Pittsburgh has had NFL Draft fever since the announcement that football’s second biggest day would take place in the Steel City.
But does that mean that everything was considered when the plan was being made?
Pittsburgh Public Schools revealed it will be shifting to remote learning April 22 to 24. It’s about continuing to provide education to the kids while the city is deluged with up to 700,000 visitors for the event.
However, the call is being reviewed by millions after it was shared by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on social media.
For some, it’s an obvious step. There are clear logistical reasons to close the state’s second largest school district. Traffic snarls for a Pittsburgh Steelers game on a Sunday afternoon or a Monday night. What would happen when all those cars are headed to the North Shore at the same time buses of children are going to school or on their way home? Then there’s the emergency response factor should anything happen at a school.
For others, it’s an indication that sports is more important than education.
You only have to look at Pittsburgh’s landscape to realize the two are both critical to the city’s identity. The only thing more intrinsically Pittsburgh than a stadium or a school is a bridge.
The only place criticism could be viable is about planning — and frankly that’s still thin.
Pittsburgh Public Schools is making this announcement a month out. That is plenty of time to consider how they will implement education remotely for three days. It is much more time than the district would have for other events that have kept kids at home, like snowstorms or burst pipes.
Parents have four weeks to arrange alternate child care. Teachers can make lesson plans. Standardized testing is already being rearranged. One might argue that a little room to breathe around test time could be beneficial. This isn’t a failure of education.
And just because the district is announcing it now doesn’t mean it’s something that just occurred to the administration on Monday. This is something everyone has known about for more than a year. There’s literally a giant clock counting down the days.
Maybe it could lead to questions about whether Pittsburgh actually has the infrastructure to handle the NFL Draft. But Green Bay, Wis., did it last year, and Green Bay’s entire population could fit in the seats at Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park.
Green Bay, incidentally, closed schools for the draft too. Other host cities didn’t. It’s not exactly a game day decision, but it does have a lot of moving parts. Where are the schools? Where is the draft? What are the roads like?
Big events are a big deal. They boost the economy. They make civic pride bloom. The NFL Draft is a one-time kind of event. Remote, asynchronous learning might even mean some kids get to attend some of the activities with their parents in a core-memory moment.
Does this mean the city should just shrug off consequences on school planning when pitching Pittsburgh as a destination for other big-deal events? Of course not.
But planning ahead for a three-day spotlight to shine on the hometown isn’t putting football ahead of math class.
