District 5- Tracey Reed
Q: Are you in favor of raising property taxes? Why or why not?
A: I am not in favor of raising property taxes. Last year, seven school board members voted to increase property taxes by 1.1% to a 9.95 millage rate. Although Pittsburgh Public schools' millage rate is one of the lowest in the county, raising property tax has disproportionately negative impact low-income home-owners. Although low-income home-owner's homes may be worth less than their upper-income counterparts (which means they will pay a lower amount in taxes), their mortgages take a bigger bite out of their incomes. Additionally, property tax hikes are felt by renters in the form of rent increases.
Q: Pittsburgh Public Schools is facing a systemic deficit of millions of dollars a year, how would you work to address the deficit in both the near future and the long term?
A: We have first to consider how we, as a district, got to this deficit. In the last year of the previous superintendent’s tenure, the district operated with a more than $100 million budget surplus. In the short term, thoughtful examination of the budget is necessary to see where reductions might be possible, i.e., central office personnel (which has increased despite declines in student enrollment) and the superintendent’s professional development budget. In examining personnel, we must pay attention to those positions that do not have an impact on student achievement, safety, well-being, and teacher and building administrator professional success. We have to scrutinize purchases (equipment, technology, curriculum, professional development) to align with what is best practice regarding improvement of student outcomes. In the longer term, we must pay attention to reducing maintenance and upkeep costs of unused buildings and low-capacity school buildings and create a careful school reorganization plan.
Q: Do you think Pittsburgh Public Schools current physical footprint matches the needs of the students we serve? Why or why not?
A: No, the district currently has a student population of a little under 22,000 and a physical capacity for 39,000 students. The empty and under-utilized buildings continue to be a financial strain on the district. Enrollment projections do not suggest that enrollment will increase in the coming years. The district must operate to best serve the current students an decrease its physical footprint.
Q: Superintendent Dr. Hamlet has started a Student Advisory Panel to incorporate student voice into the administrations. How will you ensure student perspectives are heard and factored into board decisions?
A: I will advocate for creating more universal opportunities for students to participate in governing their classrooms, schools, and the district is an effective way to increase student engagement and (some evidence suggests) improve student outcomes. I believe student voice is only meaningful when it is paired with student agency. That means adults leading classrooms, school buildings, and the district have to consider how best to create environments that encourage students to elevate their ideas, have their opinions be considered among peers and other decision-makers, and help implement the best of those ideas.These democratic classrooms and school practices give students not only voice but agency to make changes.
Q: What are your top 3 priorities to improve the district?
A: Priorities 1 & 2 - Mission Alignment and Data-driven Practice. As I considered these two important priorities, it makes sense to address them together. The district has a bold mission that "[a]ll students …. graduate high school college, career and life-ready prepared to complete a two-or four-year college degree or workforce certification." It is impossible to understand if the board is making progress toward this mission without focusing on data. As a board member, I will encourage a culture of data awareness, understanding, and decision-making at the classroom, school, and district levels. If the district has a firm grasp on how students, teachers, and schools are performing, district staff can use that information to provide targeted support that improves students' outcomes (especially relative to the district's mission) . Priority 3. Student, family, and teacher voice. If I am elected, I will seek out the voices of students, their families, and teachers to inform decisions that I make as a board member. I frequently hear the perspectives the most vocal parents and teachers and the highest performing students. I will seek out the perspectives of the families and students who are struggling and the teachers who support them. There is much to be learned about improving a system by listening closely to those for whom the system is a challenge.
Q: What are 3 things you think the district is doing well and how will you support those initiatives?
