PITTSBURGH — This week is all about reading at Pittsburgh Public Schools, including at Banksville Elementary School, where students welcomed some special guests this morning.
It was a storybook ending to Black History Month: Tuesday morning, Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters enlisted the help of 100 readers from across the region to visit 35 Pittsburgh city schools as part of the Black Men Read initiative.
“This is exciting because it is opportunity to shape a narrative around black men and also coming into our schools to visualize what the potential is for our students,” Walters said.
Walters said the majority of PPS’ student population is African American, with about 12% of educators also being African American. He met with students from all different backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life Tuesday morning, reading them ‘The Heart of Mi Familia.’
“I love children. That’s why I entered this profession,” Walters said. “I found out just now we have one from Puerto Rico, one from Colombia and other places, so I wanted something that would resonate with them.”
“It was awesome. It was one of the best things I’ve seen in in this school,’ said Adam Nkandana, a student at Banksville K-5 “I like how he was teaching us different words in Spanish, he says what they mean…”
Dr. Walters and Mayor Ed Gainey were also planning to read to students at Beechwood Elementary.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
This browser does not support the video element.