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Jan 13, 2009 8:21 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburgh Promise Begins To Pay Off
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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CAPA, the city's Creative and Performing Arts High School, lives up to its designation as a so-called magnet school, attracting students from across the city and even outside of it.
KDKA
CAPA, the city's Creative and Performing Arts High School, lives up to its designation as a so-called magnet school, attracting students from across the city and even outside of it.
This winter applications to CAPA and the city's other magnet schools have doubled and Superintendent Mark Roosevelt thinks he knows why.
"I think we have the right combination of things, which is rigorous new school offerings and the Pittsburgh Promise," he said.
Of those applying to the magnets, 700 will be transferring out of private, Catholic and charter schools. While the bad economy could be a factor, Roosevelt believes it's the first sign of the potential of school reform and the promise to turn the district around.
"Ultimately we hope to have a re-invigorated school system and families that recognize Pittsburgh is a great place to bring up a family," Roosevelt said.
Some 900 public high school graduates are already receiving promise tuition checks -- a powerful marketing tool for a city hungry to stem population loss and attract young families.
And although there is no large scale evidence of families moving into the city just yet – Mayor Luke Ravenstahl believes they will.
"We really believe it's just another part of why somebody should move to Pittsburgh," he says. "Their son or daughter could get up to $40,000 over the course of their education to go to college. That's a significant, significant amount of money."
"My sense is clearly yes that the message is getting out and people are excited about it," Saleem Ghubril said.
The job of moving that message forward falls to Ghubril, the program's director, who is happy to attract them one family at a time.
"I've heard from a handful of parents who moved out of the city a few years ago partly because of their concern about the quality of education in our district who are now rethinking their decision and some are already actively looking for a place to live in the city."
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