Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 3

Mar 1 2006 PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 WWW.POST-GAZETTE.COM A-3 The vote was the most important moment so far in the administration of Superintendent Mark Roosevelt, who was hired in August to right the financial and academic problems. He said his plan cuts 10,117 of the 13,706 empty seats, offering a net operating savings of $10.3 million a year, and will boost achievement by concentrating students in better schools. Although the board must vote again on plan revisions made last month, last action reflects the intention to implement the entire proposal. The vote also marked a historic break with board politics. By previous agreement, the board could vote the plan only up or down, depriving members of the opportunity to pick it apart and save pet schools.

Such behind-the-scenes maneuvering had been blamed for derailing previous reorganizations, leaving the district with more space and higher expenses than necessary. Because of three years of low test scores, positioning the district for a possible state takeover in September, Mr. Roosevelt stressed the urgency of a shakeup. Yet his plan drew mixed reaction in the black community. Sixty-seven percent of the students affected by the reorganzia- tion are black, and black school board members Mark Brentley Sr.

and Randall Taylor last night made 11th-hour appeals to kill it. Tempers flared as Mr. Brentley and Mr. Taylor said the plan would be carried out on the backs of poor and minority children. Mr.

Brentley repeated criticism that Mr. Roosevelt had shown preferential treatment to influential groups, an assertion the superintendent has rejected. Mr. Taylor said the district is making too many changes at once. He said the reorganization raised some equity issues by concentrating a disproportionate number of black students in schools with populations of up to 800 students while leaving smaller schools open in white neighborhoods.

He challenged the wisdom of assigning middle- school students to K-8 buildings without guaranteeing them computer labs and libraries appropriate for their ages. When board member Patrick Dowd said it would be irresponsible for members not to vote for the plan and stressed that it improved educational opportunities for black students, Mr. Brentley chided him for his concern for African-American Other board members applauded Mr. Roosevelt for his approach, calling it apolitical. Mr.

Roosevelt said his reorganization of schools would be guided by 10 criteria, with excess capacity, fair use of resources and achievement topping the list. Voting in favor of the plan were board President Bill Isler, Theresa Colaizzi, Daniel Romaniello Thomas Sumpter, Jean Fink and Mr. Dowd. Voting no were Mr. Brentley, Mr.

Taylor and Floyd McCrea. status quo the way we have been doing business in this district is Mr. Dowd said. better kids could be doing better. Our lower-achieving kids could be making Mrs.

Fink said. A self-described Mr. Roosevelt tapped Rand Corp. to analyze the performance of the schools and help him decide which ones to close. All 14 elementary and middle schools that rated a the low point on scale, now will be closed or turned into accelerated achievement academies.

In a separate resolution, the board last night approved a three-year, $3.6 million contract with Choice which will provide the special curriculum and support services for the academies. The centerpiece of Mr. efforts to boost student achievement, the academies will offer more instructional time 45 minutes a day and 10 days a year than other schools. The board also voted to declare 23 schools, including the acad- emies, because of a 35 percent change in population or the addition of at least two grades. The district hopes the state Department of Education will accept that designation and wipe away the records on achievement tests, giving them new starts Lisa Fischetti, Mr.

chief of staff, said. Mr. Roosevelt said the designation would not forestall a possible state takeover in September. The new-school designation is an attempt to create a new culture at the schools, not skirt state sanctions. The reorganization sets the stage for other initiatives on academic improvement.

Mr. Roosevelt said his coming agenda will target poor performance of high schools and engage the public in a campaign for proficiency on achievement tests. the hard work Sherman Shrager, an official of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, told Mr. Roosevelt after the meeting. other hard work Mr.

Roosevelt replied. As part of the reorganization, the board hired eight principals for the accelerated learning academies and an executive director to oversee the academies and the K-8 schools. The reorganization increases the number of K-8 schools to 22 and leaves the district with 10 middle schools. Some experts believe the family atmosphere of K-8 schools promotes good behavior and achievement, especially among black students. Mr.

Taylor and Mr. Brentley said not convinced of that. Because of space constraints, three of the new K-8 schools will take a structure new to Pittsburgh. The Faison, Lincoln and Schaeffer schools each will operate out of two buildings, one for higher grades and another for lower grades. The reorganization creates a new elementary school in the Arsenal Middle School building.

It moves three schools and the gifted center and creates four centers for Head Start and pre-kindergarten classes, giving the district five early-childhood centers in all. Mr. Roosevelt said that he celebrate the vote to approve his plan. He said he would celebrate only when there are gains in student achievement. Joe Smydo can be reached at or 412263-1548.

ments obtained from more than and Marines from May 2003 to April 2004. More than 222,000 of the respondents were returning from Iraq. Generally, the assessments were completed at the end of deployments or within two weeks of returning home. Information on follow-up health care visits at military facilities was collected for up to a year. The rates of both outpatient and inpatient mental health utilization were higher for service members returning from Iraq than from other deployments, the study said.

