Allderdice installs permanent principal

Allderdice installs permanent principal

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

By Beth Mormer, Allderdice High School (City of Pittsburgh Schools)

The start of a new school year is always hectic between finding new classes, getting to know new teachers, getting used to the workload, joining new clubs and going new places. In case that’s not enough, there’s just one more new person to get accustomed to; Robert Scherrer is the new principal of Taylor Allderdice. In fact, he is the fifth principal at Allderdice since the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.

Scherrer, formerly the co-principal of curriculum and instruction at Woodland Hills, has filled such previous roles as assistant principal at Peters Township and Woodland Hills East Junior High Schools, and teacher at Baldwin High School.

Scherrer has added Allderdice to his résumé. On his decision to take the position at Allderdice, Scherrer said, “It’s not often you get an opportunity to work at such a unique school; it is an opportunity to be part of something special.” Before making his decision to take the position here, Scherrer had heard of Allderdice as “a large, diverse school with a reputation for academic excellence.”

He hopes to maintain this reputation for excellence by encouraging all groups within the school to reach yearly progress goals. “Test scores are not where they need to be across the board. We need to push students to better themselves,” he said. To remedy unsatisfactory test scores and assist students in general, the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) will hold tutoring sessions three days a week at 2:45 p.m. in the cafeteria. Juniors and seniors will be able to attend on Mondays, all grades will attend on Tuesdays, and Thursdays will be reserved for freshman and sophomores.

In addition to test scores, discipline was also cited as an area in which Allderdice could seek improvement. In light of recent fighting, Scherrer said he hopes Allderdice can be “a place where people feel safe and comfortable.” He restated the zero-tolerance policy on violence: “A fight is an automatic suspension. We then bring in mediators from outside of the school to work with the students and their parents.”

Another new thing about Allderdice this year is the student handbook in place of the student IDs and individual hall passes. Intended to accompany students in the halls, the handbook doubles as an organizational tool and a hall pass. “The student handbooks are meant to force students to teach themselves how to organize,” Scherrer said. “The handbook sends a message that school is an important time that sets the stage for the rest of your life.”

As for the learning environment at Allderdice, Scherrer agrees that air conditioning would be a new and welcome change. “A climate controlled building, that would be very nice,” he said. “It’s a very toasty building.”