A: The Teaching Academy Magnet at Brashear endeavors to be a pipeline for educators (especially educators of color) to teach in Pittsburgh Public Schools. I wonder if we might find ways (in addition to the Pittsburgh Promise) to support students' teaching degrees and create channels between the district program and the University of Pittsburgh, Carlow University, and Lincoln University. The series of community design and stakeholders engagement sessions that informed the district's strategic plan and school redesign efforts were impressive. The district must improve the quality of interaction with community stakeholders and the follow-through regarding outcomes. The district has compiled several essential resources that speak to its commitment to racial equity. Currently, the web page is a disjointed list of resources. It would be instructive if the district gave some advice regarding where to start and which resources work well together, and for what purposes. A well-thought-out set of resources would be an asset to the entire community.
Q: Teaching in Pittsburgh Public Schools is a great opportunity. As a board member how will you promote teaching in the district so that we attract high quality diverse teachers?
A: To attract high-quality teachers of color, Pittsburgh Public Schools has to become an excellent place for teachers to work by: 1) being fiercely pro-teacher - respecting teachers, having high expectations for their work, and investing smartly in their professional development and growth; and 2) being fiercely anti-racist – adhering to the highest standards of anti-racist policies and practices at the district level and in every school building. The district must work boldly in eliminating disparities in outcomes for Black children and their white counterparts while simultaneously improving outcomes for all students.
Q: What is your vision of a community school? How will you as a board member work to create partnerships to strengthen our schools?
A: My vision of a community school is a place that examines the challenges to school success that students and families face and enlists school and district resources and outside partners to help address those challenges. Community schools should honor families and find meaningful and impactful ways to engage families in the school environments. I am connected to a host of regional partners whose work could impact community schools.
Q: What resources do you think schools need to better engage with families with limited English proficiency? How will you advocate for those resources?
A: Families with limited English proficiency have challenges when engaging with their children’s schooling. The district must be proactive and overly communicative in supporting families with limited English proficiency as they navigate the school system. The district must smartly use technology and bi-lingual families to communicate. The district must encourage two-way communication, spending time listening to families about their experiences/challenges, and providing academic support for children whose family members may not help them with English-language-based school work.
Q: In general how do you think the district has handled the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: I do not think the district handled the COVID-19 pandemic well. At the time of this response, Pittsburgh Public was the only school district in the county where no students had returned to in-person learning. At the beginning of the quarantine, PPS students were without remote instruction for six weeks. School districts much larger than PPS took less time for students to begin remote instruction. No one was prepared to shutter schools due to a pandemic. However, other districts were able to rally a better response more quickly. PPS was the last school district in Allegheny County to return to in-person learning.
Q: How are you going to deal with the drop in grades and catching students up both near term and for the long haul?
A: In the near term, the district has to create physically, socially, and emotionally safe environments for adults and students inside school buildings. This includes helping staff understand how this pandemic has impacted them and their students. The district must also begin a robust family communication plan. Over-communicating is necessary, especially in the face of continued public health concerns. The district has to communicate via traditional means (email, robocalls, snail mail, Facebook, the district website) and through non-traditional means like engaging trusted partners who have wide social nets to communicate important messages. The district must equip school staff with tools to diagnose where students are academically and to know how to support students’ academic progress.
Q: How can you as a board member support increased literacy? What specific programs would you support/ advocate for?
A: Reading well by third grade is a crucial benchmark for students. Those who are not reading well by third grade are more likely to be suspended and expelled from school, less likely to graduate high school, enroll in post-secondary schooling, etc. As a board member, I would advocate that all educators (in and out-of-school), librarians, and other instructional support professionals have at least a basic understanding of the science of reading. There is hardly a single skill that is more important in a students’ continued education. Learning to read is a complex process that includes students’ grasp of phonics, sight words, and understanding context. Learning to read is also encouraged by creating literacy-rich environments at home, in communities, and in schools. Three reading programs that have proven efficacious are - Great Minds’ Wit and Wisdom, Core Knowledge, and Bookworms - each focus on students practicing all aspects of reading that science has proven to be effective in helping them read and comprehend.
