Chalkbeat

Philadelphia teachers say affinity groups are capable of ‘rewriting the structure of education’

2024-03-18T11:00:00+00:00

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Can affinity groups for teachers of color help give Philadelphia a stronger, more diverse, and more stable teaching workforce? One education group is putting time and energy behind its belief that they can.

Teach Plus Pennsylvania, the state affiliate of a national nonprofit that trains teachers to advocate for policy change, launched a Philadelphia affinity group network this year that they say will provide teachers with a sense of community, belonging, and understanding in an effort to “diversify and strengthen Philadelphia’s educator workforce.”

Philadelphia public school teachers of color from traditional public or charter schools can join one of 21 teacher-led groups meeting in classrooms, coffeeshops, and other locations across the city.

The goal is to create “safe, culturally affirming spaces where educators of color can develop personal and professional connections that ultimately support and empower them and encourage them to stay in the profession,” said Andrea Terrero Gabbadon, an expert on teacher retention and an education leadership coach with Teach Plus Pennsylvania.

Any effort to tackle systemic labor force issues in Philadelphia schools faces an uphill climb. In 2022, teacher attrition rates in the city reached their highest levels since 2018, with 13% of traditional public school teachers and 23% of charter school teachers leaving the classroom, according to research by Ed Fuller at Penn State’s Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis. Fuller found that the highest attrition rates were for early-career teachers with up to five years of experience.

Additionally, the share of teachers of color in Philadelphia is low compared to the student body makeup, and nationwide, they are leaving the profession at growing rates. Black students in Philly also say they want more teachers who look like them.

The extent to which affinity groups can help keep teachers on the job at scale is still unknown. Teachers leave the field for a variety of reasons, from low salaries to big workloads and a lack of support, that such groups might not be able to address. And affinity groups that are racially exclusive and officially backed by schools can be controversial and present legal issues, although the Philadelphia district is not involved in or sponsoring the effort by Teach Plus.

Laura Boyce, executive director of Teach Plus Pennsylvania, said affinity groups like these are showing early promise in other states such as Illinois. In a 2021 report on how Philadelphia could improve its recruitment and retention of teachers of color, Teach Plus and the Center for Black Educator Development recommended that they have “access to mentoring and affinity groups.”

“It’s an experiment to see, can we actually improve retention in a measurable way for the facilitators and participants in these groups and hopefully create an environment where they feel seen and valued, heard, affirmed, and supported to continue in this work?” Boyce said.

And Terrero Gabbadon said the new Philadelphia affinity groups are “part of a larger strategy” to tackle “systemic issues” that push teachers of color out of the profession.

The Philadelphia district already offers similar racial affinity groups, but they’re only for principals and assistant principals. Brandon Cummings, the district’s deputy chief of leadership development, said the district has been engaging in these group discussion sessions — which they call “think tanks” — for four years, in addition to other equity-centered initiatives.

Cummings said his office handles the logistics of finding locations, getting food, and organizing virtual meetings if needed, but that otherwise, the district doesn’t “intrude or in any way insert ourselves” into the groups’ activities. He said the district wants the people in the groups to direct their own conversations.

Morgan Craig-Williams, a kindergarten teacher at General George A. McCall School and a facilitator of the Black educators affinity group, said having a space that does not involve administrators or “anyone who will give any punitive action or higher ups in the school district” is crucial to their success.

Craig-Williams, who is in her ninth year of teaching, added that “teacher burnout is very real” in the city.

Creating community but also pushing for change

Stephanie Felder teaches African American History at Tacony Academy Charter High School and is the facilitator of the mid-career African American educator affinity group. She said the program has been “life giving.”

Though many of her peers are leaving the profession, Felder said she’s already made “a solid decision to stay.”

For her, the affinity group discussions have been “more about ‘how can we at this stage in our careers, help make it better for those coming up behind us. Help make it better for the students that we serve, and help make education across the board more than what we are seeing right now.’”

The event, "Convening of the Philadelphia Affinity Group Network for Public Classroom Teachers" on Thurs., Feb. 29, 2024 at. Cristo Rey High School in Philadelphia, PA.

Cristina Gutierrez, a bilingual educator at Lewis Elkin Elementary School in Kensington, facilitates a group of Latino and dual-language teachers of color. She said often, people get emotional in group settings when they talk about an experience in the classroom or the difficulty of advocating for bilingual education “and feeling like you’re the only one” going through it.

“We don’t have a cohesive system with bilingual education in Philadelphia,” she said.

Gutierrez said she wanted to create a space for multilingual educators to come together and discuss the challenges they face “and let our voices be heard.” But it’s about more than just talking about struggles, she said.

“It’s like the thing that you need, but you don’t know you need,” she said. “Yes, we create community, but we could also create a lot of change.”

Boyce said the aim is not to have gripe sessions or tell teachers of color to “go figure it out and solve it yourselves” but rather to develop “two-way communication and being able to elevate … some concerns and systemic solutions and really all learn from this work.”

Through her group, Craig-Williams connected with an educator who has been in the classroom for nearly 25 years. The two women text daily, she said, and swap tips about how to navigate school culture and deal with difficult days.

“She was a complete stranger before we set up these affinity groups,” Craig-Williams said. “Now, that’s a connection that I’ll probably keep forever.”

The moments she’s shared with her group members feels like the start of something bigger.

“These affinity groups are the beginning of us coming together and rewriting the structure of education,” she said.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

What Philadelphia public schools could get in new city budget

2024-03-14T19:28:57+00:00

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Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s self-described “big” and “bold” first budget would increase funding for public schools, include a pilot plan for year-round learning, and create a new workforce pipeline program in the Community College of Philadelphia.

But despite ample city coffers due to post-pandemic years of unusually strong revenue collections, the proposal — and accompanying five-year financial plan — still relies on state funding to make up the district’s anticipated $400 million shortfall for the next fiscal year.

This is Parker’s first budget and the blueprint for how Philadelphia’s 100th mayor — and first woman to hold the job — intends to run the city. While shored up by temporary federal pandemic funding for the past few years, the underfunded school district is facing a $407 million gap for fiscal 2025, aging buildings, a gun violence epidemic that injured 10 students last week and killed one, a mandate to make up lost special education services for thousands of students, significant charter school costs, and teacher shortages.

Parker said her budget would increase city funding for the district, with a current budget of $4.5 billion, by $24 million in fiscal 2025. That would come partly from increasing the school district’s share of property tax revenue from 55% to 56%, which would bring in an additional $18 million. The district also gets revenue from other local sources, including an annual city grant which this year amounted to $282 million.

Parker said she also wants to increase the local contribution to the school district by $2 million each year going forward, and announced a plan to speed up the sale of delinquent tax properties, which she said would also raise more funds for the district.

Her budget proposal would bring the total to nearly $140 million in additional city funds for education over five years, the mayor said, with $129 million going directly to the school district and $10 million to a new workforce program at the Community College of Philadelphia.

Parker also doubled down on her year-round schools proposal and promised to pilot the initiative in schools starting this fall.

“On public education, our goals are high — they must be,” Parker said during her budget address to City Council on Thursday. “For far too long, our students have struggled with far too little. The days of settling for crumbs are over. Our students deserve a full loaf and they’ll get it.”

As Parker gets ready to name a new Board of Education, she signaled her support for Superintendent Tony Watlington, who was in attendance on Thursday. She told him, “You’re my guy.”

Watlington and Board of Education President Reginald Streater issued their own statements in support of Parker’s proposal following her address.

Year-round school, city workforce pipeline, and more: what’s in the budget for schools

The mayor’s major education platform during the campaign was for year-round school and a longer school day, which will be expensive and undoubtedly require union negotiation. She never put a price tag on the proposal, but both she and Watlington came out in favor of a pilot to test the concept.

Parker said her budget includes a “plan for full-day and year-round schooling — offering students educational enrichment throughout the year, with schedules that work for working families.” She said her office of education will launch the initiative in 20 pilot schools this fall.

But she did not give a dollar amount during her address Thursday.

Parker also spoke passionately about the impact gun violence has had on Philadelphia students and families. She said the recent spate of shootings at SEPTA bus stops after school dismissal has “left our city shaken.”

“Enough is enough,” Parker said.

The budget includes $33 million in new investments in public safety for fiscal 2025, increasing the total amount to more than $600 million over five years.

She said she wants to hire 400 new police officers every year and fund 100 officers doing primarily “community policing.” She also wants to add new patrol cars, unmarked cars, video software, cameras at parks and recreation sites, drones, and upgrades to investigative equipment.

Parker also said youth safety is tied to opportunities outside of the classroom which is why she proposed $3.2 million for youth sports

“I know youth sports aren’t just about wins and losses — they’re about giving children hope,” Parker said. “”We should be supporting them.”

For postsecondary education, Parker announced $10 million for the Community College of Philadelphia in partnership with the school district to “establish a first-in-the-nation City College for Municipal Employment” — a city workforce pipeline she said will prepare more students for jobs in city government. Participants will “earn a stipend while they learn and graduate into good city jobs” Parker said.

What the budget leaves out

The mayor’s plan to increase the district’s share of property tax revenue to 56% is significant, but won’t entirely solve the district’s looming shortfall. Parker had said during her campaign that she would like to see a larger share of city property tax revenue go to the school district, mentioning 58% as a goal.

Rob Dubow, the city Finance Director, said at a press briefing on Wednesday that they decided to shift the tax revenue split to 56% rather than 58% because the administration is moving “in concert” with what Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed and what district officials said they needed in their budget presentation before the school board.

Last month, Shapiro proposed a state budget that would increase overall education spending by $1.1 billion, of which nearly $300 million in additional funds would come to Philadelphia. The city’s school costs are primarily covered by the state and the city; last year the state provided 46% and the city 41%, with federal money – mostly pandemic relief funds – making up the rest. Usually, the federal share is much smaller.

Parker cited the 2022 court ruling that Pennsylvania’s education funding system is unconstitutional and the finding by a legislative commission that Philadelphia alone needs $1.4 billion in additional state funds to meet the needs of all its students.

On the district’s aging facilities, Parker said “we need to modernize our existing schools and build new ones,” saying she would be “working with our allies on City Council” including Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has proposed creating an independent authority to handle school construction and renovation, but Parker did not comment on that proposal Thursday.

The primary education initiatives of her predecessor, Jim Kenney, were PHLPreK and the city investment in community schools, which bring social service resources and personnel into school buildings.

Dubow said PHLPre-K would be funded at the same level as last year. Under Kenney, PHLPreK served 17,000 students over several years, providing about 5,000 seats at any one time, and he regarded it as one of his biggest legacies.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Who will be on the Philadelphia Board of Education?

2024-03-11T20:21:35+00:00

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This week, Philadelphia residents will get their first glimpse at whom Mayor Cherelle Parker could name to the Board of Education.

The 13-member Education Nominating Panel is expected to release its list of 27 potential candidates at a public meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

Philly’s school board is appointed, not elected, meaning Parker has the power to remake the entire board if she chooses.

Her picks will have the power to approve new charter schools, oversee the district superintendent, vote on contracts and major spending items for the district, and drive the conversation around local education issues. Tuesday’s panel meeting will be residents’ first look at whom Parker trusts to sit on the board.

The panel will recommend 27 candidates to Parker for consideration for appointment — three names for each of the nine board seats. It’s unclear if any of the current board members have reapplied for their positions. Sharon Ward, Philadelphia’s new deputy chief education officer, declined to say Monday whether any current board members are on the list.

Though the panel has been meeting quietly and mostly in executive session since convening on Feb. 1, there have already been some signals that big change is coming. Last week, longtime board member and Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez unexpectedly announced her resignation, citing a medical procedure and the time demands of the position.

According to a statement from Parker’s office announcing the upcoming meeting, the panel received applications from 121 people.

The panel considered those applications and conducted more than 60 interviews, Ward said. Parker will consider each one and make nine appointments with the advice and consent of City Council members following a public hearing.

Each board member’s term is four years and runs concurrent to the mayor’s. Once chosen, any new members will start in their role on May 1. Board members are only allowed to serve three full terms.

In these early days of Parker’s tenure, critics and advocates have paid close attention to her commitment to transparency in government. Her handling of the school board nomination process has been sharply critiqued by individuals including Lisa Haver, cofounder of the education advocacy group Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools and an outspoken advocate for deeper public inclusion in city government.

Haver told Chalkbeat the “whole [nominating] process was a sham,” and said Parker’s administration has not sufficiently included the public in the consideration of new board members.

“This is a completely closed process in which the public has absolutely no say,” Haver said. She pointed out unlike other school boards in the state, Philadelphia’s board is not elected meaning “constituents are already disenfranchised here.”

“Given that, the mayor should be doing everything she can to make this as open a process as possible,” Haver said.

In response to Chalkbeat’s questions about transparency, Ward said the Parker administration has been following the process established in the city’s Home Rule Charter, which she said is “very prescribed.”

“We have encouraged folks to speak out and to talk a little bit about what they want to see in a school board panel and what they would like to see in the school district,” Ward said. She said members of the public who want to add their thoughts should do so at the meeting tomorrow or online.

How to get involved

If you want to give feedback on the candidates for new school board members, the city has opened a public comment period which runs from March 5 to May 1.

People can sign up to speak at tomorrow’s public meeting or submit written comments.

The board is also currently looking for new, nonvoting student representatives for the 2024-25 school year. Current ninth and 10th grade students who are interested in applying or learning more can find information about the application process here.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia teachers will get bonuses, 5% raises in approved contract extension

2024-03-08T00:30:00+00:00

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The Philadelphia Board of Education voted to approve a one-year contract extension for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers that includes raises, retention bonuses, and more.

The contract was approved unanimously at a meeting Thursday night. The extension “reflects the deep respect we have for all of our PFT members,” Superintendent Tony Watlington said before the board vote.

Watlington emphasized that the extension was agreed to well before the contract expiration date of Aug. 31 and represents a “good faith partnership” with the union. It’s a significant departure for a union and district known for down-to-the-wire negotiations.

He said he expected that collaborative spirit to help with his reform blueprint for the district known as Accelerate Philly.

The district and the teachers union reached a tentative agreement on the contract extension late last month.

District Chief Financial Officer Mike Herbsman said he hoped the contract, which includes a raise and bonuses designed to attract job candidates, would “have a significant and meaningful impact on our ability to recruit and retain teachers.” The district opened the school year with 200 vacancies.

Union membership voted overwhelmingly to ratify the contract Wednesday evening; 84% of those present, or 2,096 people, voted yes, while 16%, or 399 members, voted no. Those who voted against the contract, including Building 21 teacher Eric Hitchner, said the contract didn’t go far enough to secure improved working conditions for teachers.

The contract will cover more than 14,000 district employees, according to Grant-Skinner.

Notably absent from the agreement is anything altering the current sick leave policy, which detractors say punishes teachers for taking their allotted 10 sick days.

Here’s what’s in the new contract extension:

All PFT-represented employees — including teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, and others — will receive a 5% salary increase in September 2024.
Employees eligible for “step” increases (raises based on years of experience) will still get those.
PFT-represented employees will also receive a “retention and re-engagement bonus” of $1,200 paid by June 2024.
The Designated Schools Program — which provides $2,500 bonuses to teachers who work in schools with staffing challenges — will be extended to run through Aug. 30, 2025.
Watlington (or another district leader) and a union representative will meet regularly to discuss the superintendent’s five-year strategic plan.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia school board vice president resigns

2024-03-04T23:15:09+00:00

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Philadelphia Board of Education Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez has resigned, effective April 18, and has taken herself out of consideration for a future board appointment.

Fix-Lopez cited a planned medical procedure as the reason in a statement on Monday.

In an interview, Fix-Lopez said that with the turn of the new year she got “more concerned about the demand of time.” She has an 8-year-old attending Childs Elementary School in Point Breeze and a 4-year-old who will enter kindergarten there in the fall.

She said she initially applied to stay, but withdrew from the nominating process. “I had planned full steam ahead,” she said, but when she was filling out the kindergarten application, “I slowed down to reflect. The time is too much.”

This unexpected shakeup on the board — where the members are appointed by the mayor — could create an opening for what new Mayor Cherelle Parker intends for the future of the body. Parker has signaled she may be more open to expanding the charter school sector in the city than her predecessor, Jim Kenney, and she could be angling to appoint board members who share her perspective. The board has not approved a new charter school since 2018.

Fix-Lopez said that her resignation was unconnected to any future board appointments.

“I get the optics of the timing. But honestly it’s totally separate,” she told Chalkbeat.

The board serves as the sole charter school authorizer in the city and member terms run concurrent to the mayor’s. In the years when a new mayoral term begins, board terms start on May 1.

The process of naming a new board is underway but has been quiet. Until Fix-Lopez’s resignation announcement, the future of any board members’ positions has been uncertain and Parker’s office has repeatedly declined requests for comment about the process.

Parker has convened her Education Nominating Panel, which is interviewing 121 candidates who applied by the Feb. 1 deadline. The panel is charged with recommending 27 people, three for each of the nine seats. Parker, who took office in January, will make the final appointments, who then must be approved by City Council. The panel next meets on March 12, where it is expected to release their list of recommended candidates.

Parker has not indicated whether she intends to renominate any of the current members or remake the board entirely. Board President Reginald Streater has indicated that he would like to remain.

In a Monday statement, Parker offered “deep thanks” to Fix-Lopez for her service. Streater called her “an incredible educator … who has left an indelible mark on the board” by pushing it “to govern from a student-centered perspective with student achievement at its core.”

Fix-Lopez, who teaches English at Philadelphia Community College, was first appointed in 2018 by Kenney when the district was returned to local control by the state. At the time, a nine-member board replaced the School Reform Commission that had governed the district since 2001.

She was reappointed in 2020 and picked to serve as vice president in 2022 and 2023. Members elect the president and vice president each December.

In her time on the board, Fix-Lopez has been active in establishing and enforcing its Goals and Guardrails since they were approved in 2021 to monitor district progress around academics and set standards for creating welcoming school environments for all students. She took a special interest in district policy regarding transgender and gender-nonconforming students, and in expanding translation services for families who don’t speak English.

She also took the lead in evaluations for both Superintendent Tony Watlington and his predecessor, William Hite.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia’s ‘Renaissance’ charter schools did not produce what was promised

2024-02-28T12:30:00+00:00

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On the first day of classes last September, the Philadelphia school superintendent and mayor joined other officials outside of Guion S. Bluford Elementary School to cheer on its 539 students as they entered the building.

The school district’s choice of Bluford for this annual ritual was telling. From 2010 to 2022, Bluford — built in 1972 to serve a growing population in the Overbrook neighborhood — had not been run by the district, but as a charter school operated by Universal Companies as part of the district’s Renaissance Initiative.

Then in the summer of 2022, in a dispute with its board of trustees, Universal ended its contract, and for that academic year the school operated in turmoil. Without its longtime manager, Bluford struggled to hire teachers, convince parents of its viability, and keep up the facility — among other problems, it lost internet access — until the district stepped in to build a new staff and assign a turnaround principal in 2023.

Bluford was part of one of the most sweeping education policy shifts ever undertaken in Philadelphia. The Renaissance Initiative — launched in 2010 under Superintendent Arlene Ackerman while the district was under state control for poor performance — strove to turn around about 10% of Philadelphia’s low-performing district schools by ceding them to charter organizations that promised to do better.

“We will transform historically failing schools and embrace bold new educational approaches with proven track records of success that can transform schools,” Ackerman wrote of the Renaissance initiative in her ambitious reform plan for the district.

At the height of the Renaissance Initiative, 22 former district schools were controlled by charter operators. But district leadership has quietly moved away from the model. Over the past seven years, four schools, including Bluford, have been returned to the district. One, Daroff Charter School, closed entirely. Now 17 schools are part of the initiative — and no new schools have been added since 2016.

“The goal was to prove that charters would work with any kid, not just about parents who were highly motivated to enter a lottery, and to show that a neighborhood school turned over to a charter organization would do better than if run by the school district,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First, an advocacy group.

“As far as I can tell, the data didn’t result in that.”

In fact, a Chalkbeat analysis has found that the dramatic turnaround promises of the Renaissance program never materialized.

Some schools made incremental progress over the years that slightly outpaced the district as a whole, but the group of schools overall has not seen meteoric success.

Indeed, in 2023 the Renaissance charter schools as a group mostly performed worse in standardized tests for elementary and middle schoolers than the district averages, the analysis showed. And compared to district schools, a lower share of Renaissance charters exceeded those averages.

“It was a bad idea poorly implemented,” said Chris McGinley, who served on both the School Reform Commission that oversaw the district while it was under state control and the Board of Education, which won back control of the district in 2018.

The program could be under greater scrutiny as Mayor Cherelle Parker takes office. Parker has had a mixed message on charters, continually emphasizing that she would not stand for people pitting district-run and charter schools against each other.

But she hasn’t said whether she would like to see growth of the charter sector, which already educates about a third of the nearly 200,000 students in the city’s publicly funded schools. And she has not yet named new school board members, who could decide the fate of the Renaissance program itself and its remaining charters.

Parker’s 50-member education policy subcommittee includes the CEOs of four of the seven organizations that run Renaissance charters, three of which operate schools that were recommended for nonrenewal due to subpar academic performance while the fourth was denied a new charter application based on the record of its existing schools.

Her appointees to the Mayor’s Office on Education, Sharon Ward, an activist and former state official, and Debora Carrera, a former district principal assistant superintendent, declined comment and couldn’t be reached, respectively.

Superintendent Tony Watlington declined to comment on the program.

Peng Chao, head of the board’s Office of Charter Schools, which evaluates existing charters and vets new applications, said that the outcomes for the Renaissance schools “have been mixed.”

“With a sector of over 20 schools over the course of more than a decade, it isn’t surprising that some schools have excelled in certain areas and others have struggled. Every school, Renaissance or not, has a different arc,” said Chao.

Betting on a school turnaround model

Turning district schools over to charters has been a go-to turnaround method in major urban districts for more than two decades. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, the state of Louisiana took over the New Orleans schools, shut down all but a few that were high performing, and created a Recovery School District that was essentially a system of charters. Chicago had its own Renaissance schools initiative that leaders are rethinking.

In Philadelphia, the movement flourished when the district was under state control and coincided with a push in Pennsylvania to expand the charter sector. Even before the official start of the Renaissance program, under the influence of prevailing Pennsylvania politics at the time, other district schools had become charters.

Charter expansion has long been the favored school reform strategy of Pennsylvania’s Republican governors and legislators as they resisted more spending on education and sought to weaken unions, even though the state had the widest gaps in the nation between high-wealth and low-wealth districts. Only last year did a Commonwealth Court judge rule the funding system unconstitutional.

Ackerman was betting her career on the success of Renaissance schools. She told Pew Charitable Trusts in 2010, “If I can show [parents] what the other side of the rainbow looks like, I don’t care who comes in after me. They are going to force the new superintendent and the new administration to give them what their children deserve.”

Ackerman’s vision for the Renaissance program included two models designed to offer “greater autonomy in exchange for increased accountability,” according to her 2009 reform blueprint for the district, Imagine 2014. Implicit in the entire initiative was to set up a competition to determine which turnaround strategy was more effective — more internal resources and a staff shakeup, or charter conversion. The schools that remained under district control were given more resources and called “Promise Academies,” while those that were handed over to charter organizations were dubbed “Renaissance” charter schools.

“Arlene was very strong on the idea that these programs would run in parallel with a lot of ability to compare the results from the programs,” said former School Reform Commission member Joseph Dworetzky. “I thought it was an interesting idea.” Dworetzky also said the board considered this more efficient and a way to stem the spiraling costs to the district of charter proliferation.

The Renaissance charters had defined catchment areas like traditional district schools, but otherwise operated independent of the district, the same as any other charter school.

At first, things seemed to be going well. An 18-month interim report found “The Year One outcomes for schools in the Renaissance Schools Initiative suggest that something positive is happening.” In 2014, Renaissance charters were doing a successful job keeping students enrolled for the entire school year, another report found.

But under Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, cuts to education spending between 2010 and 2014 put a strain on the entire system. The belt tightening effectively ended the Promise Academy experiment by stripping the schools of extra programs and supports. The Renaissance charters were impacted because, as the district’s budget decreased, their per pupil payments went down.

In 2011, Ackerman resigned.

Her successor, William Hite, continued the Renaissance conversions, but decided to let parents vote, first on who the new operator should be and then whether there should be a conversion at all. This caused conflict, especially at Wister Elementary School in Germantown, where Hite had second thoughts about his initial recommendation. During the 2016 debate over whether the school should become a charter, parents were bitterly split, and the School Reform Commission overruled Hite to approve the turnover.

After that, Renaissance conversions ceased.

In March of 2020, as McGinley was preparing to leave the school board, which by then had resumed control of the district, he proposed a resolution to formally end the Renaissance program altogether — but that resolution was quietly removed from the meeting agenda and never resurfaced.

How Renaissance schools measure up

Determining the impact of the turnarounds is challenging in Philadelphia, since two major events have occurred since the program started in 2011 — a revision of standardized tests in 2015, limiting the ability for apples to apples score comparisons, and the educational upheaval of the pandemic.

But looking at results, most of the Renaissance charter schools do not show high rates of proficiency. According to the Chalkbeat analysis, these schools started out well below district and state averages in English Language Arts and math performance — that’s why they were targeted for this intervention.

The analysis, though, shows that none of the schools are performing particularly well today. For instance, a majority of the Renaissance charters saw less than 10% of students score at or above proficiency on math tests in 2023. By some metrics, a few made incremental progress over the years.

Several schools, including Harrity Elementary and Mann Elementary, operated by Mastery, showed spikes in indicators including test scores for the first several years, said Chao, head of the board’s Office of Charter Schools.

But, he added, “Sustained improvement in student achievement, however, has not been as evident or consistent.”

The saga of Memphis Street Academy@JPJones in Frankford is telling. Once a junior high school with a reputation for out-of-control discipline and general disarray, it is now run as a Renaissance charter for 5th through 8th grades by American Paradigm schools. In contrast to its past, it is calm and orderly, with a solid teaching staff and lots of student activities.

But its achievement scores have remained persistently low — math proficiency is at 1%, and the Board of Education has voted not to renew the five-year charter signed in 2017.

American Paradigm has since sued the district in federal court saying the performance standards they agreed to, based on absolute achievement rather than growth in student scores, are unfair. The school can remain open during the appeals process.

Hite, who was superintendent between 2012 and 2022 and presided over the creation of five Renaissance charters, in hindsight questioned the effectiveness of the initiative.

“What I recall is that they saw climate and culture indicators improve, and in some cases saw growth improve, particularly [in a reduction of] children who scored below basic,” Hite said in an interview. “But we really didn’t see marked improvement in achievement.”

Hite attributed this to the myriad factors besides school quality that affect student outcomes, including the impact of poverty, violence, and the lack of essential services.

“This stuff takes time,” he said.

Bluford and Daroff were not the only schools that exited Renaissance. Two other district schools that became Renaissance charters, Olney High and its feeder Stetson Middle, were also taken back by the district due to both lagging performance and financial problems within Aspira, Inc., to which they had been turned over.

Michael Roth, now Olney’s principal, worked in the school under both models. He is not a fan of charter conversion as a school reform strategy.

“I think it’s offensive,” he said. “A lot of these measures were experimenting with communities of color. I’m not saying some good things didn’t come out of it, but my thought is, why don’t we properly fund the public schools and make sure they have the resources they need and do it right without switching back and forth?”

Tangela McClam, Principal of Bluford Charter School, left, greets students on the first day of school.

Renaissance supporters say look beyond test scores

Scott Gordon, the founder and longtime executive director of Mastery Charter, deems the initiative a success, saying that the Renaissance program brought numerous improvements to schools and their surrounding neighborhoods, even if test scores did not dramatically rise. Mastery has run nine Renaissance charters, and essentially built its brand around the program.

Chalkbeat’s analysis showed that Mastery performed marginally higher on average than other Renaissance charters on the 2023 state tests, the PSSA, but still had overall scores below the district average (with one single exception on the English language arts test).

Gordon said the model showed that a different governing structure could bring more stability to neighborhood schools, improve academic outcomes while serving the same kids, and draw parents back into the building.

Before Mastery, he said, ”These were schools in a never-ending negative spiral, lots of transiency, kids with high needs. As the school struggles, parents begin leaving, it struggles more, and it goes downhill.”

‘We needed a turnaround in a turnaround’

Bluford’s history shows that the initiative both fell short of being transformational and also often sowed confusion for families.

Bluford was one of the original Renaissance charter schools. Formerly the William B. Hanna elementary school (it was renamed for astronaut and alum Guion Bluford, the first Black person in space), Bluford was turned over to Universal Companies. Like the other schools in the program, it had long suffered from poor academic performance.

But the desired turnaround never happened; in 2015, the School Reform Commission voted to revoke the charter because it did not meet its academic targets. “I was struck by the notion that we needed a turnaround in a turnaround,” commissioner Feather Houstoun said at the time. But appeals kept it open — even though the Board of Education’s own Renaissance schools policy was supposed to supersede the state’s charter authorization, evaluation, renewal and revocation process.

Then, in 2022, Universal had its falling out with the board of trustees that oversaw it, leading to its tumultuous year and the district’s decision to return it to district control.

“It was very traumatic,” said teacher Tyshea Tucker. “Everything was so sudden.”

When the upheaval occurred, Tucker had been a teaching assistant at Daroff studying for her degree. She moved to Bluford when it was still a charter, and then applied to stay when the district took over and is now a second-grade teacher.

All the disruption was even more unsettling for her students, she said, many of whom have already had to deal with trauma in their lives. The staff turnover, she feared, reinforced feelings that adults weren’t there for them. She said she had to “go the extra mile” to build relationships and trust with them.

For longtime neighborhood stalwarts like Tamara Keene, who sent two sons through Bluford, the changes have been jarring.

Keene said the school functioned well under Universal at first.

But when Universal left in 2022, along with about half the staff, the board running the school “didn’t have a lot of control. … They spent a year just holding the school down.”

The turnover split parents, some of whom wanted the school to remain a charter, while others, like Keene, wanted a traditional public school option. “I’m still upset that there was no neighborhood school that was not a charter,” she said.

This current tension between charters and traditional schools harkens back to why Ackerman launched the Renaissance experiment in the first place. Despite scant evidence that the Renaissance schools delivered the promised transformation, Ackerman had concluded at the end of her time as superintendent that dramatic educational improvement for traditionally underserved students was impossible within the existing structure of large school districts with many power centers, especially teachers unions.

And her ideas for reform are still present today.

Like Ackerman, Parker is advocating for longer school days and a longer school year, tall orders to make happen within the traditional district structure.

But if it does happen, families like Keene’s will be the ones experiencing it firsthand.

Although Keene’s children are grown, she will continue watching the transformation of Bluford from a new perch — three of her grandchildren now attend the school.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia Mayor Parker names chief education officer and deputy

2024-02-06T00:06:13+00:00

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Mayor Cherelle Parker has named former high school principal Debora Carrera as the city’s chief education officer and Sharon Ward, a well-known education advocate, as a deputy in that office.

Parker made the announcement Monday afternoon, along with several other city appointments.

Debora Carrera, Philadelphia's new chief education officer.

Carrera worked for 27 years in the Philadelphia school district as a teacher and then as principal of William McKinley Elementary School and the Kensington High School of Creative and Performing Arts. She was also an assistant superintendent before becoming an official in the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Ward previously held positions in the Pennsylvania Department of Education and as an advisor to the Philadelphia School District. She was a founder of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy center and is a consultant to the Education Law Center.

Carerra and Ward will likely be charged with working on how the city and district can implement Parker’s ideas for year-round school and a longer school day, both expensive propositions that will require buy-in from the district’s unions. Neither could be reached for comment Monday.

The position of chief education officer has been vacant since December 2022, when Otis Hackney left after seven years in the job under former Mayor Jim Kenney. With just a year left on his term, Kenney put education issues under the Office of Children and Families.

Sharon C. Ward, Philadelphia's new deputy chief education officer.

As chief education officer between 2015 and 2022, Hackney oversaw Kenney’s prekindergarten expansion and community schools initiatives and worked with Comcast to make sure that all students had adequate internet access through the ConnectED program. He also started the city’s Catto Scholarships for students to attend Community College of Philadelphia and smoothed the return of the district to local control.

Like Carrera, Hackney was a former Philadelphia principal when appointed. He was widely credited with bringing stability to South Philadelphia High School after repeated clashes between Black and Asian students. At the time of his appointment, he had moved on to become the first Black principal of the high school in Springfield in Montgomery County.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Record-setting increase in public school funding proposed by Pennsylvania governor

2024-02-06T19:26:10+00:00

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Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a 2024-25 budget Tuesday that increases basic education funding by $1.1 billion, which would be the largest single-year increase ever.

Most of that money, $900 million, would be funneled through a so-called adequacy formula that calculates what every district actually requires to educate all their children to high standards, based on students’ needs.

Shapiro’s proposal comes almost exactly one year after Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer’s ruling that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional – meaning it is neither fair nor adequate and depriving many children of their right to a “thorough and efficient” education. Currently, districts that educate high numbers of students in poverty, English language learners, and others with special needs generally spend less than wealthier districts, even though their students require more in order to be prepared for college and careers.

Shapiro said in his Tuesday address that his spending blueprint “will deliver real results for the Commonwealth” by “making historic investments in public education.”

Shapiro’s proposal also hews closely to the recommendation of the Basic Education Funding Commission, which spent a year traveling the state to question educators, advocates, experts, and others about education in their communities. By “acting on the work” of the commission, the budget is “delivering a comprehensive solution on K-12 education in Pennsylvania,” he said.

In a report released last month, the commission determined that the state should spend $5.4 billion more annually to bring all districts to adequate funding, with $5.1 billion of that coming from state as opposed to local coffers. It set out a plan to reach that goal by 2029.

The remaining $200 million in Shapiro’s proposed $1.1 billion increase would be funneled through the formula established by the funding commission, which also takes into account student needs in devising a per-pupil rate for state aid. This would assure that wealthier districts like Lower Merion and Radnor still get a share of state aid to help with inflation and other cost drivers.

Under the proposal, Philadelphia would receive an increase of $203 in adequacy funding, plus $40 million additional through the standard formula.

It would also get a share of the $50 million increase Shapiro is proposing for special education funding, and a share of a $300 million increase in facilities funding.

Shapiro also proposes to cap cyber charter tuition at $8,000 per student, which could provide significant savings for Philadelphia public schools. Philadelphia now pays $11,502 per cyber charter student.

The budget does not include vouchers, which are backed strongly by Republicans who control the Senate and share power in an almost equally divided General Assembly. The state already has two programs that offer tax credits to corporations that donate to scholarship programs, but Shapiro does not recommend any funding increases for them.

Last year, Shapiro publicly stated his support for creating vouchers in Pennsylvania. But he ultimately vetoed a provision to establish vouchers when he signed the state budget. On Tuesday, Shapiro reiterated his support for vouchers and said he considered them “unfinished business.”

‘The transformation of Pennsylvania’s school funding system’

Advocates who brought the 2014 lawsuit that ultimately led to Jubelirer’s ruling, William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education, hailed the budget proposal, which is just a starting point in negotiations before a final budget is adopted by the end of June. They said it meets the mandate of Jubelirer’s ruling.

“If carried out to completion, this would mean the transformation of Pennsylvania’s school funding system,” said Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center. “It would mean thousands of more teachers, counselors, librarians – it would truly be historic.”

Deborah Gordon-Klehr, director of the Education Law Center, hailed the governor’s proposal as “critical,” adding that “it’s the start of what needs to be a long term commitment.”

She said her group would be seeking legislation to guarantee future increases to reach the target set by the commission “so districts can plan, leaders can be held accountable, and students can see the benefits.”

The adequacy formula devised by the funding commission looks at what the most successful districts spend per student and determines what every district needs to get all their students to that level, using a weighted formula that takes into account poverty, English language status, and other circumstances. Philadelphia’s “adequacy gap” was determined to be in the range of $1.4 billion, on a current budget of about $4.5 billion, or about $7,100 per student.

