“An average day in the ECS fifth grade might include creating stopmotion animation movies for the public service announcements we created in Environmental Literacy class, a math “huddle” to review the key concepts we’ve learned that day, and looking for fossils of microinvertebrates along the creek banks.”

Headshot of intermediate school principal smiling.

–Intermediate School Principal, Laura Williams


Academic Blocks

ECS Intermediate is dedicated to delivering a high-performing, innovative, and mission-aligned curriculum that reflects the school's commitment to systems thinking and educating for sustainability which is the foundation of eco-literacy.

  • Environmental literacy is a place to explore the connections between social studies and science, and many authentic learning experiences emerge throughout our time together. Topics of inquiry include communities, the sun and moon, and the connections between humans and animals and their habitats.

  • Literacy builds phonemic awareness, phonics skills, writing stamina, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. During this block of time, students are engaged in Reading, Writing and Phonics Workshops, auditory phonemic awareness exercises, read-alouds, shared reads, and small group instruction.

  • The ECS Math Program follows the focus and coherence of the PA Core Standards and uses Eureka Math as a curricular resource. The progression of math ideas are presented in “A Story of Units,” where modules are sequenced to follow the story of mathematics; the story’s main character is the basic building block of arithmetic, or the unit.

  • My Excellence Time is a time each day dedicated to intensely practicing Math and Literacy skills students have been learning. The groups are differentiated based on our Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS) data. Students split into spaces all across our building and the activities are geared to support or enrich students based on their individual needs.

    • Thinking Lab

    • Music

    • Physical Education

    • Edible School Yard

    • Spanish

A female intermediate student outside looking at a notebook.

Our School

ECS Intermediate houses students from third grade through fifth grade and is where ECS’s roots began when the district first opened in 2008.  Nestled next to the 644 acres of Frick Park, students are often found peering under decomposing logs, taking water samples from the creek, scoping for birds by the Monongahela River, or simply hiking through the park with teachers.  

    • Looping

    • Team Teaching

    • Specialized Teaching

    • Differentiated Instruction

  • Learn more about the Intermediate School’s out-of-school time offerings.

    • Intermediate Arrival: 8–8:20 a.m.

    • Intermediate Dismissal: 3:20–3:50 p.m.

    • Half Day Dismissal: 11:20 a.m.

    • 1 School Counselor

    • 1 Social Worker

    • 1 School Nurse

    • 2 Administrators

    • 2 School Psychologists (K–12)

    • 1 Director of Special Education (K–12)

A picture of the intermediate school from a street view.
 

Address:

829 Milton Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15218

Phone: 412-247-7970 x2400

Fax: 412-204-7889


Current Intermediate News

Several students are playing with a ball in a fenced in area while other students watch.