Raising Achievement in Monroeville and Pitcairn forum set for Jan. 30

A nonprofit dedicated to improving the educational lives of students in Monroeville and Pitcairn will co-sponsor an event for the community in January.

Raising Achievement in Monroeville and Pitcairn will lead a discussion about progress being made in closing the achievement gap between black and white students from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 in Gateway High School’s Large Group Instruction room.

The public forum will give RAMP members the chance to present to the community how it is working to achieve goals. It will also involve Gateway School District officials, who have recently formed an equity team that is working to create an “equity policy.”

And finally, the event will allow parents to ask questions.

The issue of closing the achievement gap between black and white students has historically been a contentious one. Many spoke out against the district’s decision to hire a part-time equity director in September 2017, and the NAACP threatened legal action. The group wanted a full-time director.

Phillip Woods – who at the time worked also as a West Mifflin Area school administrator – was hired as part of the district’s newly-formed $135,000 program designed to bridge the achievement gap. The aim was to bring black students’ test scores to levels achieved by their white peers.

The program involved Evergreen and Cleveland Steward elementary schools and included consultants, instructional coaching and tutoring.

The event will also include daycare services, made available in the high school’s dance studio. Participants are asked to arrive early if they intend to use the service.

There are 3,342 students enrolled at Gateway School District, according to state data. Of those students, 53.7% are white and 25.2% are black. Another 8.3% are Asian and 8.2% are two or more races. Around 4.3% are Hispanic.

Rob Elms, a former Gateway school board member, said he believes the school is moving in the right direction when it comes to achieving equity with its black students.

He said forming a team centered on equity and creating an equity policy is an example of “real commitment.”

“From my perspective, they’re making real movement on this,” he said. “This will be a good opportunity for the community to ask questions and a great opportunity to get involved.”