Philadelphia has the 35th highest adequacy gap in the state; Reading’s shortfall of $14,000 between what it has and what it needs is the widest.

Shapiro’s proposal “targets the funding specifically for the districts that are farthest from adequacy,” said Urevick-Ackelsberg.

Of the 500 districts in Pennsylvania, about 400 do not meet their adequacy targets as defined by the commission.

The governor’s proposal to reform cyber charter funding is likely to run into political headwinds.

Pennsylvania has one of the largest cyber charter enrollments in the country, and districts pay cyber charters their own per-pupil costs, even though cyber education costs far less to deliver than brick-and-mortar schools.

“Currently, cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania charge school districts between $8,639 and $26,564 per student per year,” Shapiro said. This, he said, “no longer makes sense. The 2024-25 budget establishes a statewide cyber tuition rate of $8,000 per student per year and will better align tuition with the actual costs of providing an online education.”

He said this reform will save school districts an estimated $262 million annually.

Other education highlights of Shapiro’s budget include:

$50 million for school safety and security.
$300 million in “sustainable funding for environmental repair projects” in school buildings.
$10 million for teacher recruitment.
$15 million, an increase of $5 million, for student-teacher stipends.
$100 million for mental health funding in K-12 schools.
$3 million to provide free breakfast for all students year-round.
$96,000 to help free up $62 million in federal child care reimbursements for providers.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia teachers union president’s retirement comes at critical time for educators, schools

2024-01-19T00:39:44+00:00

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The pending retirement of Jerry Jordan as Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president and the ascension of Arthur Steinberg as his replacement ensures the union will continue to be run by members of a group that’s held power for decades.

It also maintains an unbroken string of male presidents of a union that is at least 70% female.

The change in leadership is occurring at a critical time for the school district and the union, which is the city’s largest union and represents 13,600 teachers, nurses, counselors, librarians, secretaries, food service managers, paraprofessionals and other school workers. At its peak, before the advent of charter schools and an overall decline in Philadelphia’s population, it had more than 20,000 members.

Philadelphia’s new mayor, Cherelle Parker, has said she would like to see year-round schooling, and Superintendent Tony Watlington has indicated his interest in the concept. And a state court has ruled that Pennsylvania’s current method of funding education is unconstitutional — a decision that could result in hundreds of millions of more dollars annually for city schools. How that money is used will chart the futures of hundreds of thousands of children and the staff who work with them.

Jordan announced his retirement, which will be effective June 30, on Tuesday. The PFT’s contract expires at the end of August, and the district would have to negotiate any changes in schedules linked with year-round-schooling with the union. The district has also been coping with significant teacher and staff shortages recently.

“It’s terrible, there are a lot of vacancies” for both teacher and paraprofessional positions, Steinberg said in an interview. “A significant number of schools are understaffed.” And Philadelphia’s teacher salaries, especially for experienced educators, lag behind the compensation offered by neighboring districts.

Steinberg, who was previously a special education teacher at Edison High School before becoming a PFT staffer, is currently the president of American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania. He declined to comment on the union’s stance on Parker’s year-round schooling plan, saying it would be premature. His priorities, he said, “are as they always have been: to engage and listen to the members and take care of their needs.”

Not everyone is thrilled with the hand-off from Jordan to Steinberg, and specifically how Steinberg faced no competition for the presidency. Several teachers associated with the Caucus of Working Educators, which challenged the union leadership in 2016 and 2020, noted in interviews that Jordan took no chances in assuring Steinberg would be the only candidate in contention to succeed him. No one else filed to run because no potential contender besides Steinberg knew of Jordan’s intentions until it was too late, they said.

Jordan sent a letter to his membership announcing his planned retirement just after Tuesday’s filing deadline for the PFT presidential election, which occurs every four years.

His email explained that Steinberg would take over under rules laid out in the union’s constitution. Because he was the only candidate, a vote would be unnecessary, Jordan said.

“This evening, candidates had until 5 p.m. to submit their consent forms and petitions to run” for the presidency and other leadership positions, he wrote. Jordan said that representatives from the American Arbitration Association verified “that only one slate, the Collective Bargaining (CB) Team, submitted their candidacy. I share with you the exciting news and my congratulations to our next president, Arthur Steinberg!”

Arthur Steinberg, who will replace Jerry Jordan as president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, used to be a special education teacher at Edison High School and is currently the president of American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania.

Steinberg is the son of Jack Steinberg, who was among the PFT’s founding leaders, a longtime treasurer, and head of the union’s Health and Welfare Fund. Members of the union’s CB faction have served as PFT presidents for almost all of the past 40 years. Marv Schuman was president from 1983 to 1990, Ted Kirsch from 1990 to 2007, and Jordan has led the union since then.

Ismael Jimenez, a history teacher for most of his career who is now the district’s social studies curriculum specialist, said he had no doubt that other candidates would have entered the contest this year if they knew Jordan was retiring.

“That would have switched up the equation,” said Jimenez, who ran twice on the Working Educators slate in 2016 and 2020.

Kathleen Melville, who led the Working Educators slate in 2020 as the candidate for president, said it is a “shame that PFT members won’t have a chance to choose the next leader of their union.

“I ran for leadership in 2020 because I believe that members should have a say in who leads their union and what their union is fighting for,” said Melville, who is now a City Council staffer.

‘A persistent voice for the needs of teachers’

The Working Educators caucus was founded in 2014 by a group of teachers who wanted the union to be more active on social justice and equity issues affecting city schools — following the lead of other unions. Kelley Collings, a 23-year teacher who was among the founders of the caucus, also said the group has pushed to change the union’s policies to make it “truly democratic.” (Collings said she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of the caucus.)

The caucus decided in November not to put up a slate of candidates this year, saying instead it would focus on creating a strong contract, building-by-building organizing, and reforming the discipline policy for teacher absences. In the 2016 and 2020 PFT leadership elections, the Working Educators slate got around a third of the vote.

Asked about the timing of Jordan’s announcement relative to the filing deadline, Steinberg said there was no attempt to limit the field.

“The executive board adopts election procedures in December and as soon as that process concluded we sent [filing] deadlines to schools,” he said. “They had the same opportunity to run as any of us did … there was no subterfuge.”

Jordan declined to comment.

Jimenez said in deciding not to run a slate, one factor had been that the caucus felt there had been “a good amount of victories” with the last contract.”

Recent contracts negotiated by PFT included raises and some back pay to make up for a five-year period when the union worked without a contract; that protracted stalemate occurred when the district was under state control. During that time, teachers got no raises at all and no credit for accruing additional experience and educational credentials. Being able to get some of that money back and be made whole was an important victory, Jimenez said.

He also noted that PFT’s leadership team, after being challenged by the Working Educators caucus, had started issuing statements on issues including gun violence and LGBTQ+ issues.

At the same time, Jimenez said “the kind of leadership transition that just happened is “a terrible look for any union, especially teachers and those trying to teach children about democratic values.”

Despite their concern about the succession process and criticism of some of the union’s priorities, many teachers as well as some influential education figures in the city had good things to say about Jordan.

“I would say that he has been a persistent voice for the needs of teachers, and that’s his role as the head of the union,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of the advocacy group Children First and a former official in the mayoral and gubernatorial administrations of Ed Rendell.

While noting that the needs of teachers and those of students don’t always align, she said Jordan was always cordial and respectful.

Former superintendent William Hite called Jordan a “consummate professional” who was “committed to creating better conditions for children in the school district.”

Correction, Jan. 19, 2024: This article has been updated to reflect that Ismael Jimenez ran on the Caucus of Working Educators slate in Philadelphia Federation of Teachers elections in 2016 and 2020. A previous version of the article said Jimenez ran twice on the Collective Bargaining slate. This article has also been updated to refer to Jimenez as the district’s director of social studies. A previous version of the article referred to him as the district’s social studies curriculum specialist.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Bipartisan Pennsylvania school funding commission proposes eight changes

2024-01-11T23:21:44+00:00

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The long-awaited report from the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission recommends steady, annual increases in school spending, an overhaul to charter school funding, and a plan to calculate what it means to fund students “adequately.”

But even without any earth-shattering proposals, the report released Thursday did not receive unanimous support from the bipartisan but politically divided commission. And school funding experts are already raising questions about it.

The commission’s report follows months of hearings and hours of testimony from school leaders, education advocates, and others regarding how Pennsylvania should remake its school funding formula. A Commonwealth Court judge ruled the state’s funding formula unconstitutional in 2023 and ordered the state to revamp it. If lawmakers and Gov. Josh Shapiro enact the commission’s recommendations, Philadelphia students could receive significantly more funding — nearly $243 million more in the fiscal 2025 budget, for example, and $1.4 billion more over seven years.

In an 8-7 vote largely along party lines, the commission (which is made of Democratic and GOP legislators, as well as members of Shapiro’s administration) approved a 114-page report that includes eight recommendations. All votes in favor were Democratic lawmakers or from Shapiro’s team, while the Republicans were united in opposition. Sen. Lindsey Williams, a Democrat, voted no because in her view the report’s recommendations don’t go far enough.

Primary among those recommendations is to update estimates of what each district needs so all their students can succeed — the so-called “adequacy” target — by recalculating key aspects of the funding formula to make its annual allocations to districts more fair and predictable.

The commission also calls for making teacher salaries more competitive; adding funding for student supports, including mental health; and examining how the state can bolster support for access to prekindergarten, career and technical education, and funding for libraries.

To make sure that school spending in the state continues to be fair and adequate, it also wants the commission to be reconstituted in 2029 to provide continued monitoring of the funding system.

But overall, the commission’s recommendations regarding state funding fall well below the $6.2 billion over five years of increased education spending that some advocacy groups are calling for. Those groups want a $2.2 billion hike in fiscal 2025, followed by $1 billion increases in each of the following four years.

Instead, the commission determined that there’s a $5.4 billion funding adequacy gap, of which $291 million is “the local responsibility of low tax effort school districts.” The remaining $5.1 billion “rests upon the state” which Pennsylvania would close through a seven-year ramp-up in funding.

For 2023-24, Pennsylvania’s share of K-12 total spending in the Commonwealth is $10 billion.

The commission also acknowledged the widely disparate tax burdens for individual districts. To address this, it proposed an additional $955 million in state money, in the form of “tax equity supplements,” for districts that have been taxing themselves at high rates.

“I believe the report not only meets our obligation as a commission … but also meets constitutional muster as directed by the Commonwealth Court,” said state Rep. Mike Sturla, a Democrat and a majority chair of the commission.

But he cautioned, “really, this is the end of the beginning. There’s still a whole lot of work to do.”

Shapiro said in a Thursday statement he “look[s] forward to addressing these points when I deliver my budget to the Legislature in a few weeks, and to continue working with leaders in both parties in order to deliver a thorough and efficient public education for students across our Commonwealth.”

In a Thursday press conference after the report’s release, advocates who were among plaintiffs in the 2014 school funding lawsuit that was the subject of the Commonwealth Court judge’s ruling last year said it represented a step in the right direction. In particular, they highlighted the commission’s proposed adequacy targets that take into account the actual needs of Pennsylvania students, district by district.

“This is a big first step … the timeline is long, it’s not perfect, and there are unaddressed issues. But the vision it lays out is a transformative one,” said Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg of the Public Interest Law Center, which represented the plaintiffs along with the Education Law Center.

Recommendations focus on teacher workforce, poverty data, charters

The commission’s recommendations won’t go into effect without corresponding legislation approved by the state’s General Assembly and the governor. Its recommendations are:

Simplify and “reduce the volatility” in the state’s basic education funding formula by using three-year averages of U.S. Census Bureau data on poverty and median household income. The state should then add at least an additional $200 million to this updated formula each year.
Calculate adequacy targets — or how much each district should be spending on their student population, based on their needs. The commission recommended using Pennsylvania’s state performance standards to determine which districts are “successful” and then use those districts’ spending level as a target for all school districts.
Invest more state money in school facilities, especially in districts like Philadelphia.
Reexamine the way charter schools are funded in the state and “modernize” the calculation of cyber charter school tuition.
Invest in the teacher workforce.
Invest in student supports like mental health services and the “community schools” model.
Bring back the Basic Education Funding Commission in 2029.
“Consider other important education issues,” including access to pre-K, transportation, school safety, and “explore dedicated funding for every school district to have at least one school librarian.”

While saying that the state “should be investing in competitive teacher salaries across the Commonwealth,” the report cites a few actions already taken, including a teacher pipeline program and provides stipends and other incentives. But it doesn’t lay out a blueprint or funding source for helping high-poverty, low-spending districts raise their salaries, which generally fall below those offered by high-wealth districts.

The charter school recommendations are likely to be politically controversial. The commission wants to restore a charter school reimbursement line item in the state budget to help districts cope with the “stranded costs” of charters. When Gov. Tom Corbett ended the practice in 2011, Philadelphia, which has half that charters in the state, was receiving $110 million through that provision.

The commission also wants to change the charter school funding formula so that it uses the same three tiers of supplemental funding for students with disabilities that traditional districts receive, depending on the severity of their disability. Right now, charters receive the highest tier of funding for all students under current law.

‘You have to use good empirical evidence’

Though the final report reflects a compromise, experts and education advocates are already raising eyebrows at some of the commission’s suggestions.

Bruce Baker, a school finance professor and national school funding expert at The University of Miami, took issue with the assigned weights the commission recommends using to calculate how much it would cost to educate each student.

Research has found students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from impoverished backgrounds all require more funding than their peers to help them achieve a desired level of performance.

Baker said the commission should have required that those weights be updated because the current ones are part of a formula that has been deemed unconstitutional.

“You can’t correct the constitutional deprivation without specific consideration to the additional costs of providing children of all backgrounds, in all settings, equal opportunity to achieve the outcomes,” Baker said. “You have to use good empirical evidence in order to correctly calibrate the weights.”

Meanwhile, Nathan Benefield, senior vice president of the conservative Commonwealth Foundation, called the report “deeply disappointing” in a statement Thursday.

Benefield previously told Chalkbeat the state could find more money by phasing out so-called “hold harmless” aid rather than injecting billions of dollars that may not be sustainable if the state’s budget surplus runs out. “Hold harmless” was a policy enacted to guarantee that no school district in the state would receive less funding than it had the previous year, even if it lost students.

But in its report, the commission said abandoning “hold harmless” would be “counterproductive.”

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, called the report “a critical step in the right direction” primarily because it recommends additional state spending on facilities improvements and because of the significant increases it brings to the city’s schools.

Clarification: This story has been updated to better explain Pennsylvania’s share of total K-12 spending in 2023-24.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

This Philadelphia teacher wants students to find themselves through theater

2024-01-10T22:19:20+00:00

Last month, Sally Wojcik, who teaches theater and creative writing at Benjamin Rush Arts Academy, was named by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as one of 12 finalists for state Teacher of the Year. Rush has just over 600 students who come mostly from its Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood, but as a criteria-based school, it also draws from all over the city. Some students commute up to two hours a day.

Students can choose from among various majors, including media arts, graphic arts, fine arts, theater, dance, and instrumental and vocal music. And once they choose their concentration, they take classes in that area every day and stay in that major for all four years. That means Wojcik is able to work with the same cohort of students for their entire high school careers and can plan a curriculum with that particular group in mind. “I was given full flexibility to design a curriculum that I thought was best for students,” said Wojcik, who chooses most of the plays her class will focus on, including some that may be controversial.

Rush has been her only teaching job, and she established its theater program there in 2009. She said she “was very lucky” when the director of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, who knew her from her work with the education outreach program of the Arden Theater, recommended her as a perfect fit for Rush, which was in the process of converting from a middle school to an arts-focused high school.

A summa cum laude graduate of Albright College, Wojcik has a master’s degree in English education (Pennsylvania does not offer teacher certification in theater) from Temple University, and also spent a semester at the prestigious National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. She spoke to Chalkbeat senior writer Dale Mezzacappa about how she approaches her “dream job” and why theater experience is important for high school students.

Why did you become a teacher?

I was a “theater kid” my whole life. That was always the thing that brought me the most joy and fulfillment when I was a high school student. And then I pursued it in college and when I finished college, I apprenticed at the Arden Theater Company in Philadelphia trying to figure out how I fit into the theater profession. I worked in Arden’s education department and realized that I really loved helping young people find their voice and figure out what kind of artists they wanted to be.

Tell me about your own experience in school and how that affects how you work today.

I was really lucky. I grew up in Western Massachusetts, and my high school had a longstanding relationship with Shakespeare & Company, which has an amazing program where they would pair their resident artists with schools, and would come to work with us on our own Shakespeare productions. I remember, as a student, being made to feel very much like a valued and important person, and I just loved being a part of a group that had this collective goal to tell a compelling story. All throughout high school I had these amazing teachers, one theater teacher in particular, who was also the journalism teacher, who inspired me to value words and language.

How do you teach theater? It can’t be just kids sitting in a classroom.

My approach is very holistic. Everybody knows what it means to be an actor because that’s what we are used to seeing, but my program purposely focuses also on directing, design, and playwriting. We actually do spend a bunch of time in the classroom sometimes because each of my units is tied to what I call an anchor text. We read, analyze, discuss, pull apart a text … then we break off so a student might do a scene study or create an original piece of playwriting based on inspiration within that play, or they might take on designing an aspect of that play.

What plays have you studied recently? And how do you choose them?

There are 15 to 16 plays over the course of four years. My goal is to make sure that every student at least once sees themselves represented in the plays I bring in. So it’s really important that they come from playwrights with diverse backgrounds that highlight diverse characters. We start at the very beginning … so there are a couple of Greeks, moving all the way up through contemporary plays. I try to bring in plays that have different kinds of conflicts, different kinds of themes, different kinds of structures or use of language. Every play has an engine, something that makes the play go, and it’s really important to bring in different kinds of engines so every student can get excited at some point.

What plays, specifically?

The ninth grade set curriculum is Antigone, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Glass Menagerie, three big canonical works. In 10th grade, it’s Medea and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, and I’m in the process of reworking what I want the third text to be. And in 11th grade, it’s How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel, BFE by Julia Cho, Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute, and then Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. The 12th grade is always whatever they chose as their senior play, then A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stop Kiss by Diana Son, and 26 Miles by Philadelphia writer Quiara Alegria Hudes.

What kind of plays do the 12th graders choose?

We just finished a production of Elsewhere by Don Zolidis, which is a play that follows four teenagers into a kind of shared dream landscape where they have to navigate some childhood issues to realize what they want to become as adults. Last year, they did a murder mystery, and the year before that they did Tinkerbell, which is an adaptation of the Peter Pan story. Sometimes, I have veto power, but mostly, they’re chosen by students.

Rush focuses on the arts, but in other schools, arts tend to be the first thing to go when the budget gets tight. Do you think all students should be exposed to theater?

I think it is every student’s right to have access to high-quality arts education in the same way they have the right to a high-quality core curriculum. The thing I love about theater is that it’s about stories, and stories are the most fundamental way for humans to connect. Allowing students to explore other people’s stories gives them a pathway to explore and explain their own.

Is there a particular moment or production that you remember as being pivotal for you? Something that made you think, this is why I do this?

Well, lots of students have expressed to me that theater is the thing they come to school for. But there was a moment, I think, when my students changed me. It was maybe seven years ago, the senior production was Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour, which deals with two female teachers who run a boarding school and had been accused by a student of being involved in a romantic relationship. The student was mad and wanted to get back at them, but what she didn’t know was that one of them really did have deep feelings for the other. And the student actors playing the teachers were just both so good. I was sitting in the audience when I thought, they are both, at age 17 or 18, better actors than I ever was. And it was this beautiful moment where I felt like they had surpassed my own skill level, and I was learning from them. My program is designed for students to become really independent of me. I provide all the scaffolding and the structure, so, then, they can do it on their own.

What is the best advice you ever got as a teacher?

When I first started working in Philadelphia, I took a workshop with Young Playwrights, and there was a speaker who said that our job is to help students find their voices, and not our voice through them. And that has been something that has always resonated in the back of my head. I am always looking for ways to center students in the work that they are creating, and to help them learn to trust themselves and their stories rather than looking to me for validation of their stories.

Have you ever had a parent or administrator try to censor what you were teaching?

It’s funny because I’m always waiting for that call. I’ve had parents ask questions, good questions, but I’ve never had a parent say their kid can’t read that, or can’t be a part of it. The play How I Learned to Drive [about a sexually abusive relationship between a teen and a trusted adult], every year I have students come to me afterward and say that the play changed their life, sometimes because they’ve been through something similar, and having the opportunity to process that through somebody else’s perspective has freed them. And I feel very backed up by the School District of Philadelphia. I feel really grateful for the progressiveness of the district I work in.

Did you ever aspire to be an actor?

No, this is actually my dream job. I was not ever very in love with the lifestyle of a professional artist [moving] from gig to gig. Part of what I love about being a theater teacher is that I get to really tuck in with the students and work with them over a long period of time. I love teenagers; I love this point of personal development when they are figuring out who and how they want to be. Teaching, for me, wasn’t a default. It was an active choice.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

This is the Pennsylvania tax break that keeps causing controversy on Philadelphia’s school board

2023-12-13T22:07:07+00:00

Some of the biggest and best-known development projects in Philadelphia are powered in part by a state tax break called the Keystone Opportunity Zone.

The Navy Yard in South Philly, Schuylkill Yards in University City, and the massive new Bellwether District at the former PES refinery are all part of the program, which was created in the late 1990s to spur redevelopment of post-industrial buildings and properties around Pennsylvania.

What does the program do? In short, KOZs eliminate almost all state and local taxes for the owners of the designated parcels and businesses in the zones.

State officials have described it as “one of the nation’s boldest and most innovative economic and community development programs.” Supporters say it’s an essential tool for clearing blight, reinvigorating dormant land that might otherwise be too expensive to redevelop, and inducing employers to come to or remain in Pennsylvania rather than being enticed to other states with their own generous incentive programs.

How well it accomplishes those goals, and at what cost, is unclear.

While the program is overseen by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, no one keeps track of exactly how many new jobs it creates, or how much lost tax revenue the KOZs cost each year.

With few obligations attached to the designation, many property owners receive tax abatements for a decade or longer while their sites remain partly or wholly undeveloped.

Initially just an effort to revive 12 properties across the commonwealth, the program has morphed into a huge program covering more than 2,000 parcels, including some that were already being developed or are in economically booming neighborhoods.

There are currently 287 zones in Philadelphia, according to the city Department of Commerce. Their use as a general-purpose economic development incentive has led to battles over designations that seemed to favor one politically connected developer over another — and some have criticized it for threatening to sap the school district of badly needed tax revenues.

From a dozen to thousands of tax breaks

Inspired by a similar program in Michigan, the Pennsylvania Legislature created the Keystone Opportunity Zone program in 1998, under Gov. Tom Ridge. The initial legislation created 12 areas, before subsequent legislation permitted many more.

The property owners get a real estate tax abatement, and businesses located on KOZs don’t have to pay most state and local taxes for the period of designation, which is usually between 10 and 15 years and can be renewed. (In Philadelphia, however, they do have to pay the wage tax for employees.)

Each designation area must be approved by the state — and by local entities that stand to lose tax revenue. In Philadelphia, that’s City Council and the Board of Education.

Over time, the rules for KOZs were eased.

For example, the original law required a company located in a KOZ to either boost employment by 20% or invest at least 10% of its previous year revenue to receive the tax abatements. After the turn of the millennium, that rule was changed. To get the tax break, a tenant firm had only to sign a lease covering the duration of the zone and spend at least 5% of the previous year’s revenue on rent.

State: It’s impossible to collect data to assess the program cost

The KOZ program is often criticized for poor transparency and accountability, and a lack of clarity about how to measure its success. The state initially hired the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in Pittsburgh to monitor the program but ended the arrangement in 2002.

“They weren’t really interested in whether it did any good, and that’s a shame,” the institute’s president Jake Haulk later told the Inquirer.

In 2009, a state legislative committee tried to review the program, but ended up without a firm conclusion — saying that the Department of Community and Economic Development didn’t provide reliable data.

The DCED claimed the program had created 63,966 new jobs and retained over 48,158 jobs, but reviewers concluded the data was “substantially overstated and not supportable.” The agency didn’t calculate the program’s cost in lost taxes, and declined to release the value of tax credits received by a sample of KOZ participants.

The committee report also noted that, 10 years into the program, about 70% of approved KOZ acreage statewide remained undeveloped and many participants “received KOZ benefits without having to create jobs or generate capital investment.”

Philadelphia had 2,755 KOZ acres at the time, of which 53% were undeveloped.

State officials said it would be expensive and difficult to collect tax data for all of the state’s hundreds of KOZs, and impossible to disentangle the program’s job-creation and development effects from those of other incentive programs.

City: Yes, but we can estimate — and it could take 50 years to pay off

One of the few substantial efforts to analyze KOZs — at least those in Philadelphia — was conducted in 2014 by then-City Controller Alan Butkovitz.

He concluded that the program created a major tax burden for a meager return, WHYY’s PlanPhilly reported. It had so far cost the city and school district more than $380 million in abated business and property taxes, he found, while netting $132 million in wage taxes from 617 participating businesses.

More than 70% of that came from businesses that were already paying wage taxes before, rather than new enterprises.

By analyzing tax data, Butkovitz calculated the KOZs had created 3,700 jobs, with the city waiving more than $100,000 in tax revenue for each one. At an average salary of $50,000 per job, it would take more than 50 years of wage taxes for those new jobs to pay for themselves.

Like the state legislative committee, the controller concluded that “the records necessary to provide adequate oversight of the KOZ program largely do not exist.”

IRS rules barred the city from releasing participants’ tax bills, and the only direct data on job creation was self-reported by the businesses.

The city’s Department of Commerce also commissioned a report in 2019 on the program’s costs and benefits.

From 2008 and 2017 Philadelphia had foregone between $40 million and $125 million each year in two types of business taxes, the BIRT and NPT, or $645 million total in 2019 dollars, the report said. A breakdown of the 2016 data showed that financial services firms received 70% of the BIRT abatements that year.

When other types of taxes were included, the total value of abatements over those 10 years was $627 million, while city revenues from wage, sales and other taxes from the KOZ businesses was $462 million, the analysis found. Looking over a 15-year period, the report projected $676 million in revenues, or $49 million more than the KOZs cost, and argued that meant the city would see a 10% return on its investment.

The larger businesses in KOZs together reported employing the equivalent of 9,025 full-time employees, the report said. That figure was not independently verified, and the report did not say how many of those were newly created jobs.

The study concluded that KOZ status had some influence on where businesses decided to locate, but the financial services firms that received most of the benefit created few jobs and there was no mechanism for ensuring participants delivered broader public benefits beyond developing the parcels.

It recommended approving KOZs only where new development would not occur anyway; providing prospective tenants with clearer estimates of the benefits of locating in a KOZ; changing laws to allow cities to offered tailored payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) plans to KOZ businesses; and limiting use of the program by companies that produce few jobs. The city has since established PILOTs for some of its KOZs to compensate for the loss of school district revenues.

What defines ‘blight’ when applying for a tax break?

Around 2004, Gov. Ed Rendell proposed designating proposed office tower projects in Philadelphia as KOZs, provoking a stormy debate.

Critics argued using the designation for downtown office towers would benefit politically connected developers and wealthy law firms, favor new buildings over old ones, and continue to move jobs around rather than boosting overall employment.

At the time, there were at least 112 existing KOZ properties in Philadelphia exempted from real estate taxes, per the Inquirer. Many companies had relocated to the zones from elsewhere in Philly, not from outside the city. Their combined assessed value was $38 million, which would translate to $3.2 million in foregone annual property taxes. The city’s total property tax collections that year were close to $900 million.

Only the future Cira Centre next to 30th Street Station ended up getting the designation that year.

Comcast’s planned tower at 17th and JFK Boulevard was denied KOZ status, but it received a reported $43 million in other state subsidies, and was built anyway.

In 2011, after Philadelphia’s first set of KOZs expired, an Inquirer analysis found that most of the job growth the state attributed to them came from just one site — a Marshall’s distribution center near Philadelphia Northeast Airport that employed 1,500 people. With the KOZs’ expiration, the tenant businesses would start paying $6.3 million in new property taxes.

By 2016, when there were close to 150 KOZ properties in Philadelphia, City Council passed a bill to add 80 more.

Critics noted that some of the new zones were already slated for redevelopment while others were in University City and other economically booming areas where tax stimulus was arguably not needed.

Council also approved then-Councilmember Helen Gym’s bill requiring KOZs to report how much subsidy they receive, the number of jobs they create and other information. Gym said the goal was to ensure the KOZs were creating jobs rather than just shifting them from place to place.

Lobbying reverses 382 board denials

Proposals to create or extend KOZs continue to generate pushback when they come before the Philadelphia school board.

In 2018, another 68 parcels in Philly were added despite concerns that many were not blighted. The Frankford Arsenal Complex in Northeast Philly, for example, was already developed and had recently sold for $6 million.

In an effort to protect education funding, the owners of those particular properties agreed to make payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, that were 10% higher than the usual amount of property taxes reserved for the schools.

In 2020, the school board initially rejected a 10-year extension for part of the former South Philly refinery, where Hilco Redevelopment Partners is building the Bellwether District. After Hilco vowed to provide jobs for graduates of city schools, a dissenting board member changed her vote, and the extension was approved.

Another controversy arose in 2020 when a wealthy law firm, Dechert LLP, sought a second round of KOZ tax breaks by moving from the Cira Centre, whose KOZ status had expired, into a planned building at Brandywine Realty Trust’s Schuylkill Yards office tower complex near 30th Street Station.

The state DCED argued that would defeat the law’s purpose of revitalizing distressed areas, but a court ruled the KOZ statute contained no restriction on zone-hopping and allowed the move to proceed.

This past August, the school board approved extensions of several KOZs but initially rejected one for the Arsenal property in Tacony. After lobbying by the developer and a visit to the site by some board members, the board again reversed itself and approved the extension.

This article has been updated with details from the 2019 city report.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney discusses his pre-K legacy: ‘We had all the parents’

2023-12-06T11:04:00+00:00

This story is featured in Chalkbeat’s 2023 Philadelphia Early Childhood Education Guide on efforts to improve outcomes for the city’s youngest learners. To keep up with early childhood education and Philadelphia’s public schools, sign up for our free newsletter here.

When Mayor Jim Kenney is feeling frustrated, he said, he has a guaranteed pick-me-up: He goes to visit students in a local prekindergarten.

“When I get really down, and depressed, and disgusted, and lots of other adjectives, I go schedule a pre-K visit,” Kenney told Chalkbeat in a candid interview conducted during his final weeks in office. “It’s like my salvation.”

Along with overseeing the school district’s return to local control after 17 years under state authority, Kenney regards the establishment of PHLpreK, which allows thousands of 3- and 4-year-olds in the city to attend prekindergarten free of charge, as one of the major legacies of his two terms in office.

“I believe the only way out of poverty and into a successful life is education,” he said, by way of explaining his commitment to the issue. Providing structured programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, he said, “sets the tone for the rest of their educational experience.”

As policymakers consider how to overhaul the state’s school funding system to make it fairer for districts like Philadelphia’s, Kenney also pointed out that the city increased its contribution to the school district by $1.5 billion during his tenure.

This year, more than 5,000 children are enrolled in PHLpreK, according to a report from Kenney’s office. Since its inception in 2017, more than 17,000 children have passed through the program and over 500 new teachers have been hired to work in PHLpreK classrooms, the report said.

Making free, high-quality prekindergarten more accessible helped parents and caregivers of young children hold down jobs, Kenney said, which in turn reduced poverty and led to more stable families – in itself an important factor in promoting school readiness.

While there isn’t research on PHLpreK’s impact that tracks students who had access to early childhood education versus those who didn’t, Kenney said third grade reading scores went up 3 percentage points last year in district schools. Those third graders were the first class of children who had access to PHLpreK.

To be sure, that increase is modest. The district set a goal for 62% of third graders to score proficient on the state exam by 2026. But in the 2022-23 school year, only 31.2% of third graders scored proficient or above on their state exams.

Beyond the numbers, Kenney cites anecdotal evidence that PHLpreK is having an impact. He loves to tell the story of visiting a kindergarten on the first day of school. “It was a disaster,” he said, with children bawling and clinging to their mothers — except for two kids sitting placidly in their seats, hands folded in front of them.

“I said to them, ‘Did you go to pre-K?’ They did. They knew exactly what to do,” Kenney recalled. “There was no learning curve.”

To get free pre-K done, Kenney fought off the soda industry, which spent millions trying to kill the sweetened beverage tax he proposed to fund the program. (The City Council approved the 1.5 cents-per-ounce tax on those beverages in a 13-4 vote in 2016.)

“They hired every lobbyist in the universe,” he said. “But we had all the parents. And ladies with babies strapped to their chests can be a powerful force.”

Kenney said he voted against the tax twice during his time on the council in 2010 and 2011 when then-Mayor Michael Nutter brought it to the table. Nutter had emphasized the health benefits of reducing soda consumption, which didn’t resonate with the council members at the time.

What changed Kenney’s mind? If he wanted free pre-K, he would need to establish a sustainable funding source.

“Once we got sworn in. We’re sitting in my office … and I said, well, how are we going to pay for all this stuff?” Kenney said.

Having a dedicated purpose for the tax revenue was enough to convince the council members to back the tax.

But in its first few years, hampered by an ongoing lawsuit against the soda tax and diminished state revenues during the pandemic, the program was slow to roll out and expand. A city controller’s audit in 2017 found some “missteps” with the program’s implementation, including over-billing and under-enrolling.

But Kenney said he never considered giving up on the effort.

“Head down, win or lose,” Kenney said. “I don’t know what we would have done if we had lost in court. But we didn’t.”

The state Supreme Court upheld the beverage tax in a 4-2 vote in 2018. Kenney said he hopes the program will continue to expand after he leaves.

It’s unclear what the future will hold for the program when Kenney vacates his position. A spokesperson for mayor-elect Cherelle Parker declined to comment on the program..

Kenney said he hasn’t had the expansion discussion with Parker’s team yet. But he thinks it’s “politically powerful enough” that “if somebody tries to take it away, I don’t think that they would get a good reception.”

In his waning days as mayor, Kenney has been thinking about what he’ll do next. He said he intends to set off on an ocean cruise the day after Parker is inaugurated. After that, he’s not sure. But it won’t be public life.

“I’m done with it. It’s time for people to move on sometimes,” Kenney said.

He said one idea he’s mulling is starting a nonprofit that would raise money to expose city kids to more live arts and culture programs, he said.

As a high school freshman at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, Kenney said he and his classmates were taken on a field trip to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and its legendary founder, Judith Jamison, perform at the Walnut Street Theater.

“I went from hating it to thinking, ‘This is beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone move like that. I’ve never seen anything like this,’” Kenney said. “I honestly believe that kids in the city, who see nothing but chaos and hurt, [deserve] an opportunity to do that, to see that there’s beautiful things in the world.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia teachers say they are passionate about their jobs but feel underpaid and overworked

2023-11-30T21:31:41+00:00

Philadelphia teachers feel supported by their school leadership, their students, and their colleagues, but nevertheless feel overwhelmed by their workload and the demands made on them.

And they think their own school is doing well, but they think the district as a whole is going in the wrong direction. They say they are passionate about their job, but think they are underpaid and overworked.

Those were among the key results of a survey of 734 district and charter school teachers conducted on behalf of Elevate 215, a nonprofit organization once called the Philadelphia School Partnership, which was a proponent of charter school expansion. There are more than 8,200 teachers in district schools and another several thousand in charters.

Asked to pick their top three concerns, teachers cited their workload (46%), unrealistic expectations around student achievement (41%), and inadequate salary or benefits (39%).

