May 2018 Est. 1985
Your Community Newspaper
The Northside Chronicle
Volume 34 Issue 5 - FREE -
Neighboring schools are worlds apart
Allegheny Traditional Academy at 810 Arch Street.
By Tyler Dague
This is a tale of two schools: Allegheny Traditional Academy and Pittsburgh Martin Luther King PreK-8. Separated by less than half a mile of road along the north end of Allegheny Commons Park, the latter was built in 1973, a geometric brown brick maze of hallways, while the former is a classic red Victorian schoolhouse dating to 1904. They share somewhat similar student pools on the Northside, yet they are poles apart. Their proximity belies a vast distance in learn-
Photo by Neil Strebig
Martin Luther King Elementary located at 50 Montgomery Place.
Photo by Neil Strebig
ATA and King PreK-8 are yards from each other, yet they’re drastically different in terms of student success rates and public perception ing outcomes, teacher retention and overall performance that begs the question: How can schools so near to each other face such radically different experiences? James Fogarty, executive director for A+ Schools, a nonprofit advocacy organization focused on educational equity, put the differences in stark terms. “We have one of the best schools in the city on the Northside, and one of the schools with some of the greatest challenges on the Northside, and they’re half a block away from each
other,” he said. According to A+ Schools’ 2017 Report to the Community, only 32 percent of teachers at King feel the school is a good place to work and learn. In addition, 37 percent of students were chronically absent. The percentage of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) students living near Allegheny Center who attend King, called the “capture rate,” is only 28 percent, compared with 36 percent districtwide. In contrast, Allegheny Traditional Academy (K-5) boasts 85 percent
of teachers who feel the school is a good place to work and learn, and three of the four teachers that left in recent years moved on due to promotions. The chronic absentee rate is only 13 percent, according to A+ Schools’ 2017 Report to the Community. As a writing magnet school, Allegheny Traditional serves children from the Northside and students citywide, who are admitted through the district lottery system. Continued PPS, Page 19
INSIDE ISSUE Newsletters – Page 3 Pressley Ridge – Page 3 Riverview Park – Page 4 Natl. Aviary News – Page 4 Rich Liberto Column – Page 6 CCAC Food Pantry – Page 9 Huszar Menu Expansion – Pg. 9 Annex Grand Opening – Page 10 YINZBURGH! Comics - Page 12 Northeast Fountain – Page 18 PHCC/FCC Comm. Plan – Pg. 21 Real Estate – Pg. 22