Pittsburgh Public Schools extends remote work 5 weeks for teachers, 2 days for students

Teachers at Pittsburgh Public Schools will work remotely an additional five weeks, the district and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers announced Friday night in a joint statement.

The school board voted in late July to maintain remote learning for the first nine weeks of the school year, but teachers were to start on-site work Oct. 5. The date was changed to align with the memorandum of understanding between the district and the teachers union, the statement said. Teachers and students will now return to school buildings on the same day, Nov. 9.

The change means another five weeks of remote work for teachers, and a two-day extension for students.

“When difficult decisions have to be made, our district takes into consideration all sides of an issue,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in the statement. “The safe return of our students to in-person learning has been our priority since the start of the pandemic. While our schools are clean, ready and safe to receive its students, our District has to also consider another major component of our school system— the safety of our staff.”

Hamlet said the district has been consulting with union leaders and community members frequently to address concerns that staff members have about returning to school buildings.

According to Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, those concerns include ensuring the best technology for students and the effectiveness of all the health and safety mitigations. Pushing back the in-person date, she said, will give staff members more time to work together and review the new system. She said there will be “test dates” throughout the month of October when teachers can visit school buildings and evaluate their set-up.

“Our teachers have stepped up to the challenge and I have every confidence that they will continue to do so,” Esposito-Visgitis said in a statement. “Teachers are working hard to reach out to both students and families to engage them in this new learning environment and have made remarkable strides.”