Pittsburgh School’s Greatest Achievement
“Just four years ago, then-eighth-grader Heather Lawler had no idea how to spell Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s last name. She would often eliminate the “e” after the “o,” or place an extra vowel before the “l.” Sometimes, she even wrote out the last six letters as “burger.” Now a high school senior, Lawler is just one of thousands of Pittsburgh students who will graduate with the ability to spell Roethlisberger in the 97th percentile, a statistic that puts her head and shoulders above millions of students across the United States… “The bottom line is the Pittsburgh school system is giving its students a leg up on the competition, not only in America, but throughout the world,” Ravenstahl added. “Our kids correctly spelled Roethlisberger 12 times more often than all the students in Europe and Asia combined.” w/ photos
