District Reform Agenda

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We Have an Extraordinary Opportunity to Reshape
Pittsburghs Future
Pittsburgh Public Schools Education Committee
Presentation October 8, 2008
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Agenda

• Introductions
• Timeline of key activities
• Part 1 2005-2007
• Goals of the Promise
• Eligibility Criteria
• Part 2 January-June 2008
• Administrative overview
• Outreach to the Class of 2008
• Part 3 Looking to the future

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Timeline of key activities

• Anonymous donors announce the Kalamazoo Promise
• Other cities begin to study the impacts of the
  Promise on Kalamazoo and its public schools

• Concept for Pittsburgh Promise released
• PFT commits 10,000

• McKinsey begins in-depth study and facilitates
  steering committee

• Steering committee meets in August, September,
  and October to discuss program design

• UPMC makes 10 million donation and establishes
  90 million challenge grant

• PPS and Pittsburgh Foundation establish the
  application process, begin outreach to the PPS
  class of 2008

• Promise establishes board of directors, hires
  Executive Director, and sets up new office.

• First scholarships paid

2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year 1
concept phase
Year 2
Year 3
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Part 1 2005-2007
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The Pittsburgh Promise was designed to fill two
critical needs

• Revitalize the city of Pittsburgh and the
  Pittsburgh Public School District
• Make education beyond high school a reality for
  all students in the Pittsburgh Public School
  District

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Goal 1 Revitalize the City of Pittsburgh and the
Pittsburgh Public School District
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The population of the City of Pittsburgh is
shrinking
City of Pittsburgh (approx.) 535,000
City of Pittsburgh (approx.) 317,000
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(No Transcript)
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Goal 2 Make education beyond high school a
reality for all students in the Pittsburgh Public
School District
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Examining the trajectory of a 9th grade student
in PPS
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Examining the eligibility criteria and
scholarship structure
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The Promise eligibility criteria are designed to
align incentives
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(No Transcript)
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Good behavior correlates to good student outcomes
250
2.0 (2008)
200
150
Total number of suspensions and unexcused
absences in grades 9-12
108
85 (2009)
100
Trend Line
90 (2010)
72
50
0
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Class of 2008 Applicants GPA
Source PPS Analysis, July 2008. Cohort data
includes all Class of 2008 Promise applicants
that have been enrolled in PPS Continuously since
9th grade
15
The Pittsburgh Promise is structured as a
last-dollar scholarship
Example 1 (Pitt, PSU approximation)
Example 3 (CCAC approximation)
Example 2 (Cal State, Cheney approximation)
Cost of tuition and fees
12,000
2,500
6,500
Federal/state grants
- 6,900
- 4,600
- 2,000
5,100
1,900
500
Subtotal
Pittsburgh Promise
- 5,000
- 1,900
- 1,000
100
0
0
(additional 500 can be applied to other expenses)
- Example is for a student eligible for the
maximum Promise award of 5,000. - The amount of
federal and state grants are determined with
information from a students FAFSA and are
awarded proportional to the cost of attendance at
the school.
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Eligibility criteria are expected to change over
time
2008
2010-2011
2012
2009
GPA
2.0
2.25
2.5
2.5
Behavior
None
lt15 suspensions and unexcused absences
lt10 suspensions and unexcused absences
lt10 suspensions and unexcused absences
Scholarship Amount
5,000 max 1,000 min
5,000 max 1,000 min
5,000 max 1,000 min
10,000 max 2,000 min
Scholarship Calculation
Last dollar towards tuition and mandatory fees
TBD
TBD
TBD
- GPA is defined as cumulative high school
unweighted GPA. - Behavior is measured based on a
count of suspensions and unexcused absences
across grades 9-12. 15 is equivalent to 108
days. 10 is equivalent to 72 days. - Earning of
10,000 max Promise award in 2012 is currently
contingent upon PPS implementation of a
graduation exam.
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Part 1 January June 2008
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The Pittsburgh Promise, PPS, and schools of
higher education all play a role in the
administration of the scholarship
Schools of Higher Education
1
4
3
Schools of higher education (approx. 100
Promise-eligible schools) include the Promise
scholarship in the financial aid offers for
students on their Promise roster. If the student
subsequently enrolls, then the Promise-eligible
school bills the Promise for the appropriate
amount.
For the Class of 2009, students will send
completed Promise applications to The Pittsburgh
Promise office.
After receiving the data, The Pittsburgh Promise
corresponds with applicants regarding their
eligibility. Students that are eligible have
their names placed on Pittsburgh Promise
rosters at the Promise-eligible schools of their
choice.
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For each applicant, the Pittsburgh Public Schools
provides GPA, enrollment, and other application
data via a secure transaction.
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We Have Received Over 1,200 Pittsburgh Promise
Applications (June 18, 2008)
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94 of Eligible Students from 2008 Class Have
Applied to The Promise (June 18, 2008)
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Our Promise Outreach Was Persistent
We used multiple communication channels so many
students had as many as five points of contact.
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Part 3 Looking towards the future
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The Pittsburgh Promise organization

• About the organization
• How the Promise can support the PPS reform
• Efforts to support PPS students at CCAC
• Marketing update
• Fundraising update