Pittsburgh Public Schools Teachers Say Laptop Shortage Reveals Inequity In District
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - As Pittsburgh Public Schools gets ready for the year KDKA is hearing from teachers about the current situation with technology.
They said it reflects a problem of inequity in the district. Pittsburgh Public School leaders said that is not the case.
Westinghouse Academy teacher Sean Means said some schools were one-to-one before the pandemic while other schools had limited numbers of devices.
According to the Pittsburgh Public Schools, some schools like Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy and Pittsburgh CAPA had one-to-one programs because they are part of the magnet model. They went on to say other schools may have utilized grant funding to get devices.
Means feels the district can't allow for some schools to have more resources than others because students see that and feel an impact. He doesn't want to throw the blame on anyone but said this is a time for reflection to try and improve outcomes for students across Pittsburgh Public Schools.
"How do we treat kids in communities and who do we prioritize in our district, and I think that is something we have to look into the mirror and just be honest," he said. "The truth is right there."
The district says one of the Superintendent's initial actions was providing up-to-date technology in every PreK-8 English Language Arts classroom and increasing the District's bandwidth.
Means is glad the district is backing up the start of the school year to allow for students to get their devices.
School is scheduled to start next Tuesday.
