Pittsburgh Public Schools extends remote teaching 5 more weeks
Teachers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools will continue remote teaching for another five weeks.
The district and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers issued a joint statement Friday night. The announcement states the projected first day of in- person teaching and learning for both students and teachers will start on Nov. 9.
There had been some debate before this announcement on whether teachers could work from home if they chose.
In early August, Pittsburgh Public School administrators said they expected all district members to return to their buildings by Oct. 5, however the district states the date was pushed back to “align with the Memorandum of
Understanding between the District and the PFT.”
In response to the extension announcement, district Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said the district took into consideration all sides of the issue.
“When difficult decisions have to be made, our District takes into consideration all sides of an issue,” Mr. Hamlet said in a statement. “The safe return of our students to in- person learning has been our priority since the start of the pandemic.”
Mr. Hamlet added that the district had been working with the PFT, the Pittsburgh Administrators Association and its board of directors over the past three weeks to come to this decision. Mr. Hamlet added that they also held “teacher town halls” to hear out the concerns of teachers and staff.
“Our teachers have stepped up to the challenge, and I have every confidence that they will continue to do so,” PFT President Nina EspositoVisgitis said in a statement.