Pittsburgh Public Schools have technical difficulties on 1st school day

The first day of classes at Pittsburgh Public Schools on Tuesday morning was marred by technical difficulties.

Parents took to social media to inform the district of their technology’s shortcomings. Some parents said their students couldn’t log in on the laptops the district provided. Others cited issues with specific platforms the school uses, like Microsoft Teams and Schoology.

The district is operating entirely online for the first nine weeks.

Pittsburgh Public School officials informed parents via social media and robocalls Tuesday morning of issues with one of the district’s internet service providers.

“This issue is causing a slow and unreliable connection to district-provided web resources, including Schoology and Microsoft Teams,” the district wrote on Facebook. “If you are experiencing this at your home, please be patient, our Information Technology team is working to resolve the issue and expect to have full service restored shortly.”

Chrissi Hahne said her son, a junior at Carrick, is missing the first day of school due to technical difficulties.

“My son can’t even get into the laptop because the password is invalid, so he missed his first day,” she said. “They screwed this up.” She said she knew several other parents experiencing similar issues.

Some students are still waiting for the district to issue them technology.

School officials said that families who still need devices for online learning can visit Carrick, Westinghouse or Oliver Citywide Academy until 6 p.m. Tuesday.

School officials could not be reached for further information.

Classes had been scheduled to start on Aug. 31. But on Aug. 29, school officials changed the start date to Sept. 8, citing “unexpected delays caused by continued technology supply chain shortages across the country.”