Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Public Shame

I went to public schools from kindergarten all the way through college. I actually take a lot of pride in that. But Pittsburgh thinks there's ...

pitts.jpgI went to public schools from kindergarten all the way through college. I actually take a lot of pride in that.

But Pittsburgh thinks there's no pride to be had:

The Pittsburgh Public Schools will drop "public" from its name and adopt a new, standardized way of referring to its schools as part of a campaign to brighten and strengthen the district's image.

For example, Schenley High School will be called Pittsburgh Schenley.

[...]

Under the policy, the district simply will call itself the "Pittsburgh Schools."

On the one hand, it's hard to deny that "Pittsburgh Schenley" sounds more impressive than "Schenley High School." But wouldn't another way to improve the schools' image be to, uh, improve the schools, rather than just swap out their names?

I know, I know -- easier said than done. Maybe Pittsburgh should just go all out and add "Prep" to the end of all its school names? "Schenley Prep" sure sounds nice, huh?

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism