The Pittsburgh Public School Records and Photographs contain a rich range of materials, including correspondence, photographs, reports, scrapbooks, minutes, curriculum materials, and business records documenting 90 schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools District. Together, the records and photographs of the Pittsburgh Public Schools uniquely reflect the educational experiences of students and teachers as well as the administrative actions of the school district over time.
Among the collection’s strengths is the Curriculum and Instruction Division course descriptions and curriculum guides. Nearly every class offered by Pittsburgh Public Schools is represented, including core classes such as English and Mathematics, as well elective courses such as Russian Languages, Aeronautics, Urban America, Bricklaying, Horticulture, and Ornamental Metal Working. In particular, the curriculum guides provide detailed information about various courses, including defined learning objectives, individual lesson plans, and course content. The evolution of education and instruction in the Pittsburgh Public Schools can be seen through these curriculum materials, which are housed in 62 boxes and span from 1927 to 1985. Additional records in this collection document individual schools and school district administration. This collection of Pittsburgh Public School Records is housed in 197 boxes.
Also noteworthy are the collection of approximately 5,000 photographs documenting the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The images in this collection depict numerous events, educational experiences, and extracurricular activities that feature students, teachers, parents and school district board members from 1880 to 1985. Also included are numerous photographs of school buildings. Chief among these images are classroom activities, educational programs, school building exteriors and interiors, Board and PTA meetings, athletic activities, posed class photographs, and vocational classes. This collection of Pittsburgh Public School Photographs is housed in 33 boxes.
About Pittsburgh Public Schools
The Pittsburgh Public Schools began operating as an official institution in 1835 after the passage of the “Common School” Law of 1834 by the Pennsylvania Legislature. By 1838, there were 1,420 total students who were attending 12 different schools administered by 18 teachers. These schools consisted of five for young men, five for young women, one African American young men and women, and one school for infants. In 1855, the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education obtained control over the school system. That same year, the city’s first public high school, Central High School, opened.
During the tenure of Superintendent George Lackey from 1868 to 1899, the Pittsburgh Public Schools organized the Pittsburgh Teachers’ Institute, began offering evening courses, opened the first kindergarten in Pittsburgh, received special service from the Carnegie Library, and offered special classes for the deaf. With a new school board established in 1911, the school district’s leadership began rapidly expanding in order to accommodate the city’s growing student population. Over the next 40 years, the school board would oversee 65 major building projects. Pittsburgh Public Schools currently serves approximately 25,000 students, making it the largest school district in Allegheny County and the second largest in the state of Pennsylvania.
For more detailed information on the history of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, please see the Historical Note of the Pittsburgh Public School Records Finding Aid.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Records and Photographs ni orodha ya shule za umma za Pittsburgh, pamoja na barua, picha, ripoti, scrapbooks, dakika, vifaa vya mtaala, na rekodi za biashara zinazorekodi shule 90 katika Wilaya ya Shule za Umma ya Pittsburgh. Pamoja, rekodi na picha za Shule za Umma za Pittsburgh zinaonyesha kipekee uzoefu wa elimu wa wanafunzi na walimu na vile vile vitendo vya kiutawala vya wilaya ya shule kwa muda. Miongoni mwa nguvu za mkusanyiko ni Maelezo ya kozi ya Idara ya Mtaala na Mafundisho na miongozo ya mtaala. Karibu kila darasa linalotolewa na Shule za Umma za Pittsburgh linawakilishwa, ikiwa ni pamoja na madarasa ya msingi kama Kiingereza na Hisabati, na vilevile kozi za kuchagua kama Lugha za Kirusi, Aeronautics, Amerika ya Mjini, Bricklaying, Horticulture, na Kazi ya Chuma ya Mapambo. Hasa, miongozo ya mtaala hutoa habari ya kina kuhusu kozi mbalimbali, ikiwa ni pamoja na malengo ya kujifunza yaliyofafanuliwa, mipango ya masomo ya mtu binafsi, na maudhui ya kozi. Mafunzo ya shule ya umma ya Pittsburgh ni pamoja na vifaa vya masomo ya shule ya umma ya Pittsburgh, ambayo ni pamoja na vitabu 62 na vitabu vya masomo vya shule ya umma. Rekodi za ziada katika mkusanyiko huu husaidia shule za kibinafsi na utawala wa wilaya ya shule. Maktaba ya Pittsburgh Public School Records iko katika masanduku 197. Pia, kuna picha 5,000 za shule za umma za Pittsburgh. Picha katika mkusanyiko huu zinaonyesha matukio mengi, uzoefu wa elimu, na shughuli za ziada za shule ambazo zinaonyesha wanafunzi, walimu, wazazi na wanachama wa bodi ya wilaya ya shule kutoka 1880 hadi 1985. Pia kuna picha nyingi za majengo ya shule. Picha hizi ni pamoja na shughuli za darasani, programu za elimu, mambo ya nje na ya ndani ya shule, mikutano ya Bodi na PTA, shughuli za michezo, picha za darasa, na madarasa ya ufundi. Picha za shule za umma za Pittsburgh zimehifadhiwa katika masanduku 33. Shule za Umma za Pittsburgh zilianza kufanya kazi kama taasisi rasmi mnamo 1835 baada ya kupitishwa kwa Sheria ya Shule ya Kawaida ya 1834 na Bunge la Pennsylvania. Kufikia mwaka 1838 kulikuwa na wanafunzi 1,420 waliohudhuria shule 12 tofauti zilizosimamiwa na walimu 18. Shule hizo zilikuwa na shule tano za vijana wa kiume, tano za vijana wa kike, moja ya vijana wa Kiafrika na wa kike, na moja ya watoto wachanga. Mwaka 1855 Bodi ya Elimu ya Umma ya Pittsburgh ilipata udhibiti wa mfumo wa shule. Mwaka huohuo, shule ya sekondari ya kwanza ya umma ya jiji hilo, Shule ya Sekondari ya Kati, ilifunguliwa. Wakati wa uongozi wa Mkuu George Lackey (1868-1899), Shule za Umma za Pittsburgh zilianzisha Taasisi ya Walimu wa Pittsburgh, zilianza kutoa kozi za jioni, zilifungua shule ya chekechea ya kwanza huko Pittsburgh, zilipokea huduma maalum kutoka kwa Maktaba ya Carnegie, na zilitoa madarasa maalum kwa viziwi. Baada ya bodi mpya ya shule kuanzishwa mwaka 1911, uongozi wa wilaya ya shule ulianza kupanuka haraka ili kukidhi idadi ya wanafunzi iliyokuwa ikiongezeka katika mji. Katika miaka 40 iliyofuata, halmashauri ya shule ilisimamia miradi mikubwa 65 ya ujenzi. Shule za Umma za Pittsburgh kwa sasa zinahudumia wanafunzi 25,000, na kuifanya kuwa wilaya kubwa zaidi ya shule katika Kaunti ya Allegheny na ya pili kwa ukubwa katika jimbo la Pennsylvania. Kwa habari zaidi juu ya historia ya Shule za Umma za Pittsburgh, tafadhali angalia Kumbuka Kihistoria cha Rekodi za Shule ya Umma ya Pittsburgh Kupata Msaada.