Six years ago, Homewood community leaders made a pilgrimage to Harlem with Pittsburgh corporate and foundation leaders to study the work of the Harlem Children's Zone because we were disappointed in the conditions of our community. Rather than be discouraged, however, we sought solutions. We were determined and inspired to build a groundbreaking initiative in Pittsburgh, the Homewood Children's Village.
Recently, the Homewood Children's Village was disappointed with the recommendation by Pittsburgh Public Schools administration to deny approval for our charter school application, but we are not deterred. PPS has publicly decried the loss of 3,600 students to charter schools instead of embracing the fact that children educated in charter schools are also public school children.
Nine of the 10 authorized charter schools in Pittsburgh are achieving results that are comparable to or better than their peer, nonmagnet public schools in the city. When authorized, we are confident that Homewood Children's Village Collegiate Charter School will enhance the portfolio of good public schools serving children in Pittsburgh.
The mission of the Homewood Children's Village is “to improve the lives of Homewood's children and to reweave the fabric of the community in which they live.” Our vision is simply “every child succeeds.” The three tenets of HCV Collegiate embody this mission and vision.
We educate our children. HCV Collegiate will be the first STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) school in Pittsburgh. Our instructors will utilize the pedagogy of “human-centered design” pioneered by MAYA Design and featured by the Jan. 14 Harvard Business Review as “A Taxonomy of Innovation.” Moreover, our children will study mathematics using the nationally renowned Algebra Project, founded by civil rights pioneer Bob Moses. The curriculum coupled with the pedagogy will develop agile and creative minds required to navigate the 21st century and jobs that have yet to be conceived in this rapidly changing world.
We embrace our families. We will partner with parents as the first and most important teachers in the lives of their children. We will have a range of services to partner with and support our families so that our children can attend school available to master complex topics.
We enrich our community. HCV Collegiate is not only an educational initiative, but also an economic development initiative where we adaptively repurpose buildings and convert existing structures into academic classrooms. HCV Collegiate will utilize the community as a campus, partnering with the Afro-American Music Institute for music lessons; the YMCA-Homewood for physical fitness and nutrition; and the Greater Pittsburgh Coliseum for artistic classrooms.
HCV will move with all deliberate speed to open an educational institution that meets the manifold and complex needs of children and families in the East End of Pittsburgh. This is the next phase in the Homewood Children's Village. This is our commitment to the community of Homewood. This is our commitment to our families, moving one step closer to our vision that “every child succeeds.”
Derrick Lopez is the president/chief executive officer of the Homewood Children's Village and a former assistant superintendent for secondary schools and chief of high school reform for Pittsburgh Public Schools.
