Freedman’s Bank exhibit also highlighted
More than 100 people attended the African American Chamber of Commerce’s February PowerBreakfast which featured a presentation by Pittsburgh Superintendent of Schools Anthony Hamlet on where the district needs to go and how it intends to get there.
He noted that in the seven months since he took over as superintendent he has submitted his 90-day report, begun the strategic planning process and have received a diagnostic report of the entire district from the Council of Great City Schools.
The information gleaned from these, he said, would be used to improve the district, across six component areas all high-performing educational systems include: system-wide goals; high standards for all students; the curriculum framework; syllabi and related instructional material; assessments, and a teacher development system.
Hamlet noted that all of these are interconnected and interdependent—you can’t, for example, achieve the system wide goal of turning kindergarteners into graduates who are concerned citizens and confident individuals, who are self-directed and active contributors without a coordinated curriculum and its component syllabi.
Therefore, change will not occur overnight.
“Goals are the product of a lengthy process. They are not developed by mandate,” he said. “They include input from a variety of stakeholder groups, must be publicized to offer opportunities for response and buy-in, and should be refreshed every five to 10 years.”
The elements that require the most attention, he said, are assessments and teacher development, which have either been unaligned at various levels or, in the case of professional development, weak and undervalued.
“Assessment is an area where there is significant work needed,” he said.
“The Council report finds that teachers and staff are not confident that the districts assessments, including benchmarks are aligned to state standards, and there is a misalignment of the curriculum and assessments resulting in teachers not having the appropriate data to help inform needed changes in the curriculum or differentiated instruction.”
With respect to professional development, Hamlet said he has received a lot of feedback, much of it negative. Findings indicate that there is no formal professional development program for new teachers; is not differentiated; is not valued by teachers and school-based staff, and is weak for principals and assistant principals.
“What we want is a teacher development system educates and trains teachers by developing their skills over the course of their career,” he said. The Council assessed that the District had been more focused on the implementation of our Evaluation System and less on effective instruction.”
After thanking Hamlet for his visit and presentation, chamber President and CEO Doris Carson
Williams also thanked Kellyann Banks, vice president for corporate communication and engagement at the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland, for bringing pieces of its exhibit on the Freedman’s Bank.
Chartered by the U.S. government in 1865 to encourage and guide the economic development of the newly emancipated African American communities in the post-Civil War period, the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company functioned until 1874. Its archives are valued as a trove of information regarding Black socio-economic life in the immediate aftermath of emancipation.
Williams also welcomed new members and reminded everyone that Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will be the speaker for the March 17 PowerBreakfast.
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