Wednesday, July 11, 2007

PITTSBURGH SCHOOLS DROP 'PUBLIC' FROM NAME TO BOOST IMAGE

By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07192/800808-298.stm

The Pittsburgh Public Schools will drop "public" from its name and adopt a new, standardized way of referring to its schools as part of a campaign to brighten and strengthen the district's image.

For example, Schenley High School will be called Pittsburgh Schenley.

Superintendent Mark Roosevelt's staff unveiled the policy at a school board Education Committee meeting last night.

Under the policy, the district simply will call itself the "Pittsburgh Schools." The district's logo -- a pattern of circles, triangles and squares -- will still be used.

But the district also will begin using "Excellence for All," the name of its sweeping academic-improvement plan, on all stationery and other written materials. "Excellence for All" has its own logo with a gold swirl and star.

Think about the money that's going to have to be spent on changing signs in schools, changing letterhead on stationery, changing the district website, and so on. And all for...what, exactly? To remove the eeeevil word Public? To force all schools to identify themselves as part of the city, because they now have Pittsburgh in their name?

Talk about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

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