CEO of Pittsburgh Big Brothers Big Sisters: ‘We do not discriminate’
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh asks prospective volunteers about things like their sexual orientation, their religion and their mental health, all in an effort, leaders say, to make the most impactful pairings possible when it comes to “bigs” and their young “littles.”
But this week, representatives of the decades-old youth mentoring organization said they will work on a compromise with Pittsburgh Public Schools after a school board member questioned whether those queries during the interview process violate the school district’s anti-discrimination policy.
“We’re going to sit down and work out what I hope will be in the best interest of Pittsburgh Public Schools and the bigs and littles that we serve,” said Jan Glick, CEO of the Pittsburgh chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
At an agenda review meeting last week, school board member
Moira Kaleida said she was concerned after hearing about the questions asked during the Big Brothers Big Sisters screening process that they could be discriminatory to potential volunteers or “cater to the bigotry” of people who may not want their child to spend time with someone of a certain sexual orientation or who practices a certain religion.
“I’m sorry, that is against our policy,” she said this week. “That’s not what we do here.”
The school board is set to vote on an agenda item next week that awards contracts to more than 90 community organizations — including Big Brothers Big Sisters — that partner with the school district on student support services. Ms. Kaleida asked that the piece pertaining to Big Brothers Big Sisters be pulled for further discussion, sparking quick backlash from volunteers and members of the organization. Big Brothers Big Sisters leaders sent a letter to the school district on Friday, and more than 20 supporters of the organization appealed to the school board at its monthly public hearing Monday to preserve the longtime partnership with the school district.
The organization estimated it will serve 500 PPS students this school year, through its weekly on-site programs at 11 Pittsburgh schools and its Mentor 2.0 program at Brashear High School. The organization has been working with the school district since 2001, Ms. Glick said.
“We are willing to compromise and sit down with the school board,” she said. “I wish that [Ms. Kaleida] had come to us in the first place and had a conversation. We could have saved a lot of time, energy, costs and ‘upsetness.’ This did not have to be tried publicly.”
Ms. Glick said all potential volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters go through an extensive, twohour interview process after completing an application.
They are asked about such things as religion and sexual orientation, but screeners tell the candidates in advance that they are not required to answer those personal questions and it in no way affects whether they are selected to become a mentor. The line of questioning is not new, but the organization could not immediately say Tuesday when the practice began.
“It’s going to help us make good choices,” Ms. Glick said. “I do understand the sensitivity around the questions, but I think it’s very important to understand the context in which they’re asked. That’s the key. All of this was taken out of context.”
In the past, she said, the organization has gotten requests from young people for mentors with certain qualities. For instance, a young boy who had recently come out as gay specifically requested a gay man to be his big brother and help guide him through that shared experience.
“We do not discriminate,” she said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no meeting had been scheduled yet with the school board to discuss any changes to its interview process, but district solicitor Ira Weiss said he hopes they can reach a resolution before the school board meeting on Monday.
“The organization has stated that they’re going to submit something to the district that will commit them to removing any of the questions that were raised last week,” Mr. Weiss said. “I’m going to review that. I understand why they do it, and I understand that having a match that doesn’t work defeats the purpose of the program. On the other hand, these questions seem to run counter to the policy of the district and we’re going to try and reconcile these issues.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters wants to continue its partnership with the school district and Ms. Glick said she hopes this discussion does not damage the reputation of the organization. She said 250 children in the Pittsburgh region — mostly boys — are on the waiting list for a mentor.
“I don’t want to scare off volunteers or donors or the community in general,” she said. “I think that this is a really unfortunate situation that has been exacerbated beyond necessary. At the end of the day, all we want to do is serve a population of kids that need it.”