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(Second of two parts)

Evaluated strictly using the raw numbers --- standardized tests as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act --- McKeesport Area School District is struggling. According to state Department of Education reports:

• 64 percent of students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 were ranked "proficient" or better in mathematics. The statewide average is 75 percent.


• 56 percent of students were ranked "proficient" or better in reading. The statewide average is 72 percent.


• 83 percent of students are graduating. The statewide average is 90 percent.

The educational differences between white students and students of color are also striking. While 73 percent of white students district-wide are ranked proficient in math, and 66 percent of white students were judged proficient in reading, only 52 percent of black students were ranked proficient in math and 43 percent in reading.

(McKeesport Area does better than many peer districts statewide where the achievement gap is much more severe --- across Pennsylvania, students of color lag white students by 23 points in reading, and 19 points in math, according to PDE reports.)

Last year, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked the district 100th out of 105 Western Pennsylvania school districts, based on the same standardized test scores.

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Poor Districts Score Worst: But the numbers look somewhat different when placed in context. The Business Times' list of "top public school districts," for instance, is also practically a list of Western Pennsylvania's wealthiest suburbs --- the top spot was held by the Upper St. Clair school district, followed by North Allegheny (Marshall Township, McCandless, Bradford Woods and Franklin Park), Mt. Lebanon, Hampton Township, Peters Township and Fox Chapel.

While 65 percent of McKeesport Area students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches, only 3 percent of students in Upper St. Clair or North Allegheny qualify, and only 6 percent in Mt. Lebanon.

Norwin, which abuts the McKeesport district, was ranked 10th best by the Business Times. Only 17 percent of Norwin students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. In the district ranked dead last by the Business Times --- Duquesne City --- nearly nine out of 10 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

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District 'Making Progress': The McKeesport Area School District is making progress, according to the state Department of Education. During the 2009-10 school year, the district met all of its targets for graduation, attendance and test scores.

While the numbers are moving in the right direction, there's more work to be done, says Tim Gabauer, who has taught in the district since 1994 and was appointed superintendent in September.

No Child Left Behind and standardized testing have led to "some very positive changes," he says. "It's always good to look at a program and see what's working and what isn't."

. . .

'Well-Rounded' Students: For one thing, districts, including McKeesport Area, have put new emphasis on teacher training, Gabauer said. (All of the district's teachers are now rated "highly qualified," according to the state Department of Education.)

And the focus on moving the standardized math and reading test scores upwards has to be balanced against other aspects of the curriculum, he said. "Ten years ago, elementary schools in particular started to get focused on large reading blocks and large math blocks," Gabauer said. "You definitely saw a shift away from teaching social studies and science."

With the new statewide Keystone Exams, which will test on subjects such as literature, biology and chemistry, attention has returned to "making sure you graduate a well-rounded individual," he said.

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Cross-Training Students: To that end, Gabauer said, McKeesport Area thinks it's got its priorities straight by offering strong career training for high-school students in fields such as building trades, culinary arts and vehicle technology. "We need to make sure that when our students leave --- whatever their interests may be --- that we've offered them as much as we possibly can," he said.

All of the programs also provide opportunities for classroom lessons to be reinforced with practical examples --- building construction draws heavily on mathematical formulas, for instance.

"It makes it a much more powerful experience," Gabauer said.

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21st Century Technology: Although vocational programs were always a strong point of McKeesport Area School District, this isn't your dad's "Voc High."

For example, through a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, McKeesport Area has a robotics team that competes in challenges sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST.

FIRST is a worldwide consortium of private companies, government agencies and educational institutions that develops lessons in computer science, electrical engineering and related concepts for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

McKeesport Area's "Team 1708" qualified for the national championships in its very first year, 2005. Although the team didn't advance past the Pittsburgh regional contest this year, it was given the "Gracious Professionalism" award.

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New Buildings to Boost K-6: The three new buildings will help boost education for the elementary and middle school grades, Gabauer said. The district envisions creating a music and arts academy at the expanded and renovated Francis McClure, a math and science academy at the new Cornell school, and a language academy at the unnamed third school.

That school will likely be built on a parcel of vacant land near Renziehausen Park and Penn State Greater Allegheny campus, Gabauer said. The logistics of which children will attend which school have yet to be decided, he said.

Each of the buildings will have math and science labs the existing K-6 schools lack, will keep younger pupils separate from older children, and will encourage students and teachers to work together in small groups, Gabauer said --- something the existing Centennial and former Cornell schools couldn't accommodate.

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Poised for Future: The target completion date for all of the buildings to come online is 2013. Along with the district's existing emphasis on early childhood intervention --- necessary to prepare children to enter school, especially when one or both parents is working or not at home --- Gabauer said the district is planning beyond the next set of test scores.

"We're hoping that we're setting ourselves up for the future," he said. "When you're looking at the long term, you're hoping that you're going to continue to provide a quality education today and 60 years down the road."

As the Business Times survey shows, however, the district faces a big challenge in turning around public perceptions, both in McKeesport and beyond.

"Right now, everyone looks at one test score and uses that to determine whether you're a success or a failure," Gabauer said. "It's not really reflective of what you do, and who you are."

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