Home >  Local News >  Neighborhoods

Tuesday, July 23, 2002

By Dan Gigler, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Members of Pittsburgh's Jewish community met last night to discuss the current crisis in the Pittsburgh public schools and the ramifications it might have on the one of the largest urban Jewish populations in the country.

	Mark Frank, left, president of the American Jewish Committee, Barbara K. Shore and Frieda Shapira take part in a meeting last night at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside. Jewish community leaders gathered there last night to discuss the crisis in the city's public school system. (Bill Wade, Post-Gazette)

David Shtulman, the Pittsburgh director of the American Jewish Committee, called the meeting to urge city Jews to get more involved in the city schools and to lend support to Good Schools Pennsylvania, a grassroots advocacy group dedicated to improving the quality of public schools in the state.

Celeste Taylor, a representative of the Good Schools group, addressed about 40 parents, residents and educators at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside.

"We believe that public education is one of the last places to live out democracy," Taylor said. "This is the civil rights issue of our time."

Mark Frank of the local American Jewish Committee said that throughout their history, Jews, perhaps more than any other ethnic group, owe a debt of gratitude to public schools for "leveling the playing field" and giving opportunities to immigrant Jews in the early 20 th century.

Last night's meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, was generally an informational forum, where residents talked about the school crisis and learned more about Good Schools Pennsylvania and its agenda.

After the meeting, Shtulman said that the effect of the current crisis on the Jewish community in Pittsburgh could be disastrous because if it is not resolved, many Jews will leave the city in search of better educational opportunities for their children.

"We represent a very large portion of the middle-class tax base in the city and the majority of our children go to public schools," Shtulman said.

Shtulman said Squirrel Hill is the core of Jewish life in Pittsburgh. He said the communities that developed in the south, north and eastern suburbs will erode into three separate communities instead of one unified Jewish community.

Dr. Roberta Horowitz, a Squirrel Hill optometrist, has a son in fourth grade at Linden Elementary School and came to the meeting because she was concerned about his future in the district.

However, Erica Gold, a 31-year-old doctoral student in education at the University of Pittsburgh, was more optimistic.

A graduate of Allderdice High School, Gold has taught at her alma mater, as well as Peabody and Oliver high schools. She doesn't have children, but hopes to start a family someday. She wants them to be part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.