Based on responses to survey questions, teachers in charter schools are somewhat more satisfied with their jobs than those in district schools. For instance, 79% of charter school teachers said they were satisfied with the “vision and priorities established at my school,” compared to 64% of district teachers. And just 33% of district teachers expressed satisfaction with the condition of their facilities and level of resources, compared to 71% of charter teachers.

There were also key differences in attitude among veteran teachers versus their newer colleagues and between white teachers and those of other races, especially regarding whether they plan to stay in teaching over the long haul.

In one interesting finding, just 41% of teachers who have been in the district at least 16 years feel the district offers the possibility for a “rewarding career.” A higher proportion of those with five or fewer years’ experience, 52%, agreed with that statement.

In the survey, charter teachers, which according to the survey skew younger and have less experience, expressed higher levels of satisfaction with their salaries and working conditions.

Charter teachers also said by higher margins, 68% versus 41%, that they felt their “input matters” regarding school policies and practices.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said that the survey offered “no big surprises,” rather reflecting “concerns that I and my staff have been hearing from our members,” top among them being teacher salaries that are not keeping up with inflation. He said many PFT members leave for higher salaried jobs in suburban districts.

“Teachers indicated that they really like what they do, but want to be respected for what they do as well. We’ve been hearing that for a number of years,” he said.

He also said he wasn’t too surprised by the finding that charter school teachers, who are not unionized and tend to make less money, expressed somewhat higher satisfaction with their salaries. Many of them are new and in their first jobs, he said. “We were all excited when we got our first jobs,” he said.

Most teachers in Philadelphia are white and female, although based on the survey responses, there seems to be an uptick in male teachers and teachers of other races. For instance, 71% of the teachers surveyed with five or fewer years of experience are female, compared to 81% of those with 6-10 years and 82% of those with 11 years or more. Also, 49% of those in teaching for five years or fewer were white, compared to 67% of those with 6-10 years’ experience and 69% of those with more than that.

Teachers of color are also more likely to live in Philadelphia – 70% of Black teachers and 81% of Hispanic teachers, compared to 54% of those who are white. Teachers of color are also less likely to be fully certified, with 29% of Black teachers and 39% of Hispanic teachers having an emergency certification, compared to 6% of whites.

The survey was conducted between Sept. 27 and Oct. 9, with respondents recruited via email invitation. The margin of error is 3.6%.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Kevin Bethel leaves top school safety job in Philadelphia to be city police commissioner

2023-11-22T18:51:03+00:00

Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker has named Kevin Bethel, the School District of Philadelphia’s current chief of school safety, as her new police commissioner.

Bethel has long been a well-respected fixture in Philadelphia law enforcement and school safety circles. During his tenure in the school district, Bethel focused on reforming the juvenile justice system, dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, and promoting “trauma-informed policing.”

As a deputy police commissioner and then the district’s safety director, he also developed a national reputation for his work emphasizing prevention over punishment as an approach to improving student behavior and discipline both in and out of school settings.

In his four years leading school safety for the district, “I believe we have made the schools safer,” Bethel said at his appointment announcement at City Hall on Wednesday. “It’s unacceptable that some students feel unsafe going to and from school.”

This is Parker’s first mayoral staffing announcement, though she doesn’t officially take office until January. She said that she chose Bethel from among three candidates chosen by a search committee headed by former police commissioner Charles Ramsay.

Deputy Chief of School Safety Craig Johnson will serve as interim chief for the district while a search is conducted for Bethel’s replacement, according to the district.

“Chief Bethel is a class act, and I always felt very confident knowing that he was overseeing all efforts to create safe learning environments for our students to imagine and realize any future they desire,” Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington said in a statement Wednesday.

The Board of Education issued a joint statement calling Bethel’s appointment “well deserved” and that his departure would be a “significant loss” for the district.

Bethel’s school safety legacy in Philadelphia schools

A John Bartram High School graduate, Bethel’s oft-repeated motto during his time in the police department and school district has been: “I didn’t become a cop to lock up children.”

While on the police force in 2013, Bethel said he was “alarmed” by how many students were being arrested in the city under a “zero tolerance” policy that saw police called on students as young as 10 years old.

“I can’t lock up a 10-year-old child who comes to school with scissors,” he said.

He described his dismay at a school in Kensington that put bulletproof blankets on the windows due to nearby shootings.

“I lived it when kids have been shot in front of our schools,” he also recalled. “I never thought I would take a job where kids would be killed at the doorstep of a school.”

With buy-in from district officials and others, Bethel created a diversion program for students with no prior delinquency record who committed low-level offenses like fighting or possessing a pocket knife. That program was praised at the time for substantially decreasing the number of students arrested in school from nearly 1,600 in 2013-14 to 251 in 2018-19.

Bethel has also worked to improve the district’s weapons detection process — a pain point that’s drawn public fury.

In 2019, outraged protesters shut down a Philadelphia Board of Education meeting after members voted to make metal detectors mandatory in every district high school. In the years after, random wand screenings, X-ray machines, and other detection systems have been used in high schools and some middle schools.

Some parents and community members have been critical of the practices, which they said can make students feel criminalized in their own schools.

When he announced new school safety measures last August, Bethel said the district would be introducing a new “minimally invasive gun detection system” in 14 middle schools. Those detectors were chosen because district officials were looking for technology “that did not add to the trauma of our young people,” Bethel said at the time.

To be sure, the city still struggles with youth incarceration issues. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in June that the city’s juvenile detention center reached its highest population levels ever, with 230 young people in custody. The Inquirer discovered overcrowding resulted in dozens of young people forced to sleep in offices, gyms, or on the floors of “filthy” cells.

As commissioner, Bethel said Wednesday he would work to make police officers a vital part of communities, not just enforcers of the law.

“I’m proud to be a cop,” he said. “We’re not your enemy. We’re here to serve, and I ask you to give us that opportunity to do that. … Raise your voice when it needs to be raised, but let’s be part of the community, let’s work with you.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Cherelle Parker will be Philadelphia’s 100th mayor. Here’s what she wants to change about education.

2023-11-08T11:30:00+00:00

There was never much doubt that Cherelle Parker would become the city’s 100th mayor and the first woman ever to lead the nation’s sixth largest city. On Tuesday night, she defeated Republican David Oh, winning more than 73% of the vote.

Like mayors before her, she will lead a city with an underfunded school district beset by concentrated poverty — conditions that limit schools’ ability to make major inroads on the traditional measures of student achievement such as proficiency on state tests and graduation rates.

But unlike previous mayors, Parker — who started her career as a teacher — will take office when a major contributor to those conditions is on the verge of significant change.

That’s because the state is working to comply with a Commonwealth Court judge’s order from February to revamp a state school funding system that has resulted in wide gaps in spending between high- and low-income districts, and has historically shortchanged Philadelphia.

Although the city’s public school district was not a plaintiff in the case that led to the judge’s order, Philadelphia schools could benefit greatly from any changes to the state funding formula, and increases in overall education funding, that Pennsylvania lawmakers ultimately adopt.

What will also help define Parker’s tenure as mayor is how she will use her power to appoint all nine members of the Philadelphia Board of Education — she can rebuild it from scratch, if she wants — and what will happen regarding the one far-reaching education proposal she shared during the mayoral campaign: a year-round schedule for schools.

Parker pushes for more Philadelphia school funding

Parker grew up on Philadelphia’s West Oak Lane, the daughter of a teenage mother. She was raised by her grandparents and attended Philadelphia public schools, graduating from Girls High.

When she voted Tuesday morning, she brought along her high school English teacher, Jeanette Jimenez, who encouraged her to write about her life after her grandmother died.

“I wouldn’t be here without you,” she said.

She was the first in her family to go to college. After attending Lincoln University, she briefly taught English and English as a second language in Pleasantville, New Jersey, before interning for former City Council member Marion Tasco and setting off on a political career.

She will work as mayor to launch all young people on a path of self-sufficiency, she said at her victory speech at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 headquarters Tuesday night.

As a member of the City Council and as a state legislator, Parker leveraged methods to collect more revenue for schools, including an initiative that went after delinquent property taxpayers in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker celebrates with supporters on Nov. 7, 2023.

The mayor of Philadelphia has no direct authority over the School District of Philadelphia. But with the power to appoint all nine members of the Board of Education (subject to City Council approval), Parker can help shape education policy on key issues. These include spending priorities, charter schools, how to deal with the district’s aging buildings, and negotiations with unions for the district’s educators and other staff.

Through the school board, she can also influence where (and whether) to close schools and where to build new ones, and how to enhance student safety with respect to everything from environmental hazards such as loose asbestos to gun violence that has plagued the city.

During the campaign, Parker did not tip her hand on any intentions to keep or replace the current board members, saying she would not discuss any personnel issues before the election.

Parker favors keeping schools open longer

Parker’s signature education proposal in the mayoral race was to institute year-round schooling. She said what she had in mind would not involve more days of traditional classroom seat time for students, but more breaks spread throughout the year and a shorter summer vacation, coupled with increased access for students to enrichment activities.

Parker also advocated for a school day that starts earlier and ends later.

In making both these proposals, she cited the hardship that school schedules pose for many parents, rather than touting the additional time as an educational improvement strategy.

“Not all of the young people in the school district of Philadelphia are in the Hamptons in the summer, or at the Vineyard.” she said in her victory speech. “Maybe you thought they were there. But they are not.”

She added that “for those who are being raised, particularly in circumstances like mine, particularly when they’re being raised by someone other than their biological parents, they can benefit from creative year round scheduling. They could benefit from going to school in the morning and having it open until 6:30 in the evening.”

She said after the traditional school day is over, students could learn coding, financial literacy, and other subjects. “I’m getting ready to tell you the big one for me is homework help and tutoring,” said the mayor-elect, who is the mother of a young son. “Have you seen the math today?”

As far as paying for any such change, she has said she favors devoting a higher proportion of the city’s property tax revenue to the district — 58% instead of 55%. Parker said that change would bring $50 million in additional revenue for schools even before any statewide funding reform.

Parker is a strong union supporter, and many of the city’s labor leaders endorsed her in the Democratic primary, although the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers supported rival Helen Gym. PFT president Jerry Jordan did not attend Parker’s victory party Tuesday night, unlike many other union heads, but issued a statement saying members “celebrate and honor this momentous and historic occasion… (Parker’s election) shows little girls, especially Black girls, what they can achieve.”

On social media, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten also congratulated Parker for making history as the first woman to lead the nation’s sixth largest city.

Parker will for sure need union buy-in for her plan to move to a year-round school schedule and keep school buildings open longer.

Cherelle Parker holds her hand up to honor Delta Sigma Theta sorority after winning the mayoral election and becoming Philadelphia’s 100th mayor on Nov. 7, 2023.

Parker skirts divisions over charter schools

One area where Parker as a candidate took a measured approach was charter schools.

Nearly one-third of Philadelphia’s public school students attend charters, making the city home to one of the largest charter sectors in the country. The school board must approve charter school applications, and has essentially imposed a moratorium on new charters since 2018.

During the campaign, Parker did not directly answer a question from Chalkbeat about whether she would like Philadelphia to have more charter schools.

“I want quality seats, and I don’t care where they are,” she said, adding: “I will not allow anyone to act as if district-run and charter schools are warring factions.” She forcefully repeated that in her victory speech Tuesday.

“If anybody is interested in talking to me about public education, and you’re trying to pitch traditional publics against charters, don’t do it,” she said.

Parker has also avoided wading into a controversy over whether the Board of Education has discriminated against Black-led charter schools.

A report issued by a law firm last month found problems with the charter monitoring system that has resulted in a larger proportion of Black-led charters being closed. But the report, two years in the making, found no “intentional” racial discrimination.

Parker did say that as mayor she would “insist” that the state legislature reinstate a budget provision that sent millions of dollars to school districts to compensate them for “stranded costs” linked to charters and cyber charter schools that occur when students leave district schools in patterns that don’t allow for neat downsizing.

That provision was eliminated in 2011 by state lawmakers under the administration of former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican; half the total amount came to Philadelphia. Losing that reimbursement was among the factors that fueled resistance in Philadelphia to expanding the charter sector, including near the end of the period when the district was under state control from 2001 to 2017.

Parker’s main goal now, which she said is attainable through government and private collaboration: “We want all of our children in a 21st century, modern school building with the highest academic achievement.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia mayoral election results: Cherelle Parker wins

2023-11-08T01:00:02+00:00

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Democrat Cherelle Parker will be Philadelphia’s 100th mayor and the first woman to hold the position.

The Associated Press called the race for Parker Tuesday evening shortly after polls closed.

Parker will set the agenda on school safety, infrastructure, charter schools, funding, and more. She will have the power to appoint the city Board of Education’s nine members, who in turn evaluate the superintendent and monitor the district’s attempts to improve educational outcomes for students.

In her victory speech Tuesday night at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 headquarters, Parker reiterated her campaign promise to move towards year-round public school and said, “we are going to find a way to move educational opportunities for our young people forward.”

“We want all of our children in a 21st-century, modern school building with the highest academic achievement,” Parker said. “If anybody is interested in talking to me about public education, and you’re trying to pitch traditional publics against charters, don’t do it. I’m not the person to have that conversation with.”

With more than 273,800 ballots counted and 1,542 of 1,703 divisions reporting, the unofficial election results are:

Democrat Cherelle Parker: 73.6% (193,968 votes)
Republican David Oh: 25.6% (67,353 votes)

Check out our mayoral guide for more from both candidates.

In Philadelphia, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans seven-to-one, there has been little doubt that Parker would win the general election. She collected endorsements from some of the most powerful labor unions in the city and promised to be a pragmatic dealmaker in Harrisburg capable of bringing more state funding to Philadelphia.

The Associated Press called the race for Parker Tuesday evening shortly after polls closed.

This election cycle, Parker leaned on her proposal for year-round public schools — which Superintendent Tony Watlington promised to pilot — her desire to reform the much-maligned lottery admissions process for selective schools, and an increased police presence in and around schools.

Republican David Oh, meanwhile, told Chalkbeat he saw a path to victory due in large part to his active, in-person campaign strategy. While Parker opted to stay out of the public eye for much of the summer, recovering from a dental emergency and holding private meetings, Oh was door-knocking, giving interviews, and calling for public debates.

Oh’s education platform called for a partially elected school board and a more “horizontal” district leadership model, with power shared between the superintendent and other chief executives.

Tonight’s vote counts are unofficial until the Philadelphia City Commissioners, the officials who oversee the city’s elections, certify the results.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia City Council to hold hearing on bias against Black-led charters

2023-11-02T21:27:22+00:00

City Council plans to hold a hearing in December on whether the district has discriminated against Black-led charter schools.

On Thursday, Council approved a resolution, unanimously and without discussion, introduced by Council member Isaiah Thomas declaring that “Black led and founded institutions have been held to standards that are inconsistent and changed regularly, causing a lack of transparency in the School District’s process of reviewing, managing, and closing non-district led schools.” The hearing is scheduled for Dec. 6.

In a report released last month, the law firm Ballard Spahr found what it considered a flawed and problematic charter school authorizing and renewal process that leaves the district open to charges of bias — but uncovered no evidence of deliberate discrimination against Black-led charters. The report was two years in the making and covered the period between 2010 and 2021.

At the same time, the law firm recommended changes, including more transparency in the charter process and anti-bias training for Board of Education members.

The report was commissioned by the Board of Education in response to years of allegations of racial bias from the African American Charter School Coalition, which represents 17 of 21 Black-led charter schools.

Investigators found that during that period eight of the 13 schools whose charters were revoked by the district were Black-led, even though only about 1 in 5 city charters were founded and continuously led by Black individuals or organizations. (The report also noted that this year the Board of Education voted not to renew the charter of another Black-led institution, Southwest Leadership Academy.)

At the time, coalition officials issued a statement saying that the report backed up its charges of discrimination and “shows that the public school charter authorization process needs to be completely overhauled.”

In Pennsylvania, unlike in some other states, only the host district can authorize charter schools, creating an inherent conflict of interest.

Philadelphia has about 65,000 students in 82 charters, educating nearly 1 in 3 children who attend publicly run schools, and making it one of the largest charter sectors in any major city.

The report said that district officials were aware as far back as 2017 that there were “differential” results in the charter authorizing process, but took no action.

The nine-member school board, appointed by the mayor, has no taxing power of its own, relying on City Council to allocate city funds to the district, most of it through property taxes.

Max Weisman, Thomas’s communications director, said in an interview that there is “anecdotal evidence” pointing to a “different set of standards and a different set of processes that Black-led and white-led institutions go through.” He said that constant personnel turnover in the district’s Charter Schools Office exacerbates the problem, and that white-led institutions have more wherewithal to hire consultants and others to contest a proposed charter non-renewal or revocation.

He said witnesses at the hearing would include district officials as well as charter operators who have been making the allegations.

“It is important that we have oversight over our charter school system, so we can ensure that our public dollars are being spent the right way,” said Thomas in a statement announcing his intent to introduce the resolution. “The answer, though, does not lay in unfairly investigating Black-led institutions.”

Thomas, who sits on the council’s education committee, is a volunteer coach at Sankofa Freedom Academy, one of the city’s oldest charter schools. “I’ve seen myself how beneficial this model is,” Johnson said in a statement. “Black-led institutions are vital entities in the city because they open up students to broader perspectives, leadership and learning styles, and curriculums that not only improve tangible results but also make for a more enjoyable learning experience.”

The district’s Charter Schools Office issues annual reviews on each charter school as well as renewal reports every five years. Those reports evaluate the schools in three areas: academics, operations, and financial health. It gives each charter a rating of either “meets standard,” “approaches standard,” or “does not meet standard” on dozens of metrics. It does not make a formal recommendation to the board on whether to renew a charter or not.

Before approving its own budget and taxes, City Council holds annual hearings on school spending, grilling district officials and board of education members about various policies and making known their own priorities and preferences.

The issue of possible bias against Black-led charters has not come up in the mayoral election that will take place next week between Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, and David Oh, a Republican. Parker has recommended increasing the district’s share of the property tax from 55% to 58% as a way to generate more revenue for the schools. Oh has said he would like to elect five of the nine school board members so that they feel more connected to the community – although that would complicate the issue of taxing authority.

But overall, aside from Parker’s proposal for year-round school, which she has not explained in detail, education policy has not been a big issue in the race.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia voter guide 2023: Where the mayoral candidates stand on education issues

2023-11-01T14:39:24+00:00

Philadelphia’s next mayor — the city’s 100th — will be in a historic position with the ability to fundamentally change the way schools are run and governed.

In addition to shaping the city’s conversation about school safety, infrastructure, funding, and more, the mayor has the power to appoint the city Board of Education’s nine members. Those members have the responsibility of appointing and evaluating the superintendent, and monitoring the district’s efforts towards improving educational outcomes for all students under their care.

Democrat Cherelle Parker and Republican David Oh are vying for the seat, and each has put forward distinct platform proposals for education.

Parker is promising year-round school, which she said she envisions not as “children sitting in a classroom at a desk” for 12 months, but something more flexible, with extracurricular and enrichment opportunities available to students all year.

Oh, meanwhile, wants a partially elected school board and a more “horizontal” leadership model with power shared between the superintendent and other chief executives.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7, and the last day to vote early in person is Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Chalkbeat sat down with both candidates and discussed issues affecting Philadelphia’s students, educators, and families at length. You can find Cherelle Parker’s detailed Q&A here, and David Oh’s detailed Q&A here.

Below is a selection of their responses to some of the biggest education questions facing the city. Their answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Jump to a topic:

Charter schools |
School safety |
Infrastructure |
School board |
Teacher shortage

Do you want more charter schools in Philadelphia?

Parker: I want quality, modern 21st education for all of our children [regardless of] their race, class, socioeconomic status, or zip code.

Under a Parker administration, I will not allow anyone to pit traditional publics versus traditional charters to act as if those two are warring factions. They are not. They are two types of schools that are both public that educate children in the school district of Philadelphia

Oh: No, I don’t. I’m not for or against the charter schools … I’m for good public schools. But we’ve had horrible public schools and no response. And therefore there were charter schools.

I think we have enough charter schools.

What would you do about school safety?

Parker: We have to make public health and public safety the number one priority here in the city of Philadelphia, and we should do it with three primary buckets in mind, prevention, intervention and enforcement.

We are going to have community policing in every neighborhood in the city of Philadelphia. The only time we see law enforcement won’t be because it’s a crisis and someone called 911. They will be a part of the very fabric of our neighborhoods, and that, of course, does mean in and around our schools and buildings.

Oh: [Students] have every legitimate reason why they cannot focus and why they are afraid. They’ve been traumatized by all this gun violence. They have to see we care. The way I show them we care is I have uniformed officers, school police — no weapon, but looking sharp, being attentive and being accountable.

People want policing, but they want police reform. They want good policing. They don’t want police brutality. They don’t want ‘stop and frisk,’ I’m against the return of stop and frisk.

What is your plan to address Philly schools’ facilities needs?

Parker: Let’s think about using apprentices and pre apprentices in the building trades and students in our school district to help be a part of that process. Do we do it via a School Building Authority, an accelerated process within our current structure? I’m not sure.

I’m more concerned with getting it done. We have to get together at the table, agree to what the plan will be. And then we have to be unified in our advocacy and not trying to pick winners and losers with the ultimate goal being focused on our children and doing right by the people who work in those buildings.

Oh: I think there is purposeful inefficiency [in school construction and upkeep]. … I would look at serious rightsizing of the district based on the fact that we probably need to build new buildings.

We need to look at the buildings that have asbestos and actually clean them for real and not just coat them. We don’t need to remediate them. We have to remove it.

The most direct control the mayor has over education is appointing the school board. Would you make any changes to the board?

Parker: I am not going to make any comments or personnel decisions while I’m on the campaign trail. … I will be looking for people with a deep commitment to our city, the children of our city, and [who] share my vision for public education in this city.

I will not and do not support an elected school board because if you elect a school board that comes with taxing authority … I trust the [city] council with the taxing authority for the city of Philadelphia. They are our legislative branch.

Oh: I would appoint nine new [members] … start from scratch.

I have really pushed five elected school board members … we can have five councilmanic districts where the people elect a representative … regionally, [combining the 10 councilmanic districts to make five], but not the same as the council districts.

That would give people a level of responsiveness and accountability that they really feel is missing in the school district

How would you address the teacher shortage?

Parker: We’ve got to market it to them.

Philadelphia hasn’t done a good job in trying to package supports and services that we have available for example, with home ownership. … We’re going to make [Philadelphia] the safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation with economic opportunity for all and because it’s safe, we want you to have access to home ownership in a safe and a clean area with a thriving economy, thriving arts, culture, creative economy.

Oh: We’re losing teachers to public safety issues, and they’re telling us “we’re getting out of here, because it’s dangerous for us to go to work … this is not what we signed up for and you don’t seem to care.”

If I wanted to deal with teachers, I would look at recruitment. I would create a more predictable system of how you get paid, and how the pay increases every certain number of years. And it would incentivize staying in Philadelphia longer.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia mayoral election 2023: How Cherelle Parker answered 10 important education questions

2023-10-26T20:27:58+00:00

If Philadelphia voters cast their ballots in line with their party registration this November, Democrat Cherelle Parker is all but guaranteed to become the city’s 100th mayor. She will also be the first woman, and the first Black woman, to hold the office.

Parker is a former City Council member and state representative who has a degree in education from Lincoln University and worked briefly as an English teacher in Pleasantville, NJ. She is running against Republican David Oh, an attorney who also used to be on the council.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7, and the last day to vote early in person is Tuesday, Oct. 31.

The next mayor will have the responsibility of appointing the city Board of Education’s nine members, who in turn appoint and evaluate the superintendent, and monitor the district’s progress related to student achievement.

Parker’s campaign has already begun shaping education conversations in the city. Her pledge for “year-round school” was quickly picked up by Superintendent Tony Watlington, who incorporated a pilot program into his five-year strategic plan for the district.

Inspired by reader submissions, Chalkbeat asked both candidates to weigh in on the city’s most pressing education issues: school funding, safety, infrastructure, school board appointments, charter schools, and more. You can find Oh’s detailed Q and A here.

Here, Parker clarifies that for her, year-round school doesn’t mean more seat time in traditional classrooms, but vacation breaks spread throughout the calendar year and shortened during the summer, along with more enrichment activities for students. She also reiterates that she would favor putting more city funds into schools by increasing the district’s share of the city property tax, its largest source of local money.

She did not rule out creating more charter schools: “I want quality seats and I don’t care where they are,” she said, adding that she “will not allow anyone to act as if district-run and charter schools are warring factions.” Unlike Oh, she does not favor electing members of the school board.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Year-round school has been the centerpiece of your education platform. Tell us more how you envision that working.

When people heard me describe access to year-round school, I was not referring to our children sitting in a classroom at a desk, like we do during a traditional school day. But rather, it will … ensure that everyone has access to not just our traditional school curriculum, but academic enrichment programs, tutoring, homework help after school, and access to any workforce development and life skills opportunities that we could offer during out-of-school time.

Year-round education also references being innovative with scheduling. It doesn’t mean you don’t ever get time off. It could be two weeks here, two weeks here, three weeks here. All of our children … aren’t in the Hamptons or the shore all summer long. So for those children for whom those kinds of familial opportunities aren’t a part of their real lives, how do we structure our traditional school year in a way that makes good economic sense and is worth the educational investment for them?

Do you have any more specifics about how this would work and have you talked to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers’ union about this?

The way I design things, they won’t be designed without the PFT, without our administrators, without our parents, without the external stakeholders, and subject matter experts all at the table figuring out, how do we make this work? … That has not been figured out, but that’s the purpose of putting out the concept. Stakeholders come together and we figure out a way to make it work. And that’s how I go about doing things.

Maybe some other people would love to be able to offer a plan and very specifically say, “This is how it’s going to work and this is what you’re going to do in a Parker administration.” That’s a recipe for disaster. This is a concept that I have in my mind. If I am the mayor, we are going to have year-round educational opportunities for our children. What does it specifically look like when it’s baked and done? I don’t have the specifics for you right now.

There is a basic foundation to public education, that we should in no way shape or form attempt to usurp. But I will tell you that it is in no way sufficient for everything that our children should be learning today.

The most direct power the mayor has over education in Philadelphia is by appointing the school board. Do you intend to replace any of the Board of Education members?

I am not going to make any comments or personnel decisions while I’m on the campaign trail. … I will be looking for people with a deep commitment to our city, the children of our city, and [who] share my vision for public education in this city.

Your opponent David Oh has talked about shifting to a partially elected school board. Is that something you would support or do you think the current model is working?

Who do you think would have access to the resources to run a citywide campaign to get elected to a school board? It would be those who are boosted by very special interests.

What is your position on charter schools? The Board of Education has not approved a new charter school since 2018, do you think that there should be more charter schools in Philadelphia?

I want quality, modern 21st education for all of our children [regardless of] their race, class, socioeconomic status, or zip code. I want quality seats and I don’t care where they are … Some people are not going to like it, but I’m going to unify educational institutions in the city of Philadelphia to work together to help our young people.

I want to see our traditional publics, our traditional charters or parochial schools, and even the private schools — I want to see the leadership all coming together to say this is what we’re doing. Is there a way as educational leaders … that we can add value to each other’s delivery of education? Can we leverage working together, and any supports or services that could benefit young people? Can we share or steal an idea?

I’m always looking to see what other cities and states and countries and nations are doing relative to public education … we haven’t thought big enough and broad enough because everybody’s so accustomed and comfortable working in silos, my mind doesn’t work that way.

Do you support Councilman Thomas’s proposal for a school building authority that would help the school district deal with flaking asbestos and other issues relating to safety and modernization of its buildings?

Let’s think about using apprentices and pre apprentices in the building trades and students in our school district to help be a part of that process. Do we do it via School Building Authority, an accelerated process within our current structure? I’m not sure. I’m not wedded to any way, I’m actually still right now reviewing what that means.

How do you expect to pay for some of the big policy ideas you’ve put forward?

I would be open to exploring increasing the school district’s portion of our property taxes from 55%, potentially to 58%. And that would add an additional $50 million in additional revenue.

That couldn’t be done alone. You have to have an intergovernmental strategy that’s state, local, and federal. You also need the philanthropic community, you need the business community. We cannot try to address these issues in silos that we’ve got to bring people together to say this is the plan, this is what we need from you and you and you and how are we going to work together in order to make it happen?

Our district is historically underfunded, we get it. The court case [ruling Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional] is extremely important, and potentially increasing our school district’s portion of our property taxes, but we also have to be demonstrating that we’re trying to do things differently here. People are not going to talk about providing additional support and funding to the school district until they see us trying to do something different [in the city.].

Gun violence is also a major issue affecting students, educators, and school communities. What are your proposals for improving school safety?

I welcome everyone to take a look at my comprehensive neighborhood safety community policing plan … we have to make public health and public safety the number one priority here in the city of Philadelphia, and we should do it with three primary buckets in mind, prevention, intervention and enforcement.

We cannot talk about [education] without talking about trauma, mental and behavioral health support. We can’t talk about public education without the need for nurses and counselors and therapy for our children. A holistic approach to delivering public education helps us with public safety.

How does policing fit into that?

How can anyone shout we should be defunding the police when we should be focused on a holistic approach that does include community policing? … [We should] have officers who are not there as warriors but as guardians, working in partnership with our public safety office in the school district, with SEPTA and with other institutions so that we can have a holistic, comprehensive approach

I don’t apologize to anybody about making that a priority, because every child deserves to feel safe in school, and we should do everything that we possibly can to ensure it.

School was a lifeline for a person who grew up in poverty like me. … Every school should be a community school.

What’s your plan to address the teacher shortage and grow the teacher pipeline?

We’ve got to market it to them.

Philadelphia hasn’t done a good job in trying to package supports and services that we have available for example, with home ownership. We should be creative and incentivizing this … first we’re gonna make [Philadelphia] the safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation with economic opportunity for all and because it’s safe, we want you to have access to home ownership in a safe and a clean area with a thriving economy, thriving arts, culture, creative economy.

We’re going to see shortages across the board if we don’t find a way to use non-traditional strategies to market and encourage people to become residents of our great city.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia mayoral election 2023: How David Oh answered 10 important education questions

2023-10-26T20:27:53+00:00

Though the voter registration rolls are against him, Republican mayoral candidate David Oh thinks he sees a path to victory in Philadelphia, and that path starts with the city’s schools.

Voters are “not coming out because of the pomp and ceremony. They’re not coming out because of the noise, they’re coming out because they want a change,” Oh said in a recent interview at his campaign office in Northeast Philadelphia. “People want to believe there is a better future for them. And schools are where it can happen.”

Oh, a former City Council member, is running against the heavily favored Democrat Cherelle Parker, who also served on council and was a state representative. In Philadelphia, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans seven to one.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7, and the last day to vote early in person is Tuesday, Oct. 31.

In an interview with Chalkbeat, Oh said he favors holding elections for five of the nine members of the Philadelphia Board of Education while the mayor would appoint the remaining four. That would in effect cede the mayor’s primary influence over education in Philadelphia, which is to appoint all members of the board that governs the district.

Oh did not go into detail into how such a hybrid board would work with respect to issues like taxing power. Now, the appointed school board relies on the City Council to allot local tax dollars to the schools. Parker said she opposes an elected board because she wants the council to keep taxing power.

But Oh said that having elected members would make the board more responsive to community concerns. He proposed combining the 10 current councilmanic districts (districts that are aligned with those represented on the City Council) into five, and electing one from each district.

He said he would also seek to promote “equity in resources and facilities” and beef up vocational education. On charter schools, he said: “I am not for or against. I am for good public schools.”

An attorney, Oh was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia, where he still lives, and represented on the council from 2012 until he resigned to run for mayor earlier this year.

He reiterated that the major issue facing the next mayor is crime — in the city and in the schools. He contends that reducing crime will have a beneficial effect on education by attracting more people to teach in the city and reducing student trauma, among other things.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are your proposals for improving school safety?

[Students] have every legitimate reason why they cannot focus and why they are afraid. They’ve been traumatized by all this gun violence. They have to see we care. The way I show them we care is I have uniformed officers, school police — no weapon, but looking sharp, being attentive and being accountable. I say ‘when you’re in our custody, you’re in our care’ for people who we arrest. When you’re in our schools, you’re in our care.

I think a lot of our problems come from the fact that people feel neglected. They feel like nobody cares about them, they feel like they have no future.

I think, although well intended, to not provide police, to not provide discipline, to not provide that shows you don’t care when kids are getting killed, shot, and hurt.

People want policing, but they want police reform. They want good policing. They don’t want police brutality. They don’t want ‘stop and frisk,’ I’m against the return of stop and frisk.

How would you address the teacher shortage?

We’re losing teachers to public safety issues, and they’re telling us “we’re getting out of here, because it’s dangerous for us to go to work … this is not what we signed up for and you don’t seem to care.”

The low pay with no visible steps — the more experience you have in Philadelphia, what do you get? What is your future there? And so a lot of teachers look at Philadelphia as their public service time … we lose too many good teachers, and they really want to be here. They want to be a part of the community.

You’ve said you would support an elected school board. How would that work? What would you do when you first take office, before you could change from an appointed to elected board?

I would appoint nine new [members] … start from scratch.

I have really pushed five elected school board members … we can have five councilmanic districts where the people elect a representative … regionally, but not the same as the council districts.

That would give people a level of responsiveness and accountability that they really feel is missing in the school district. … In other words, I would rather have the community tied in with the schools and have some level of tailoring language, culture, educational options, things like that. And recognition of religious issues that are important to their community.

What would your education priorities be as mayor?

Safety in the school, which is a big problem. Number two, it would be equity in resources and facilities ... and I would return the standards of academics, vocational career training, and then I’d try to create a VET program like they do in Germany, Switzerland — vocational educational training.

If someone wants to get certified in a good vocation, there’s a program that I would try to work out with [lawmakers in] Harrisburg, where you do ninth and 10th grade in business theory, academics, all that related to what your career is. Then in 11th and 12th grade, you do part-time [at a] workplace.

What changes would you make to the way the school district is organized?

I’m not really a fan of the way schools are run now with a superintendent in charge of everything … I think it has to be a little more horizontal. There should be a chief innovation officer for technology. One that doesn’t get fired or demoted by the superintendent.

I don’t think the school board should be in the school administration building at all … you have to let the administrators administrate. Let the teachers teach, let the principals be the principals, let the facilities [workers] do the facility, the police do the police and the board looks at the overall but without any interest, without any conflicts.

A Commonwealth Court judge recently ruled the way Pennsylvania funds its schools is unconstitutional and many school districts, including Philadelphia, are underfunded. What would you change about the system?

The city is very wasteful. And nobody likes to hear that, or they already know it.

The poorest neighborhoods in Philadelphia are overtaxed. They have a lot of anxiety, they have a lot of problems, they have a lot of violence and all kinds of things. It’s illegal and it’s unfair.

I would … audit the [property tax] assessment process… we have to create fairness in taxation. … Otherwise, we’re going to drive all our poor folks out of the neighborhood with their kids who go to schools.

I believe the city should contribute more money from the money it has..the taxes have to be accurate, if they are higher, no problem. If they’re lower, whatever they are, they have to be accurate.

The current system is abusive to the poor, the vulnerable, and the low income and that is resulting in a lot of other problems that are very expensive.

That is having a devastating effect on our city. A lot of the problems we face are from people who feel targeted by a bullying, hateful government that doesn’t care about them … they could see it in schools and the libraries and places like that. I would correct that property tax.

How would you deal with the school infrastructure issues like damaged asbestos?

I think there is purposeful inefficiency [in school construction and upkeep]. … In this city, since the colonial days, schools have been a place of political payback.

I would look at serious rightsizing of the district based on the fact that we probably need to build new buildings.

We need to look at the buildings that have asbestos and actually clean them for real and not just coat them. We don’t need to remediate them. We have to remove it.

Do you think there should be more charter schools in Philadelphia?

