Superintendent Hamlet: Let’s see how the new city school leader performs; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/3/16

Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Superintendent Hamlet: Let’s see how the new city school leader performs:

"Mr. Hamlet begins work this month as a tarnished figure, having endured a public drama that is less Shakespearean than it is farcical. A tragedy, however, would result if he fails at his task. The health not only of the Pittsburgh Public Schools but also the viability of the city as a place for all sorts of families to live is riding on it. For those reasons, it’s time to give Mr. Hamlet the chance to prove his leadership abilities and receive the public and institutional support due the superintendent of a $570 million school district...

In March 2001, when the city school board was going through one of its many contentious periods, the late philanthropist Elsie Hillman, who always gave more of herself than mere money, published an opinion piece in the Post-Gazette. The headline was “The Region’s No. 1 Priority: the Pittsburgh Public Schools.” She wrote: “While Pittsburgh has a pretty good urban school district, it isn’t as strong as most of our suburban school districts. If this exodus continues or new families refuse to move into the city, we will ultimately have a two-tier city: the poorest of the poor who cannot afford to leave the city, and the wealthiest of the wealthy who can afford to send their children to private schools. We cannot grow a viable city if these are the two primary elements of our population.” That’s as true today as it was 15 years ago, and we hope that Anthony Hamlet takes it as a central tenet of his educational philosophy."