PITTSBURGH (NEWSRADIO 1020 KDKA) — Pittsburgh Public Schools return to class today, and to talk about the issues facing the area’s largest school district, KDKA AM’s Larry Richert talks to Superintendent Dr Linda Lane.

“I’ve been starting school every year since 1954, but I’m still excited the night before, have trouble sleeping, looking forward to it,” said Dr. Lane of her excitement for the new academic year.

She talked about various topics including the budget, school closings and controversial new academic guidelines for student athletes.

Listen to the full interview here:

To kickoff the new school year, Dr. Lane is visiting Pittsburgh Arsenal PreK-5 where there is some positive news on test scores.

In a press release from the school district, “the percentage of students in grades 3 through 5 scoring proficient or advanced in reading increased by 18.2 percentage points from 2010,” that’s according to results on the 2011 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment or PSSA tests. Mathematic proficiency is also higher.

“We saw a little bit of growth so we’re pleased with that; but that was last year, this is this year,” said Dr. Lane. “So, we’re talking about what can we do to make sure that our kids get what they’re going to need to be Promise ready and the PSSA test is one of the indicators that we use to see how we’re doing.”

Dr. Lane also talked about working to integrate technology into the classroom.

“Our policy is that kids are not to use their cell phones at school, and they know that. One of the things I think we educators over time are going to have to figure out is how can we make use of the technology in a way that doesn’t disrupt class,” she said. “That’s a real challenge in think facing not only us but a lot of school districts.”

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Pittsburgh Public School District
Superintendent of Schools
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