No, I don’t. I’m not for or against the charter schools … I’m for good public schools. But we’ve had horrible public schools and no response. And therefore there were charter schools.

I think we have enough charter schools.

I would look at the mayor as someone who’s responsible for education for every child … whether it’s at a charter school, a neighborhood public school, a magnet school, a private school, at religious school, or whatever it is, it’s a school … [and it] is the mayor’s responsibility. One of the biggest jobs a mayor can do is to raise the money to put into education.

Would you support private school vouchers?

I think I’m for them.

If [private school families] are going to pay their taxes and send your kids to another school and pay for that, that helps us … it helps us to have them pay their taxes and have open seats … I would like to give them a tax break, to encourage them to do that so I can get the benefits of their tax dollars and those open seats.

If we had more people paying taxes, and paying for their own tuition, we’d have more money, more room in schools. So in that sense, I’m for it.

How would you improve trust between the school district and the communities it serves?

Our issue is how do we deliver a good quality education, a meaningful education in a way that shows the children in our care in our worst neighborhoods, that they have hope for the future? … As a mayor, I have to answer that question.

I think the problem with this whole situation is that the public does not trust the schools anymore … it’s all a scam to them.

You’re going to have to show them a visible difference from almost day one. The neighborhood looks different, the school’s different, the library hours have changed, the whole delivery of services is different.

You have to build credibility. We have such pessimistic people in this city. And it’s one of our biggest problems. Many of them don’t believe school matters, quite frankly, they just see school as a place to send kids and just occupy their time there.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia school cafeteria workers, climate staff reach tentative agreement to avoid strike

2023-09-29T16:06:34+00:00

Philadelphia’s school food service workers and climate staff have reached a tentative four-year collective bargaining agreement with the city school district that includes raises, an increase in health benefits, and conflict resolution training.

Officials with the Unite Here Local 634 union — which represents 1,900 food service and student climate staff employees in the district — said Friday the initial deal is “nothing short of historic.”

News of the agreement came just 48 hours before the workers’ current contract was set to expire. The deal averts the threat of a strike that could have crippled school operations across the district. Earlier this month, the union’s members authorized a strike to be called “if and when” union leadership “deems it appropriate.”

The union said in a statement its members will vote to ratify or reject the contract “in the coming days.”

Nicole Hunt, president of the Unite Here Local 634 union, said in a Friday statement that her members “have won what they deserve.”

“We are the heart of Philly schools. We are the people that keep our kids fed and safe,” Hunt said. “This contract honors the tireless, essential work that each and every School District of Philadelphia Food Service and Student Climate Staff employee does day in and day out … above all, it provides dignity.”

Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for the district said in an email the tentative agreement “reflects our commitment to supporting our food service and student climate staff … These valued team members provide our students with nutritious meals, build positive school climates, and serve as important members of our school communities.”

Hunt said that throughout the negotiation process, “the School District told us that our proposals were not feasible,” but now that they’ve reached an agreement, “we learned that family-sustaining wages and other basic protections were feasible after all.”

Braxton said district leadership “look[s] forward to continuing our shared focus on providing quality educational services to Philadelphia’s students and families.”

Here’s some of what’s in the agreement:

• An immediate raise and $500 signing bonus for all employees and a 29.7% wage increase over four years for the union’s lowest paid employees. The union said each member will get at minimum a 23% wage increase over the course of the contract.

• An increase in health and welfare benefits for all school climate staff.

• An end to a policy that paid probationary employees 93% of their contractual wage. It would also shrink probationary periods for both food service and climate employees, which the union says “will guarantee that they qualify for benefits and have job security as soon as is appropriate.”

• A policy and process to allow climate staffers to “opt-out of split shifts,” which the union says “force employees to work non consecutive shifts throughout the day, making it more difficult to work second jobs and attend to other personal matters.”

• Walkie-talkies for climate staff workers. The union says these would help their members “immediately respond to emergencies in hallways, lunchrooms, and school yards.”

• Reimbursements for food service employees required to wear non-slip shoes.

• Conflict resolution and de-escalation training for student climate workers.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

What education questions should we ask Philadelphia’s mayoral candidates?

2023-09-27T20:15:42+00:00

In deep-blue Philadelphia, where registered Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans, it can feel like the mayoral race ended with Cherelle Parker’s primary win in May.

But voters do have a choice in the general election this November, and the winner will have the strongest degree of mayoral control over education in the city in decades.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7, and the last day to vote early in person is Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Two candidates are running for mayor: Democrat Cherelle Parker, who is a former City Council member and former member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and Republican David Oh, an attorney who also used to be on the council.

The winner will have the power to appoint the city Board of Education’s nine members, who in turn appoint and evaluate the superintendent and monitor the district’s progress related to student achievement.

The current board members’ terms will expire when Mayor Jim Kenney leaves office in January. Whoever steps into the role can opt to keep some, all, or none of the current members.

While Parker has not said whether she would consider replacing any of the current board members, Oh said on his campaign website he favors an elected school board where as many as five of the nine members could be elected by Philadelphians.

The mayor also sets the policy tone and conversation around education in the city. During the lead-up to the primary election, Parker campaigned on a pledge for “year-round school” which, despite lacking details, was quickly picked up by Superintendent Tony Watlington and incorporated into his five-year strategic plan for the district.

We’re building a Chalkbeat voter guide for the election, and we want to know what’s on your mind. Let us know what questions to ask the candidates, and issues to raise with them, using the form below:

If you are having trouble viewing this form, go here.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia school climate and cafeteria staff threaten to strike if pay demands not met

2023-09-21T22:09:30+00:00

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Philadelphia school food service workers and climate staff say they are “sick and tired” of being underpaid and overworked and are threatening to strike if they aren’t granted a raise.

“We are sick and tired of the unfair treatment. We are sick and tired out of disrespect,” Kiara Coleman, lead organizer of the Unite Here Local 634 union, told a crowd outside of the school district’s headquarters on Thursday during a Board of Education meeting. “Today we are showing the district that we are ready. We’re willing to stand up and fight for what we deserve. We’re going to continue to put them on notice until they get the message.”

At the rally, dozens of members of the union — which represents 1,900 food service and student climate staff employees in the district — demanded higher wages and more flexibility in their work schedules, among other quality of life improvements.

“We are feeding all the kids in Philadelphia and cannot feed our own families,” said Tanya Edmonds, a food service worker at Henry H. Houston Elementary School.

In a Thursday statement, the school district said it “recognizes the central roles” of the employees, and said it is “confident” it can reach an agreement with the union.

The group’s collective bargaining agreement with the school district expires on Sept. 30. Earlier this month, the union’s members “unanimously authorized” a strike to be called “if and when” union leadership “deems it appropriate.” The workers are not yet on strike.

A work stoppage by the union members could throw Philadelphia’s schools into disarray. Among other things, climate and cafeteria staff maintain close relationships with students and provide some of the most impactful care for kids struggling with food insecurity and mental health challenges.

“We are like mothers and fathers to the children while they’re here,” a union statement from Sept. 9 said. “We see first-hand what kids deal with at home and in their communities. … We wipe noses and give hugs. We have listening ears when they need someone to talk to.”

Cafeteria workers and climate staff are among the lowest-paid school employees, according to Coleman. Union representatives said most of their members are paid $15.50 an hour.

According to hiring, resignation, and termination data posted by the school board and analyzed by Chalkbeat, food service workers and school climate staff make up a large portion of the board-approved terminations and resignations in the district.

In district employment reports covering a period from September 2022 to June 2023, the district fired 19 climate workers and 4 food service workers. Those firings made up 34% of all terminations in the district. In that same time period, 194 climate workers and 91 food service workers resigned, making up 20% of the 1,394 district workers who resigned.

Several elected officials attended Thursday’s union rally, including state Sen. Nikil Saval, state Reps. Liz Fiedler and Jordan Harris, and City Councilmember Kendra Brooks. They urged the district to increase the workers’ wages.

“We’re going to stand with you as long as it takes to not just give you praise, but to get you that damn raise,” Harris said.

Correction: Sept. 22, 2023: A previous version of this story included comments from Board of Education Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez that were not directed at the union’s Thursday rally, but at an earlier rally in Harrisburg about Philadelphia school funding.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Remembering Constance Clayton, Philadelphia’s trailblazing former superintendent

2023-09-19T17:16:25+00:00

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Constance Clayton’s legacy as Philadelphia schools’ first Black and first female superintendent is deep and still being felt today. In an era when few Black women held positions of power, Clayton took a school district mired in patronage, labor strife, and division, and put the focus back on providing all students with a quality education.

Clayton, a Philadelphia native and the district’s last homegrown superintendent, died on Monday at the age of 89. She ran the district, then the nation’s fifth largest, from 1982 to 1993, during an era when the average tenure for urban school leaders was three years

Her career and achievements were an inspiration to many – women and Black women in particular. As news of her death spread, tributes came in from city and state leaders, educators, friends, and former adversaries.

“She is an icon,” said Robin Cooper, president of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, which represents principals.

City Council member Katherine Gilmore Richardson said in a statement that Clayton “was an inspiration to young girls everywhere. It was her commitment to education that in part inspired me to become a teacher.”

Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker, poised to become the city’s first female mayor, said in a statement: “It was with Philly in her blood that she raised the expectations for Black and Brown students and students from low and moderate income communities. She set out to prove that race and socio-economic status would not define the chance of a students’ success. Her name is synonymous with leadership that is the model for the generations that came behind her.”

Former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell said Clayton literally led the city into a new era as “the first superintendent who challenged the rest of us in the city” to believe that the public school system could educate children as well as any private school.

Superintendent Tony Watlington said he met with her frequently for advice and that she had called his office as recently as last Friday to set up a lunch so she could advise him on what to do in his second year leading the district.

“On the last Christmas holiday, she was the first person I talked to,” said Watlington. “And that says something about her and the extent to which she wanted to make sure she stayed engaged.”

In her nearly 12 years as superintendent, Clayton brought labor peace after a decade of almost constant strikes, stabilized the district’s budget, and spearheaded a popular standardized curriculum, declaring that it would benefit the many city students who moved frequently from school to school.

Regal in bearing and no-nonsense in her leadership style, Clayton did not suffer fools gladly and would shut out people she perceived as critical of her leadership. But while she alienated some, she left no doubt among anyone that her concern was for the city’s children.

Veteran district educator Karen Kolsky remembers clearly that Clayton’s mantra was “Every school’s a good school,” a simple statement that set a tone for eager young teachers who could be intimidated by the district’s size and diversity.

“I remember that like I know my name,” said Kolsky, who retired recently after 38 years in the district. “That spoke volumes to me as a new teacher. I remember it so vividly because she really meant it.

“She has such presence. She was the School District of Philadelphia.”

Hailed as “best” recent superintendent

Clayton also brought a desperately needed stability to a system often in turmoil. Before her tenure, district-union relations were toxic. Through the 1970s and early ‘80s, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers went on strike almost yearly, striking for 20 days in 1980 and 50 days in 1981.

But during Clayton’s 11-year tenure, while union-district relations were hardly cordial, there were no strikes.

Though they were on opposite sides of the negotiating table, Jerry Jordan, now the president of the PFT, described Clayton as a “mentor, a teacher, a friend” and, in his opinion, the best recent superintendent the district has had.

“She gave me advice on a number of occasions,” he said. “She helped to teach me how to do my job working for the union.”

Jordan said teachers loved her standardized curriculum. “Long after Dr. Clayton left, I would visit schools and classrooms and teachers would show me they were still using [it]” because it told them “what they needed to teach, not the how. They liked having the freedom to be creative.”

As to her manner and style of leadership, Jordan said with a chuckle, “She wasn’t a pushover, but she was respectful. She mentored so many people in the school district, and all she wanted to know was that you were concerned and cared about kids.”

Former mayor and City Council member Michael Nutter agrees with Jordan that Clayton “was the greatest Philadelphia school superintendent in modern history.

“She cared passionately about children,” Nutter said. “She always asked the question, ‘is this in the best interest of our children? You just had to appreciate that.”

While “some people adored her and some had different feelings,” Nutter added, Clayton managed to avoid teacher strikes “and set a national standard” for school leadership.

Board of Education president Reginald Streater, who graduated from Germantown High in the early 2000s, said he “was a direct beneficiary” of the work Clayton did to improve the district, especially in helping to create smaller themed academies in the neighborhood high schools. The best way to honor her memory, he said, is to work toward “ensuring that all students are given access to the lifelong tools that we all know they need to navigate this world and toward their dreams.”

Longtime education advocate, policy analyst, and frequent district critic Debra Weiner described Clayton’s superintendency “as a golden age. What preceded her was teacher strikes every two years, a gigantic exodus of kids from the district, constant deficits, and no standard curriculum.”

But Clayton prioritized working with a less politicized Board of Education “to bring more transparency” to decision-making, said Weiner, who was one of the victims of Clayton’s legendary cold shoulder after she made one remark the superintendent didn’t like.

“Sure, she had a thin skin,” Weiner said. “But you have to remember, she was a Black woman. Black women never got anywhere at that time. She went to an all-Black school (Dunbar elementary) herself. She came from a single parent family. When she went to Girls High, it was full of the white elite. I can talk about how she was thin-skinned, but also say, where were the Black women in power in the 80s? They didn’t exist. So it’s very easy to understand why she had those kinds of shortcomings.”

The record shows, Weiner said, that “between what she inherited and what she bequeathed, there was a big change. It was key in giving the school district a lot of credibility that it had lacked as long as anyone could remember.“

Clayton “came in after a series of strikes and budget crises, and she appointed a very capable team,” said Christopher McGinley, a former Board of Education member who started as a teacher when Clayton was superintendent and went on to become a superintendent himself in two suburban districts. “They had a work ethic second to none.”

Most notably, Clayton did not play the political patronage game with local politicians, which inspired anger on the part of some, and admiration from others.

As far as hiring, “my position and questions became ‘what are their competencies, what are their qualifications, what are their experiences, what do they know about children,’” she told scholar Camika Royal in a 2011 interview for her dissertation. “Well, as I said to you before, it became Don’t ask Connie Clayton for anything, because she will not give it to you. I wanted it that way. I was very clear about why it should be that way. We were not a feeding trough for people. The School District is for children.”

Constance Elaine Clayton was born in 1933 (she would never confirm her age while in public life). Raised by her mother and maternal grandmother in Philadelphia, she attended Dunbar Elementary School and Girls High, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a doctorate in education. She subsequently was given many honorary degrees.

Clayton began her career as a fourth grade teacher at the Harrison Elementary School in North Philadelphia in 1955. She quickly rose through the ranks, and in the 1960s, wrote a social studies curriculum for elementary grades and also established an African American studies program for all age levels – efforts that eventually contributed to Philadelphia becoming the first school district in the nation to mandate, in 2006, that all students take an African American history course in order to graduate.

Clayton was also a visionary in recognizing early on the importance of preschool to children’s brain development. As associate superintendent for Early Childhood Education, her last position before being named to lead the district, she expanded the district’s role in pre-K through a variety of programs that still exist.

She championed the arts and promoted the teaching of culturally-relevant curriculum in general “that children could see themselves in,” said Howard Stevenson, who holds the Constance E. Clayton chair at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.

“She was not afraid of new ideas,” he said.

Superintendent took on mandate to desegregate city schools

On the day she was installed as school superintendent in October 1982 – hired by a less politically beholden school board appointed by former Mayor Bill Green in an effort to get past the patronage and divisions that dominated the district before then – Clayton made her intentions clear. At the time, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Black educators had distinct affinity groups that kept tabs on the distribution of leadership positions and school assignments.

“I hope all of us will commit ourselves to the proposition that all children can learn, all children can achieve, and all children deserve to be educated to the maximum of their abilities,” Clayton said.

At the time, the district was struggling to deal with an order from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, dating back to 1970, to desegregate its schools. There were many all-white schools, especially in the Northeast, reflecting neighborhood demographics but also district decisions regarding how school district catchment areas were drawn. The PHRC wanted mandatory busing but, mindful of the kind of violence and upheaval school desegregation caused in cities like Boston, Clayton – like her white predecessors – rejected that option.

Unlike them, she and her chief of staff, law professor Ralph Smith, came up with a voluntary desegregation plan that resulted in the busing of thousands of children, more than 14,000 at its peak and mostly Black, to predominantly white schools, primarily in the Northeast. The program also provided incentives, such as free after-school programs, to schools in integrated communities where the school enrollment was predominantly Black, to attract more white students to them.

“I did not accept the job of superintendent to preside over a segregated school system. And I will not do so,” she wrote in a 1983 letter to the school board reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

While the voluntary plan did increase enrollment diversity at many schools, over time, the busing waned, and the focus shifted to providing more resources to schools that were predominantly low-income and Black. The PHRC case was settled in 2009.

Once in talks to become chancellor of the New York City school system, Clayton withdrew her name, writing in a 1987 telegram to the then-president of the New York Board of Education published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, “I have an unfinished agenda in Philadelphia … Now is not the time to leave.”

But the year 1988 for her had both triumph and missteps: The PFT signed a landmark contract, preserving labor peace and including some important reforms. But in a presentation to the school board in August – in the context of explaining her priorities in managing a budget crunch – she said: “There are those among us who will always choose in favor of the historically privileged. That is a luxury that the school district, this city and our society, can ill afford. When compelled to choose we should and we must choose in favor of those children most at risk and most in need even if they are not the loudest or the most well connected.”

She also closed five day care centers in the Northeast to spare some in poorer neighborhoods.

Soon, she faced calls for her resignation, mostly from residents and officeholders from the Northeast, a largely white but working-class community, where many were offended at the notion of who she considered “privileged.”

She persevered, although the last years of her tenure were marked by struggles to keep the district’s budget balanced, stubbornly flat achievement scores, the birth of the charter movement, and the increasingly volatile politics around education and power struggles on the school board. Her resignation in 1993 was unexpected and abrupt.

She told Royal in 2010: “I’d been there 11 years. And I did, I took early retirement. You know, you get to a point where you question whether you’re still effective. It was time.”

After her retirement she took an interest in artificial intelligence and its potential role in children’s education, said Stevenson of Penn GSE. She also became a patron of the arts.

“She was one of the largest holders of Black art in the city,” and also challenged the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as a board member there, “to include folks of color as leaders,” he said. She founded the museum’s African American Collections Committee.

She was also a philanthropist, he said, often giving money for scholarships and other purposes, but not wanting it publicized.

In retirement, Clayton also opened an antiques and notions store in Chestnut Hill with one of her former district colleagues, Lee Scott. She lived for decades in a sprawling stone house in Mount Airy with her mother, who died in 2004.

“She didn’t achieve everything she wanted to achieve, but she began the first wave of people taking education seriously and understanding kids of all ages and backgrounds can learn,” said Rendell. “We were all lucky to have her in Philadelphia.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. She was the Philadelphia Inquirer education writer during much of Constance Clayton’s superintendency. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

City of Philadelphia, school district settle contentious facilities lawsuit

2023-08-02T21:51:42+00:00

The city of Philadelphia and its school district have settled a lawsuit over building code that would have stripped the district of its authority to open schools dealing with asbestos and other environmental hazards.

In return for dropping the suit, the district will get $2.5 million from the city to help with data management and the city will assist the district with putting together a vetted “asbestos investigator workforce” to help the district meet its “intense [school] inspection demands.”

The settlement news broke during a City Council hearing called by education committee chair Isaiah Thomas on a proposal to create an independent authority to manage school facility construction and management.

The settlement was “reached after five months of vigorous, good-faith negotiations,” according to a joint statement from the city, Board of Education, and district leadership on Wednesday and “reflects greater accountability and transparency around the District’s environmental management.”

City and school officials are casting the agreement as the harbinger of a more collaborative and aligned relationship between the city and district. The suit was an unprecedented shot-across-the-bow from the school board who feared city officials would use new building code to wrest authority away from the district to close schools due to hazardous asbestos or other environmental problems. The lawsuit also angered some in city government who blamed the district for lacking transparency and failing to quickly remediate environmental dangers to students and staff.

In the past few months, six schools closed due to hazardous asbestos, and district officials have warned more temporary closures could be looming. One school, Frankford High School, which happens to be Thomas’s alma mater, still won’t be fully open to all students this fall.

In an interview, school board President Reginald Streater told Chalkbeat the settlement is a sign that “everything is falling into place at the right time,” because of the “partnership” between the city, board, and district.

“To me this is all positive,” Streater said. The agreement means the district will get more resources and the district and board will be “better partners in informing the public” going forward.

New master plans on the horizon

Superintendent Tony Watlington told council members at the hearing that the district is in the process of updating its 2017 Facilities Master Plan assessing the needs of each of its more than 300 buildings. He and Streater estimated that fully upgrading and modernizing the school district’s massive infrastructure, whose buildings on average are 73 years old, would cost nearly $8 billion.

Watlington said the new facilities study will be completed in June. He said that “internal and external stakeholders,” including not just district personnel but community members, would be involved to “construct a vision for modernizing learning facilities throughout Philadelphia.”

Oz Hill, the district’s deputy chief operating officer, said at the hearing that the district was also developing a “swing space master plan” to identify buildings in four quadrants of the city that could house students temporarily displaced due to environmental hazards in their schools or to construction and renovation efforts.

On Monday, Hill led a group of Democratic state legislators on a tour of South Philadelphia High School, which was built in 1957. They literally gasped at the sight of the antiquated, creaky HVAC and electrical systems as the district’s director of facilities, Jeff Scott, explained that in some cases, parts to repair them are no longer available. “We have to scavenge,” he said.

He pointed to boilers built in 1989 with a shelf life of 30 years that are still in operation. “We’re operating on borrowed time,” Scott said. The old systems cause some parts of the building to be hot while others are cold, he said.

“The challenges here are reflective of the challenges we have throughout the district,” Hill told the legislators and others on the tour.

Fully updating the HVAC systems in the district’s buildings would cost $40.6 million, while it would cost $28.4 million to modernize the electrical grid, he said.

Philadelphia schools Superintendent Tony Watlington said a new school facilities study will be completed in June.

At the hearing, several council members noted that the district’s facilities problems relate to what they called the historic underfunding of city schools by the state. One outside expert witness, Mary Filardo of the 21st Century Schools Fund, a national nonprofit dedicated to modernizing schools, noted that Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom of states in its commitment to facilities needs for their districts.

“This is an area where states have to do much more,” she said. “States haven’t stepped up to their responsibility.” She said national average state funding for capital costs to its districts is only 16% – compared to more than half of operating costs – “and Pennsylvania is even lower than that.”

While Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed in his budget $500 million over five years to help school districts with capital needs, that line item was deleted by the Republican-controlled Senate. The entire state budget is now held up over a dispute regarding school vouchers.

What the parties have agreed to

The settlement agreement requires the district to inspect all school buildings twice annually and post reports from those inspections online “in a timely manner” including “detailed information” about any asbestos abatement.

While the settlement doesn’t substantively change any school inspection requirements, it gives the district $2.5 million from the Department of Public Health. That money will help “improve data management associated with environmental hazard reporting” so it can meet the federal AHERA mandates.

Legislators and district officials tour the heating and electrical systems in the basement of South Philadelphia High, Monday, July 31, 2023.

According to the settlement agreement, the district has completed more than 300 inspections of district buildings since August 2022.

The joint statement on Wednesday reflects a change of tune from the early days of the lawsuit.

The suit was originally filed by the school board in January 2023 and alleged that a building code update — created by Bill 210685-AA — would give a mayor-appointed committee, rather than the school district, power to certify the safety of school buildings.

At the time the suit was filed, city officials criticized the board’s decision to sue rather than publicly work with them on building safety.

Former City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Derek Green, who cosponsored the bill creating the code change, said in an interview Wednesday that he “hope[s] this spirit of communication and the spirit of cooperation,” between the city and school leaders, “continues going forward to not only address asbestos,” but some of the other issues the district is facing including costly capital needs and the need for more state aid for the district.

Schools aren’t just ‘a different kind of office building’

While Streater and Watlington did not oppose the idea of an outside agency to supervise and manage school construction, they emphasized all the work that the district has been doing to upgrade its facilities. Watlington noted that the 2017 facilities plan estimated that there was $4.5 billion in deferred maintenance. Between 2013 and 2023 the district invested $1.72 billion in facilities, including the construction of several new buildings, and currently plans to spend nearly $2.5 billion over the next five years.

But Filardo and other outside experts who testified raised caution about the model of using an independent school building agency, which has had mixed results in other cities and states.

Cynthia Smith, the executive director of facilities planning, design and construction of the Baltimore City school district, raised the thorny issue of permanent school closures that could be a part of any effort to modernize and upgrade the city’s educational infrastructure. Even when people are offered a brand new school in the neighborhood, they often rebel, she said, especially after they were on the front lines in fighting for more state funds. “That is a very difficult part of this process,” she said.

Plus, such an authority needs to have people who understand the needs of schools, not just construction, she said. They have to understand that schools aren’t just “a different kind of office building.”

Filardo also said, after listening to Watlington explain what the district is planning, said it sounded more like an architectural plan than a comprehensive educational vision. “I don’t think it’s going to get you there,” she said.

Thomas said that he learned a lot from the witnesses and said the agreement between the city and district on the facilities issue was a step forward. “Instead of lawsuits, let’s work collaboratively for our students, teachers, and families,” he said.

Streater seconded that.

“I hope we never go down that route again,” Streater said.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia district will announce changes to lottery-based selective admissions at end of July

2023-06-30T18:15:53+00:00

Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington announced Thursday that the school district will further revise its process for admission to its most selective schools, based on recommendations from a consulting firm hired to study the impact of a lottery system introduced in 2021.

That system was introduced in an effort to increase the proportion of Black and Latino students at the most selective schools — Masterman and Central — and replaced a long-standing process in which principals generally made final admissions decisions. Instead, all students who met minimal requirements based on scores on the PSSA state standardized test, grades, attendance, and behavior records could enter the lottery.

In other business at its monthly meeting, the Board of Education approved more than $205 million in contracts, mandated Juneteenth instruction, and voted not to renew the charter of Southwest Leadership Academy.

In the presentation on the admissions process for selective schools, the consultants, Accenture, recommended that a strict PSSA cutoff should be eliminated as a requirement for several of the schools. In selective schools that start in middle grades, they suggested, students should not have to reapply to continue through the ninth grade.

Accenture conducted a survey of counselors, principals, students, and other stakeholders, in which 45% of principals said they were dissatisfied with the PSSA requirement, Nahomie Louis and Nicole Newman of Accenture told the board.

Additionally, that process gave preference to students in certain ZIP codes, primarily in North and West Philadelphia, who were historically underrepresented at Masterman and Central. That provision has been challenged by a group of parents who say it is a “blatantly unconstitutional race-based system.”

The consultants said that only 20% of persons surveyed said they liked the lottery process. And, based on data so far, that system has made only halting progress in reaching its goal and had unintended consequences. While the demographics at Central and Masterman showed slight increases from 2021-22 to 2022-23 in the proportion of Black and Latino students, it left hundreds of vacancies in some of the city’s other criteria-based schools, mostly those that had high Black enrollment.

Students also don’t appear to be in favor of the lottery system. Accenture’s survey found that 54% of students said they wanted to remove the lottery, and 38% said if it continues, they wanted to be able to rank their schools of choice rather than just submit a list of five.

Under the current process, students can get into all five schools or none, and they could get into a school or schools they really don’t want to attend while being shut out of their first choice.

Accenture consultants studied the systems in other cities, including Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC as part of their review. They found those cities more precisely tailored their plans to local circumstances and preferences.

“Many other districts already optimized their systems and curated them based on the needs of students,” they said, recommending that Philadelphia similarly “customize” its process. They also said Philadelphia should hire a staff dedicated to overhauling the process and have revisions and improvements in place by fall 2025.

Accenture has a $298,000 contract to evaluate the school selection process.

Board approved millions for building maintenance, tech, asbestos abatement

The board considered 104 separate items. Through its consent agenda, in which many items are voted on in a bloc with little or not discussion, the board voted to approve more than $205 million in spending on school building maintenance, food, lease agreements, an “instructional management system,” and more.

Some of the big ticket items:

$26.3 million for Contract with NCS Pearson for Schoolnet Instructional Management System, which comes on top of a $70 million expenditure approved at the last meeting for new curricular materials in reading, math, and science.
$69 million on an agreement with a city agency, the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID), to aid with capital projects involving the building and renovation of school buildings.
$24 million for “Contracts with Various Vendors for Asbestos Abatement in Various Schools”
$20 million for “Contracts with Various Vendors for Professional Environmental Design and Testing Consulting Services.”

Board member Cecelia Thompson voted no on several smaller spending items, including $6 million for snow removal and $300,000 for window shades, saying they came without explanation. Lisa Salley voted no on two resolutions to spend money on outside law firms.

The board also voted to terminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees (Salley dissented.

Board rejects charter renewal

The board also voted 7-2 not to renew the charter for Southwest Leadership Academy Charter school. The vote came after Rudolph Garcia, who presided over hearings following the board’s first vote to close the school in June, 2022, said Southwest Leadership has not improved its low academic record and is teetering on financial viability. Garcia presided over a hearing held in January and February contesting the board’s intent to revoke the charter.

Last month, the board denied the application to open a Global Leadership Academy high school. That vote and other denials have led some officials to allege that the board is biased against Black-led charters.

Before voting, board members repeatedly asked Garcia if there was any evidence of an upward trend. Garcia, unequivocally, said no.

“If I had seen some progress, if they were still performing below comparison groups, but catching up, I would have seriously considered that they be given more time to do it,” he said. “But that didn’t happen.”

He noted the pandemic was disruptive, but said all schools had to cope with that. “Everybody was affected, but the relationship between them and the other comparison groups didn’t change,” Garcia said.

The K-8 school, founded in 2007 with just over 600 students, was trying to expand, but “got ahead of their skis,” Garcia said. It bought property to build a new school, but were not able to enroll enough students to justify or pay for the expansion, he said.

Board member Lisa Salley, who voted no on the closure along with Cecelia Thompson, said she was concerned that the audit of the school’s finances seemed “biased.” “I don’t see the objective evidence to support” the nonrenewal recommendation, she said.

Parent Robyn Fernandes, who has children at the school, disputed Garcia’s conclusions, saying that the enrollment is 92% Black, and those students outperform Black students in other charters and in comparable district schools.

She upbraided the board members for never visiting the school or taking to parents and the community about its positive impact on students. “No one has had a conversation with us,” she said. “No one has set foot in the school.”

At its May meeting, the board voted down an application of Global Leadership Academy.

Peng Chao, director of the board’s Charter Schools Office, said that 14 charters are up for renewal this year with a total enrollment of 14,000 students, one of the largest cohorts ever considered at one time.

Chao gave more detailed information on five of those schools that do not meet standards in one of more categories: Deep Roots, KIPP North Philadelphia, Mastery Prep Elementary, Mathematics Civics and Sciences, and Christopher Columbus.

Mathematics Civics and Sciences also failed to meet standards for organizational compliance. And Chao noted that while the school reports a 100% graduation rate, the performance of its students on Keystone exams measuring proficiency in math, language arts, and sciences fall below comparable schools.

Christopher Columbus met academic standards, but failed to meet organizational compliance benchmarks.

He recommended that Columbus be renewed for five years with conditions, while the others be renewed for just one year with conditions.

At the meeting, Watlington also said that 10th through 12th graders at Frankford High School, which had been closed due to asbestos, would return in September to a refurbished wing in the school. Officials had previously announced that the building would not be open next school year and all students would be relocated.

Now, only ninth graders will go elsewhere, to the third floor of Clemente Middle School, Watlington said. An assistant principal and other staffers will be on that site and students will be provided transportation back to Frankford for afterschool and other out-of-school-time activities, said Associate Superintendent for High Schools Tomas Hanna.

Students will be required to learn about Juneteenth

The board also approved a resolution to make sure all students learn about Juneteenth, but amended the original resolution that said it should be taught “in all content areas” from grades kindergarten through 12th. It now says Juneteenth lessons should be taught “to all students where appropriate in the curriculum” starting in 2023-24.

Juneteenth is a national holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Although President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared “all persons held as slaves” in Confederate states shall be free, on January 1, 1863, freedom for many would only be gained later. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers informed enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, that they were free people; and this event, eventually known as Juneteenth, became a celebration of independence for Black people.

At Thursday’s board meeting, Watlington, a former history teacher, noted that most persons of African descent lived under slavery for 246 years – from the first arrival of enslaved Africans to English colonies in 1619 to the abolition of slavery in 1863, and then under Jim Crow segregation for another 100. And their civil and voting rights “continue to be under attack” in some parts of the country, he said. .

The board resolution calls for the school district to collaborate with educators, administrators, and community partners to develop and provide age-appropriate instructional resources, materials and professional development opportunities that support the teaching of Juneteenth.

The district will also engage parents, families, and community members by offering resources, hosting events, and promoting dialogue to enhance understanding and appreciation of Juneteenth and Black history.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia principal has big plans for International Baccalaureate program at Jenks Academy

2023-06-15T21:08:04+00:00

Corinne Scioli remembers the moment she was sold on the International Baccalaureate program.

She was the assistant principal at Northeast Philadelphia’s Mayfair Elementary School, which educates almost 2,000 students and is the largest elementary school in the city. Its families come from more than 60 countries.

A few years ago, a first grader from Brazil “who spoke not a lick of English” showed up at Mayfair. Scioli, whose native language is Spanish and was once an English language learner in the U.S. herself, could make do in Brazilian Portuguese. So she communicated with the boy about his class homework assignment to make an object from recycled materials.

The assignment was a quintessential example of International Baccalaureate, also known as IB, a curriculum program that relies on a strategy of “learning by doing” while promoting cultural understanding and global awareness among students. In 2018, Mayfair became the first elementary school in the city to adopt the IB curriculum.

The boy came in the next day carrying a robot he had made from plastic water bottles and a shoebox. The boy had immediately engaged and was able to participate in school, despite the language barrier and the newness of his surroundings. For Scioli, “It was confirmation that the approach works.”

Scioli, 50, is now the principal of J.S. Jenks Academy of the Arts and Sciences, which is on track to become the second elementary school in the city to adopt the IB program and its demanding, project-based curriculum. Jenks received approval in April to be an IB candidate school for grades K-5, which means it has a year to explore its goals and refine its practices before seeking full IB authorization. Adopting IB also matches Superintendent Tony Watlington’s goal to accelerate academic achievement, and it’s one of the programs that he included in his five-year strategic plan, which was recently approved by the city Board of Education.

In a statement to Chalkbeat, district spokesperson Marissa Orbanek emphasized the IB program’s emphasis on “research and critical thinking skills, knowledge acquisition, and global awareness.” The statement also pointed out the strategic plan’s goal to provide students with “equitable access” to course offerings that are “more aligned with their interests, are relevant to their lives, and prepare them for their future.”

Although located in predominantly white and well-off Chestnut Hill, Jenks’ student body today is 81% Black, and most students come from low-income backgrounds. Just a third of the student body lives within the Jenks catchment.

Jenks, a K-8 school which enrolls about 420 students, is transitioning to the IB program on its 100th anniversary; it was built in 1923 on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill and has served students ever since.

The IB curriculum is organized around six interdisciplinary themes: who we are, how we organize ourselves, how we express ourselves, where we are in place and time, how the world works, and sharing the planet. Jenks said the program also promotes social-emotional learning in addition to academics. And through the program, students will be able to take classes in a foreign language.

The IB program “follows a student inquiry cycle,” Scioli said. “They’re invited to think deeper and to be advocates for social and environmental justice. It puts that at the forefront.” In short, Scioli said IB’s framework “promotes everything I believe in.”

For elementary school students, “we want to encourage them to be hands-on learners and constructors of their own knowledge,” she said. Teachers will undergo extensive training so they can support this mission.

“This takes us to the next level,” she said.

