Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy
Dream. Discover. Design.
Location
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107 Thackeray Street Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213 United States
Information
Type	Public - Magnet
Established	2009
School district	Pittsburgh Public Schools
Grades	6–12
Enrollment	537 (as of October 1, 2017)
Color(s)	White and blue
Mascot	Sci-Tech Thundersharks
Newspaper	The Byte (retired), The Sextant (Future)
Website	Pittsburgh Science and Technology
Henry Clay Frick Training School for Teachers
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Inside the school
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1927
Architect	Ingham & Boyd
Architectural style	Classical Revival
MPS	Pittsburgh Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.	86002668
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 30, 1986

Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy is a public school in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It currently serves grades 6-12 in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 30, 1986.

History

Originally the building served as the home for the Henry Clay Frick Training School for Teachers, founded by Henry Clay Frick in 1927, which served a training school for teachers. In 1983 it became a middle school housed at Dilworth School in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of East Liberty. Pittsburgh Frick 6–8 Middle School moved to the building in 1986, and was temporarily located at Reizenstein which is called the Barack Obama Academy of International Studies 6-12. The Barack Obama Academy of International Studies 6-12 is now located in the former Peabody High School building in East Liberty. In June 2009, staff working on The Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy received possession of the Frick International Studies Academy building. Sci-Tech officially opened to students in September 2009 after a pilot project by graduate students at Carnegie Mellon Heinz College.

Operating Schedule

Pittsburgh SciTech offers a block-schedule of classes; using this structure it allows students 80 minute classes. A small student to teacher ratio provides a safety net so that each student can receive individual attention in areas they may need extra help in as well as being moved to advanced classes if they need more of a challenge. Field trips to local attractions in the Oakland area are plentiful and make use of local libraries, museums, universities and seasonal attractions. Also, students are given 60 minutes a day to entertain themselves in a list of activities which are not school related, this is called Activity Period.

Concentrations

Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy offers four fields of science for students to focus on. These fields, named "Concentrations", are split into the following categories:

• Computers and Connections
• Body and Behavior
• Form and Function
• Environment and Energy

These sub-categories cover a wide range of careers and offer early experience in classes they would not study otherwise. Students pick their concentration at the end of their Ninth-grade year. The pickings are chosen in a weighted lottery, biased on grades, behavior, and attendance.

Computers and Connections

The Computers and Connections concentration focuses on teaching students computational thinking; breaking hard problems up into easier steps. Also known as the best concentration right above Form and Function.

Body and Behavior

In the body and behavior concentration, students focus on aspects of health and science. Also students are given accelerated teaching about different professions and health careers.

Form and Function

Form and Function focuses on engineering and the different aspects of it. The students have won a "Dream Team" competition for best design in the past. The best concentration, but usually the most applied for.

Environment and Energy

Environment and Energy teaches students about Environment and Energy in the form of hands on activities in Panther Hollow creek and elsewhere, and learning about the aspects of each.

Enrollment

As of October 1, 2018: