Hundreds of students left out of the Pittsburgh Public Summer Boost Program

PITTSBURGH — Hundreds of parents are upset their children won’t be able to participate in the Pittsburgh Public Schools Summer Boost Program this year due to a lack of staff.

The district initially postponed the program one week to attempt to fill teacher and para professional positions.

Officials said they tried everything to avoid cutting students from the program, but had no choice.

“It was very difficult, after we increased pay and we also looked at condensing sites. We were able to secure an additional 23 teachers out of the 127 that were needed,” said Minika Jenkins, chief academic officer for the district.

The district was also only able to secure 35 para professionals out of the 86 positions needed.

The Summer Boost Program was specifically designed to help students who struggled during the pandemic, and is different than the district’s summer reading program.

The district says it didn’t predict having staffing shortages, but believes it has a lot to do with the tough year the staff just faced.

“Across PPS the pandemic has taken its toll on everyone and I think the anxiety and the stress and having a chance to take a break would be beneficial to recoup and re-energize for the fall,” Jenkins said.

The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers told us its teachers are heartbroken for students who can’t participate and confirm teachers are burned out, but say that’s just a small reason why they can’t help out.

A representative told us teachers waited to attend big events like weddings until the summer — so they didn’t miss time with students during the school year.

They also said the district doesn’t allow them to take time off or miss training time for the boost program and some teachers are already committed to other summer programs — including one headed by the union.

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Teachers also cited a late notice about the program as a reason for not participating. The district cites federal money for the program arriving late as a reason for the delay.

Still, the district says students who were able to take laptops home can participate in the summer boost activities online, and if there are any additional in-person openings, they’ll call students in.

“I got the voicemail that my son secured a spot in the Summer Boost Program. I was like whoa, yay!!!” said parent Ashlee Knight. “He needs the exposure. He hasn’t been able to be with children around his age in a year or more”

But Knight feels terrible for the hundreds of students who can’t participate.

“It’s very sad. It’s kind of like a gift and a curse. We’re blessed to be able to have a spot but my son’s grades weren’t horrible, so I feel like maybe someone else could’ve used his spot,” she said.

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