Scioli recalls teaching her grandfather to write his name

The program’s global outlook resonates with Scioli for personal as well as professional reasons.

Although she was born on an Air Force base in Omaha, Nebraska, Scioli spent first and second grades in Panama, where her father was from. When she returned to the U.S. at the end of second grade, she had trouble with reading and writing English at grade level.

“In those days, instead of viewing bilingualism as an asset, many schools put foreign students who were learning English in special education classes,” Scioli recalled. But her father insisted that Scioli would not go to special education classes. Thanks in part to tutoring, her love of reading evolved from “Charlotte’s Web” to Shakespeare, all the way to an undergraduate degree in women’s studies and a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Scioli also traces her path to becoming an educator to a time when she traced letters in the ground during a visit to the Dominican Republic to see her maternal grandfather, who was illiterate. Using a stick, she spelled out his name in the soil at the family farm. He then followed suit, and called the moment he learned how to write his name “incredible.”

“It was my introduction to being an educator, and it stuck,” she said.

She hopes to eventually receive approval for IB’s Middle Years Program for grades 6-8. According to the district eight schools currently offer IB programs: six high schools, two middle schools as well as Mayfair. Thurgood Marshall Middle school is also in the candidacy process.

“I want to create the same level of cultural awareness” that now exists at Mayfair, she said, “and help students to think critically, work with their hands as well as their minds, and help us all understand how to connect.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Transparency watch: Public gets time to see Philadelphia schools chief’s strategic plan after all

2023-05-24T22:48:48+00:00

This story has been updated to include additional information about curriculum contracts the Philadelphia Board of Education is due to vote on May 25.

Less than 24 hours before the Philadelphia Board of Education was due to vote on Superintendent Tony Watlington’s as-yet-unseen strategic plan, the board postponed the vote until June and released an executive summary of the plan to the public.

The executive summary says the plan will include a pilot program to “incentivize” teachers to work in “hard to staff schools,” the relaunch of “Parent University” — a program to give parents and caregivers courses in academics, financial literacy and other areas — and a $70 million update for the district’s core curriculums in math, reading, and science, among other proposals.

The board was previously scheduled to vote on the plan at Thursday’s board meeting. But two days after Chalkbeat reported that the public had yet to see the plan, Watlington said he will now present the proposal for review Thursday, and the board will vote on it June 1. If the board approves the plan, it will begin July 1.

Pressure has been building on Watlington to unveil the plan to the public before the board’s vote on it. The plan will be the culmination of Watlington’s work in his first year in office, and could guide the district through pandemic recovery, a growing asbestos crisis, and a gun violence epidemic that’s killed more than 20 students this academic year so far.

“We’re going to ask the Board to take some time to kick the tires, look under the hood, and ask our community to do the same thing,” Watlington said of the plan in an interview Wednesday. “This is going to be our North Star for the next five years and beyond, and I want to make sure we’re very thoughtful about how we begin this work.”

The summary says Watlington’s strategic plan is intended to be a “living document that can be updated by the Administration as needed based on progress monitoring, emerging trends, new internal evidence, or external research.”

The executive summary is light on specific, prescriptive policies. Many of the ideas involve launching new advisory groups, audits, updating websites, and reviewing the current policies.

And there’s no price tag for the plan yet.

“In the process of costing out this plan, we know that current funding is inadequate,” he said.

He highlighted a February ruling from Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer that the wide gaps in spending between wealthy and poor districts in the state makes Pennsylvania’s current school funding system unconstitutional.

However, Jubelirer did not prescribe a specific remedy, and securing more state aid is likely to take time. Republican legislative leaders haven’t said whether they will appeal.

“I think it’s easy in Philadelphia to get immune to what historic underfunding really means,” Watlington said.

Aside from comments about his five-year plan, Watlington also said he was confident about his future even though the next mayor can appoint an entirely new school board, which could in turn hire a different superintendent.

Cherelle Parker, the Democratic nominee for mayor who’s a heavy favorite to win November’s election, has not indicated her intentions regarding school board appointments.

Although she doesn’t exercise direct control over the district, she’s promised that her plan for education will “transform how we think about public schooling.”

Two leaders’ dovetailing plans for year-round schedule

The summary says the plan includes five priority areas: safety and well-being, family and community partnerships, accelerating academic achievement, recruiting and retaining “diverse and highly effective educators,” and “high-quality, cost-effective operations.”

One of the most high-profile proposals in Watlington’s plan — one likely to have a substantial cost — is a pilot for year-round school. Parker’s most far-reaching education proposal during the campaign called for the same.

Watlington said he wants to pilot “a year-round and extended day school calendar” in up to 10 schools. Beyond that, he had few details.

It’s too early to say whether year-round schooling means extending the academic school year or the school day, or both, Watlington said.

“I want to slow down and roll out the strategy, cost out what it would cost us, and then we want to take the time to build support and do an information campaign with various school communities,” Watlington said. “I don’t want to just assign schools to do this.”

Parker’s plan was also short on specifics. On the campaign trail, she promised to “create full-day, full-year education for all students in Philadelphia.” She also wants schools to be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for “before and after-school enrichment,” but has not elaborated on those statements.

Any change in school schedules “is something that would have to be negotiated,” Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan said in an interview.

Asked whether year-round schooling was a major component of his plan before Parker made it a keystone of her platform, Watlington demurred.

“I think it’s coincidental, but inherently good” that both he and Parker are talking about the idea, Watlington said. “What we do together is more important than ‘who came up with the idea?’”

But Jeron Williams II, a Central High School student who sits on one of the committees that helped develop the plan, said “never once did we discuss year-round schooling.” Jordan, who also participated in the process, said the same thing.

Incentives for teachers will require union negotiations

Another component of the plan would create a pilot to give some teachers and principals “retention incentives” for teaching in schools where staffing has proven difficult.

But the executive summary does not provide further details, such as whether those incentives would take the form of bonus pay or something else.

Such incentives would also have to be negotiated with the teachers’ union. Jordan said that the district used to have a program that offered salary boosts to teachers who took particularly difficult assignments, but that only covered about 25 teachers at its peak, and that teachers generally didn’t like it.

The summary doesn’t provide details about Watlington’s proposed $70 million changes to curriculum. However, the agenda for the board’s May 25 meeting includes votes on contracts with various vendors for new curriculum in math and language arts that add up to $50 million; another $20 million contract for science materials was originally included on the agenda but withdrawn as of late Wednesday. Those contracts are related to Watlington’s plan, a board spokesperson said.

Watlington also highlighted a proposal to pilot “learn to swim” programs in “different parts of the city,” but did not provide further details. Students and members of the public have stressed that helping young people — especially Black and brown children from low-income backgrounds — learn to swim and giving them access to pools provides various benefits.

“The fact that we can’t do this all over the city does not mean that we should not start somewhere,” Watlington said of the swimming pilot, “I’m hopeful that we can grow that over time.”

In general, Watlington said he’s optimistic that he will have the buy-in necessary for his strategic plan to get the board’s approval and get his proposals done.

“I think the future is bright for Philadelphia and the school district of Philadelphia,” Watlington said. “I’m excited to be here and we’re gonna do some great things. I really believe our best days are ahead of us.”

Damaged asbestos will close school into next year

New details about Watlington’s plan came on the heels of news Wednesday that Frankford High School would remain closed for the rest of the school year and into next year because asbestos remediation at the century-old school building was more extensive than originally thought.

In addition, the district has been “unable to quickly identify a nearby swing space that could be prepared in time for this school year to accommodate our students and staff, as well as meet all the programmatic needs,” Oz Hill, the district’s deputy chief operating officer, said in a letter to the school community. All but Frankford’s special education students are learning virtually.

As with his strategic plan, Watlington placed the blame for such asbestos-related school closures on historic underfunding for the district, as well as prior leaders’ failure to “care for our facilities like we should have.”

The summary of Watlington’s strategic plan does call for a “facilities master plan project team.” Last November, the district paused its work on a blueprint for infrastructure upgrades; Watlington said at the time that he wanted to ensure that such a blueprint matched his strategic plan.

“We’re going to be in this asbestos space over the long term,” Watlington said. “Unfortunately, because of historical underfunding we don’t have shovel-ready swing spaces” that school community members can support or commute to.

District officials told reporters at a briefing Tuesday they were making progress in their building inspection process.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia school leaders defend their asbestos response: ‘No simple fix’

2023-05-23T21:23:34+00:00

At least 293 of 300 Philadelphia district buildings — most but not all of them schools — contain asbestos, officials said Tuesday, although inspectors have reexamined nearly all of those facilities for the potentially dangerous material since October 2021.

During a press briefing about asbestos in district facilities, Victoria Flemming, the interim executive director of the Office of Environmental Management, said that out of those 293 buildings, 277 schools have been reinspected, and six of those were schools that the district subsequently closed, she said. The goal is to inspect the remaining 16 by the end of August, she said.

The more inspections the district conducts, the more asbestos is likely to be found, she said, but “this is a step in the right direction. This is the school district taking the additional time and resources to address what has been a longstanding issue within the Philadelphia region.”

“There’s no simple fix,” Flemming said.

The district’s update comes in the wake of criticism from parents, advocates, and others about the district’s handling of the environmental hazard. The abrupt shutdowns of Building 21, Frankford High School, Mitchell Elementary School, and other schools have created major disruptions for students and families. They have also called into question the accuracy of previous inspection reports that indicated schools did not face asbestos-related dangers.

Flemming said that more than 200 of the district’s buildings were built before 1978, when builders commonly included asbestos in construction, and that many of them also contain lead paint, another potential hazard. The average age of district buildings is 73 years.

Under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, or AHERA, the federal law regulating asbestos containment, every school must be inspected every three years, with “periodic surveillance” every six months. Flemming said the district at any given time has between eight to 12 inspection teams of two people each, depending on availability of personnel.

In order to be in full AHERA compliance, the district would need to average 50 inspections a month, she said, but the district currently lacks sufficient staffing and resources to do that, Flemming said.

“Our intent is to add more inspection teams,” she said, but added that meeting the AHERA requirements in full “is still a work in progress.”

The district has a three-year, $24.2 million contract with Tetra Tech, starting in 2022, a consultant and engineering firm, which is managing its inspections. The district also hired DeLuca Advisory & Consulting Services — where Flemming previously worked — to help the district manage the AHERA inspections and related record-keeping and data-tracking, which is a massive undertaking.

For instance, DeLuca is making sure that all inspections included the mandatory number of required samples from the required variety of locations. One large school can have as many as 3,000 building materials that require assessment and documentation. And the district is also studying the records of past inspections to make sure that they are valid, although Flemming said limited staffing and resources have made record-keeping a challenge.

“What we have actively done is gone back through our archive to confirm they have the correct number of samples based on today’s protocols,” she said. The district is also scrutinizing records “per floor, per room, per ceiling” to make sure that all necessary areas were inspected, she added.

Oz Hill, the district’s deputy chief operating officer, said the district organized Tuesday’s briefing in order to “communicate the depth and breadth of the challenges we face.”

The district’s staffing challenges and churn extend to the top of its organizational chart, and two key new administrators are set to join.

Former Deputy Superintendent of Operations Uri Monson and Chief Operating Officer Reggie McNeil left in January to join Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration. In addition, Deputy Superintendent for Academic Services ShaVon Savage and Chief Talent Officer Larissa Shambaugh announced their departures in March. Shambaugh has already left and Savage will leave by the end of this month.

On Monday, Superintendent Tony Watlington announced the hiring of two new top administrators: Jeremy Grant-Skinner as deputy superintendent of talent, strategy and culture, and Nyashawana Francis-Thompson as chief of curriculum and instruction.

Grant-Skinner comes from the Houston district, where he has been chief talent officer. Before that, he was a teacher and then chief human capital officer in Baltimore in charge of recruitment and teacher development.

Nyshawana Francis-Thompson, who has been the interim chief of curriculum and instruction, was named to the position permanently by Watlington.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia’s school board is about to vote on a strategic plan the public hasn’t seen

2023-05-22T21:53:35+00:00

Just three days before the Philadelphia Board of Education is scheduled to vote on a sweeping five-year plan for schools from Superintendent Tony Watlington, the public has virtually no idea what’s in it because the district hasn’t released it.

The plan will include a year-round school pilot program, the district confirmed last week, but officials have not released any additional details. A version of year-round school is Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker’s signature education proposal, but she has also failed to elaborate on what she has in mind.

The Philadelphia school district is grappling with systemic problems. A growing asbestos crisis is closing school buildings. Gun violence has claimed the lives of more than 25 students this school year. And test scores are stubbornly low. With all these problems plaguing the district, Watlington has repeatedly touted his strategic plan as a way to make progress on pressing issues.

The plan made headlines before Watlington even took over the district. Roughly a year ago, the board approved a $450,000 contract for a consulting firm to help him craft the plan. But as of late Monday, officials had not shared the plan, or even a basic summary of what it calls for, with the public.

Alexandra Coppadge, the district’s chief of communications and customer service, said in an email Monday that several people had already seen versions of the plan.

“Throughout the strategic planning process, the District continues to collaboratively engage with key stakeholder groups including: the Board of Education, elected officials, Union leadership, principals, Assistant Superintendents, and District office staff to vet and provide feedback on the research-based strategies,” Coppadge said.

Transparency concerns have been a major pain point for the district. School board members have admitted they’re struggling to engage with the communities they serve. At last month’s board meeting, members approved a $336,000 contract with a consulting group to improve the board’s communication with the public.

The public also isn’t getting answers from Parker about her plans for education.

At her first press conference Monday morning since winning the Democratic nomination, Parker sidestepped a question on what she meant by year-round schooling. She has not said whether she wants students in school for 200 or 210 days instead of Pennsylvania’s legally-mandated 180, or whether — like many districts that have a year-round schedule — she means that the district should shorten summer vacation and add three-week breaks throughout the school year.

Parker did say that in a conversation with Gov. Josh Shapiro before the press conference, “we talked about being innovative and creative with our schedules for education and how we deliver public education In the city.”

In one of the most affecting moments, she choked up when asked how she felt breaking the “glass ceiling” should she become the first female mayor in the history of the city. Parker is heavily favored to defeat Republican candidate David Oh in November.

She also said wants to “find a way to add value to motivate, inspire, and encourage a generation of girls to say, you know, ‘wow, no one can put me in the box. Right? You know, I really can be whatever … that makes me feel really good.’”

While she has talked about the importance of educational attainment, her most direct impact on schools would be through the mayor’s power to appoint all nine members of the Board of Education, who in turn hire the superintendent.

Parker hasn’t said whether or not she would keep the current board members or seek to appoint new ones who align with her educational vision. And while she talked about having “quality seats” for every child, she has not spoken directly about whether she would seek an expansion of charter schools, which now educate more than 60,000 students in the city.

Watlington’s strategic plan meanwhile, is in many ways his audition to prove to the new mayor that he has the district’s issues under control.

The school board has spent at least $1.6 million on consultants since Watlington took over the leadership of the district. The $450,000 contract approved last May by the school board — before Watlington was even sworn in — was used to hire Joseph and Associates, a Tennessee-based education consulting firm, to assist with his transition to the district and help develop his blueprint for leading Philadelphia schools.

It’s unclear how much of a role the consulting firm played in writing the plan. The firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

In addition to the $336,000 communications contract, the board last month also approved $881,500 in spending with a group called K12 Insight to improve the district’s “customer service.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia superintendent to pitch year-round school pilot as likely next mayor talks up the idea

2023-05-18T22:28:01+00:00

Philadelphia’s top education official and its likely next mayor are coalescing around a big idea for education: year-round school. But so far, neither of them wants to say how it would work.

The most consequential and far-reaching proposal in Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker’s plan for education is to keep schools open year-round. And Superintendent Tony Watlington will include a proposal for a pilot program on year-round schools in his five-year strategic plan that is not yet public but that Board of Education members are scheduled to vote on at their May 25 meeting.

Parker and Watlington aren’t alone in their interest in shaking up the traditional school calendar. In the wake of the pandemic, several school leaders and state lawmakers are looking to extend their school years as a way to give struggling students an academic boost. Year-round school can take many forms and it is used to try to address various issues, from academics to overcrowding.

District spokesperson Marissa Orbanek said Thursday that Watlington “has included the pilot of year round schools in his five-year strategic plan, which will be presented soon.” Orbanek said that Watlington was interested in the idea before the primary election, which Parker won on Tuesday. She declined to provide further details.

In her campaign platform, Parker said she would combine the longer school year with more before and after-school activities. And her website puts more emphasis on a year-round school schedule as a way to help parents than its impact on academics. But otherwise, her platform doesn’t focus on the details of how her idea would work in practice.

“Philadelphia students need to be prepared for a modern economy, but Philadelphia’s public school system is stuck in the past,” she said on her campaign website.

A Parker spokesperson said Thursday that Parker’s team had not seen Watlington’s proposal.

On Thursday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told us that Watlington “shared those ideas” about year-round school with him previously, although he didn’t have any details about what Watlington would propose.

Shapiro said he is open to any “creative ideas” to address students’ mental health needs and improve learning environments including extending the school year or adjusting school start times.

“I want to be thoughtful about how we do this,” Shapiro said, “so the Commonwealth is not dictating a one-size-fits-all approach to every district, but rather allowing districts to sort of consider what they think would be best.”

Year-round schooling gets mixed reviews

Using a year-round calendar does not necessarily mean having more than 180 days of instruction, which is what the majority of states (including Pennsylvania) have set as the minimum for a school year.

The National Association of Year Round Education advocates for districts to implement the “balanced calendar,” which shortens summer vacation and adds longer breaks called “intersessions” during the school year. The group’s suggested calendar uses a 30-day summer break and breaks for fall, winter, and spring of 15 days each, plus a three-day break for Thanksgiving.

This strategy keeps 180 instructional days, but uses them “more efficiently,” said David Hornak, the association’s executive director and superintendent of the 5,000-student Holt School District in Michigan. He said about 4% of school districts educating some two million students nationwide use some form of this calendar.

After a long summer break, according to Hornak, teachers generally spend the first 20 to 40 days in school reteaching students to compensate for summer learning loss. With traditional school calendars, “schools are asked to remediate learning gaps that they are contributing to,” Hornak said.

The “balanced calendar” schedule also “improved educator morale and has a positive impact on the teacher burnout problem” as well as teacher and student attendance, he said.

“I have yet to meet an educator who wants to return to the regular calendar,” Hornak said.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has declined to comment on Parker’s plan or Watlington’s pending pilot proposal. A change to year-round schooling would require the district to rework its contract with the teachers’ union; the contract expires in August 2024.

Many districts across the country have tried year-round schooling over the years, with varying levels of success.

The Los Angeles school district tried year-round schools as enrollment grew in the 1980s, but by 2015, just one school still used that type of calendar, according to Education Week.

At least a few school districts have abandoned this approach or at least cooled on the strategy recently. In January, officials in Virginia’s Chesterfield schools recommended phasing out their year-round school trial run, after disappointing academic outcomes.

And a school district in Wisconsin is also ending its year-round school calendar after nearly a decade; officials said the schedule didn’t seem to benefit test scores or student behavior.

Paul von Hippel, a professor of public policy at the University of Texas who has researched year-round schooling, said there’s evidence that adding instructional days has a positive impact. (Parker, who has a 10-year-old son, has also said the elementary school day is too short and wants to keep school buildings open from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m.)

But he has not seen evidence that the balanced calendar approach has led to better student outcomes.

And it’s typically very difficult for school districts to add days to the school year, even when there is a year-round calendar. Only about one in every 1,000 schools in the U.S. has calendars that stretch the school year beyond 180 days, and most of them are charters, he said.

The Los Angeles district was among several California cities that implemented a year-round schedule similar to the balanced calendar called Concept 6. That schedule had just 163 days of instruction, although the school days were longer, he said.

Research showed that students on Los Angeles’ Concept 6 schedule did not benefit academically, von Hippel said, adding that it is “disruptive of family life and teachers tend not to like it.”

There are some “high-performing education systems” elsewhere, including in England and South Korea, that have more than 200 days in the school year, he said.

But in the U.S., von Hippel said, “I don’t think you will find a large district that has gone to 200 or 210 days.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is Philadelphia Bureau Chief and can be reached at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Year-round schools and more education funding: What Cherelle Parker could mean for Philadelphia

2023-05-17T21:39:15+00:00

Cherelle Parker’s Democratic primary election win on Tuesday means she is all but certain to be the city’s 100th mayor and first woman to hold the office.

So what would a Parker administration look like for schools?

Parker, who used to be a public school teacher in New Jersey, has proposed keeping school buildings open year-round and lengthening the school day. She’s said she wants to heal the splintered relationship between the Board of Education, the district, and city officials. And she has positioned herself as a bipartisan dealmaker capable of negotiating more money for the city from Harrisburg to help Philadelphia schools fix crumbling buildings and recover from COVID-interrupted learning.

Parker’s ascension to the mayoral seat is not a done deal. She will face off against Republican nominee David Oh in November’s general election. But in Philadelphia, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly seven to one, her primary win means she’s heavily favored.

Parker was not available for an interview on Wednesday due to a medical issue, her campaign spokesperson Aren Platt said.

But based on her comments and proposals made on the campaign trail and her responses to our mayoral questionnaire, it’s possible to project what Parker in the mayor’s office could look like for education.

Parker’s big-ticket education idea: Year-round school

Parker’s boldest education campaign proposal was to “create full-day, full-year education for all students in Philadelphia.” According to her campaign website, Parker said more time in school would allow students to pursue extracurricular activities, sports, and other “enrichment” opportunities, while also providing parents and caregivers more child care flexibility.

She’d pay for it “by leveraging existing funding” and “with new state and city funding,” according to her campaign site.

It’s not immediately clear what this would look like in practice or how much it would cost. School districts have tried year-round schooling to bolster academics and avoid overcrowded classrooms, among other reasons. But the change can also increase district costs, complicate family schedules, make it harder for teenage students to get summer jobs, and hurt tourism and other industries.

The Los Angeles school district turned to year-round schools as enrollment grew in the 1980s, but by 2015, just one school there still had such a schedule, according to Education Week.

Perhaps the biggest unanswered question is whether the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which endorsed rival Helen Gym in the mayoral campaign, is on board with the idea. At minimum, officials and the union would have to renegotiate the district’s teacher contract, which expires in August 2024.

PFT President Jerry Jordan offered his congratulations to Parker in a statement Wednesday saying “the first female Mayor in our city’s history will be an important role model for our youth—especially young Black girls.” (Parker is Black.)

At the same time, PFT spokesperson Hillary Linardopoulos said Wednesday that the union was not ready to comment on the idea of year-round school, or any of Parker’s education positions.

Parker confronts tricky school board politics

Philadelphia’s mayor has no direct governing power over schools. But the mayor does appoint the nine Board of Education members, who in turn hire the superintendent and oversee all policy and budgetary decisions made by the district. The board is also the sole authorizer of charter schools in the city.

Parker said she wants a superintendent and board that reflect “the diversity of the city, wields the passion for elevating our school system to the prominence that it could be, and whose primary priority is creating quality seats for all of Philadelphia’s students.”

Under outgoing Mayor Jim Kenney, a simmering tension has developed between the school board, the district, and city officials around issues of asbestos remediation, funding needs, and community engagement.

In response to our mayoral questionnaire, Parker said she plans “to be a very active Mayor when it comes to appointing and dealing with the School Board and educating our children in general.”

She said the superintendent, board, and the mayor’s office “cannot work in silos or impose an ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality.”

Whether this means she will completely remake the board from scratch or keep some or all of the current Board members remains an open question. The board members’ terms will expire when Kenney leaves office, but they’ll continue to serve until their replacements take over.

Optimism that Philly schools will get more funding

Philadelphia city schools are perpetually seeking more funding. Earlier this year, a Commonwealth Court judge declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional and ordered the General Assembly to overhaul it. According to an Education Law Center and Public Interest Law Center analysis, the district schools need an estimated $1.1 billion more each year from the state to properly educate its students.

What’s more, the district doesn’t have the ability to raise tax revenue on its own. The school board is dependent on city and state officials to allocate the funding necessary to operate the district.

Parker, a former state representative, has said she is well-positioned to negotiate with state lawmakers in Harrisburg to get Philadelphia schools the money they need.

On her campaign website, Parker touts her position as former chairwoman of the Philadelphia delegation in Harrisburg. She also says she was able to secure a plan to send the district $148 million and prevent layoffs of some teachers and support staff in 2013, when the “District was on the verge of financial collapse.”

Parker is also optimistic that the court case over the state’s school funding formula will result in more money for the city schools.

“There is almost no scenario where the Philadelphia School District does not receive more funding,” Parker said in her responses to our questionnaire.

She also said she would be open to increasing the city’s share of funding for the district. Currently schools receive 55% of the city’s property tax revenue; she said she would increase it to 58%, which she said would bring an additional $50 million to the district.

“We must prioritize investing in our education system and if that means increasing our share of funding, my Administration will be prepared to do that,” she said in her questionnaire.

In a list of priorities for the next mayor, the school board singled out funding as a top issue.

Some school buildings need to be ‘torn down’

Several school buildings have closed this year due to damaged asbestos, and district leaders have said the growing crisis means more school closures may be coming.

In response to our mayoral questionnaire, Parker said “it is unconscionable that we ask anybody, but especially children, teachers, and other workers to go to buildings with environmental, structural, and other issues.”

On her plans for remediation, Parker said “many of our school buildings need immediate attention but some are too far gone and need to be torn down, period.”

She also joined the chorus of elected officials and education advocates calling for a comprehensive plan from the district. “While the school district is already implementing an improvement plan, it’s not happening quickly enough for kids and parents who don’t have options, and for the first time in my experience, the money is there to get it done,” Parker said.

Parker: State should restore charter school reimbursements

The Philadelphia Board of Education is the sole authorizer of charter schools in the city. It has come under scrutiny concerning racial bias amid allegations from Black-led charter schools that board members have targeted them for closure.

Parker hasn’t said outright whether she wants the number of charter schools to grow, shrink, or stay the same. As a state representative, Parker signaled her support for a moratorium on new charter schools.

Parker said in her mayoral questionnaire responses that she would “insist” the state legislature reinstate the charter school reimbursement line item in the state budget that was removed by former Gov. Tom Corbett in 2011. The line item sent state funds to districts to compensate for “stranded costs” because some of their per-pupil state aid went to charters; about half the total went to the Philadelphia district.

Striking that line item “pitted public schools against charter schools unnecessarily by leaving public schools no way to defray the overhead and stranded costs that remained the same despite smaller enrollments,” Parker said in her questionnaire. “Reinstating this will grow the pot of funds and allow for more opportunity for Philadelphia’s students no matter what type of school they attend.”

Getting more librarians into schools

Philadelphia had the worst ratio of school librarians to students in the country as of 2020, according to data from the Pennsylvania Association of School Librarians. The association said there were just six school librarians in a district with more than 125,000 students and 215 district-operated schools.

Parker said she “would ensure that every district school has a certified librarian by drawing upon our funding streams and using my voice to amplify the need for them being more prevalent in our schools.”

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

2023 election results: Democratic and Republican primary elections for Philadelphia mayor

2023-05-17T03:23:57+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free twice-weekly newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system.

This post will be updated.

Cherelle Parker, a former City Councilmember and state representative, is poised to become Philadelphia’s first Black woman mayor after securing the Democratic nomination in Tuesday’s primary election.

The Associated Press called the election Tuesday night for Parker, who cleared a crowded Democratic primary race. Parker will face off against Republican nominee David Oh in November’s general election.

The race was tight. In the lead up to Election Day, public poll forecasts put the top five Democratic candidates within a few points of one another. Philadelphia is a deep-blue city — registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly seven to one — meaning whoever wins the Democratic primary has a significant upper hand in the fall’s general election.

Parker was seen by many as the establishment candidate. She garnered support from some of the most powerful labor unions in the city and ran on a campaign promise to be a dealmaker in Harrisburg and bring back more state funding for Philadelphia.

Her election could have big implications for Philadelphia schools. She’s said she wants to reform the much-maligned lottery admissions process for selective schools, and work toward year-round public schools and a longer school day.

Parker will challenge Oh, the only Republican candidate on the ballot Tuesday.

With 72% of expected votes counted, the unofficial election results are:

Democrats

Cherelle Parker 32.89% (53,906 votes)
Rebecca Rhynhart 22.33% (36,600 votes)
Helen Gym 20.65% (33,842 votes)
Allan Domb 12.16% (19,925 votes)
Jeff Brown 9.47% (15,528 votes)
Amen Brown 1.41% (2,317 votes)
James M. “Jimmy” DeLeon 0.60% (985 votes)
Delscia Gray 0.23% (382 votes)
Warren Bloom 0.19% (310 votes)

Republicans

David Oh 95.77% (10,584 votes)

While the mayor has no direct governing power over schools, the mayor does appoint the nine school Board of Education members who oversee all policy and budgetary decisions made by the district. The board is also the authorizer for all charter schools in Philadelphia.

The current board members’ terms will expire when Mayor Jim Kenney leaves office in January. That means whoever wins in November can choose to remake the board in its entirety, or keep some or all of the current members.

At a 9 p.m. press conference Tuesday, acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said there were “only a few minor and isolated issues” reported “sporadically” across the state at polling locations.

Schmidt said staff at the Department of State responded to an estimated 600 calls to their voter hotline, “which is lower than recent comparable municipal election cycles.”

“We know everyone wants to result of the election as soon as possible,” Schmidt said, “but counties must first make sure that every eligible ballot is accurately and securely counted.”

More than 186,000 voters cast ballots in the primary election Tuesday; 56,394 of those were mail-in ballots and 129,944 were cast at polling locations, per data from the Philadelphia City Commissioners’ office. There are 1,025,354 registered voters in the city.

Tuesday’s election results are unofficial until the Philadelphia City Commissioners, the office that oversees the city’s elections, certifies results 20 days after Election Day.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Could an independent agency solve Philadelphia’s school facilities crisis?

2023-04-26T09:15:00+00:00

As Philadelphia schools face a growing asbestos crisis, one member of the City Council says ‘the moment is now’ to create an independent authority to handle school building construction and renovation instead of the school district.

Isaiah Thomas, who chairs the City Council’s education committee, told reporters he will introduce a resolution Thursday to hold hearings on creating such an authority.

Thomas said in a briefing on Tuesday he hopes having an independent body manage public school facilities would build trust with state lawmakers who have been wary about sending billions of dollars to repair and upgrade Philadelphia schools. And with state coffers flush with $8 billion in surplus funding for the upcoming budget cycle, Thomas said the city might not get another chance to get the money needed to update classrooms, remediate buildings laden with lead and asbestos, and build new and modern schools fit for students.

“If we can’t get this done in this budget cycle, I’m not sure that we’ll ever get the type of down payment that we need to really put a dent in the issue,” Thomas said. “If we wait until June, or July, it might actually be too late.”

Philly students, parents, and educators: How has asbestos in your school affected your educational experience? We want to hear your story.

Thomas’ proposal comes after several Philadelphia schools closed in recent weeks due to failing infrastructure that revealed damaged asbestos, and these disruptions have left families on edge. Superintendent Tony Watlington has said repeatedly the district anticipates more damaged asbestos will likely be found, but the possible scope of these shutdowns remains unclear. The asbestos problems underscore broader concerns about aging and decrepit facilities that have angered students and teachers for years. The average school building in the district is more than 70 years old.

The asbestos-driven closures have also created tension between the district and some city officials (including Thomas) who say school leaders haven’t been sufficiently transparent about the problem.

The school district had a non-committal response to Thomas’ proposal, saying it looks forward “to continuing discussions about how to improve our facilities because all students and staff should have access to 21st century learning spaces.”

The school district estimates it needs $4.5 billion to address the most pressing structural needs. Thomas is asking Harrisburg for $5 billion over five years to fix up schools, and he’s asking the district for a “safe facilities plan” detailing the building needs and costs to demonstrate how that $5 billion would be spent.

Thomas said many of the details regarding how the new authority would be staffed, managed, and funded will have to be worked out. Functionally, Thomas said it could look something like the energy authority in the city.

But Board of Education President Reginald Streater said in a Tuesday statement the board’s current partnership with the nonprofit Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the Philadelphia Authority For Industrial Development has been helping with school construction and facilities issues. Streater said the priority is to get more funding.

“With the infusion of more sustained, long-term funding the District has the opportunity to accelerate the work that needs to be done,” he said.

According to Thomas’ resolution, the new authority would have the ability to “bond and manage the school facilities” modernization process.

Thomas said his office is also in talks with “experts” to see how other cities and states have handled similar authorities, like New York City’s construction authority.

Across the Delaware River in New Jersey, the Schools Development Authority — an independent agency tasked with funding and managing construction for some of the poorest districts in the state — has been plagued by political scandals. The authority is also essentially out of money, and New Jersey lawmakers are now looking to overhaul it.

But Thomas said he is “optimistic” Philadelphia can get it right.

According to Thomas, some lawmakers in Harrisburg have been hesitant to spend more money to improve Philadelphia’s school buildings because the district has been accused of misspending money in the past, a charge the district has denied.

Thomas said what legislators want to see is “consistency” and a stable system that could guarantee money is spent responsibly.

“In order to get resources in this moment, we have to show Harrisburg a certain level of consistency, and reliability,” Thomas said.

Thomas’ proposed authority would build on an idea former Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez championed last year.

“We’re not going to pretend that this is a concept that we created,” Thomas said, “but what we are going to do is try to grab the bull by the horns and pull this thing across the finish line.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

From attendance to academics, two award-winning Philadelphia principals discuss how they lead

2023-04-24T19:37:30+00:00

Lillian Izzard grew up in the Philadelphia neighborhood around Edison/Fareira High School in a single-parent family with five siblings. As a high school student at a Catholic school in the 1980s, she watched the construction of Edison, grand and modern for its day, in awe.

A 33-year veteran of the school district, Izzard is now Edison’s principal. As hard as the assignment is — given that her students generally come from low-income backgrounds and must deal with issues including addiction and violence — Izzard couldn’t be happier. Since her appointment less than a year ago, she has helped create an equity coalition at the school and helped students build constructive social connections.

“I had always wanted to be here,” she said.

About a mile away, Amanda Jones works as the principal of Luis Muñoz-Marin Elementary School, a K-8 school that serves as a feeder school for Edison/Fareira. Jones, the daughter of educators who grew up in integrated, middle-class Mount Airy, graduated from Masterman High School and has worked at the school for 10 years, where she’s overseen improvements in test scores and prioritized attendance and student government.

“The people in this building bring me joy,” she said.

For their work, Izzard, Jones, and five other principals won the Lindback Award for Distinguished Principals, the district’s most prestigious honor for school leaders. Each award, which the district presented last week, comes with $20,000 for principals to use to improve their schools. The two educators relish the chance to build relationships with families and children, and provide places of potential and stability, in one of the most challenging areas of the city.

When the principal’s job at Edison opened up last year, Izzard was principal of Fels High School in the Lower Northeast, a place she could have “happily retired from,” she said. But although she was initially reluctant to change jobs, she felt the pull of her old neighborhood and the challenge of leading Edison.

The school, in a neighborhood plagued by poverty, drugs and violence, has an enrollment of around 850, there is so much transience that many of the many of the students who started the school year at Edison aren’t the ones who finish it. Nearly a quarter of the students don’t speak English as their first language, and a quarter receive special education services.

After getting the job, she spent a month in the summer alone in the building, she said, planning and strategizing before teachers and students returned.

“I came with a vision. This is a school in my neighborhood that services a lot of students who look like me,” said Izzard, who is of Puerto Rican descent. “I wanted to create opportunities for them I would have liked to have for myself if I was a student here.”

Among the changes she made right off the bat: She reintroduced Spanish classes for native speakers, as well as Honors Spanish. She also took steps to integrate special education students into school activities, including into its media center and instructional trips to the community.

And the equity coalition she formed brings together students, staff, and administration to address community issues by “identifying and providing resources and opportunities” for those “who have been denied such from racial or gender disparities.”

