they are trying to
protect their statistics. This is just ridiculous. I am all for the
public forum and feel free to pass my name and email to anyone
interested in more stories as I will be happy to share mine.
I understand how you feel, i felt very powerless after this incident
and like there was no solution. Dilworth tries to hide under their
"great school statistics" image. I am a volunteer with A+ Schools who
are involved in PPS School Governance. Maybe we can try to have them
put together a forum about school safety. They have had several forums
regarding the budget, academic achievement, etc. They are the ones who
put the reports out each year on the schools scores and other
statistics.
Whatever happens I would definitely like to see these incidents all
documented and available for the public.
Thanks again for your email. I will contact A+ Schools and let you
know what they say."


Please let me know your thoughts. I’d really like to share the
information that is out there so we can accurately inform parents
about our local public schools."

[OW]

The official response from the school-
""The incident in May occurred during a school event. No incident had
ever occurred prior to this event. As a way to address the concern, a
meeting was held on the day of and immediately following with the
parent. Principal Lamar discussed with the parent what was learned
from the full investigation that was conducted. The parent shared
valuable information that helped to inform our new procedure for large
events with 200+ volunteers. To date, all volunteers are given a
verbal orientation. To ensure all volunteers know the importance of
communicating with staff, we will now provide written expectations for
being on the school grounds and working with the students. This is
another additional step we are taking to ensure the safety of all
students. Additionally, after input from the school’s discipline
committee and faculty, chairpersons of the event will be relieved of
their teaching duties for the day to focus on managing volunteers. Dr.
Lamar will also engage the PSCC and PTA to help with fine-tuning our
volunteer policy and orienting volunteers at an event."

The response from the PTO President-
First let me introduce myself, my name is Lisa M. Harris. I am the
newly elected PTO President at Dilworth. My two children have
attended Dilworth since Kindergarten. My son will be in 5th grade
this year, and my daughter will be in the 3rd. I have been a teacher
in the public school arena for 22 years. I am a strong advocate for
children and public education. I have been ACTIVELY involved at
Dilworth for 6 years. I have always found it to be a safe, secure,
and nurturing environment where learning happens every minute of each
day.

It appears that you have jumped on the band wagon with all the others
who have found it necessary to attack teachers and Public Education.
However, there is one difference between them and you. You have
chosen to send your child to Dilworth day after day for the past 4
years. With all the choices in education today, why would a concerned
parent such as yourself, continue to send your child to an UNSAFE
environment?

When I first read your email and the email from the other parent in
your group, I thought that you were parents just venting and
expressing concerns. I thought you were reaching out to others to
find some real solutions to problems. However, now I am truly
confused about your motives and find it necessary to respond.

I am not sure that you are aware of what you are doing. Your desire
to express your concerns via the social media such as the Tribune
Review and Facebook will only harm the dedicated Administration, Staff
and most importantly the children at Dilworth. Your actions could
potentially cause enrollment to decline, which in turn would cause
staff to lose their jobs and enriching programs such as Art and Music
to be cut from Dilworth’s budget. As an active parent at Dilworth, I
cannot allow that to happen.

I am asking that you stop your sabotage tactics on Dilworth and let's
use our energy to work together to find a way to make Dilworth even a
better place to learn. The children at Dilworth LOVE their school.
Tactics of this magnitude could cut short their opportunity to Dream
Big. I am sure you are aware that Pittsburgh Public Schools have
planned to close 7 more schools next year, and I would hate to see
Dilworth on the chopping block in the future. Just like the
vegetables that grow in the garden on the front lawn, let's work
together to find a way to continue to nourish the children with hope,
respect for themselves, and respect for others. Together we can make
a difference in the lives of the children at Dilworth and at all
Pittsburgh Public Schools.

If you are planning to have a meeting on Sunday night, I would be
willing to attend so that we can begin to build the bridge that will
lead to success for our children. Please let me know the time and
place. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Lisa M. Harris
Dilworth, PTO President

My response to her-
"First, Ms. Harris, let me say that I'm glad that your experience at
Dilworth has been so ideal. I'm particularly happy for you that your
daughter never had a male student put his hand down her pants (twice)
in her science class when the teacher was conspicuously absent. I'm
glad that your son has never been pushed to the ground on the
playground, when his teachers were not paying attention, hard enough
for him to require hospitalization. I'm also glad that neither of your
children have ever been pushed down the stairs, elbowed in the stomach
multiple times, bitten by other children, sexually harassed, had
their personal information published against your will, have been
victims of blatant racism and bullying, pushed into the fence face
first, left waiting in pain with a broken bone for an hour while the
secretary forgot to call you, that you've never been misinformed by
the school about the details of any such incident at the school
involving your children and that your children have never been allowed
to leave the school by themselves in the middle of the school day or
left to break up a fight in the lunch room while the adults
responsible for maintaining safety and order were nowhere to be found.

