Not long after the beginning of the school year, I spoke with Alan Lesgold, dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh, to get his perspective on the challenges facing the Pittsburgh Public Schools. When he began to use a football analogy, I was put at ease at first because I’m a sports fan. Then, as the father of two children in the city schools, alarm bells went off as I heard him compare my kids’ district to a football team hitting the field with no coaches.

Suddenly, I saw images of teammates running into one another or sprinting in the wrong direction. A good team, he said, consistently employs proven strategies, and trains and supports its players and coaches over the long term. It doesn’t send coaches packing every year, recruit a whole new staff and then expect the team to perform effectively.

“And yet,” he insisted, “that’s what we’re doing in the most challenged schools in Pittsburgh.”

High operating costs and declining enrollments have forced the Pittsburgh school district to close dozens of buildings. Principals have had to say good-bye to staff and programs, often those in low- or borderline-achieving schools. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania districts have received nearly $1 billion less from the state budget in the last two years, which, along with reductions in federal aid, meant a loss in Pittsburgh of $37.8 million in 2012 alone.