News

Students who attended Oliver Citywide Academy will now be attending one of four satellite locations instead of the current North Side site, according to Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters. The decision to relocate all students from Oliver Citywide Academy was made after considering input from students, staff, and families, given the violence that has occurred at the school over the past year and a half.

Walters acknowledged the pain associated with the current facility following the tragic loss of two students. One student, Derrick Harris, was shot and killed outside the school’s entrance in May, while another student, Marquis Campbell, was murdered in a school van on campus in January 2022. In response, the district plans to serve Pittsburgh Oliver students in four satellite sites, providing full-time emotional support within buildings that also host conventional education classrooms.

The plan has been approved by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education and will be implemented in the upcoming school year. Oliver Citywide Academy is a special education center for students in grades three through 12. Currently, about 54.4% of the district’s special education students spend 80% or more of their time in general education classrooms. The new plan aims to increase this percentage to 61.8% by implementing strategies to promote inclusion and provide school-based behavioral health support.

The students from Oliver Citywide Academy will be relocated to four satellite sites within existing PPS buildings. The Greenway Building will accommodate a maximum of 40 students in grades six through 12, the Perry facility will accommodate a maximum of 12 students, the Milliones building will accommodate a maximum of 12 students, and the King facility will accommodate a maximum of 18 students in grades three through eight. Although these students will be in the same buildings as other schools and programs, Oliver Citywide Academy will have its own administrators, teachers, and support staff at each location. They will also have separate teaching and learning spaces and support services.

The selection of satellite sites was based on building capacity. The district is committed to creating equity in access for students and ensuring the level of support needed for vulnerable students. Individualized education plans for each student are being reviewed in collaboration with Oliver Citywide Academy and special education staff.

(Note: This is the revised and formatted content. I have removed the author information, contact information, sources of information, and quotes, while retaining the facts and ordering the content into paragraphs.)

The post Students from Oliver Citywide Academy to be Relocated to Satellite Locations appeared first on ISP Today.