Coronavirus-Related Staffing Shortages Force 20 Pittsburgh Public Schools To Move Online
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The coronavirus continues to impact schools in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Public Schools announced that 20 schools this week will transition to online learning due to COVID-19-related staffing shortages. Eight schools were closed Tuesday, six are closed on Wednesday and 14 others are closed for the rest of the week.
On Sunday, the district moved 12 schools to online learning for Monday due to COVID-19.
The six schools that are closed on Wednesday are:
The 14 schools that are closed for the remainder of the week are:
The eight schools that were closed on Tuesday were:
In-class instruction will resume on Jan. 10 for all the schools closed this week.
"The PFT has requested a meeting with the District and they are setting it up," said Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, on Monday. "We have not met with them yet, so I'm not saying I know their protocols yet, but we are going to meet with them because we want to know the details of how they figure it out."
KDKA's Jennifer Borrasso talked to a parent whose son attends Pittsburgh Montessori PreK-5. He said he is frustrated with the last-minute nature of the decisions.
"It's very frustrating," parent Steve Winslow said on Monday. "Ultimately, we all understand there are issues going on with COVID. It's a tough thing to deal with for many parents. ... One day they are closed, one day they are open and you don't know what's going to happen."
On Tuesday, a parent who has a son at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School said she is now worried. She said her son tested positive for COVID-19 before Christmas and missed 18 days of school.
"As a parent, I think it's very irresponsible what they are doing," Natalie Amato said. "The surge that is going on right now is the worst it's been in our county. I think it's really reckless to send our kids into these buildings."
"I would rather be online on a computer where I feel like I'm safe, said Brashear High School senior Kayonia Sowell told KDKA on Tuesday.