Another major change she made of a different kind was to require students, and staff, to put their cell phones inside Yondr bags, which prevent them from being used during the school day. Despite some early resistance, the move has changed the school’s atmosphere. Izzard said teachers have told her how students are now more engaged in the classroom.

At the same time, she plans to use the Lindback money to create a “multi-purpose space” where students can expand their social networks, and explore how their passion for video games and other online diversions can lead to jobs in esports and the gaming industry.

“After months where students were not able to socialize in person,” Izzard wrote in a statement for the Lindback judges, referring to the pandemic, “gaming showed that students benefited by improving their creativity, memory and teamwork.”

”While she is close to being eligible for retirement, she said, “I don’t think I’ll be going out next year. I want to really take the school as high as I can take it before turning it over to someone else.”

Leading a school turnaround effort

Jones arrived at Muñoz-Marin as a teacher in 2013. Three years later, she helped fend off an effort to convert the struggling school to a charter as part of the district’s turnaround strategy under the School Reform Commission. She became principal in 2020.

Instead, she helped lead an internal turnaround effort that saw improvements in math and reading scores among students who, like Edison’s, live in a poverty-stricken neighborhood plagued by gun violence and addiction.

“We got new teachers to join the staff and introduced a new curriculum,” she said. “And we got a lot of funding that we didn’t have before.”

As principal of Luis Muñoz-Marin Elementary School, Amanda Jones has overseen an improvement in test scores and has used various strategies to try to improve attendance.

The money paid for more teachers, including interventionists for reading and math, a climate manager, a behavioral specialist, an additional counselor, “and mental health supports we didn’t have before,” Jones said.

Jones hasn’t just hired new staff, but kept educators at the school. This year, the district started the school year with more than 200 vacancies, but Muñoz-Marin had only one.

But the challenges in the school, which enrolls around 500 students, are great. Many of the students miss big chunks of the school year as families go back to Puerto Rico for months at a time. “Attendance is something we’re struggling with,” she said.

She has created incentives to encourage more regular attendance, including a family barbecue for those who met targets.

In addition, Jones has established a student government in which only students with good attendance are eligible. The student officers “are able to make decisions” about important issues, she said, and hold town hall meetings once a week.

While Jones comes from a family of teachers, she studied Communications at Bloomsburg University, changing her career focus after working with single mothers one summer. She said her experience at the school has helped her understand the importance of creating connections with the Muñoz-Marin community.

“It’s kind of interesting to lead in the building where you started,” she said. “For example, my eighth graders that are graduating, I was their kindergarten teacher. So I am very strong at [building] ties, especially with the families, just because I’ve been here for so long.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia school board approval of contracts worth $183 million prompts transparency debate

2023-04-21T19:31:43+00:00

Long after people had left the school district auditorium, Philadelphia’s school board voted Thursday night to approve roughly $183 million for vendor contracts, including $336,000 for a consulting group to improve the board’s communication with the public.

Those contracts covered school building repairs, IT and technology equipment, office supplies, preschool programs, and water and sewer systems.

For years, outspoken members of the public and some education advocates have demanded more transparency from the board when it comes to their appointments and deliberations. Now, with multiple schools closing due to damaged asbestos, and gun violence claiming the lives of 23 students and wounding another 84, the board’s public approach to these and other crucial issues could help determine whether Philadelphia’s next mayor reappoints some, all, or none of the board’s current members.

Not long after he took over the district last year, Superintendent Tony Watlington drew public ire when the board (at his request) hired a consulting firm for $450,000 to help with his transition and guide the creation of a long-term strategic plan for Philadelphia schools.

While the 54-item consent agenda ultimately passed with little debate, board members Lisa Salley and Cecelia Thompson raised concerns about the process behind the $336,000 communications contract with Public Consulting Group in particular.

Thompson said she “wasn’t even aware” that the board was going through a selection process for communications vendors.

“We dont keep minutes, there’s no written documentation on what occurs … there’s no accountability,” Thompson said. “That should be a public conversation, not this secret stuff.”

Salley noted that the district has often been accused of “lack of transparency.”

“Strategic communication in general is very poor for the board and the district as a whole,” Salley said.

Public Consulting Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Board Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez said the contracts went through the usual request for proposal process. Several people from the board and district reviewed multiple vendor contracts, and ultimately decided to move forward with the ones that appeared on the consent agenda.

“The process is not over, we are in this final step of work, collectively making a decision,” Fix-Lopez said before the vote. “That is what happens when we vote for an action item.”

Funding for the contracts approved Thursday night came from a variety of sources including operating and capital funding from last year and next year’s budget as well as federal and state grants.

Board President Reginald Streater said the board followed the district’s procurement process “to the tee.”

Board member Leticia Egea-Hinton defended the Public Consulting Group contract and said the board needs urgent “help” connecting to the school community. “I don’t think we can wait much longer,” she said.

But those comments came too late to mollify Lisa Haver, founder of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools and a frequent critic of the board’s transparency efforts. Speaking at Thursday’s board meeting during the public comment period, she blasted the communications spending, which included $881,500 for “customer service” with a group called K12 Insight, as well as the $336,000 contract.

She questioned why the district was spending such money “to assist professionals and board members to do what they were hired or appointed” to do.

The full list of contracts can be found on the board’s website. Among the approved items on the consent agenda were:

$8 million for technology equipment through the state’s COSTARS cooperative purchasing program.
$11 million for replacing roofs at several schools
$32 million for “office supplies.”
$3.5 million to amend a contract with The Home Depot for “cleaning and custodial supplies.”
$9.3 million in contracts with the city water department and Vicinity Energy for water services and steam heat.
$79 million in federal and state grants for prekindergarten programs at community-based partner sites.
$6 million for boiler repairs.
$12 million to extend contracts with vendors doing HVAC repairs.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Damaged asbestos closed three Philadelphia schools this year. More could be coming.

2023-04-17T16:06:22+00:00

As Philadelphia education leaders confront a growing asbestos crisis, they also face a conundrum: The more they do to discover the extent of the problem and address it, the greater the impact on students.

And meanwhile, frustrated parents are demanding the district show them a way forward.

“What will be the plan in the future when these types of things occur?” said Sheila Johnson, whose daughter attends Building 21, which abruptly closed in March after the district discovered flaking asbestos and hasn’t reopened. “[District leaders] have already stated that yes, there may be other schools affected by this because of the older buildings. So what are you going to do?”

The recent discovery by inspectors that asbestos was routinely used in plaster in school buildings, which was not previously assumed, creates risk that the material could eventually become dangerous. And the accuracy of previous inspection reports that marked buildings safe with respect to asbestos has now been thrown into serious question.

Last week, Frankford High School and Mitchell Elementary School also closed their buildings to remediate flaking asbestos in plaster walls and ceilings. In letters to parents, district officials and the building principals said that both schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year and likely into the summer.

Such closures have spurred fears that a series of building shutdowns is looming in the district, where students are still trying to recover from disruptions to in-person learning caused by COVID. There’s also been a dispute between city and district officials about whether the district has kept parents and others adequately informed about asbestos-related issues, which have posed problems in aging Philadelphia schools for years.

After officials shuttered Building 21 — a small high school located in a 100-year-old former elementary school — due to damaged asbestos, most Building 21 students have been learning virtually. A few have opted for in-person learning at Strawberry Mansion High School, which is six miles away.

That virtual learning has not worked for many students.

“My daughter is sinking like a ship,” Johnson said of her 11th grader. She said virtual learning for two years during the pandemic pushed her child into a depression and now, the majority of her high school career will have been remote.

‘Incomplete or inaccurate’ reports on asbestos in schools

Scientific research has shown that breathing in asbestos fibers can cause certain diseases and increase the risk of certain cancers, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Previous estimates have determined that approximately 80% of Philadelphia schools were built prior to 1978 and are likely to contain asbestos. It was commonly incorporated into floor tiles, pipe insulation, and some paint and cement roofing in school buildings constructed prior to the 1970s.

A district statement on Friday said of the 321 school buildings in the city, 295 district buildings “have asbestos-containing materials.”

Undisturbed asbestos is not harmful, and it is only considered dangerous when it begins to flake. But other infrastructure problems — failing roofs, leaky windows, or faulty boilers that release steam — can compromise asbestos. And the district has suffered from years if not decades of deferred maintenance on buildings that on average are more than 70 years old — all of which makes the discovery that asbestos is also in most plaster more concerning.

Superintendent Tony Watlington said in a statement on April 7 that “in the coming weeks and months, we continue to anticipate that more damaged asbestos will be identified.” But the district’s facilities plan doesn’t say what it will do if more schools are closed for extended periods.

The most recent federally mandated report posted for Building 21 is from 2018-19, and showed asbestos in plaster at various locations, including the auditorium ceiling, but not throughout the school.

But the discovery of the material in plaster in Building 21 set off alarm bells, and spurred the district to retest in Frankford and Mitchell, the district said.

The plaster in Building 21 was for years marked safe by inspectors on building reports. The district now says those records were “incomplete or inaccurate,” throwing into question decades of inspection data.

Watlington, who is coming up on his first anniversary as superintendent, is facing a daunting challenge: The more the district investigates, the more damaged asbestos it’s likely to find. That means more school closures and asbestos remediation for a district that is already billions of dollars in arrears when it comes to facilities repairs, upgrades, and maintenance.

And according to the district’s facilities plan released late last month, 29% of its facilities workforce positions were vacant.

But what matters to Sonja Grant, another parent of a Building 21 student, is that “there was no consideration of parents” when the school first closed.

Grant said she wanted to respond to a survey, speak to school leaders at a roundtable, or otherwise open a dialogue with her school and the district.

But Grant said “they did not respect us enough or care enough to give us an option or ask ‘what would you like to see?’ or ‘how would you like us to move forward?’”

Philadelphia district response targeted by politicians

Asbestos is not a new issue for the district. In 2019 alone, several Philadelphia schools were forced to close because of damaged asbestos. In 2020, the district settled with a teacher who contracted mesothelioma for $850,000. And students and teachers have perennially fought for remediation efforts to make their buildings safe.

The federal Asbestos Hazardous Emergency Response Act, or AHERA, requires asbestos inspections in schools every three years. The AHERA reports, which are posted on the district website, say “NAD” — no asbestos detected — for most plaster walls and ceilings in Mitchell, Frankford, and Building 21.

Michelle Whitmer, an asbestos expert at The Mesothelioma Center who has written about the issue in Philadelphia schools for years, said plaster containing asbestos is considered a more dangerous type of asbestos product because of its “friability.” That means it can be easily crushed into a powder, releasing the dangerous fibers into the air.

That the plaster was originally noted as not containing asbestos is worrying, she said.

“To me that suggests that they may have not done proper testing to identify what was actually inside the material,” Whitmer said.

According to a district presentation to the City Council last month, the school system has a three-year, $24.2 million contract with Tetra Tech, a consulting and engineering firm, “to support and restructure the District’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act management program.” Tetra Tech took over management of the AHERA inspection process last August.

AHERA reports show Tetra Tech managed the Mitchell building inspection last December. Its report says no asbestos was detected in plaster walls and ceilings at the time. Investigators did detect asbestos in some floor tiles, pipe insulation and other areas.

Tetra Tech did not respond to several requests for comment.

In an April 7 statement, the district said identifying the problem is necessary and finding damaged asbestos is evidence of success.

“This is not an indication of the program failing, but rather the program is working to protect health and safety through the identification and management of environmental concerns,” the district said.

The statement also noted that the oldest buildings tend to have the most plaster, and that these buildings “have been prioritized in this plaster review.”

For some, that position represents an improvement in Philadelphia schools. Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said Watlington is being more “transparent” than leaders have in the past.

“So much over the years, has been swept under the rug,” Jordan said in an interview. “The buildings have been neglected forever. And I know that that sounds like an exaggeration, but it really isn’t.”

Monique Braxton, a district spokesperson, declined to answer specific questions about long-term plans regarding asbestos removal and school closure.

But other power players in the city say the district has fallen short. Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, a Frankford graduate, has suggested the city might withhold district funding until it shares a detailed asbestos plan, and cautioned that the district’s response could impact its state funding. And mayoral candidate Helen Gym blasted the district for “being reactive” instead of prepared.

“‘I’m just disappointed with the district in their handling of our children’s education,” said Johnson, the Building 21 parent.

Billions needed to address failing infrastructure in schools

The danger from asbestos in schools across the country continues to cause concern in the federal government and elsewhere. In recent years, there has been exposed asbestos in schools in cities like Chicago, New Orleans, and Berkeley, Calif.

In an interview, Mayor Jim Kenney said he was “disappointed” that the district had not alerted city officials earlier to the scope of the problem. “I wish we had known about this sooner,” he said.

But he added that the city is ready to help.

“I’m not an expert on asbestos, but we’ll do whatever we can to get these schools back online,” he said, which could include enlisting members of the construction trades to help with asbestos removal and abatement.

The district estimates that $4.5 billion is “required to address building systems that are either failing, damaged or beyond their service life.” Facilities reports say an additional $430 million is also needed to “address health hazards, risks, and life safety deficiencies.”

But regardless of what the district does next, parents like Johnson and Grant say they need to be at the table.

“We are rational people,” Grant said. “We want results and we want to be heard.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

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Where Philadelphia mayoral candidates stand on education issues: an election guide

2023-04-13T18:05:33+00:00

Update: View the 2023 Philadelphia primary election results

There are 10 candidates running for mayor of Philadelphia — a city with aging, asbestos-laden school buildings, serious budgetary needs, stubbornly low test scores, and a gun violence epidemic that has already cost the lives of 20 students and injured 100 this school year.

The mayor has no direct control over the schools, but does have the power to appoint the nine school board members. The current board members’ terms will expire when Mayor Jim Kenney leaves office, meaning that whoever takes office in January can remake the board from scratch, or can keep some or all of the current members.

While education has not been a major issue in the race, public safety, with a focus on youth and their families, has been high on voters’ minds.

Some differences have emerged among the candidates on key education issues, including charter school expansion, whether the district should get a larger share of city property taxes, and to what degree the mayor will seek to shake up the board and impact school policy.

The degree of mayoral control over the education in the city has fluctuated over the past decades and is now at its highest point.

From the 1950s to the 1990s, the terms of mayoral appointees to the nine-member board were staggered to minimize the power of any one mayor. In 2001, the state took over Philadelphia schools, citing fiscal and academic disarray, and installed a five-member School Reform Commission, with three members appointed by the governor and two by the mayor. In 2018, the commission disbanded and the Philadelphia Board of Education resumed control over city schools.

To better understand each candidate’s views on key issues, Chalkbeat Philadelphia asked them 10 questions about education, including several questions submitted by Chalkbeat readers. Six of the candidates responded.

Here’s what they said, in their own words.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

This article is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute, Peter and Judy Leone, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Harriet and Larry Weiss, and the Wyncote Foundation, among others. To learn more about the project and view a full list of supporters, visit www.everyvoice-everyvote.org. Editorial content is created independently of the project’s donors.

Philadelphia school board seeking student applicants for advisory positions

2023-04-04T21:34:52+00:00

Attention ninth and 10th graders in Philadelphia district-run and charter schools: If you would like to be an advisory member of the Philadelphia Board of Education, you can apply between now and April 28.

For next school year, the board is making changes to its requirements for its non-voting student advisory members. Instead of seniors, it wants sophomores and juniors. And in addition to the two members, the school board plans to appoint an alternate.

The Home Rule Charter requires that the nine- member board have at least one student advisory member, but since 2018, it has had two.

The student members provide the board feedback about a variety of issues through regular reports, said Sarah-Ashley Andrews, the board’s liaison to the student advisory members. Each year, the student members have a different focus, from mental health to advocacy for more school funding. This past year, they participated in the superintendent selection process.

This year, the board is also making a special outreach to students at charter schools to apply.

“We are hoping one of the three spots goes to a charter student,” said Shakyra Greene, program manager for the board. “Charters are one third of the district, and it’s important they participate and have their voices heard.”

Of the more than 197,000 students who attend publicly funded schools in the city, some 64,500 are in brick-and-mortar charters, and another 13,000 are in cyber charters. Since 2018, only one student advisory board member has been from a charter school. (The five-member School Reform Commission, which governed the district between 2001 and 2018, never had student advisory members.)

Applicants need to have at least a 2.5 grade point average and “be actively involved in their school community,” according to the application.

The board is seeking sophomores and juniors to serve on the board next year “because we found seniors to be focused on the next stage for their lives,” Andrews said. “We don’t want that to be a deterrence and want them to enjoy their senior year.”

The current student board member is Sophia Roach, who attends the High School of the Creative and Performing Arts and is the editor-in-chief of the citywide student publication, The Bullhorn.

The board decided to add an alternate member because this year’s other student member, Love Speech, left the position for personal reasons. It’s the first time that has happened since 2018.

The addition of an alternate is “to make sure somebody is in place if one member” leaves, Andrews said. The alternate member will go through the same orientation process as the two others, and will be asked to attend all the board meetings, at least remotely.

At the March board meeting, Central High School student Jeron Williams II chastised the board for leaving Speech’s seat open.

“From day one, there was no plan to fill Love’s seat. The board has yet again shortchanged our students,” Williams II said.

Greene said that between 30 and 80 students have applied for the position in each of the past five years, and that the number has dipped post-pandemic. “The first few years, it hovered around the 70-80 mark, and we hope this year to get the numbers back up,” she said.

Student applicants for the positions are vetted through a committee that includes representatives from various youth advocacy groups including the Philadelphia Student Union, the Philadelphia Youth Commission, and UrbEd, as well as the mayor’s Office of Youth Engagement. These and other groups forward five finalists to the superintendent, who then chooses the members and the alternate.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Students march on Philadelphia City Hall, district HQ to protest school selection process

2023-03-28T21:45:48+00:00

Carrying signs with messages like “keep the teachers” and “save our schools,” more than 50 students from Science Leadership Academy at Beeber rallied outside City Hall Tuesday afternoon to protest Philadelphia’s revamped high school admissions process.

Two years after the district unveiled that new process, there are roughly 800 vacant spots next year at 12 of the district schools that require students to apply. Without a full complement of students, the schools could lose teachers and face cutbacks in extracurricular and other activities.

“We’re here to protest how the school system is pretty much messed up,” said Daniel Vergara, a sophomore at Beeber.

Not filling all the available seats in the school “means students are losing out on an education that they’re totally eligible for,” said Miriam Corrales, also a 10th grader. And Matthias Duncan, a senior, said that the changes could result in larger class sizes.

“Teachers shouldn’t be cut. It’s unfair,” said Jade Perry, another Beeber senior.

The ongoing criticism from students and others comes after a similar protest last week in which students and educators said that the district’s admissions lottery, which officials overhauled in 2021, is essentially endangering the survival of several themed and innovative high schools in Philadelphia.

At Thursday’s Board of Education meeting — immediately following last week’s protest — Superintendent Tony Watlington announced that the district would audit the lottery system with an eye toward refining and improving it.

The 2021 changes to the admissions system centralized the admissions process and eliminated the role of school principals in recruiting and admitting students. District leaders said the new system would make admissions more equitable for students of color. Last year, there were early indications that the share of Black and Hispanic students at the city’s four most-selective high schools increased for this year’s ninth grade class.

In a statement last month, the district said the revised system would “eliminate subjectivity and potential actions of implicit bias from the school selection process.”

Last week, Watlington said that 316 students who have qualified for admission to at least one of 12 schools but have not yet enrolled for next year would be offered a seat. He also said he would allocate $3 million to ensure that no high school will lose more than two staff members, “subject to principal discretion.”

But those changes haven’t quelled all of the anger about the system. A petition started by students to protest the admissions system, which circulated after Watlington announced changes to the lottery last week, is scathing.

“Our education is at stake!” it says. It goes on to say that having a lower enrollment at certain high schools “will cause class sizes of 35-40 students, 2-10 teachers to be lost, less funding for schools, fewer electives, and numerous other consequences. Why must the youth suffer from the incompetence of the School District of Philadelphia?”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had about 250 signatures.

The students want the elimination of state standardized test scores as one of the criteria for admissions. They are also demanding “a sufficient school budget” and “adequate resources for learning.”

At Tuesday’s City Hall rally, the students heard from student speakers, as well as Councilmember Kendra Brooks, whose daughter graduated from Beeber, and state Rep. Amen Brown, a Democrat who is running for mayor.

“I’m proud to see so many young people out here rallying,” Brooks told the group. “We need the voice of those most impacted by this to stand up and fight.”

The students then marched up Broad Street to the school district’s headquarters to continue their protest.

Assistant Superintendent Tomas Hanna said the district appreciates the students’ passion and hears their concerns. He also said a committee that includes parents, teachers, and students is examining the admissions process.

Keeping a human element in school admissions

In the current system, which the district introduced for the class that is now in the ninth grade, students list five schools they want to attend, and are entered into lotteries for all of which they qualify. That means some students may be accepted to more than one school and others to none.

Watlington and the board said that the 2021 change was made in the name of equity. Yet last week, Watlington also said it is important not to “completely eliminate the human touch” from the admissions system.

Under the old admissions process, the district said in a statement last month, “Students were selected who did not meet the established criteria for the school. We also know at some schools there is not sufficient space, and students who did meet the criteria for the school were not selected.”

Tanya Wolford, the district’s director of research, told the Board of Education at its Thursday meeting that in the 2018-19 school year, 2,429 students accepted an offer to attend one of the selective schools, even though only 1,270 met the minimum admissions standards.

Board of Education President Reginald Streater cited his own experience Thursday to illustrate the perception in the community of the prior system’s unfairness. He attended Germantown High School more than 20 years ago – and had no complaints about his experience – but said that his mother told him it would be futile to apply to Central or Masterman because “you had to know somebody” to be accepted.

But the Beeber students and other critics, including some teachers, say the new system hurts those it was designed to help if it results in schools that can’t meet their usual enrollment. At Beeber, 83% of the students are economically disadvantaged and 80% are Black or Hispanic.

“We need an education that is well-funded and well-rounded,” the Beeber petition says. “Our education should not be jeopardized because the people in power will not admit that their attempt at equity failed.”

While the most selective schools have strict requirements, many smaller high schools established relatively recently, including U School and the LINC, often recruit students who don’t have stellar academic records but school leaders think could benefit. That could account for some of the students who attend these schools without meeting all the requirements on paper.

Video by WHYY Movers & Makers.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Schools need more money, Philadelphia school board tells mayoral candidates

2023-03-20T22:04:27+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education Monday is asking the next mayor to commit to a big increase in the school district’s annual funding, and to provide additional help in upgrading and repairing school facilities.

In an open letter released Monday, the board also asks for the city to devote more of its resources to addressing gun violence and helping the district to recruit and retain staff.

The letter is unusual in that the board members, who are appointed by the mayor, are publicly addressing political candidates to air their concerns about the district budget and other matters so close to an election. Generally, they make their budget case during a city council hearing in May.

The new mayor will have the ability to remake the nine-member board from scratch after taking office. City officials and others recently publicly accused Superintendent Tony Watlington of not being transparent about problems with school building safety, and threatened to withhold district funding.

Philadelphia is “the only school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that cannot raise its own taxes, and the district is completely dependent on our local and state elected officials to provide the resources necessary to ensure that every student in the city has access to a quality public education,” said the letter, which was signed by board President Reginald Streater.

In the letter, Streater said the board wants the city’s future leaders to commit to increasing the district’s annual local funding by $318 million within the next four years. Streater said this increase would help the district meet an estimate from the Public Interest Law Center and the Education Law Center that it needs to increase total spending by more than $1.1 billion annually “to meet the educational needs of our learners.”

The city contributes about $1.7 billion to the district’s roughly $4 billion current operating budget. Most of the city’s contribution comes from property and other taxes earmarked for the district, and some is through a special grant which this fiscal year amounts to nearly $270 million.

Philadelphia school officials used the $1.1 billion figure when testifying for the plaintiffs in a historic lawsuit challenging the state’s current funding system, which results in wide spending disparities among districts. Last month, Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer ruled the system unconstitutional and ordered an overhaul.

There are just under 200,000 students in Philadelphia’s 329 district-run, charter, and alternative schools.

“We are calling on city officials to balance the needs of our students with the needs of residents,” Streater said in the letter.

The party primaries in this year’s mayoral and city council races take place May 16.

The board’s letter comes shortly after the district was forced to close two high schools — Building 21 and Simon Gratz — within the past month due to the discovery of flaking asbestos.

While the letter doesn’t include a specific ask for facilities help, Streater cited a 2017 study estimating that the district has $4.5 billion in deferred maintenance costs and that “85 of our buildings should be considered for renovation, and 21 buildings should be considered for closure and replacement.”

On gun violence and student safety, Streater asked the city to increase safe corridors around schools, beef up libraries and recreation centers, enforce gun laws (especially as they relate to firearms possession by minors), and expand mental health services.

To recruit and retain more teachers, Streated suggested creating street parking around schools for staff, underwriting SEPTA passes for public transit commuters, and measures including loan forgiveness, housing vouchers, and other incentives for city residents who work in schools.

Two mayoral forums on education are scheduled for this week, one at the Free Library Tuesday evening, and another sponsored by the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators on Wednesday.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia students press governor on his school safety proposal to hire more police

2023-03-15T22:04:00+00:00

Josh Shapiro, in his first visit to a Philadelphia public school since becoming governor in January, touted his plan to address Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage and said his proposed budget would make a historic investment in education.

In a two-hour visit Wednesday morning to Carver High School of Engineering and Science in North Philadelphia, Shapiro highlighted his plan to use tax credits to encourage more teachers to enter and remain in the profession. He also spent a good deal of his time engaging with students, who weren’t afraid to challenge him on his safety plan to hire more police officers.

Wednesday’s visit is part of Shapiro’s statewide tour to sell his big-picture policy and budget priorities, but the students wanted to talk about safety. In Philadelphia, 78 school district students have been shot this academic year, 17 of them fatally. Carver is in North Philadelphia, one of the neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

Shapiro, a Democrat, visited teacher Ian Doreian’s classroom, where 12th graders were mentoring ninth graders through the Peer Group Connection program. He told the students he thinks one solution for gun violence is to increase law enforcement’s presence in their neighborhoods and schools — a strategy used recently by Superintendent Tony Watlington.

But Black students in the room were skeptical about that idea.

“I feel like the issue isn’t to hire more police officers,” said Maniyah Jackson, a ninth grader. “A lot of these police officers, they go through training, but when they step on the street, they forget all their training and base their authority on their emotions instead of sticking to what they’re supposed to do for our community.”

“I feel more safe with a firefighter than I do with police officers,” 12th grader Taniya Son also told Shapiro. “There’s been incidents where it’s like, they’ve been so aggressive towards us for no reason.”

Shapiro said, “I’m sensitive to that … I look the way I do and I don’t necessarily feel that way.”

He thanked the students for their forthrightness and honesty. “That’s a hard thing to speak up and say to the governor,” he said.

He even suggested legislation mandating more comprehensive training of police officers and beefing up after-school programs in community spaces, including firehouses. “I’ll call it Taniya’s Law,” he said.

Shortly after his meeting with the students, a press release from Shapiro’s office noted the governor is heading to Lackawanna College Police Academy in Scranton on Thursday to discuss his proposal to recruit more police officers in the state.

Shapiro was joined at the school by Board of Education President Reginald Streater, Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez, Watlington, and other district officials. City Council President Darrell Clarke, state Rep. Donna Bullock, and state Sens. Sharif Street and Vincent Hughes also attended. Mayor Jim Kenney made an appearance but didn’t make public remarks.

Shapiro’s proposed budget includes a refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 annually for up to three years for newly certified Pennsylvania teachers, including those just graduating with their certifications and those who relocate from other states.

In total, Shapiro said his budget includes $24.7 million in “job retention and recruitment efforts” for teachers, nurses, and law enforcement personnel.

Pennsylvania is suffering from a major teacher shortage. A decade ago, 20,000 people annually earned their teaching certifications. That number dropped to 6,000 in 2022. Philadelphia opened the school year with more than 200 teacher vacancies, and last month the school board approved more than 100 teacher resignations and retirements, most of them since September.

Shapiro’s proposed budget adds more than $1 billion to education programs. It increases the state’s basic education subsidy by $567 million, but also sets aside additional money for specific needs, including mental health counselors and infrastructure improvement.

Shapiro said his proposal would be a “down payment on the future of education.”

“When I spoke in my budget address, I made clear that this will not happen overnight,” Shapiro said, adding later that “we would have to work on this over two budget cycles.”

When he unveiled his budget earlier this month, Shapiro tied it directly to a historic ruling last month in a landmark school funding case from Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer. In that ruling, Jubelirer said the Commonwealth’s system for funding education is unconstitutional because it is neither adequate in total or equitably distributed. Jubelirer ordered state officials to revamp the system.

Shapiro said that “by all indications there are no plans” from Republican legislative leaders to appeal Jubelirer’s ruling. A spokesman for House Republican leadership said Wednesday that while GOP lawmakers are not focused on appealing the ruling at the moment, “post-trial motions have been briefed and filed. No final decision can be made on an appeal until we see the results of those motions.”

Other officials, including Hughes, have called for an even larger investment in education than Shapiro. With the governor standing next to him, Hughes called Shapiro’s proposal “a great start.”

When speaking to students in Doreian’s classroom, Shapiro recounted his own journey to them. Originally, he wanted to be a doctor, like his father, but he flunked a test in his pre-med program — on the same day he was cut from the basketball team. He became a lawyer and politician instead because that was also an avenue to “help people,” he told them.

“Don’t be afraid to strike out, like I did,” he said.

Jacky Wang, a 12th grader, asked Shapiro a question on many people’s minds: whether he has aspirations for higher office.

Shapiro smiled and said, “This is all I’m focused on.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia officials blast schools chief over asbestos woes, threaten to withhold funding

2023-03-13T23:38:15+00:00

Philadelphia officials blasted Superintendent Tony Watlington Monday for not keeping them fully informed about the scope of the asbestos problem in school buildings, and vowed to withhold education funds until they get a more detailed action plan from the district.

“We shouldn’t have to fight, but unfortunately, this is the hand that we’ve been dealt right now,” said Isaiah Thomas, chair of the City Council’s committee on children and youth, during a press conference attended by city, state, and teachers union officials.

Thomas’ remarks came after Building 21, a small high school located in a 100-year-old former elementary school, was closed earlier this month after a routine inspection found crumbling asbestos in parts of the auditorium and two stairwells. In addition, Simon Gratz High School, a charter school operated by Mastery that is also located in a century-old district building, was shut down Thursday and Friday after loose asbestos was discovered.

The two closures underscore the poor conditions in many of Philadelphia’s school buildings; the average age of the district’s school buildings is roughly 75 years. A comprehensive facilities study undertaken by the district in 2017 estimated that updating and repairing all its buildings would cost close to $5 billion.

Though Watlington has promised to update the facilities plan to address such problems, advocates and city leaders are demanding he release it sooner rather than later. Last fall, Watlington said he would “pause” his facilities review until after his strategic plan to make Philadelphia the “fastest improving large urban school district” in the country is enacted.

The district receives about $1.4 billion from the city in its current budget.

In a letter to state representatives last week, Thomas said the asbestos problem in the city’s schools is “urgent” and requested $2.5 billion over five years to make schools “safe and healthy.”

On Monday, Thomas also referred to a letter that Watlington sent to parents last week saying that the district’s Office of Environmental Management Services found that in Building 21, “records indicate asbestos damage has existed in the auditorium since June 2021, and possibly longer.”

A Facilities Condition Assessment filed in 2022 for Kinsey Elementary School, which Building 21 now occupies, notes the presence of asbestos in several locations.

Thomas said that the council has “asked for a plan” from the district, but has not received one.

“We’re gonna fight the fight that we need to be able to get the resources and ensure that they’re implemented in the way that’s in the best interest of our children, our staff and all stakeholders involved,” Thomas said, although he added that his comments represented “just the first conversation” with the district in budget negotiations.

In a Monday statement responding to Thomas’ remarks, Board of Education President Reginald Streater noted that the district had committed $325 million in federal stimulus funding over four years to “major projects and renovations, including new construction projects.” Over the next six years, he said, the district had planned capital investments totaling $2 billion.

Streater also said that its 2017 facilities study concluded that 85 buildings need renovation and 21 should be replaced.

“I submit that the Board has not sat on its hands, but has been good stewards of public funding and has made capital and environmental improvements a priority – and will continue to do so,” he said, adding that the situation must be addressed through a “collaborative” process.

The board of education, whose nine members are appointed by the mayor, cannot raise tax dollars on its own, and is dependent on the state and city governments for its roughly $4 billion operating budget. The council typically holds budget hearings in April and May. Gov. Josh Shapiro is asking for $500 million over five years for school building repairs statewide in his 2023-24 budget for the entire state.

Last week, Building 21 students were relocated to Strawberry Mansion High School nearly six miles away, but few students showed up. While repairs continue, the Building 21 students are now learning virtually. District spokesperson Monique Braxton said that families would be updated Tuesday on when the school might reopen.

Thomas noted that the district spent millions to upgrade Strawberry Mansion — which can hold more than 1,700 students but now has an enrollment of less than 300 — so it could be used as a “swing” space when other buildings are being repaired. But he said this move was “reactionary” and not the product of a forward-looking plan for the district’s buildings.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia schools pushed to reopen Sayre pool to provide children a safe community space

2023-03-10T21:06:58+00:00

The stalled reopening of a West Philadelphia pool is at the center of a contentious debate over pool access for Black and brown children as summer approaches.

Tensions ran high at the Philadelphia school board’s Feb. 23 meeting when community and school board members clashed over a bogged-down plan to reopen the pool at the Sayre Morris Recreation Center.

Neighborhood residents argue that the pool, which closed in 2017 for repairs, needs to reopen as soon as possible. Knowing how to swim gives young people a sense of confidence that goes beyond the pool, they say. And in addition to providing teens with summer job opportunities, the pool offers children a place to safely congregate and be part of a strong community institution. Such concerns are top of mind for many in Philadelphia at a time when gun violence is plaguing the city and having an especially traumatic impact on the city’s youth.

Board members — who a year ago voted down a plan that would have authorized $10 million to repair the pool — said there are still bureaucratic and financial obstacles to deal with before the facility can reopen.

“It’s just a back-and-forth mess,” said Kristen Britt, president of the Sayre Rec Advisory Council, which works with the city to support the recreation center where the pool is located.

Among other things, kids who swim also have better mental health and do better in school, Britt noted. Reopening the pool would help address issues — such as mental health and attendance — that are priorities for the district, she said in an interview. Sayre’s closure has also affected summer jobs for neighborhood teens, she said, as its Olympic-size pool has historically been used to train lifeguards.

Meanwhile, Sayre and two other district-owned pools in majority-Black Philadelphia neighborhoods remain closed.

While the district owns the pools, the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation manages them. The city and the school board are working on a memorandum of understanding to spell out their joint and separate responsibilities regarding the Sayre pool.

City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier told Chalkbeat she’s worked with Mayor Jim Kenney and state Rep. Joanna McClinton to raise about half the funding needed — estimated to be between $8 million and $12 million — to repair and reopen Sayre.

School board member Mallory Fix Lopez said in an email to Chalkbeat that the board is committed to enrichment activities, including athletics and extracurricular programs. But she added that “for every spend we make, there is another need that goes unmet.”

At the Feb. 23 meeting, she said that the situation with the pool is in a “holding pattern.”

Sayre, which opened in 1966, is one of the city’s few indoor pools and the only one easily accessible from North and West Philadelphia, where many children of color live. The district-owned Lincoln Pool, in Northeast Philadelphia — a primarily white neighborhood — is open, but it’s on the opposite side of the city from Sayre.

Philadelphia, like the rest of the country, has a long history of racial discrimination when it comes to water access. (“Pool: A Social History of Segregation,” an exhibition focusing on “the nation’s handling of race as it relates to public schools,” opens at the Philadelphia Water Works on March 22.)

