Sarah Heinz House — Local services in Pittsburgh

Our family have been members at Sarah Heinz for 15 years. For the most part it has been great. However, the last few years, the leadership has diminished. The new Steam Director does not put kids first. This was evident by the treatment the Worlds Qualifying robotics team received this last year. Because of the refusal to compromise, they effectively dismantled the robotics team, causing 1/3 of the team to leave, many who were recognized as Youth of the year and nominated for the First Robotics Deans list for there passion, contribution and promotion of the team and Heinz.

Despite these accolades and the team having 1 qualifying robot completed, and another robot nearly finished, the director demanded changes to the robots that were not necessary, required late nights to accomplish, and threaten to withhold competitions and punish if not completed. Heinz decided mid season to change the student lead team, where the students had the autonomy to plan, build and make decision on the robot, allowing the to learn from mistakes or celebrate their accomplishments; to a student build team, being dictated by the new Steam Director.

This was not how the team was run for many years, it was not what we signed up for, and was not how the team started or was advertised and promoted in the same year. We are very disappointed in the mentors who understood this from past years and refused to facilitate a productive transition. Instead of the Heinz motto, Laugh Learn Lead, it became, Be Quiet, Work, Follow. I believe everyone on the team deserves a refund for the significant change made to team midway through the season.

There are still those at Heinz we respect and appreciate, and we are saddened our time there had to end on such bad terms, but we are deeply disappointed in the treatment my family and many others received and how easily Heinz disregarded the students who left. We cannot support Heinz House, or the new Steam Director after this. I hope its a better situation for others that stay, but I would be wary of the Steam Director and how she treats the programs under her. As it was explained to us by the mentors that know her, She will not except NO for an answer, and will do what it takes to get what she wants. We find that mindset to be very toxic when working with students at a place where you are supposed to foster leaders. I would encourage members to look at the many other area teams for Robotics...

SHH has been good for the development of city kids for generations. That being said, if your kid isn't from a poverty stricken broken home, it can and will be a bit frustrating for any engaged parent. No one but the kids can enter past the lobby area, so your kids won't run into a strange adult in the locker room. This also means you won't have any interaction with the staff, which is a real problem. The cooking class fed my nut-allergic kid nuts in spite of putting that fact all over the sign up forms. The kids running the swimming class obviously don't really know what they're doing and/or are not familiar with Red Cross training. There's no way to tell for sure because you can't talk to them which allows them to do whatever the hell they want to do with your kids. You can punish your kids for misbehaving at home, professional teachers discipline them at school, but the idea of some nameless incompetent teenager being in charge of your 6 or 8 year old is scary. On the bright side, it's really...

Thank You Cathy -or Kathy :D- !!!

We just signed our little one up for swimming lessons over the phone and they went above and beyond in helping us to navigate the registration process. We've walked past SHH on the riverfront trail hundreds of times and never knew what SHH offered but knew it was a place for children.

Upon searching for swimming lessons for our toddler, we were overwhelmed by the options in our area (and unfortunately, the cost) SHH is beyond reasonable and accessible for our family and we're excited for our little one to learn this invaluable life skill.

If our experience with registering is indicative of what our toddlers experience will be as a participant/member, we're incredibly excited to be a part of the Sarah Heinz...