Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt today announced that he has notified the District’s Board of Directors that he will be leaving his position at the end of this calendar year. According to Mr. Roosevelt, he is the finalist for the post of President of Antioch College in Ohio.
Mr. Roosevelt will be leaving his position as Superintendent at the end of December, more than five years after accepting the position.
“This is a purely personal decision. Advancing the cause for education is something I’ve been focused on for a long time. I have been able to facilitate this cause in Pittsburgh which has made my tenure here exceptionally rewarding. It is my view that at this point in my career I am ready for a similar challenge, but this time in higher education, said Mr. Roosevelt.
“I have been fortunate to work with a Board that understands the difference between establishing policy and managing a district. I am enormously grateful to the Board, my colleagues, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and our partners for sticking with us through some difficult times. Together we surmounted some great challenges and have laid the foundation for a solid future.
“The community is to be commended for all of its support and allowing us to implement the change needed to advance student achievement. I am truly thankful to UPMC for its tremendous community gift of $100 million to establish The Pittsburgh Promise®, the second largest gift to public education. Together we have reestablished our community’s confidence in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and are well on our way to changing the life prospects of Pittsburgh’s children with programs like the Promise,” added Roosevelt.
Over the past four years, the District has improved student achievement by putting into place a series of strategies to achieve its ambitious goal of Excellence for All, including:
- The community gift of The Pittsburgh Promise, which inspires and motivates students by providing scholarships, regardless of family income, to all colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, as well as technical and trade schools that offer two-year degree programs;
- In 2009, the District was awarded a highly competitive $40 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support in Empowering Effective Teachers plan. On September 23, 2010 the District received a grant award of $37.4 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2010 Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program to complete realization of the Empowering Effective Teachers plan;
- On June 14, 2010, the District and Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers signed historic five-year collective bargaining agreements around what matters most – advancing the teaching profession in a way that is aligned with the common mission of improving student achievement;
- A nationally recognized system – Pittsburgh Urban Leadership System of Excellence (PULSE) – a comprehensive accountability system to train, support, evaluate and reward principals was launched;
- In August 2009, the District achieved Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP) for the first time in its history becoming the largest district in Pennsylvania to make AYP;
- The District opened new schools such as the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy 6-12, Pittsburgh Milliones University Preparatory 6-12, Pittsburgh Obama (IB) 6-12, and the District’s Accelerated Learning Academies.
Commenting on Mr. Roosevelt’s planned departure, School Board President Theresa Colaizzi said, “We are disappointed that the Superintendent is not staying, but we acknowledge his personal decision to pursue his dream. He has done a great job of making meaningful changes during his time here. During his tenure, Mr. Roosevelt created a new management team by recruiting individuals from around the country who are best qualified to assist him with the District’s transformation efforts. He initiated a number of programs and actions that have greatly improved the outlook for the District’s financial and academic performance. Perhaps most importantly, he was instrumental in the creation of The Pittsburgh Promise, a scholarship program for Pittsburgh’s children.
“While we will miss Mark Roosevelt’s passion for changing the lives of our children, we do not expect his planned departure to have a material impact on the reform initiatives already underway,” said Mrs. Colaizzi. “We are pleased that he will be here for several months to work with us on transition plans while we explore various options in searching for his successor,” Mrs. Colaizzi concluded.
Editor’s Note
According to the Council of the Great City Schools, a consortium of the country’s urban school district, the average tenure of an urban school district superintendent in the United States is 3.5 years.
About Pittsburgh Public Schools
The Pittsburgh Public School District is the largest of 43 school districts in Allegheny County and second largest in Pennsylvania. The District serves approximately 26,000 students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. Pittsburgh’s public school system is in the midst of a transformational plan called Excellence for All, initiated in 2006, that is aimed at improving student achievement at every level. For students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the future is now brighter, thanks to The Pittsburgh Promise®, a community commitment to help students and families plan, prepare and pay for continuing education after high school. Graduates of the Pittsburgh Public Schools can earn up to $20,000 in Promise scholarships over 4 years. Beginning with the Class of 2012, graduates may be eligible to earn up to $40,000 over 4 years.