“We want to make sure that in each end of the city there is the opportunity for Black and

brown children to learn how to swim, and provide a safe space,” Britt said. Without that, she said, they can’t get summer lifeguarding work and other jobs that might ultimately help them get into college.

Martha Ankely, a veteran lifeguard and swimming instructor in Philadelphia, said that ensuring access to pools for children helps them get over their fear of water, which can be “debilitating in a lot of ways.” What’s more, she said, “knowing that you’re able to manage in a different environment can help you cope with managing the everyday environment.”

City pools, which provide free swimming lessons, are important for more than just

recreation, Parks and Recreation spokesman Andrew Alter said in an email to Chalkbeat. “Knowing how to swim is a safety precaution that can save your life,” he said.

What’s more, the Sayre pool is “a historic community asset,” Gauthier noted. “It was a place where children from the Cobbs Creek community and their families would go to

swim, or learn how to swim, and that’s been taken away,” she said.

Fix Lopez said that when the school board voted down a renovation plan for Sayre last year, the district asked for a memorandum of understanding from the city to include plans for operations as well as long-term funding. For now, the board is in a “holding pattern,” she said at the meeting.

Gauthier said she’s “hopeful” an agreement can be reached this spring to reopen Sayre.

Superintendent Tony Watlington wants to implement a plan to look at all school facilities, including pools, Fix Lopez noted in her email to Chalkbeat. (Watlington paused that facilities plan late last year to align it with the district’s upcoming five-year strategic plan.) She also said that Sayre’s situation is a prime opportunity for the public to learn about “how interwoven and complicated these systems are to work through.”

“I think it’s fair to say we all value the benefits that Sayre could bring to the community,”

Fix Lopez said in the email. “We have heard how much this pool means to the community.”

Philadelphia mayoral hopefuls must prioritize children’s needs and educator pay, coalition says

2023-02-28T23:30:24+00:00

A coalition of 61 groups is trying to focus Philadelphia’s mayoral campaign on issues that impact youth, children, and education.

The coalition, called the Kids Campaign, is prodding the candidates to explain in detail how they would achieve a series of objectives. These include attracting teachers to the city by increasing starting salaries, making summer jobs available for all teens, and providing more affordable, high-quality early childhood education seats.

At its launch event Tuesday, the group released the first six of what will be a dozen policy papers that represent the Kids Campaign’s platform. They have titles like “No child in Philadelphia should go hungry or live in poverty,” and “Philadelphia must contribute to solving the climate crisis to ensure a thriving future for our kids.”

For example: To attract more teachers, the group in its policy papers says the district should increase starting salaries, reduce class sizes, and build affordable housing for teachers, among other actions.

The group has sent its platform — the product of extensive research and filled with facts and policy proposals — to the 10 Democrats and one Republican running for mayor. Eight have responded that they are in agreement with the goals, said Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First, a major organizer of the campaign.

But that initial agreement is just a start. Cooper said the organization will be briefing the candidates on their findings, and is expecting responses by March 20 to a detailed questionnaire asking them to describe their strategies to address problems.

“It’s one thing to support the platform and another to say how you will achieve it,” said Cooper. “And that’s really going to be the test for us, whether candidates are serious about supporting the needs of kids.”

The primary is May 16, and winning the Democratic primary is considered tantamount to winning the general election. Democrats have an eight-to-one registration advantage in the city. There’s no clear front-runner in the crowded field to replace Mayor Jim Kenney, whose term expires at the end of this year.

On early childhood education, the group found that 43% of children in the city don’t have access to any publicly funded pre-K, and only 36% are currently in programs considered high quality.

Among the coalition’s policy proposals to deal with that is to set a minimum wage of $17.53 an hour for people working in PHLPreK, one of four Philadelphai subsidized early childhood programs and the only one fully funded by the city. (The program is funded by a tax on sugary beverages that some candidates oppose.)

The group also wants changes to the juvenile justice system to make it more “restorative” and less punitive. As part of that, it wants the next mayor to “direct school board members” to reform how it deals with truancy, especially by addressing “the reasons youth are failing to attend school.” The mayor appoints all nine board members.

According to the coalition’s research, 64% of youth who are in detention are there for non-felony offenses and 71% for a first offense.

“Placing them in institutions doesn’t deter them, it derails them,” said Sharon Ward of the Education Law Center, a member of the coalition. “They disengage from education, quickly fall behind, and are more likely to drop out.”

Plus, she said, there are widespread racial disparities in how the system treats juveniles who have gotten into trouble. Black students are much more likely to be removed from their homes, and Philadelphia, with about 12% of Pennsylvania’s population, accounts for 41% of the juvenile placements in the state.

Among the Kids Campaign’s recommendations is to direct the Department of Human Services to create alternatives to incarceration that are “rehabilitative and restorative.” The coalition also wants “reduce the presence” of school safety officers “so that youth are not likely to be adjudicated for school infractions.”

In December, Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington announced that the district would pay for an increased presence of city police officers near some school buildings. The move was part of his response to ongoing and acute concerns about student safety, amid a gun-violence crisis afflicting the city’s young people.

Cooper, who served as Ed Rendell’s policy chief when he was Philadelphia’s mayor and Pennsylvania’s governor, added that “every day, more parents are signing up to join” the Kids Campaign, and that she expects the coalition to make a difference.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

These are the 9 candidates for Philadelphia mayor and their track records in education

2023-02-01T12:00:00+00:00

Nine candidates are running in the May 16 primary to replace Mayor Jim Kenney — and whoever is elected will have a strong influence over Philadelphia schools.

The mayor has the authority to appoint all nine members of the school board to four-year terms, so could theoretically remake the board from scratch. Along with the City Council, the mayor determines the city’s contribution to the school district’s budget and whether tax hikes are needed to increase that amount.

The issues facing the district right now are daunting. Test scores took a hit during the pandemic. Gun violence and lingering mental health concerns impact student learning. Teacher shortages have grown acute. Questions about how to handle charter schools, especially whether to close those that are underperforming or that engage in practices that raise conflict-of-interest questions, remain a point of contention.

All nine of the candidates are Democrats. In Philadelphia, where 80% of registered voters are Democrats, winning the primary is tantamount to election.

Here’s more about each candidate and what we know about their education records. Please fill out the callout below to let us know what you’d like us to ask each candidate for our upcoming voter guide before the primary.

Warren Bloom

Rev. Warren Bloom Sr.

Rev. Warren Bloom Sr.’s campaign website lists his experience as committeeman, minister, family business owner, musician, and activist. He’s run for office before, including in 2019 for mayor and city commissioner.

Bloom’s website lists “strong public schools” and “excellence for teaching and learning” as two of the issues he is “passionate about and will fight for.” His campaign also has a GoFundMe page that says he has a six-point plan for the city that includes “improving education.”

In 1992, Bloom was convicted of indecent assault, simple assault, and corrupting a minor, according to the news website Billy Penn, citing court records. (He said later that he pleaded no contest to the charges because he didn’t want to put the minor through any more emotional stress.)

Amen Brown

State Rep. Amen Brown operated day care centers and after-school programs in Philadelphia, where he was born and raised, before being elected to the House in November 2020.

He is a product of the Philadelphia public school system, and attended Community College of Philadelphia after graduating from Overbrook High School.

Brown, whose district includes parts of West Philadelphia, lists funding for education as a legislative priority. He sits on the Aging & Older Adult Services and Urban Affairs committees, as well as the Pennsylvania legislative Black Caucus.

He was the only House Democrat to vote for a bill that would have created an education choice program for students at some low-performing public schools, though he ultimately switched his vote, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown has also reportedly received campaign contributions from groups linked to Jeffrey Yass, a billionaire and supporter of charter schools.

According to the Inquirer, Brown’s businesses have faced accusations of financial and legal improprieties over the past decade, including thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes racked up by his day care centers.

Jeff Brown

Grocery-store operator Jeff Brown is new to politics. A fourth-generation grocer, he owns and operates 11 ShopRite stores in historically underserved Philadelphia neighborhoods. Brown said he opened the stores in these “food deserts” as a way of addressing poverty.

Brown told the Inquirer he wants to shake up “the City Hall establishment,” which he said was “nonresponsive” to the city’s problems.

On his campaign website, Brown says the “lack of equity” in city public schools is a critical issue for Philadelphia.

“Parents should not have to leave the city to find quality public education for their children,” Brown says on his website. “And they shouldn’t have to fight for the few slots in magnet schools.”

Brown is also appealing to unions by touting his experience negotiating with ShopRite unions and pledging to address staffing issues in the city’s workforce, including police. He has been endorsed by the city’s largest union, AFSCME District Council 33, as well as the union representing transit workers. A United Food and Commercial Workers local official endorsed him at his campaign launch.

James DeLeon

James DeLeon was a Philadelphia Municipal Court judge for 34 years. His volunteer experience includes working with kids as a swimming teacher, track and field official, debate coach, and Police Athletic League board member.

DeLeon hasn’t put forward an education platform, though his plan to address gun violence includes establishing a system to coordinate city resources and address the “root causes” of the problem, including gathering input from the school district.

Allan Domb

Real estate developer and former City Council member Allan Domb has cited the need for financial literacy classes and investment in schools.

Domb owns more than 400 properties in Philadelphia worth more than $400 million, according to the Inquirer. As a council member, he focused on fiscal issues including business tax cuts and tax refunds for low-income workers, and campaigned on a promise to fund city schools by collecting taxes from out-of-state property owners, according to Billy Penn.

Domb’s campaign website includes a “10-point action plan on public safety” listing actions he’d take in his first 100 days in office. Those range from declaring a “crime emergency” and tripling funding for police officer recruitment, to installing cameras in every high school and working with school leaders.

Domb resigned his City Council seat to run for mayor, and has said that if elected he would avoid conflicts of interest with his real estate investments.

Derek Green

A Mount Airy resident, Green is a former prosecutor and served in the city attorney’s office (as well as an assistant deputy attorney general for the state of Delaware). He was elected to be an at-large member of Philadelphia City Council in 2015. Earlier in his career, he had worked as a council staffer for Marian Tasco, who represented the 9th District.

On education, he said he draws on his personal and legislative experience. Green’s mother taught for 31 years in the school district and he often describes himself as “a teacher’s kid.”

Green has a son on the autism spectrum. Green said their neighborhood public school developed a robust special education program partly due to advocacy by him and his wife. The school now has several autism support classes.

Both his mother and his son were affected by asbestos exposure, he said, and he sponsored legislation that updated the city code on asbestos inspections and remediation in school buildings. In an interview with Chalkbeat, he said that he is still concerned about the district’s efforts in that area. He said he would appoint Board of Education members who have personal experience with the district and will “listen to parents, guardians, and caregivers” about their day-to-day concerns — from building safety to curriculum development to whether school buses run on time.

He said the major issue in the mayoral race, public safety, is tied to education, citing shootings and other incidents involving students in or near school buildings. About these and other issues, growing homelessness among young people, he said, “we could be using schools more effectively to address” them. He suggested the city and district should work more closely on bringing behavioral health services to students and on other programs directed to youth.

Helen Gym

Gym launched her public career as an activist and organizer, and has been a prominent watchdog of the school district and its leadership for nearly three decades.

Gym once worked as a teacher at the Lowell Elementary School in Olney. A mother of three, she helped found the Public School Notebook in 1994, which reported on the district from a community perspective (and which in 2020 became the Philadelphia bureau of Chalkbeat).

Her public profile grew with her resistance to the state takeover of the district in 2002. Gym cofounded Parents United for Public Education in 2006, and became a fixture in city politics by challenging School Reform Commission members at their meetings. She lambasted the commission and district administration for eliminating nurses and counselors during a budget crunch, and for canceling the teachers contract. And she went to Harrisburg to protest for more education funding.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has endorsed her in the race. So has the left-leaning Working Families Party, which helped propel her and fellow progressive Kendra Brooks to their council seats.

She was a leading backer of returning the district to local control. She’s also been outspoken about the district’s asbestos abatement efforts and response to other environmental hazards in schools. As a council member, she successfully pushed legislation requiring the district to eliminate water fountains and install lead-filtering hydration stations in all schools by 2025.

Gym is an opponent of how charter schools are funded under state law, and opposes the ability of charters that are run by for-profit entities to operate in Pennsylvania. She is a co-founder of Folk Arts Cultural Treasures Charter School (FACTS) in Chinatown, run by the non-profit Asian Americans United.

Gym won an at-large seat on the City Council in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019. She has been a vocal opponent of various development proposals in or near Chinatown.

Cherelle Parker

Cherelle Parker was born to a teenage single mother and was largely raised by her grandparents in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. She attended Philadelphia public schools, and came to the attention of 9th District city council member Marian Tasco when she won a high school oratory contest. She interned in Tasco’s office.

In 2015, she was elected to succeed Tasco in the 9th District in the northwest part of the city. Before that, she spent 10 years in the General Assembly, in 2005 becoming the youngest African American woman elected to that body.

Parker’s first job out of college was as a high school English teacher, and she has also taught English as a second language to adults. In her campaign materials, she talks about bridging the wealth divide in Philadelphia, the nation’s poorest big city, and “building a first class modern education system.” She has advocated for more funds for education from both the city and the state. In Harrisburg, she sponsored legislation that allowed Philadelphia to enact a $2-a-pack cigarette tax to raise money for Philadelphia schools.

Her campaign spokesperson said she would release more detailed proposals on education in February.

María Quiñones-Sánchez

Maria Quiñones-Sánchez

Maria Quiñones-Sánchez is a self-described “pragmatic progressive” who began her political involvement in high school. Born in Puerto Rico, she moved with her family to Philadelphia at 6 months old and was raised in public housing primarily by her mother, who worked in a factory.

In 2007, she became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the City Council. During her term, she chaired the education committee and the committee on appropriations. She fought for more school funding and was active during the height of the COVID pandemic in getting school buildings opened as hubs for community resources. She also lobbied to create the School Building Authority to help the superintendent and board assess the district’s construction and maintenance needs, and urged an overhaul of the district’s school feeder patterns to better reflect changing neighborhoods, among other initiatives.

In outlining a detailed education vision for 2030, Quiñones-Sánchez calls for a review of the city’s early education services, which includes public and private options, and wants to make Community College of Philadelphia free to all students.

She founded the city’s first bilingual charter school, Eugenio Maria de Hostos.

As a student, Quiñones-Sánchez attended Girls High School and Jules E. Mastbaum High School in Philadelphia, where she joined ASPIRA, an advocacy group focusing the education and development of Latinx youth.

Rebecca Rhynhart

Rhynhart won an upset victory five years ago over Alan Butkovitz to claim the city controller’s job, becoming the first woman in that position. She ran as an outsider and a reformer bucking the Democratic machine. Her TV ads promised to clean up an inefficient and corrupt government. She easily won re-election in 2021.

The school district is independent from the city government, so as controller she had no power to audit or investigate it. But in her campaign materials, she says that one of her priorities as mayor would be “urgently fixing our public schools to give all students a real chance at meeting their potential,” along with improving blighted neighborhoods and strengthening anti-violence initiatives.

As the city’s fiscal watchdog, Rhynhart audited the police department, and released reports critical of the prison system and of city accounting practices.

Previously, she was budget director and city treasurer under former Mayor Michael Nutter. She was chief administrative officer in the Kenney administration for less than a year before resigning last October to run for mayor. Former Mayor John Street has endorsed her, saying that she understands city government and is best equipped to improve services.

Rhynhart has a daughter who attends a Philadelphia public school.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia Board of Education elects new leadership

2022-12-16T01:50:08+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education elected new officers Thursday, installing Reginald Streater as president and Mallory Fix-Lopez as vice president during its annual reorganization meeting.

The two replace Joyce Wilkerson and Leticia Egea-Hinton, who have led the board since it took over from the School Reform Commission in April 2018. Wilkerson and Egea-Hinton will remain members of the board.

The board unanimously chose Streater, 39, while Fix-Lopez, 38, won by a 7-2 vote over Lisa Salley.

In announcing that she would not stand for re-election as board president and was instead nominating Streater, Wilkerson said, “I believe I was the right person to get us to this point, but I don’t think I’m the right person to take us forward.” She has led the board since it took over the governance of the district when it was returned to local control in 2018. Before that, Wilkerson had led the School Reform Commission, the body that ran the district under state control.

She said Streater was the right person, adding that he has a “unique and valuable perspective” as a graduate of Philadelphia schools — he went to Leeds Middle School and Germantown High School, both of which have since been closed — and as a parent of two children in the district. He has consistently advocated for students, Wilkerson said, and demonstrated his commitment to the board’s goals and guardrails, which sets achievement benchmarks and deadlines for reaching them.

The leadership transition represents a generational change.

Streater is an associate at the Philadelphia law firm Berger Montague, where he specializes in employment litigation. A graduate of Temple University and Temple Law School, he became a board member in February 2021. He also served as vice president of the Greater Philadelphia ACLU chapter and as a clerk/intern for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. He has often said that he believes education is “not only a civil right, but a human right.”

In a short speech after his election, Streater said he was deeply honored, and credited his experience in district schools as the springboard to leadership.

Streater, the only man on the nine-member board, said he would focus on creating safe and welcoming schools and educating the “whole child.” He said he opposes lowering standards even if students face barriers.

He also thanked his family and Wilkerson, calling her his mentor.

He said the district needs to continue to invest in teachers, get its financial house in order, and work more closely with the city and state while focusing on its own ambitious objectives such as doubling the percentage of students reading on grade level.

In her remarks, Fix-Lopez said the district was moving in the right direction. She is the parent of two small children, one at Childs Elementary, and has taught English as a Second Language at Temple, the University of Pennsylvania, and Community College of Philadelphia. Earlier she also taught social studies and English as a second language in the district. “I have devoted my career to public education in Philadelphia,” she said.

She and her husband also own and operate a restaurant in the Point Breeze section of Southwest Philadelphia.

Both Streater and Fix-Lopez praised Superintendent Tony Watlington, who was hired by this board and took office in June, as the right leader for the district.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia district seeking another consultant to help with restructuring

2022-12-09T22:03:58+00:00

Less than six months after hiring an outside firm for $450,000 to advise him on ways to improve the school district, Superintendent Tony Watlington is seeking to find another consultant to position Philadelphia “to be the fastest improving urban school district in the country,” according to a request for proposal obtained by Chalkbeat.

The document says the district seeks a consultant to review Philadelphia’s organizational structure to see how it compares to “the 25 largest urban school districts and the five urban school district[s] that are improving the fastest on The Nation’s Report Card.”

That refers to the biennial National Assessment of Educational Progress. Results released in October showed Philadelphia performing near the bottom among large urban school districts in 2022 in fourth grade math, eighth grade math, fourth grade reading, and eighth grade reading.

The district issued the request Dec. 6 and set a Jan. 17 deadline. The consultant would begin in April and work through April 2024.

Last April, Watlington and the board of education came under scrutiny for hiring the consulting firm Joseph and Associates to help with the leadership transition and aid in developing a five-year strategic plan. Joseph started work in June and will work through the end of this school year. The strategic plan is due next spring.

Watlington is conducting what he called a comprehensive, three-phase transition with committees charged with developing a five-year strategic plan by next spring. His transition team has made 91 recommendations for improving the district.

Some critics of the Board of Education and district policies wondered why yet another consultant is necessary.

“Why do we need more consultants and management companies and these out-of-town companies when we have a staff,” asked Lisa Haver of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, who regularly questions board and district policies.

But Michael Casserly, who retired after heading the Council of the Great City Schools for nearly three decades, said hiring consultants is common practice.

“My experience is that superintendents hire a variety of consulting firms for all kinds of things,” he said. They do it because they have a lean central office or are looking for an “outside more independent or objective review” in an effort to build public trust, or both, he said in an interview. “It’s really not that unusual.”

Watlington, who became Philadelphia’s school superintendent in June, has never run a district this large. He came from the Rowan-Salisbury school district in North Carolina, which had an enrollment of 18,000, a fraction of Philadelphia’s 119,000 students in district schools and 70,000 in charter schools. Before that he rose from custodian to history teacher to chief of schools in the 72,000-student Guilford County school system in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org

Philadelphia mayor’s top education official to step down

2022-10-19T20:55:55+00:00

Philadelphia’s Chief Education Officer will leave his position at Mayor Jim Kenney’s office at the end of this month to become the new head of the I Have A Dream Foundation, Kenney’s office confirmed Wednesday.

Otis Hackney, who has led the mayoral office of education since 2015, helped launch the city’s PHLpreK program in 2017 for three- and four-year-olds, and also helped start PHLConnectED, which offers free Internet services for students’ families.

The former principal of South Philadelphia High School is scheduled to start his new position Nov. 7 leading the foundation in New York City. It offers mentoring and support to students whose families are struggling with poverty and helps get them to college.

One of Hackney’s biggest tasks came five years ago, when he assisted the mayor in returning public schools to local control under Philadelphia’s Board of Education. Hackney has supported the school board’s strategic plan unveiled in late 2020, and backs the mayoral appointment of board members rather than having them elected.

“I think this group has managed and weathered numerous storms. They are a very independent group, we do not overstep with them,” Hackney said in an interview with Chalkbeat, referring to the city school board’s members. “But we do make sure that in terms of the choices that the mayor is able to make, that these folks are individuals ready to serve, and work with the other members of the board.”

Meanwhile, the PHLpre-K program now serves 4,500 students, which is short of Kenney’s initial pledge that it would serve 6,500 students a year when the mayor first proposed a soda tax to help pay for the program (Philadelphia approved the tax in 2016).

“In the initial launch our numbers were very good, but we did have a pandemic that impacted probably two years of growth for that program,” Hackney said.

Since its inception, the PHLConnectEd initiative has made over 21,000 connections, according to Hackney. A connection, he said, could be one household that receives internet, or it could be one student that received an internet hotspot. “We’re just really excited about us being able to serve that many families in the city,” he said.

Kenney said in a statement noting Hackney’s departure that he “stepped up to the challenge of realizing our ambitious education platform.”

Hackney was once considered a possible successor to former Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite; the job eventually went to Tony Watlington earlier this year. Hackney, who noted that he was part of the search committee that looked for Hite’s replacement, said he has no plans to become superintendent.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

Philly aims to fill jobs for bus drivers, food workers and others at job fairs

2022-07-27T23:03:57+00:00

About 300 job applicants flocked to South Philadelphia High School’s auditorium Wednesday seeking jobs with the school district as it aims to close gaps in staffing for the new school year.

Last year, a shortage of bus drivers, food service workers, and others created chaos for Philadelphia schools as buses were late picking up students and trash overflowed in school dumpsters. The district struggled with a staffing shortage exacerbated by the pandemic.

This year, the district is trying to fill vacancies earlier before students are scheduled to return from summer break on Aug. 29. Tuesday’s event was the second of four in-person events scheduled at select schools across the city. Applicants met with hiring managers and some will proceed to an exam and interview.

The district has made progress in hiring teachers, but still has to fill hundreds of jobs for nurses, building engineers, general cleaners, food service workers, and special education assistants. There’s also a need for workers who help to maintain a positive environment for students, jobs known as student climate staff and managers. School officials are adding enticements to their offers, said Larissa Shambaugh, chief talent officer for the school district.

The district is offering a $500 signing bonus for bus drivers.

If applicants do not have their commercial driver’s license or CDL, the district will pay their salary and also the cost of learning to become a bus driver and of taking the licensing test.

”You can come and apply for that position and become a bus driver as a trainee while you work on getting your commercial driver’s license,” Shambaugh said.

In nursing, Shambaugh said, the district is 87% staffed for the school year. Interested candidates may apply through the district’s job website, work@philly.com.

School nurses have reported that they have been overwhelmed and overworked. In a survey sent by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, 28% of nurses said they lacked COVID testing supplies, 27% said they didn’t have a room in which to isolate symptomatic students, and more than half said they were conducting contact tracing without the assistance of health officials.

The district announced a student loan relief program to attract school nurses. They would receive up to $2,500 for each year of work for up to three years.

Job seekers stand in a long line leading to the entrance of South Philadelphia High School, for leading to a job fair the district hosted on Wednesday to hire support staff workers.

Braving the heat for work

On Wednesday, a long line of applicants waited outside the school at Broad and Snyder in the heat before being seated in the auditorium. They broke into groups to hear details of each career. Then they had the option of taking a test on site or at home.

Virginia Soza, a recruitment selection specialist, was recruiting for school climate staff, school climate liaison, and maintenance positions.

The district requires applicants to have at least a high school diploma and to score 75% or above on an entrance test. After the test, applicants typically know of their chances within a week, Soza said.

Adrienne Holmes, who was applying to become a lead food service worker, had worked as a district security officer but retired after 15 years. Now, she said, “I want to put my culinary arts degree from the Community College of Philadelphia to good use.”

Whitney Covington applied Wednesday for a general cleaning position. She was one of many applicants who said they would like to be closer to their children during school hours. “That played a factor into me applying. I want to be a difference with our youth.”

Jane and Zane Bailey were interested in the special education assistant positions. Jane Bailey is retired and wants to supplement her income. Her husband Zane would like to work in a classroom to be closer to the couple’s grandson who takes special education classes. ”We feel good about our chances of getting hired,” the couple both said before leaving.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

Here are 80 people who will advise new Philly schools superintendent

2022-07-12T21:34:02+00:00

Amid criticism of paying an out-of-town consultant firm almost a half million dollars to help him transition into his new role as superintendent of Philadelphia schools, Tony Watlington announced a transition team of 80 community and education leaders on Tuesday.

Guy Generals, president of Community College of Philadelphia, and Andrea L. Custis, president and CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia, will serve as co-chairs leading the transition and will head five subcommittees.

Watlington said he is intentionally bringing the large group together with district leaders to examine “complex issues that will help me assess five specific areas of the School District of Philadelphia.” The list includes parents, principals, and unions, grassroots and non-profit leaders.

Watlington is in the middle of his 100-day entry plan that includes a listening and learning tour, where he’s engaging with parents and teachers. The transition team includes local and national education and industry leaders.

Sheila Brown, former deputy superintendent of Boston Public Schools, and Malika Savoy-Brooks, chief academic officer for Philadelphia schools, will oversee the student achievement group.

Henderson Lewis Jr., former superintendent of New Orleans Public Schools; Uri Monson, chief financial officer for the district; and a yet-to-be named special adviser will lead the group assessing the logistical operations, recruitment, and retention efforts.

Camika Royal, associate professor of urban education at Loyola University and author of “Not Paved for Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia,” and Sabriya Jubilee, chief of the district’s office of diversity, equity, inclusion, will lead the the unit overseeing anti-racist district culture and teaching.

James Earl Davis, interim dean of the School of Education at Temple University, and Kathryn Block, chief of communications at the district, will lead the community engagement and communications team.

Andrea Kane, professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania, and Evelyn Nuñez, chief of the district’s schools office, will lead the enriching and well-rounded school experiences group.

Lead consultants Shawn Joseph and Elizabeth Molina Morgan will facilitate support for the transition leaders. In May the school board agreed to pay Joseph’s firm $450,000 for its services.

Watlington has defended the price tag and his selection of Joseph. “The time frame warranted me to make some recommendations and some steps sooner rather than later, so that I can hit the ground running on Day One,” he said.

But criticism of his move to hire Joseph has been heavy.

“I am surprised that a new administration would want to start off with news of an expensive and broad engagement contract, especially because communities have been sounding the alarm for months about core priorities — facilities, staffing, safety, and mental health,” Councilwoman Helen Gym said.

From mid-August through November, Watlington and the transition team will evaluate the district’s capacity to achieve the board’s vision. Then Joseph and Associates will develop along with Watlington and other district staff a five-year strategic plan by May 30.

“Our point is to ensure that every child, every student, has the opportunity to be ready for college, to be ready for careers and to be ready for life,” Custis said. “Philadelphia has its challenges. We all know that. But I believe that we can overcome those.”

The transition team

More than 80 Philadelphia parents; teachers; principals; union, educational, city, business, non-profit, and grassroots leaders; and district staff make up the transition team that will cover five areas: student achievement; operations; anti-racist district culture; community engagement and communications, and enriching and well-rounded school experiences. Below are the team members.

Student Achievement

Ayesha Imani, CEO/founder, Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School

Bill Dagget, founder, International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE)

Chris McGinley, former member, board of education

Christina Grant, state superintendent for the District of Columbia

Constance Evelyn, former superintendent, Valley Stream School District

Ginny Field, teacher, Loesche Elementary School

Jerry T. Jordan, president, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

John Spencer, principal, McCloskey Elementary School

Maura McInerney, legal director, Education Law Center

Olga Doubrovskaia, parent, Southwark Elementary School

Otis Hackney, chief education officer, City of Philadelphia

Richard Gordon, principal, Paul Robeson High School

Sean Conley, assistant superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

Stacy Holland, executive director, Elevate 215

Operations

David E. Thomas, associate vice president of Strategic Initiatives, Community College of Philadelphia

Dean R. Robateau, executive vice president, McKissack

Donna Cooper, executive director, Children First

Elizabeth Arons, CEO, Urban Schools Human Capacity Academy

Fran Burns, COO, Connelly Foundation

James Murray, principal, William Rowan School

John Bynum, 32BJ

Kimberly A. Lloyd, president/CEO, Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation

Larisa Shambaugh, chief talent officer, School District of Philadelphia

Maria Bailey, 32BJ

Michael Forman, CEO/chairman, FS Investments

Nicole Hunt, president, Unite HERE

Orien Warren-Smith, parent, C.W. Henry Elementary School

Reggie McNeil, chief operating officer, School District of Philadelphia

Renato Lajara, assistant superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

Vernon Palmer, senior regional manager, School District of Philadelphia

Victoria Aristoklis, teacher, James Rhodes School

Walette Carter, parent, SLA Beeber

Wayne Wormley, president, The Wormley Company

Anti-Racist District Culture

Aliyah Catanch-Bradley, principal, Bethune Elementary

Angela Lipsay, parent, Samuel Gompers Elementary School

Carolina Cabrera DiGiorgio, president/CEO, Congresso

Constance Faith Horton, assistant superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

Dia Jones, assistant principal, Mastery Charter Schools

Jason Lafferty, teacher, Bartram High School

Lynn Rauch, general counsel, School District of Philadelphia

Marisol Rodriguez, principal, Juniata Park Academy

Meredith Mehra, deputy chief for teaching and learning, School District of Philadelphia

Michael Farrell, deputy chief for leadership development, School District of Philadelphia

Robin Cooper, president, CASA

Shariff El-Mekki, CEO, Center for Black Educator Development

Sylvie Gallier Howard, CEO, Equitable Cities Consulting

Tim (Chambers) McKinney, LGBTQ+ resource and program manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence

Community Engagement & Communications

Alonzo Fulton, principal, Avery D. Harrington School

Amelia Coleman Brown, assistant superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

Rev. Bonnie Camarda, divisional director of partnerships, The Salvation Army Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware

Brendan Morrissey, national program director for team leadership, City Year

Chandra Williams, pastor, Union Missionary Baptist Church

Christiana Uy, parent/member, Board of Education Community Advisory Council

Dalila Wilson-Scott, executive vice president/chief diversity officer, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation

Donna Frisby-Greenwood, president/CEO, The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia

Jenna Monley, deputy chief, Family Community Engagement, School District of Philadelphia

Jenny Bogoni, executive director, Read By 4

Karyn Lynch, chief of student support services, School District of Philadelphia

Keith Bethel, former chief growth officer, Aramark

Omar Crowder, principal, Northeast High School

Peng Chao, acting chief of charter schools, School District of Philadelphia

Pep Marie, coalition coordinator, Our City Our Schools

Megan Smith, founder and president, Brownstone PR

Ken Anderson, vice president of civic affairs, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia

Enriching & Well-Rounded School Experiences

Aja Carpenter, executive director of the Office of Post Secondary Readiness, School District of Philadelphia

Becky Cornejo, executive director, Neubauer Family Foundation

Beverly Socher-Lerner, executive director, Makom Community

Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, president, Hamilton Family Charitable Trust

Cynthia Figueroa, president/CEO, Jevs Human Services

Dennis Terry, parent, Hancock Demonstration School

Elliot Weinbaum, chief philanthropy officer, William Penn Foundation

Gillian Dagress, parent, McCall Elementary School

Kevin Bethel, chief of school safety, School District of Philadelphia

Loree D. Jones, CEO, Philabundance

Lynne Millard, leadership coach, School District of Philadelphia

Melanie Harris, chief information officer, School District of Philadelphia

Dr. Noah Tennant, assistant superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

Orfelina Feliz Payne, executive director, Puentes De Salud

Patrick Clancy, president/CEO, Philadelphia Works

Pedro Ramos, president/CEO, Philadelphia Foundation

Simon Hauger, principal, The Workshop School

Trina Dean, academic coach, School District of Philadelphia

Vanessa Garrett-Harley, deputy mayor for children and families

Vicki Ellis, executive director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships, School District of Philadelphia

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that Joseph and Associates will not create the five-year strategic plan on their own but along with other district leaders.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

Philly’s new superintendent talks student success, teacher turnover, early goals

2022-06-16T13:45:00+00:00

This time last year, Tony Watlington Sr. was leading North Carolina’s Rowan-Salisbury school district, which educates roughly 19,500 students.

Big changes have arrived for him and for Philadelphia. On Thursday, he is taking over as superintendent of the city’s school district, Pennsylvania’s largest. He will lead a district with over 200,000 district and charter students in the nation’s sixth-largest city.

Watlington is the first Philadelphia superintendent to be appointed after the city regained local control, following the end of the state’s School Reform Commission. He arrives at a time when the district is experiencing staffing shortages, crumbling buildings, declining enrollment, and a struggle to return to academic normalcy after 18 months of virtual learning.

After receiving a unanimous vote from Philadelphia’s Board of Education to replace William Hite, who was superintendent for 10 years, Watlington was appointed to a five-year term. His salary will be similar to his predecessor’s at $340,000 a year.

Watlington’s ability to connect with political players will be crucial, in part because the district wants more state funding to meet the needs of its students. His relationship with Mayor Jim Kenney in particular is one to watch, since Kenney appoints school board members and makes other key decisions that affect district operations.

Watlington said the district is launching a new website where families can view the 80 listening and learning sessions he will conduct over the next three months, take a survey, and provide feedback. The information gathered will be used to help achieve the Board of Education’s “goals and guardrails.”

The new superintendent sat down with Chalkbeat Wednesday for an extensive interview about his future leading Philadelphia’s public schools. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Have you visited any schools? How has your interaction been with district employees?

Yes, I’ve had the good fortune to visit a handful of schools. I’m trying to do it in such a way that I don’t interfere with their preparation for their year-end exams and the like. But it was a great chance to talk with a small number of principals and teachers and students in particular. I feel even more confident this is the right decision after having talked with all of those groups.

What I’ve taken from it is that people are passionate. There’s a lot of different opinions about what we do well, and what we might consider. It just kind of whetted my appetite to do deep listening and learning.

A position to lead big city school districts such as Philadelphia is viewed as one of the hardest jobs in the country. Coming from a smaller district, how do you plan to shape urban education in the country’s sixth-largest city?

Number one, teaching and learning transcends school size. The second thing I would say is that the key is to have collaborative relationships with parents, because teachers and principals cannot do this work alone, regardless of the size of a school district. The third thing I would say is that it’s important for the Board of Education to have a committed focus. And this board has done just that with its “goals and guardrails.”

Are there any policies that need to be addressed?

I’ve asked the Board of Education to begin taking a hard look at all of our policies, and the extent to which they help us to reduce the barrier or eliminate barriers to improving student achievement for all groups, particularly Black and brown children who underperform white children.

Your predecessor’s director of communications resigned recently. Should we expect a lot of changes in the top ranks?

I think we’ve got stable leadership right here and we’re not going to skip a beat.

