A+Schools

Our Vision - A public education system in Pittsburgh where:

• Overall student achievement continues to rise, with 100 percent of students graduating and 80 percent completing a training program or two- or four-year college or university program.
• Race is not a factor in determining which students are in the highest/lowest achievement categories, graduate from high school or matriculate into training programs or college.

Our Focus - We focus on issues of educational equity because significant barriers exist that directly and indirectly deny groups of students a high quality education. To achieve educational equity in Pittsburgh Public Schools, policies and practices must be in place that specifically increase opportunities and resources for African-American students.

Our History - A crisis in the Pittsburgh Public Schools led to the creation of A+ Schools in 2004. Two years earlier, three major Pittsburgh foundations withdrew financial support from school district — prompting then mayor Tom Murphy to establish the Commission on Public Education to address the situation and make recommendations. The Commission’s report called for the formation of an organization to provide the leadership needed for school reform. A+ Schools became that organization.