Final recommendations still set PPS on course for multiple closures, consolidations

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Despite fierce resistance from parents, Pittsburgh Public Schools remains poised for multiple school closures if the school board approves the final proposal for reconfiguring the district’s footprint.

Representatives of Education Resource Strategies [ERS], the Boston-based firm hired to lead a months-long effort to overhaul the district, presented their latest proposal to PPS school board members Tuesday night. The plan would reduce the total number of traditional schools from 54 to 39, along with the closure of three buildings currently serving alternative or special education programs.

“This is about supporting and ensuring equity and ensuring that students have the academic foundations that they need, and having a whole bunch of tiny middle schools is not going to get you there,” said Angela King Smith, a partner at ERS.

Jonathan Travers, president of ERS, and King Smith said these new recommendations reflected feedback the pair received on their initial recommendations presented in August, which proposed grade configurations and 16 school closures.

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