All Pittsburgh City School Students To Get Passing Grades

PITTSBURGH, PA - All Pittsburgh Public Schools students will receive passing grades for the fourth quarter as the district faces a critical shortage in providing laptops for students for virtual learning at home.

District officials made the announcement Thursday at a virtual news conference. They said the grading decision was made so students who didn't have access to remote learning devices wouldn't be unfairly penalized.

Nearly 3,500 laptops and 240 hotspots have been provided to students in high school. Nearly 600 laptops are about to be given to middle school students.

The Heinz Endowments on Thursday announced a $360,000 grant to the district that will be used for laptops and technological upgrades, which should help alleviate some of the problems the district is having with virtual instruction.

District officials also announced that graduation ceremonies also would occur virtually, although high schools possibly could hold in-person graduation ceremonies later in the summer.