Pittsburgh principal drops rap video encouraging students during pandemic

Teghan Simonton | Wednesday, September 9, 2020 11:56 a.m.

Courtesy of Margaret Starkes

Pittsburgh Miller Principal Margaret Starkes often makes videos of herself as the "Rapping Principal" for her students and families. This year, her back-to-school video focused on encouraging students as they start the year with remote learning.

The principal of Pittsburgh Miller Pre-K is encouraging students to excel during remote learning — with song.

In a video posted Tuesday morning, the school district tweeted a video of Margaret Starkes, “the Rapping Principal,” dropping a few bars of reassurance for students on their first day of school. All Pittsburgh Public Schools will use remote instruction for the first quarter of the school year.

The Rapping Principal welcomes you back for the 2020-2021 school year! #PPSFirstDay pic.twitter.com/0C74ZiA8AD

— Pgh Public Schools (@PPSnews) September 8, 2020

“Covid can’t stop me and yes I’m gonna win. I’ll come through this struggle wiser, better in the end,” Starkes raps in the song’s chorus.

It’s not her first video — Starkes has posted back-to-school videos as the Rapping Principal for at least four years now. A graduate of the Rogers School for Creative and Performing Arts and Peabody High School, Starkes spent much of her youth traveling around the city performing as a rapper.

She’s been an educator for 27 years, she said, teaching at Pittsburgh Sunnyside and working as an assistant principal for several schools in the district. She’s now entering her 10th year as principal of Pittsburgh Miller. Starkes said she makes the rap videos as a “culturally responsive” way to engage learners, “providing multiple entry points into the learning environment.”

“I truly love connecting with our school community in an innovative and creative way,” Starkes said.

She said her videos are usually very popular online, as students and families see the back-to-school messages as “a breath of fresh air.” This year’s video was even more special.

“I knew families and students would be having anxieties,” she said. “I wanted to provide that sense of normalcy and stability.”

Starkes said she wanted to encourage families to be patient with themselves and with teachers, as the district works through technical difficulties and other barriers to remote instruction. Already on day two of school, Starkes said she’s seen an improvement at Miller, with more students logging in and lessons beginning.

“We’re all learning together,” she said. “It was a really special rap this year.”