Military personnel coming back from Iraq more often indicated that they were depressed or had interpersonal conflicts or thoughts of suicide. They also were more likely to test positive for post traumatic stress disorder. Personnel returning from Iraq also more often reported having combat experience, discharging a weapon, seeing someone wounded or killed or feeling in great danger of being killed. Andrew F. Bell said he had all those experiences in Iraq while serving as a tank crewman with the 4th 367th Armored Division.

Since returning home, Mr. Bell, who served in Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004, said he has dreamed over and over of attacks that killed a friend and other soldiers. a while, you want to live through it any said Mr. Bell, 39, of Carrick, who said he turned to alcohol after coming home before he found better ways to cope through programs offered by the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. The greater need for mental health services among veterans returning from Iraq is linked to the frequency and intensity of said Dr.

Charles Hoge, the principal author and director of the division of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Prevalence rates of mental health problems and combat experiences were consistently higher following deployment to Iraq compared to other places, the study said. Nearly two out of three soldiers and Marines leaving Iraq reported combat experience on the health assessment, compared to 46 percent of those leaving Afghanistan and about 7 percent of those leaving other areas. Nearly 18 percent of Iraq war veterans said they had discharged a weapon, compared to 6.2 percent of those who served in Afghanistan and less than 1 percent of those returning from other deployments. For all deployment locations, personnel who screened positive for a mental health concern were significantly more likely to leave military service during the year after ending their deployment than those who screened negative.

Those returning from Iraq were more likely to leave military service than those coming back from other deployments. Overall, 19.1 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq reported a mental health problem on the assessment, compared to 11.3 percent for military personnel returning from Afghanistan and 8.5 percent returning from other locations. They included respondents who reported emotional distress, frequently feeling family problems, thoughts of hurting themselves or others and an interest in seeking help. Researchers noted that the reported rate of post traumatic stress disorder among personnel returning from Iraq was lower than that found by an earlier study. The lower rate could have resulted in part, they said, because some mental health problems are not reported until months after returning from deployment.

As a result, the government plans to expand its screening program to include assessments 90 to 180 days after military personnel return home. Joe Fahy can be reached at or 412263-1722. of troops seek mental health aid STUDY, FROM PAGE A-1 Poll shows troops favor leaving Iraq By Monica Haynes Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Nearly three-quarters of American troops in Iraq think the United States should leave the country within a year, according to a poll touted as the first-ever survey of soldiers serving there. The poll, conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Zogby International and Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., showed that 72 percent of the 944 soldiers surveyed face-to- face believe the United States should pull out. That included 29 percent of respondents who said the United States should leave immediately; 22 percent who said it should leave within the next six months; and 21 percent who said troops should be out in six to 12 months.

Twenty-three percent said the United States should keep its soldiers in Iraq as long as they are needed. Army Master Sgt. Michelle Michalak of Elyria, Ohio, who served in Iraq from January 2004 to January 2005, said she shares the majority sentiment. think we should be out she said. are people there who appreciate the Americans but there are also those who She said the United States has accomplished much in Iraq but there also are problems here that need to be addressed.

have our own people that are homeless, hungry and living on the street, and why should we provide for people over there before we provide for our own people she said. Spc. Ralph Isabella of Slippery Rock, the subject of a Feb. 20 Post-Gazette story about divorce, domestic violence and child custody cases that proceeded while he was in Iraq, said he believes U.S. troops should remain until own security forces can handle the job of protecting it.

lost he said. think pulling out anytime sooner would be a dishonor to the men The poll showed that 93 percent of respondents believe that removing weapons of mass destruction was not the reason why the United States was in Iraq; while 85 percent said the U.S. mission was to retaliate for role in the a role that has never been established. Different branches of the military expressed different opinions, according to the poll. For instance, 89 percent of reserves and 82 percent of those in the National Guard think the United States should pull out within a year, compared with 58 percent of those in the Marines.

Marine Cpl. Justin Grieco of Irwin said that troops should stay until military and civil law enforcement forces are stabilized. Cpl. Grieco served in Iraq from August 2004 to March 2005. not our job to police their he said.

our job to train them well enough so they need any international military A Pentagon spokesman told Knight-Ridder, findings certainly reflective of the attitudes we see displayed by the majority of troops, who are performing in a remarkable manner in a combat situation far from Monica Haynes can be reached at gazette.com or 412-263-1660. Opinions of 944 soldiers surveyed inside Iraq If you have a correction and cannot reach the responsible reporter or editor, please call the office of David M. Shribman, executive editor, 412-263-1890. Business. Heard Off the Street column failed to state that Verizon senior managers, like other management employees, will stop earning pension credits effective June 30 and that the company has ended its supplemental retirement plan for senior executives.

Real Estate. Jennifer name was misspelled in a story Sunday about a repair shop and warehouse converted into a modern home in the North Side. Also, the material used for the kitchen cabinetry was misidentified. It is walnut veneer. Magazine.

A review of the Pittsburgh Musical Christ credited the direction to the wrong person. The show is directed by Ken Gargaro, not Michael G. Benson. Mr. Benson is the production director.

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