You want to know why I continue to send my daughter to public school?
She continues to attend Dilworth because, since I've made the decision
to be self employed full time, private school is out of the question
for us financially. However, since Dilworth is supposed to be one of
the best schools in the PPS system and since we do pay school taxes, I
am determined to see that my daughter and her friends don't have to
spend any more time 'watching their backs' while they're in elementary
school.

Not all of the aforementioned incidents have affected my child. Some
have been the experiences of my friends and their children.
Regardless, all of them are the result of teachers, faculty, staff,
administration not being where they're supposed to, doing what they're
supposed to, when they're supposed to. And that is not acceptable to
me at all.

This is not to say that Dilworth is without good teachers or good
qualities. We are primarily there because of the music program. Mrs.
Russo and Mrs. Dougan both do a wonderful job. The morning music
assembly and the music program are huge pros. As is the garden and of
course the proximity of the school to our house. Mrs. Huntermark and
Mr. Hirsch are both talented, effective and professional teachers. Mr.
White may be the best teacher I've ever encountered anywhere. And I'm
sure there are a few more like them in the mix that we've not yet met.
My daughter LOVES those teachers and Dr. Lamar. She even loves the
teachers whom I believe to be completely useless and incompetent. All
of that is beside the point, however. Because what I'm "venting""
about or as Ms. Darin misstates, launching a "personal vendetta" about
are safety issues and incidents that have been the result of
negligence. And to address Mrs. Allen's response, this is not about
one incident or one student.

As to your bridge building ability, Mrs. Harris, it appears that you
believe any statement that is not in support of teachers and public
education is an attack against it. Pretending that none of this ever
happened or that everything is perfect, is hardly an effective means
of addressing or resolving problems and certainly not an effective
""bridge building" technique in my opinion.

I will be creating a public forum for parents, not just parents from
Dilworth, but all Pittsburgh Public Schools, that will allow all of us
to share experiences, both positive and negative. A public forum that
will further allow parents to pinpoint and address consistent problem
areas and force the accountability of the schools in regard to those
areas of concern. Concerns beyond the scope the A+ Schools incident
reporting which is primarily focused on weapons and drug related
incidents.

Dilworth is at no risk of closing. The school closings are primarily
about enrollment. But before Dilworth starts absorbing students from
schools that are known to be dangerous and violent it's important to
ensure that the environment is as safe as it can possibly be and
prepared to address the even bigger safety challenges that will come
with these changes.

I want my daughter and her friends to survive elementary school
without physical scars and trauma so they can thrive in middle school
and beyond. I don't think that's asking too much. And as my dealings
with the district and the school have been unsatisfactory in this
regard, I will take whatever steps necessary, public or otherwise, to
see that there are not similar incidents in the future. "

Also from Mrs. Harris to the Dilworth PTA Yahoo Group-
"Hello Everyone,
If you decide to respond to Olga and friends could you please send
your response to everyone in the Dilworth PTA yahoo group. I tried
sending my letter to the Highland Parkers however it bounced back
because I am a non member. We need to try to get this under control.
Its time to speak out about all the great things at Dilworth! Let's be
proactive in Saving our School! I am looking forward to seeing
everyone at Back to School Night on Tuesday!
Thanks,
Lisa Harris,
PTO President"

Other responses from anti-public forum parents-

"I appreciate that you are willing to address this head-on. I can
understand a parent's concern about safety issues, however, I find the
depth of this 'attack' to be ridiculous in a time when we all need to
be pulling together to keep Dilworth what is it: a fantastic school!
Wouldn't all the energy invested in the 'attack' be better spent on
fund-raising to provide Dilworth with the resources it needs? I have
felt from the beginning, that Ms. Olga's rage was personal to Dr.
Lamar and has now become a personal vendetta. I don't like it. My
son LOVES Dilworth and the teachers there have been amazing. If I can
be of any assistance, please let me know."

"Let's use our energy to work together to find a way to make Dilworth
even a better place to learn. Let's work together to find a way to
continue to nourish the children with hope, respect for themselves,
and respect for others."

"I would just like to restate the desire to talk about Dilworth
problems with Dilworth parents and staff not in a public forum and
discuss district-wide problems in a more general way with district-
wide staff.

As a parent with 29 "child in school years" in this district, and
plenty of friends with kids in other schools (for instance, I know of
several similar instances of bullying, fighting and injuries, etc. at
the highest-priced private schools in the area). The truth is that
there are issues in every school -- mostly because there are children
in every school! Clearly, that doesn't mean issues shouldn't be
addressed, I am sure Dilworth parents can do so. But, I have seen a
PPS (magnet) school go from years of a waiting list to underenrolled
in less than three years, with no turnover in teachers, principal, or
programming. It does happen.