Q: Will you ensure that non-Christian Students are allowed the same time off from school for major religious/cultural dates such as Yom Kippur/Rosh Ha’Shanah/Passover, Eid, Diwali, etc.
A: Recognizing religious holidays is important in respecting the diversity of our community. The district calendar should recognize holidays of the major world religions. Each of those religions' major holidays should be days off for staff and students, especially for those religions represented in our student body and staff.
Q: The Jewish community is concerned with rising Antisemitism and a record-low baseline education about the Holocaust; what will you do to ensure that these issues are adequately taught in school?
A: Accurate teaching of history (American and world) necessarily includes discussion of and attention to the Holocaust. Without teaching about the largest genocide in history, history lessons are incomplete. There are age-appropriate ways to discuss the Holocaust with even the youngest of students, and direction can come from the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that is a repository of local and global information about the Holocaust. We must teach actual (not romanticized) history that identifies the flaws of and affirms the strength of our human character. We can not be so fragile as to ignore the atrocities suffered by human beings under the watchful eyes of "good" people.
Q: Locally - and nationwide - enrollment numbers in early childhood programs and kindergarten are down due to the pandemic. As a school board member, how will you provide leadership and support for enrollment in district early childhood programs and kindergarten? How can the district provide support for increased outreach and engagement to Pittsburgh families with young children?
A: Pittsburgh Public operates a robust pre-K program for families who live in the district. Many families may not access pre-K at Pittsburgh Public because while school was not in session, their early learning providers were still operating. There is also a disconnect between the hours families need care and PPS pre-K hours (with the pre-K day ending at 3 pm). The district might work more closely with the community early learning providers (through Trying Together) to bridge some of the timing/school year gaps and create a pipeline for families from home-based childcare settings to district pre-K. The district might also use its communications office to provide Pittsburgh families information about the myriad of opportunities available through our region's community assets - parks, museums, and libraries.
Q: What role do you think high-quality early learning plays in providing the educational foundation for children to succeed? As a school board director and local leader, how will you work with state elected officials and other leaders to ensure more children continue to receive access to pre-k?
A: High-quality early learning creates a firm foundation upon which school success is built. It is one of the most impactful education interventions for children from low-income communities, so it is especially troubling that many low-income families lack access to high-quality early learning centers. As a school board member, I will work tirelessly on this issue's supply and demand sides. Specifically, I will work with organizations like Trying Together and the city's early learning office to encourage high-quality early learning centers to recruit families from the highest-need communities. While simultaneously engaging with families as they navigate the early learning environment to help them locate high-quality centers. In addition, I am fully supportive of and will advocate for universal pre-K.
Q: The 2020 A+ Schools Report to the Community highlighted the joyful learning happening in PPS early childhood education programs. The article focused on the importance of a whole child approach including play-based learning and social and emotional development. How will you support educators and administrators to implement developmentally appropriate, play-based learning in school reopening plans? Additionally, what considerations do you feel need to be made in supporting the mental health, social-emotional development, and physical activity of students during remote learning and as they return to school?
A: When children play, they engage their minds and bodies in creatively solving challenges and actively building knowledge. Play encourages exploration, creativity, and socialization. There is no substitute for the deep learning that children experience when their learning is play-based. Play is also an antidote for trauma. As students return to school after more than a year, they may be anxious, stressed, and unaccustomed to socializing. Play is one of the most natural ways for students to regain their footing and because it also provides such great learning and reintroduces them to school.
Q: How can the Board be more transparent with COVID and schools reopening?
A: As I stated in response to an earlier question, the Board must over-communicate with families especially considering the public health concerns with which we are all contending. Communication must be frequent through traditional channels (email, robocall, district website, etc.) and non-traditional channels like trusted community messengers. The communication must be clear with contingencies like guidance about what factors would precipitate school closure, what measures are being taken to keep students and staff safe, and what is expected of students inside the schools. Contact must be two-way - families must have reliable means to pose questions and concerns from which they will receive responses.