PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Public Schools has kicked off its 2026 Summer Leadership Academy, a three-day event aimed at preparing staff for the upcoming school year.
Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters began Wednesday’s session by reflecting on the series of teen takeovers that occurred across Pittsburgh over the last few months, encouraging educators to look beyond the incidents themselves.
“Some of you had students who were there. Some of you spent an evening not knowing if your children were safe,” Walters told staff. “What had to be organized, communicated, believed or felt before that first teenager ever arrived?” Walters asked.
He later added, “What is this trying to teach us? Not about crime, but the culture.”
Walters says the answer may start in the classroom.
“I think the first thing is making sure that schools are places of belonging, hope and excitement so that they look at the space at school as somewhere where they can learn, grow, but they can also see themselves,” Walters said.
He also stressed the importance of listening more closely to students.
“We need to become more connected and more in tune with what they’re saying and what they need,” Walters said.
District leaders also spent time preparing employees for the implementation of the Future Ready Plan, the district’s long-term restructuring initiative approved by the school board in May after years of debate and community pushback. The plan will consolidate schools by closing 12 schools across nine buildings beginning with the 2027-28 school year.
School board President Gene Walker said delaying the board’s vote until May gave the district more time to prepare for the transition.
“By delaying the vote until May, it gave us an extra year to plan, to prepare and to implement for what will be most likely the most consequential change Pittsburgh Public Schools has seen in the last 20 years,” Walker said.
Walker recognized that families, students and faculty members have been preparing for possible change for years now, but said that what people are picturing is likely “way worse than what’s gonna happen.”
“You’ve been living in a space of discomfort and uncertainty for quite a while, and our families are living in that now, and I want you to embrace that discomfort because it’s that discomfort that causes change and causes growth,” Walker said.
The Future Ready Plan will not take effect until the start of the 2027-28 school year.
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