ONE YEAR LATER
Woodland Hills school turns the page on its troubled past
Woodland Hills School District had landed on “Good Morning America” over allegations of student abuse, 14 months before two superintendent finalists appeared before the school board last July to make a pitch for their vision of the future.
Parents and district staff listened from folding chairs at the central office in Braddock as candidate James P. Harris acknowledged the tumult that had dogged them and described what he saw as the path forward.
“It wasn’t broken overnight and it won’t be fixed overnight,” Mr. Harris told
the crowd in a matter-of-fact tone. He prescribed transparency, communication and what he described as a businessminded approach to overcoming challenges. The board hired him in August.
One academic year later, Woodland Hills teachers and administrators say their sprawling school district has turned the page since controversial discipline practices drew the ire of protesters and sank morale. The year brought plenty of changes, paving the way for long-desired calm and optimism moving forward, they said. Managing the persistent sting of a tight budget and other challenges remain.
“All in all, I feel satisfied with the progress and the relationships that were made this year,” said Phillip K. Woods, who was hired in July as principal of Woodland Hills Junior/Senior High School in a broader regime change throughout the district.
Since their arrival, both Mr. Woods and Mr. Harris touted the need to promote order, stability and trust throughout Woodland Hills. Do that and academic success will follow, they said. Mr. Harris kicked off the year riding school buses to meet students, while Mr. Woods made it
his simple-but-vital mission to ensure kids were in the classes they were supposed to be in and showed up on time.
They championed discipline reforms, all but eliminating referrals of students to the criminal justice system — a practice that had often happened at a racially disproportionate clip. Administrators instead turned to counseling or other measures instead of arrests or expulsions for students who misbehaved or committed minor crimes.
“We understand that students of all ages make mistakes,” Mr. Harris said. “We try not to dwell on errors, but on how to be successful. We weren’t trying to be punitive. We were trying to be supportive.”
He said that it helped that new administrators have school-aged children to inform their perspective. “When I see students, I see my kids,” Mr. Harris said. “How would I act with them?”
Woodland Hills had zero expulsions or police referrals this year. District data shows that 68 fights were recorded this school year, down from 201 last year.
The decrease also reflected pressure that stemmed, at least in part, from a federal civil rights lawsuit by five then-current and former students alleging that officials sustained a culture of abuse, resulting in a $530,000 settlement in October. The backlash weighed on students and staff.
“The year before this was my worst year ever,” said high school English teacher Lisa Silverman, who just finished her 23rd year in the classroom. “We had the fallout from the [accusations in the lawsuit]. It was a rough year. Awful, actually.”
Mrs. Silverman feared that she and her colleagues were “painted with the same brush” as the former resource officer and ex-employees who were accused of physically assaulting students during minor disciplinary infractions. They didn’t know the skirmishes were happening — often behind closed doors — and would have intervened if they had, she said.
Boosting morale
Mr. Woods prioritized culture and environment to boost morale throughout the school. He highlighted students and activities on his Facebook page, and staff rewarded pupils who showed good behavior and work ethic on “Wolverine Wednesdays.”
As orderly vibes emanated, teachers felt more support and encouragement to take on bold initiatives in the classroom and beyond, Mrs. Silverman said.
“You wake up and you always want to work hard every day,” she said. “But it just feels so much better to be appreciated. We were in survival mode two years ago. And now we’re pivoting in the right direction.”
Erin Wall, an Advanced Placement English teacher, said that she and her colleagues worked hard to “keep a sense of normalcy” for students who have endured a particularly trying few years. Many knew 17-year-old Antwon Rose II — her former student — who was killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer last summer.
“Something like Antwon’s passing doesn’t go away,” said Ms. Wall, who memorialized the teen at his funeral last summer. “We work to help students the best we can when they are exposed to this type of trauma.”
In March, school officials organized a voluntary gathering for students — to avert a planned walkout — after the acquittal of Michael Rosfeld, the former officer who shot and killed Antwon following a felony traffic stop. Mr. Rosfeld was acquitted after a four-day trial in a high-profile case that drew widespread protests.
Michelle Kenney, Antwon’s mother, encouraged the roughly 100 participants to pursue education and promote change at the ballot box — and not to stage walkouts.
“That was a pivotal point in the year because we were either going to keep winning, or drastically lose, lose all the momentum and lose all the hope,” Mr. Woods said. “[Antwon’s family] literally rescued the rest of the school year.”
A shared resiliency united students this year, especially the seniors, said Assistant Principal Eric Graf. It particularly shone through at graduation, on a night when the sun set “perfectly” and underclassmen band musicians serenaded their departing elders in celebration, he said.
Many decorated their caps to commemorate a hurdle that they had overcome, in some cases, the death of a parent or sibling, Mr. Graf said. They represented a sea of conquered setbacks.
“As a group, I just saw them pull together and be supportive of each other,” he said. “That was really rewarding. There’s so much pride in those communities in what Woodland Hills means.”
And a larger share of them were able to receive a diploma. Officials cited the district’s 95 percent graduation rate, which was its highest figure in a decade. Mike Belmonte,
Woodland Hills’ longest-serving school board member, said that percentage is a testament to the new administration’s efforts to serve every student who walks through the door.
“On its face, people will see it: Woodland Hills is doing something different,” he said. “Something I’ve liked about this administration is that they understand that we can’t keep doing the same thing.”
Realignment, budget woes
In April, the school board voted to roll out a realignment of its five schools beginning the next academic year, touted as a more efficient setup.
Edgewood, Wilkins and Turtle Creek elementary schools will each become pre-kindergarten to grade 5 academies geared toward science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Woodland Hills Intermediate School, which previously served students grades 4 to 6, will become Dickson Preparatory STEAM Academy for grades 6 to 8. The junior/senior high school will now include only ninth to 12th grades.
Such overhauls require trust from students and the community, especially because the district is “fighting history,” Mr. Harris said. That depends on transparency and directness, he said.
“Nothing is perfect, but it’s worse to cover up and hide it,” he said. “I say get it out in the open. If somethings not right, let’s fix it, and move on.”
Teachers and residents are quick to raise concerns about the administration’s plan to address a challenging budget picture. Woodland Hills faces a more than $5 million deficit and growing debt service. Mr. Harris proposed a plan to cut as many as 70 positions and raise property taxes by 3%.
Before one of the last days of the school year, several dozen teachers demonstrated outside the Junior/Senior High School in Churchill against the proposed cuts they say could have dire consequences for students and staffers in the year ahead.
“It’s going to be impossible with the skeleton staff that they’re proposing to properly supervise the buildings, and the students overall and staff are going to suffer,” Matt Edgell, Western region advocacy coordinator for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said this month.
The school board plans to vote on the proposal for the roughly $101.6 million final budget on Wednesday.
Tuition payments, including to charter and private schools, diverts roughly a quarter of Woodland Hills’ operating budget, according to the state Department of Education. The ratio is among the highest for Allegheny County school districts — one that Mr. Harris hopes to reduce by rehabbing the district’s image that has taken a hit in recent years.
What’s it mean to be a Wolverine? Teachers and administrators said it’s a sign that they don’t back down.
“Every day you’ve got to come to work, you’ve got to come with your mind, your heart, your body ready to go,” Mr. Woods said, “because these children are going to provide challenges, and we’re not going to give up on them.”