I don't find that I run into a whole lot of "completely useless and
incompetent" people in my life. Before stating that there are several
(or more?!) "completely useless and incompetent" teachers at
Dilworth, I would challenge parents to spend a day in any teacher's
shoes. Invite your child's class to your house for a day and attempt
to monitor 20-28 children! Remember to teach them all day, but also
monitor each of them through your hallways, in bathrooms (but keep
your eye on the other kids too and don't get accused of inappropriate
behaviors in a bathroom with children), at a playground (don't ever
turn your back on anybody or lose sight of them), on the way to
different buses, and certainly never let someone walk anywhere
themselves (they might leave) -- but also don't tell them they can't
go to the bathroom, either, even though the whole class just had a
bathroom break. It is not an easy job, nor one that happens without
problems arising when you multiply one classroom into a whole school
of kids!

I do not mean this in any way as a personal attack on anyone
(especially since I don't even know who you all are!) -- but I do
think that working as a school community is a much better solution
than discussing these things on Facebook, listserves other than this
one, or other public forums.'

"While I agree that it is important to communicate about real and
potential problems, creating a venue for discussion based solely on
negative opinion of the topic will lead only to negative discussion.
We, and many other families, have found the Dilworth experience to be
excellent, teachers and administrators to be helpful and
communicative, and peer interactions complex and healthy. Any of the
issues we have encountered have been handled well and promptly, with
serious intelligence. I am sorry that the Dilworth experience has not
been ideal, but I worry that public anger will serve only to hamper
the Dilworth team's ability to do their jobs. As we enter a year of
frighteningly diminished financial resources, we should be spending
energy communicating about how to make our educational community
enriched, positive, and inclusive."

" I have been the former PTA president for the last two years and I
have volunteered at Dilworth for years before that. So obviously I
feel Dilworth is a great school and environment and that is why I feel
compelled to say that Ms. Watson's post is very disturbing.
Particularly since it was never brought up at any PTA meeting that I
have presided over or that I have attended before my term. Children's
safety is a principal reason for PTA. It is why I and many others
have spent countless hours looking at ways we can improve the school,
debating plans of actions, and then carrying them out. Additionally,
I have extreme confidence in Dilworth's staff. I have trusted them
with the safety and education of my children and they have never let
me down. Therefore, I have serious questions that were raised by Ms.
Watson's post. I call for a meeting to discuss this, but I have some
issues to address beforehand.

(I'll interject here-the PTA doesn't concern itself with these issues
nor does ir have any power to do anything about any teacher an staff
related negligence issue)

First, I think we must examine each incident on its own to
determine if there is a real safety issue. Ms. Watson writes of
several incidents some that she seems to have specific knowledge of,
namely what she writes has happened to her daughter, and other
broader incidents involving other students/parents. We need to guard
against letting emotion care the day and stick to what we can verify.
Therefore, if we are going to do a forum on safety I say let us stick
to what we have tangible. In other words, we speak of our experience
and not, "well, I heard this happened to so-and-so." If there truly
is an issue there will be enough incidents to establish this. I will
be the first to say that if one student was inappropriately touching
another student there is no parent, teacher, administrator, or anyone
for that matter who would say that is alright. (And here-I definitely
have first hand knowledge of every incident I mentioned)

Second, I am having a very hard a time understanding why I am
just hearing about this a few weeks before the new school year. These
issues should be brought up immediately and they should be brought up
in the right manner. Meaning, parents need to address concerns with
Dr. Lamar and they should bring their concerns to the PTA to bolster
support to effect positive change. So I further have an issue with
the venue of the original posts. While Dilworth may be located in
Highland Park, there are many families of Dilworth who do not live in
Highland Park and are not park of Highland Park list serve.
Therefore, I think it a serious breach to address such issues in an
open place without having tried to resolve the matters
conventionally. Basic problem solving is you start at the smallest
level first. We should not call President Obama because we have an
issue at our school, nor should we call the governor, mayor, board of
education, Tribune Review, etc. We should review the issues and find
solutions ourselves and if we have exhausted our resources and efforts
then we go for help from outside. That this was taken to be a hot
topic for numerous outsiders fills me with serious misgivings about
our debates on this.

(Why would anything like this ever be discussed at a PTA meeting? What
would the PTA do except continue to make excuses for the teachers or
attack the validity of the statements?)

Nevertheless, we need to come together and discuss this, come
up with an agreed upon solution, and enact it. Unfortunately I may be
working on Sunday evening, but please let me know a date, time, and
location of any group meeting and I will definitely do my best to
attend."

My thought-public school, public money, public forum.
I'll be keeping a very close eye on the school this year, posting any
problems we have and encourage all PPS parents to do the same.