Last fall, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review embarked on an unprecedented examination of gender equity in sports programs at the 129 public high schools comprised by the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League and the Pittsburgh City League - the organizations that oversee high school sports in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The goal was to see how well the schools were living up to Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination in all aspects of education, including sports.
At each school, the Trib examined athletic programs' participation rates; money spent on equipment, training, travel and uniforms; and coaching salaries for the 1999-2000 school year. The Trib gave that information to athletic directors, superintendents, principals, parents, students and educational and legal experts to see how the schools fare when it comes to treating boys and girls fairly on the playing fields.
Today, the scores are in.
School by school: WPIAL Class A, Pittsburgh City League
Day 1
Second string: Girls not getting chance to play
Since last fall, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has been studying how western Pennsylvania high school athletics programs measure up under gender equity laws. The scores are in, and the girls are losing. The four-day series starts today.
Is Title IX destroying men's programs?
To some, Title IX is a quota law, designed to destroy men's sports by unfairly favoring women. To others, it ensures every girl a chance to play sports in school, a dream deferred for most women until the 1970s.
Federal agency renews commitment
Some of western Pennsylvania's biggest schools don't advertise it, but they've run afoul of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights and Title IX.
Surveys help avoid quotas
Title IX critics accuse the U.S. Office for Civil Rights of building a law of numbers. They say one of the indicators of Title IX equality - the ratio of female athletes to female students - is a disguised quota system, ignoring the fact that some districts have a lot of girls who just don't like sports.
"King Football" continues longtime rule
Fans and critics alike call it "King Football." By its weight of numbers and its clutch on the athletic culture of western Pennsylvania, football has ruled over all other sports here for a century.
Title IX: Chronology of controversy
A history of Title IX
Day 2
Fund-raisers fuel `shadow economy'
The Indian always arrives before a game on horseback, face smudged black and red, the war colors of Aliquippa High School.
For more information about Title IX, see Second String: Gender inequality in high school athletics, a Tribune-Review special report.
Girls and boys entitled to cheers
They were a crimson blur of pompoms, sneaker squeaks and smiles. Just as they've done for generations, the New Brighton Lady Lions cheerleaders have followed the boys' basketball team on the road, trying to knit a victory out the yarn of yells, flips and that most intangible of threads - "school spirit."
Few educators monitor spending by outsiders
If booster spending is the shadow economy of high school sports in western Pennsylvania, then a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review investigation has shed some light.
Reformers risk wrath of parents, coaches, school boards
While both impoverished and wealthy school districts dine on the booster clubs' cash cow, a handful of local educators say it's time their teams went on a diet.
Day 3
Men dominate coaching ranks
When Title IX became law three decades ago, only one out of every 100 high school athletes was a girl.
Federal law routinely ignored
Federal regulations mandate that every public school district in the country employ a knowledgeable, trained and responsive Title IX coordinator ready to help parents and their children.
Women athletic directors a rare find
They're a lonely three. There are 119 public high schools in the WPIAL. Three of them have women for athletic directors.
Some schools take active approach to gender equity
Perhaps one of the few districts where a telephone call will bring a Title IX coordinator is North Allegheny. There, Bob Devlin has been the gender guru for 12 years. That's also true at Fox Chapel, where district solicitor Martin Sheerer designed a training program on gender issues for every employee, even coaches.
Day 4
WPIAL girls passed over for scholarships
If you're a girl growing up in western Pennsylvania, don't count on landing a college athletic scholarship in field hockey, gymnastics or even swimming. For more information about Title IX, see Second String: Gender inequality in high school athletics, a Tribune-Review special report.
Study expanded significance of Title IX
In 1997, Title IX became more than a sports issue.
City League works on shoestring budget
The Pittsburgh City League is a world onto itself.
Stringer proves humble background a foundation for success
She's never been a sitter. Gesticulating, her fingers diagramming the Xs and Os from the chalkboard of her mind, she points her basketball players to their places on the court, half-cheering, half-pleading for a shot, a block, a rebound.
Poor districts still find money for boys
Sometimes, the poorer the students, the poorer a school's record is when it comes to Title IX.
Carl Prine joined the Special Projects team at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in July. Before coming to the Trib, he worked as a reporter at The Greenfield (Ind.) Daily reporter where he won numerous awards and was a combat correspondent in Sierra Leone for the Christian Science Monitor.
Prine, 34, is a graduate of Indiana University and is an infantry veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
He can be reached at (412) 320-7826 or cprine@tribweb.com
State and federal offices handle complaints or inquiries into Title IX. They are:
Office For Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
Philadelphia Office/Eastern Division
100 Penn Square East
Suite 515
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 596-6787
State Department of Education
Human Relations Representative, Intake Division
State Office Building
11th Floor
300 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 565-5395
School officials can learn more about their district's obligations under federal and state laws by contacting the agencies above and:
Pennsylvania School Board Association
774 Lemekiln Rd.
New Cumberland, PA 17070-2398
(717) 774-2331
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