The Board of Education revealed a couple of months ago that teachers are quitting at a higher rate mid-year. What can or will you do to attract and retain good teachers?

The first thing I’m going to do is listen as a part of the listening and learning tour to hear the voices of teachers and what their needs are.

Second, I intend to fully investigate and understand what I believe to be some pretty good steps that this district has already taken to try to address teacher shortages and to mitigate the problem of teacher loss. That’s not limited to just our school district, quite frankly.

Third, I’m going to work with the team to identify specific strategies to expand our recruiting footprint at historically Black colleges and universities across the United States, as well as predominantly white institutions, and to continue to identify opportunities to grow our own teachers.

Have you met union representatives? Jerry Jordan with the teachers? Robin Cooper with the principals? How was that conversation?

Yes. I spent some time one on one with Jerry Jordan as well as one on one with Dr. Cooper. We’ve had some very authentic initial conversations. I very much look forward to working in partnership with all our union presidents.

We’re all after the same outcome, and that’s to significantly improve the outcomes for our students, while we also meet the needs of our staff members who provide the services to our students.

Let’s touch on equity and fairness in education. Right now we are waiting on a ruling in the fair school funding trial. Pennsylvania has been accused of adopting an inequitable funding system that does not provide resources all of its students need to meet state standards and discriminates against students based on their socio-economic status. Have you read up on the trial? And what programs or initiatives would you bring to help close the gap for students who hail from struggling areas?

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with a number of legislators when I visited Harrisburg recently. I’ve had an opportunity to have a phone conversation with Gov. Wolf and several other members of the delegation.

There are five priority areas that I’ll be focused on. First, I want to spend time assessing student and staff well-being. I mean physical health, social and emotional health, And that would also include the impact of gun violence in the school district and safety issues that certainly have an impact on schools, some more than others.

Secondly, I want to spend some time really honing in on how to engage with broad stakeholder groups across this city. I’ve got to understand their hopes, their aspirations, their concerns, understand what they think we do well, and what our various community members think we need to improve.

The third area will be to assess teaching and learning. Certainly, we want to take a hard look at our curriculum resources. To what extent are teachers equipped to do the jobs that we’re asking them to do? What’s their levels of support? The same is true of principals who lead schools.

Fourth, we want to assess the extent to which we have lots of talent in this school district, as well as where the gaps are.

And then finally, that fifth area of work will involve assessing the district’s operations, facilities, and finances.

All of those have some budgetary impacts. We will deliver formal findings and formal recommendations to the Board of Education and be very public and very transparent. And we’ll say the things that we found, and here’s what we’re going to recommend.

What are your strategies to take on gun violence and keep students safe getting to and from school?

The first priority area that is in my entry plan, and this is not an accident, is assessing student and staff well being. Even before we get to teaching and learning, assessing teaching, or learning, or focus on assessing where students are, was a big study. You’ve got nearly 200,000 students. I would imagine that some students, some staff members, and some parents are situated differently than others. So I don’t think I should paint the whole city with a broad brush.

I want to take the time to understand the context of the problem. Because I want to be careful not to get into stereotypes, or just what I think I’ve read or observed in the media. I want to take the time to do my due diligence, to take the time to listen, to talk to people, and to study our data. We have school climate data. There’s statistics available from the police department and others. And so we will have more to offer in that regard.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about Philadelphia and the district since being hired?

Well, because I’ve spent a good amount of time studying the district, and I had some familiarity with the city, with my father living some 20 miles west of here over in New Jersey, I wouldn’t say that I was surprised by anything.

The district has done such a phenomenal job of improving its financial health. That’s really important in urban America, where the tax base can sometimes be challenging. There are some indicators that suggest that you’re making some momentum. The spirit, spunk, and grit that I’ve observed firsthand among Philadelphians says to me that we absolutely can be the fastest improving urban school district in the country.

Have you picked a neighborhood? Have you bought a house yet?

I have become a resident of Center City. I’m currently not a homeowner. I am doing a temporary lease to give me more time to learn the city and figure out where I want to focus on. There are lots of great neighborhoods to choose from here.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

The exit interview: Hite talks hits, misses as Philly’s superintendent

2022-06-09T21:46:02+00:00

At his final press conference in Philadelphia Thursday morning, Superintendent William Hite was characteristically reserved and businesslike. He explained how the district is honoring LGTBQIA+ staff and students for Pride Month and spelled out how young people can access meals when schools are closed this summer.

Then he turned the focus to a few star graduating seniors who are headed off to college and the military or starting their first jobs. One of them, Sarah Church, who is graduating from West Philadelphia High School and is off to Kutztown University to study criminal justice, took a moment to thank him. She noted that when Hite took over as superintendent in 2012, she was attending Thomas G. Moore Elementary school.

“During his decade of leadership, he has worked tirelessly to provide everyone with where resources are necessary to continue our growth beyond our time here in Philadelphia. As I leave the district, I know my fellow students are set up for success because of this,” she said.

Not everyone viewed him with the same rosy glow. While he always presented an unflappable front, in 2020, the Board of Education gave him a “needs improvement” rating for academic progress and systems leadership. Another low point of his time in office was the botched relocation of Science Leadership Academy into Benjamin Franklin High School, where construction problems delayed the opening of both schools for a semester.

Hite also came in for relentless criticism over charter schools, which educate more than 80,000 students, compared to about 110,000 in the district. While he long declared himself “agnostic” on the best type of school, few new charters were approved during his tenure. And he’s come to the conclusion that the charter movement has not fulfilled its mission of transforming public education.

On Thursday, Hite was asked what he would miss most when he leaves his post next week.

“What I’ll miss most are the children and the students, I’ll be missing these young people and seeing what they’ve achieved even though they have struggles,” Hite said. “That’s one reason I wanted to finish my press conferences with stories from young people.”

Tony Watlington, former superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury school district in North Carolina, will be sworn in as Hite’s replacement on June 16.

Hite sat down Wednesday with Chalkbeat for an interview about his tenure at the district. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Why did you want to come to Philadelphia?

I wanted to come to Philadelphia simply because I saw inner city youth that needed something very different in terms of their education, and their conditions for their education. And also, there were (school reform) commissioners who were highly professional, who were focused on creating better conditions for the district, and who wanted to fundamentally change the trajectory of things like the financing, the budget, facilities, the work conditions, and so on.

Then I started talking to people in Philadelphia and to a person, everyone wanted to see something better for their children.

What do you think your main accomplishment has been?

More children are graduating from high school, we went from having over a billion-dollar deficit to having a balanced budget for the last four and a half years, and is projected to be balanced even beyond the expiration of the federal [pandemic relief] dollars. We have new systems for support for young people, like more counselors, nurses, and more music programs. We have structures that exist that help school-based staff with dealing with the social and emotional needs of children.

We had 16 “persistently dangerous” schools when I arrived. This is the sixth or seventh year where we have none. We have hydration stations now in all schools. We have a student information system.

We have more schools now that are air conditioned. We have more children in high performing schools. We have children who will graduate high school with an associate’s degree because of the new programs we’ve established.

So I think that it’s a body of work that becomes a set of accomplishments versus one thing. Last year, the most important thing for me was getting children back in school. And that still remains the most important thing, keeping them there.

Your biggest regret?

Cutting programs for students. I had to actually cut programs for students in 2013. I thought we could solve the budget shortfall by cutting people, counselors, bilingual counseling assistants, itinerant art teachers, we even started the year without extra-curricular activities.

The second biggest regret was not getting children back in school after more than a year out during the pandemic.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in handling the COVID crisis?

We were forced to take children out of schools. The governor made that decision. In hindsight, now we know a lot more than we did then. If we were able to get masks faster, perhaps we could have had children back in school sooner. And you know, I think people did the best they could, especially our teachers.

But I would have tried to work to get students back sooner, much sooner, because they were struggling being out.

You were Philadelphia’s first permanent Black male superintendent. How do you think you did in terms of improving outcomes for students of color, especially Black males?

That’s the basis of our equity work. And that’s the work I’m also proud of, we have to know what the disproportionate data tells us about children – who are we suspending, who is in AP courses, who’s graduating, who’s reading on grade level. And then it’s also important to look at the policies and structures that we have in place.

When I got here, we had a “zero tolerance” policy around student behavior. Who do you think was put out of schools most often? Black males and Latino males. And so we eliminated that policy, in fact, we prohibited suspensions from kindergarten through third grade.

We have more children in these categories who are accessing opportunities, like [applying to selective schools] that didn’t have access to those opportunities before.

A recent report found that schools in this region are among the most segregated in the country in terms of race and class. Do you think that desegregation is even worth talking about and that more desegregation in schools would be beneficial? And how would we try to make it happen?

I think it is worth bringing up, but in the context of equity compensation. Because there’s certain populations that need something more and different in order to be successful. The issue becomes providing every single child with what they need in order to be successful, irrespective of where they are attending schools. The whole point is having good schools close to where children live.

Lifting kids out of their neighborhood and community in some cases doesn’t serve the purpose we would like to see it serve.

So what is the biggest obstacle to providing a great school for every kid regardless of where they live?

One obstacle has always been insufficient resources, another our fundamental beliefs about what our children can achieve. And I do think we have to have a different mindset about our children in the city of Philadelphia that allows them to access all types of opportunities. In some cases, facilities become an obstacle because there’s so much work that’s needed in and around [outdated] facilities. And I think gun violence is becoming an obstacle.

What role can schools play in trying to alleviate gun violence?

We just had a meeting with students yesterday who said the only place they feel safe is at school. And in the next breath they said we need to take out all metal detectors. We can provide safe spaces and teach them ways to resolve conflict differently.

Schools have to return to those sacred spaces where children don’t have to worry about being shot at or beat up or harassed or assaulted. You teach children how to talk about their emotions. You put young people in restorative circles so they can talk about their feelings. You do positive behavior interventions. You have youth courts where students actually do the adjudication of discipline. But when children are worried about coming to and from school, it’s going to impact what happens in schools.

Last year, we lost 30 children [to violence]. This year, we already have 22. That’s 52 children over not even two complete years. So that, to me, is at a crisis level. If a fourth grader saw someone shot in the street, the trauma services will go into that school for that day. But then the next day they’re called to the next school because there’s another traumatic event, but the fourth grader still needs that service.

We need to increase dramatically the services that are available to all children. And we have to sound the alarm that the district cannot do that alone.

Philadelphia, like the rest of the country, has experienced a teacher shortage. Why is that happening?

It’s happening because people have been talking down on the profession for the last two decades. Individuals are thinking, “I don’t want to be a teacher.” So we have to lift up the teaching profession for young people and think about teaching as leadership rather than just teaching [academic] content. These are people teaching young people social responsibility and social justice. I think we have to do a much better job of rebranding what teaching means today.

The answers to the teacher shortage are sitting in classrooms right now. We have to find ways to maybe do a Middle College type program for the development of teachers.

What have you been telling the next superintendent, Tony Watlington?

I’m telling him to learn as much as he can about the city and communities here. And oh, by the way, that’s going to take time. It’s him making sure he’s not frustrated because he’s not learning fast enough. He just has to remain patient, purposeful and intentional. To the public, I would say: People have to give him a chance.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia mayor names two new school board members

2022-05-24T22:00:23+00:00

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney appointed two new members to the city’s Board of Education on Tuesday: Sarah-Ashley Andrews, a family therapist who founded a suicide-prevention organization; and Chau Wing Lam, a former district administrator, charter school parent, and official of the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders.

They will fill vacancies on the nine-member board left following the resignations of Angela McIver and Maria McColgan. The appointees must be confirmed by City Council.

The board had been operating with just eight members since McIver’s resignation last July until this month, when McColgan’s resignation left the board with only seven serving members. Kenney’s appointments of Andrews and Chau Wing mean the board still has only one male member, attorney Reginald Streater.

In a statement, Kenney said the two “have dedicated their careers to supporting children and families, and I know that they will each make important contributions to the Board’s leadership and Philadelphia’s public schools.”

Andrews graduated from W.B. Saul High School before attending Bloomsburg University, where she studied mass communications, before earning a degree in biblical studies, with a minor in human services, from Lancaster Bible College. She also has a master’s degree in counseling from Lincoln University. She now works for TAG Inspires, which provides therapeutic counseling.

Andrews was previously a social worker with the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, a nonprofit public health agency.

After a friend died by suicide a decade ago, she founded Dare 2 Hope, which has educated more than 4,500 young people on suicide awareness and prevention, according to Andrews’s biography on the TAG Inspires site.

She also co-hosts the weekly “Black in Therapy” podcast, dedicated to “normalizing mental wellness in the Black community,” according to the bio.

In a statement released by the mayor’s office, Andrews said that in addition to being a product of the school system, she is “a product of advocates who fought for my educational opportunities” who now stands “committed to educational equity for every student in Philadelphia.

“I am concerned about the whole child, how we can challenge and change unfair systems and norms, and advocate for life-changing educational opportunities,” Andrews said in the statement.

Chau Wing is currently the Director of Operations for the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders, and spent six years working for the district in its Office of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability, according to her biography on the organization’s website. The academy trains principals for leadership in district, charter, and archdiocesan schools. Before that, she worked for the firm Public Financial Management advising governments on management and budget practices.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she also served as the assistant director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research. She started her professional life teaching English in a middle school in Japan. Her bachelor’s degree is in psychology and her master’s degree is in social policy and practice, both from Penn.

Chau Wing is a charter school parent, as was McColgan, who she is replacing.

“Public education is the backbone of our society,” she said in a statement. Education achievement must be measured by more than test scores, she added, noting that at “high quality schools, children discover passions, integrate learning, resolve conflict, dream big, and most importantly, they matter.”

Chau Wing said that on the board she will draw from her experience in public finance, policy, leadership development and change management.

Mayor Kenney selected the appointees from a list of eight nominees recommended by the Educational Nominating Panel on May 16. Those eight were chosen from 62 applications, according to the mayor’s office.

The Philadelphia Board of Education is the only one in Pennsylvania that is appointed rather than elected. The mayor also appoints the nominating panel, which this year was led by former city solicitor Sozi Pedro Tulante.

Critics of the nominating panel, including the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, say it lacks transparency and undermines the democratic process in Philadelphia. The organization filed a right-to-know request for the names of all 62 applicants.

“People have a right to know who applied, and we have a right to know who the panel rejected,” said Lisa Haver, the alliance’s co-founder.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat readers share priorities for Philly’s new superintendent Tony Watlington

2022-04-27T18:51:39+00:00

Tony B. Watlington Sr. is coming to Philadelphia to lead a 120,000-student school district that’s facing significant teacher resignations, crumbling buildings, and high dropout rates. He will inherit these and other pressing issues when he takes over one of the nation’s 20 largest school districts in what is considered the poorest big city in the U.S.

Though his superintendency begins June 16, Watlington is currently spending two days a week visiting the city either in person or remotely so he can acclimate to Philadelphia schools. For now, he’s still employed as superintendent of North Carolina’s Rowan-Salisbury school district northeast of Charlotte.

Watlington has acknowledged that he knows little about Philadelphia, yet he is “looking forward to listening and learning.” After his appointment, Chalkbeat asked students, parents, and educators to tell us what Watlington should know about their schools and what his priorities should be. Around 40 people responded.

Their top concerns ranged from more mental health resources for students to improving the working environment for teachers. They also highlighted the importance of improving low standardized test scores, re-establishing trust, and community engagement. School start times and busing were also points of concern.

Watlington will take over a district dealing with learning loss and other pandemic-related education issues; aging and deteriorating buildings; gun violence; teacher turnover; a constant battle for adequate funding; and revisions of its admissions policy for selective high schools.

During his discussions with parent and student groups before the district hired him, Watlington said he views “high-quality teachers” as key to improving schools, and believes teachers should be paid more. Teachers in Chalkbeat’s callout, however, spoke of eliminating large class sizes, providing more support for special education, and addressing verbal and physical threats from parents and students.

In their response, students expressed concerns about building safety, especially around asbestos, and keeping fellow classmates safe from gun violence.

Q: What is one issue you are facing at your school that you want Watlington to prioritize addressing in his first year?

“We know from research that the student-teacher relationship has a huge impact on both social-emotional and academic outcomes for students. Prioritizing a smaller class and smaller ratios will help both staff and students to do well,” — Kirstin Peth, parent at Fanny Jackson Coppin School

Jemair McKay will graduate high school this year from Roxborough High School.

“I also want to know how Dr. Watlington plans to keep students safe from the outrageous gun violence,” — Jemair McKay, a senior at Roxborough High School

“This year we have had six teachers quit. We have received no teachers to replace them. This puts a tremendous burden on the staff to support children who do not have a teacher. We need policies around pay, teacher training, and teacher support that will allow more teachers to feel successful in their classrooms and stay at their schools,” — Katy Egan, educator and school leader at a Philadelphia elementary school

“Addressing gun violence and the over-policing of students in schools. Expanding extracurriculars and creative arts courses in neighborhood schools,” — Fatima Hmada, community member in Philadelphia

“Schools are struggling and the district cut roles, again. Fight the state tooth and nail for equitable funding. I’m excited to see what the new superintendent will do,” — Phil Walton, parent of a Philadelphia student

Q: What is one action Watlington could take as leader of Philadelphia schools that would improve learning for you and/or students?

“This pertains to our entire district, not my school specifically. We need more special education support, as about 15 percent of our student body has a disability classification. Specifically, we need something similar to the district’s Equity Coalition for special education, where the district directly prioritizes equity for students with disabilities and creates resources for teachers and students that support inclusion. We also need to take into account that so many of our students share multiple marginalized identities. It would be great if the district supplied materials that specifically address equity for students who share multiple identities including disability — for example students who are both Black and autistic, queer and intellectually disabled, deaf and English language learners.,” — Tamara Sepe, speech language pathologist at Charles W. Henry School

“Actually clean and disinfect, especially when we know COVID and its many variants are still out there,” — Gwen Blackshear, educator at a high school in Philadelphia

“Building repairs, specifically ventilation improvements. Acknowledge the deficiencies of our infrastructure and funding,” — Lizzie Rothwell, parent at Henry Lea Elementary School

Lizzie Rothwell poses for a photo with her children, Luke Beauregard and Ursula Rothwell. Luke is in third grade and Ursula will be starting kindergarten.

“Focus on all kids in Philadelphia reading on grade level by third grade and make things easier on schools. Support schools across the district in adopting evidence-based language arts curriculums, ensure all schools have reading support specialists, and provide teacher training and resources in line with the science of reading,” — Patty Slutsky, parent at Nebinger Elementary School

“I would like there to be a review of the quality of services, or lack of quality, for English language learners, particularly for high-school-age learners coming from countries where they have had very limited education,” — Cheri Micheau, community member in Philadelphia and previous administrator in the district’s Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs

“Disability Accommodations. Many students, including some of my friends, have received a lesser educational experience because they do not have adequate accommodations for their physical or learning disabilities,” — Eleanor Zdancewic, student in Philadelphia

Q: How could Watlington help restore or strengthen your trust in the school system and leadership?

“Mr. Watlington can visit the schools and speak with the staff, parents, and students to understand the school dynamics, needs, and concerns. Partnerships are key to having a successful school district,” — Teeyona Crumpton, parent and school leader at W.B. Saul High School and First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School

Teeyona Crumpton is a parent and school leader at W.B. Saul High School and First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School.

“I hope our new superintendent will have integrity: if we say we value student mental health, let’s actually act like it by putting resources in place that follow through on that. If we value achievement, lower class size so teachers can differentiate,” — Kirstin Peth, parent at Fanny Jackson Coppin School

“Increase student voice involvement on major decisions. Honestly and genuinely make a connection with students compared to speaking to us like a politician,” — Eleanor Zdancewic, student in Philadelphia

Edwin Thomas Minguela is an elementary school educator in the Philadelphia school district.

“Listen to educators as we are the ones who work with the children the most on a daily basis during the school year. Many educators feel leadership, from district level to school level, does not trust us to do our jobs and listen to our input. There’s no sense of collaboration or togetherness when educators are pushed to the side,” — Edwin Thomas Minguela, elementary school educator in Philadelphia

“If our new superintendent is not able to bring in the voices of community members, teachers, and parents, he will not gain the necessary trust,” — Cheri Micheau, community member in Philadelphia

“Create transparency in all these financial contracts to outside consultants,” — Michele Rossi, parent at Thomas Mifflin K-8 School

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

Philly’s historic Central High gets its first female, Black president

2022-04-22T23:21:07+00:00

Katharine Davis, the principal of Henry Elementary School in Mount Airy, has been named the 15th president of Central High School, becoming the first woman and the first person of color to lead the 186-year-old institution.

The historic appointment comes at a time when Central, the second-oldest high school in the United States and one of Philadelphia’s most prestigious and selective, is at a pivotal moment in its history as it is grappling with how to move forward with an anti-racist agenda. As the percentage of Black and Latinx students at the school has dropped precipitously over the past decade, students have grown more vocal in expressing concerns about discriminatory practices, and have made demands for change.

Davis, 34, who graduated from Central High in 2005, was chosen from among a pool of about 20 people who applied, said Assistant Superintendent Ted Domers, who led the search process. Superintendent William Hite made the final decision based on recommendations from a search committee made up of parents, students, and school staff. Her tenure will begin July 1.

“Kate came across as someone passionate and committed to social justice, as strategic, thoughtful, and poised,” Domers said.

Davis has been a school leader in Philadelphia for less than five years, first as co-principal at Harding Middle School in Frankford, where she was in charge of improving instruction, and then at Henry Elementary – which she also attended as a child – since 2019. She has never led a high school before.

But when the committee members compared her qualities and skill set to what they wanted in a new principal, and what 350 others said they wanted in a school leadership survey, it was no contest, Domers said.

“The best person available, that was Kate. Hands down, it was Kate,” said Domers.

Detour from a planned veterinary career

Davis grew up in Mount Airy in a biracial family, and graduated from Central in 2005 as part of the 264th class. Her father is retired U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis.

“When I think about what it means for me to be in this role, it feels surreal,” she said in an interview.

When she attended Central, she said, she didn’t feel at all out of place due to her racial background. “I was surrounded by a large, diverse population,” she said. “I felt accepted, I felt I truly belonged there. It was a safe space for me. I remember the vibrancy of the Black Student Union, and the initiatives of the cultural groups, and how important that is for young people.”

Davis didn’t always want to be an educator. Growing up, she set her sights on being a veterinarian. After graduating from Central, she attended Cornell University to major in animal sciences.

But she had a lot of other interests, including art, and she got an internship at the Johnson Art Museum in Ithaca, NY. There, she worked with local elementary school students and discovered that she had an affinity for teaching. “It changed my life,” she said.

She signed up for a course called The Art of Teaching, and spent two days a week in a local first grade classroom, where the teacher was a woman with many years of experience.

“I observed her love of teaching, her genuine love of working with students, how she constructed hands-on learning for the students,” Davis said. “There was a shift in my own experience. I saw the joy in teaching.”

She decided to minor in education, and on graduating in 2009 Davis headed to New York City for a year of teaching in a Bronx elementary school as a member of AmeriCorps. She enrolled at Pace University in Manhattan to get her teaching credentials, and then spent several years teaching in a bilingual school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

In 2015, she became the principal of a charter school in Brooklyn. Davis returned to Philadelphia in 2017 to participate in the PhillyPlus principal certification program.

Michele Whitecraft, the professor of education who taught The Art of Teaching at Cornell, remembers hoping Davis would pursue education as a career.

“I never said she should abandon her career in veterinary medicine,” said Whitecraft, who now teaches at Mansfield University, part of the Pennsylvania state system. “I know they say we shouldn’t say ‘teachers are born, not made,’ but this kid was amazing from day one. She’s just a natural, the most authentic, relatable person I have met in my career. Teaching was the perfect choice for her.”

Whitecraft added that Davis also has a strong sense of herself and her abilities. “She knows her power,” she said. “How beautiful for someone that young to see what she can contribute and not be constrained by society. She’s my hero.”

Davis said that she pursued being a school principal so early in her career because the opportunity arose. “I was a fourth grade teacher, and I absolutely loved teaching and thrived in the classroom, but what I found is I enjoyed working with adults and leading in spaces in schools,” she said.

“A leader works through a strong instructional lens, and believes in the diversity of the school community,” Davis added. “A leader works to honor student voices and unite the community.”

Central in the throes of change

Her leadership skills will be tested at Central, which has more than 2,400 students. Founded in 1836 to educate boys, it was the first high school in Pennsylvania. It did not admit girls until 1983, and then did so under court order. Black boys were admitted starting in the 19th century — Alain Locke, the philosopher and critic and author of “The New Negro,” graduated in 1902. By the late 20th century, the school had a student body that often came close to mirroring the city’s overall racial demographics.

But its recent history with race has been problematic, or at least more visibly difficult. Two years ago, in the wake of 2020 police killing of George Floyd, students formed a “Black at Central” group that brought attention to microaggressions and what they felt was discrimination at the school.

The students, backed by some faculty, issued a list of demands that former principal Tim McKenna agreed to meet, including implicit bias training for teachers and administrators, the hiring of a diversity, equity and inclusion officer (which has been done), and more active recruitment in schools and neighborhoods that rarely send students to Central and Masterman, the city’s other most highly selective school.

Davis’ appointment comes after a concerted effort by a group of Central students, alumni, and parents for the district to choose a Black principal. Parent Joe Quinones, a leader of this group, said he believes that “putting eyes on the process” led to a Black president of Central High.

A Black president, he said, will “leave no stone unturned relative to [improving] the diversity profile of the school.”

A big issue Davis will face is a steadily declining share and total population of Black students in recent years. In 2011, Central was 32% Black; today that figure is 18%. Just over half the Philadelphia district’s students are Black.

This year, the district revised its selective admissions system for all so-called “criteria-based” schools like Central, in an effort to improve access to students from marginalized groups. Students who meet basic criteria – in Central’s case, all As and Bs, 95% attendance, and a certain score on a controversial writing test – are placed in an admissions lottery. In an effort to eliminate bias, the system removes principals and school teams from the decision-making process that determines which students are admitted.

Until now, students had to score at least in the 88th percentile on the state standardized tests, but those tests have not been administered for the last two years due to Covid. Another demand of the Black at Central group has been to eliminate test scores from the admissions process, but the district – which will get a new superintendent later this year – has not said whether it will reinstate the test as a requirement going forward.

A report from the district’s Office of Research and Evaluation shows that more students of all races qualified to enter the lottery this year for admission to Central and other selective schools – although the report also showed that smaller percentages of Black and Latinx students, compared to white and Asian students, met the more stringent qualifications for Central and Masterman. Officials have yet to release data showing whether the new system has affected the demographic makeup of Central’s incoming ninth grade for 2022-23.

Davis is confident in her leadership skills to tackle these and other challenges.

“I know intentional decisions have been made by the School District of Philadelphia to maintain racial diversity at Central, and I look forward to being a leader to uphold and continue that work,” Davis said. “For many reasons, the time has come … for a diverse individual to lead the school. I am honored to be the first female and the first African American to lead Central.”

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in the city. She is a former president of the Education Writers Association. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Noe Ortega to resign as Pennsylvania’s education secretary

2022-04-22T21:48:33+00:00

Editor’s note: This article was updated to properly attribute material that appeared verbatim on the state website.

Once considered as a solid contender to be Philadelphia’s first Latino superintendent, Noe Ortega will step down next week as Pennsylvania’s education secretary, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday.

Ortega has led the department since 2020, when Wolf nominated Ortega to lead the agency; the state Senate confirmed him in 2021. He previously served as the department’s deputy secretary.

“It has been a tremendous honor to lead the department of education during an unprecedented moment in the history of the commonwealth and I am extremely proud of the accomplishments made and the resiliency demonstrated by the [state education department] team throughout my tenure,” Ortega said in a Friday statement.

Before joining the department in 2017, Ortega held a variety of roles at the University of Michigan over eight years, according to a press release on pa.gov. His titles included assistant director at the National Center for Institutional Diversity and managing director for the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good. Before that, he spent almost 10 years worked in financial aid and enrollment management universities in Texas.

Ortega has backed greater financial support for public schools. He testified in January at the state’s fair-funding trial in Harrisburg that Pennsylvania cannot reach its goals for post-secondary enrollment and completion without investing more in K-12 education. He also noted that according to data collected under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, the percentage of “highly effective” teachers declines in school districts as the percentages of Black, Latino, and economically disadvantaged students increase.

“His successful efforts to diversify our educator workforce and improve opportunities for students to obtain postsecondary education opportunities will undoubtedly continue to impact our learners for years to come,” Wolf said in the Friday statement.

When Philadelphia started its search for a new superintendent late last year, members of the city’s growing Latino community included Ortega’s name as a potential candidate. Julio Nuñez, an assistant principal at Sheridan Elementary, said that a Latino leader who embraces their identity and understands families’ struggles would validate students. “When students in the district see this in a leader, they feel seen,” he said.

Ortega replaced Pedro Rivera, a Philadelphia native, as the state’s education secretary in 2020.

Eric Hagarty will serve as acting secretary starting April 29. Hagarty currently serves as the governor’s deputy chief of staff, and has been responsible for implementing Wolf’s priorities and policies relating to education.
Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org

Award-winning Philadelphia principals talk pandemic, school leadership

2022-04-19T23:11:23+00:00

Editor’s note: This article was updated to properly attribute material that appeared in a Philadelphia school district press release.

Philadelphia Principal Erica M. Green recalls the resilience of her students two years ago when the pandemic forced the city’s schools to go virtual.

“There were some barriers there. A lot of them were trying to take care of their own learning, and in some cases, they were rocking a baby on their lap, because we had parents that had to work,” said Green, who is the principal of Russell H. Conwell Middle School in Kensington.

For Susan Rozanski, the principal of Richmond Elementary School in Port Richmond, technical issues with Chromebooks and keeping students engaged were her biggest obstacles leading a school during the global health crisis.

“We were so used to having a classroom environment where students can interact with each other. We needed to make sure that social emotional learning was at the forefront of each day,” Rozanski said.

Green and Rozanski are in this year’s class of seven recipients of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Awards for Distinguished Principal Leadership, awarded by the Lindback Foundation to the best principals in the city. Other winners include: Omar Crowder, Northeast High School; Meredith Foote, Overbrook Educational Center; Michael Lowe, Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School; Tammy Thomas, Emlen Elementary School; and Susan Thompson, George Washington High School. The principals were honored during a virtual ceremony Tuesday.

According to the district, community members nominated principals from local schools, and the foundation’s Selection Committee narrowed the field to seven, Recipients were chosen for achievements in leadership and uplifting their school communities. The foundation will present the winners with $20,000 to spend on their school.

“I was absolutely thrilled, because we don’t do this work alone. We have a whole team that works with us. So for me, receiving the honor is really an honor for my school,” Green said.

The two principals talked to Chalkbeat about their journey becoming a principal and what they plan to do with the award money.

Tell us about your journey becoming a principal.

Green: I knew since I was 9, that I was supposed to be a teacher, I didn’t necessarily know that I was going to become an assistant principal and a principal. And I remember people saying to me, once you become an assistant principal, you’re gonna be so far removed from kids. And I was like, well, that’s the least thing that I want to happen, I want to be connected with it. So I found a way to keep that connection with young people as an assistant principal and as a principal.

Rozanski: I started my career also as a teacher. I taught for nine years as an eighth grade teacher in Philadelphia, and then moved on to become an assistant principal here at Richmond. And I served here as the assistant principal for 11 years. I’ve been the principal here for 10 years, so Richmond is my family. The students are amazing, they are so much fun. If you ever are having a bad day, the best place to be is in a classroom, because you’re going to see young people in action doing what they do best. And that’s learning.

There’s a character on the show “Abbott Elementary” named Principal Ava Coleman, who is seen as being detached from the struggles of her teachers. How do you connect with your teachers?

Green: The principal’s interesting. She’s just a little distracted by other things that are going on. But we are different kinds of principals in that I’m very hands on. We’re in the classrooms, we’re in the school yard, the lunch room, wherever you need us to be, we are there. We can’t be kind of aloof or distracted or overly silly like she is. It is more of a serious matter. But we do have fun times with our kids.

Rozanski: We connect through our planning time meetings that we have weekly. It’s specialized with each grade level. It’s a chance to do some planning together to iron out some things that need to be worked out and really listen. The teachers are on the frontlines every single day and it’s a way that we can try to troubleshoot or make things even better here at school.

What do you plan to do with the $20,000?

Green: We have two new science classrooms that were completed right before the pandemic. We will have a STEM program, so science, technology, arts and music, all that kind of good stuff, which kids really need, so that they’ll be ready for whatever the future holds for them.

Rozanski: We have a diverse student body and would like to purchase some multicultural libraries. We want students to see themselves in the stories that they’re reading. We have what we call our “team for change.” It’s our race and equity work that we’ve been starting here at school. And we have a theme we call windows and mirrors. So when outsiders are looking into the windows, they’re seeing students who are happy, who are working in harmony, and when students look in a mirror, they feel good about themselves.

The school district aims to support aspiring leaders. What would be your message to a teacher on the fence about becoming a principal?

Green: I tell everybody, if this is something that you have aspirations to do, then you should definitely do it. This is not a thing where it can be about your ego. It is hard work. It is not a nine to five [job] — our product is people. And so if you have a desire to serve, and if you have a desire to work with community members and partners, and the teachers and the students, then this is something that you can do,

Rozanski: I would say, being a principal here in Philadelphia is an extremely rewarding career. It does take a lot of commitment, dedication, and hard work, also compassion for the families that we serve. And another key component is to build a team within your school that has a similar vision or the same vision as yours, so that you’re all on the same page and all moving in the same direction, which is always for the success of our students.
Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org

Philadelphia picks Tony Watlington as new schools superintendent

2022-04-01T16:21:08+00:00

Philadelphia’s school board picked veteran North Carolina educator Tony Watlington to be the city’s next school superintendent, taking over for Superintendent William Hite at a pivotal moment in the district.

He was introduced to the public at a press conference Friday morning at school district headquarters.

“I’m very excited to be here,” Watlington told the crowd of city and district officials who filled the room for the announcement. “I’m looking forward to listening and learning.”

He said he brings “a passion for student achievement” to the job, and that his mantra is to ask the same question every morning that the Maasai people ask upon waking: “How are the children?”

Board of Education President Joyce Wilkerson said that this is the right question to ask. “Our children have unprecedented challenges,” she said later, citing gun violence as one of them. “The whole question ‘How are the children?’ is complicated, but it is the right question to ask.”

Since January 2021, Watlington has led North Carolina’s 18,000-student Rowan-Salisbury school district, where many schools have been granted significant autonomy by the state over things like budgets and curriculum. In Philadelphia, he will oversee 120,000 students in one of the 20 largest districts in the country.

Watlington is taking over a district with many challenges: outdated, deteriorating buildings that haven’t been adequately maintained; a mostly low-income student body in the nation’s poorest big city; and unprecedented teacher turnover, exacerbated by difficult school conditions and an inability to match salaries offered in surrounding districts.

Regarding the need to recruit enough qualified teachers, he said, “Philadelphia is no different than other large urban areas,” he said. Such problems will not be “solved tomorrow,” he said, but will be addressed “with a sense of urgency.”

In a brief interview, Watlington said that he understands the depth of the teacher recruitment issue, which he said goes beyond Philadelphia.

“We have to double down on recruitment efforts,” he said, saying that he wants to deepen partnerships with both historically Black colleges like Cheyney University and other local institutions of higher education. He also said he wants to start getting Black boys in particular interested in teaching in middle school.

Wilkerson said that the board gave Watlington a five-year contract, with an option for a one-year extension. She said he will be paid $340,000 annually, roughly what Hite would have earned had he stayed. The board will vote on the contract April 7, she said.

Watlington said his first official action would be to conduct a “listening and learning” tour to get to know Philadelphia’s parents, students, community members, teachers, and public officials. He also said he would spend time with Hite before officially taking over.

He would also do a deep dive into the district’s facilities issues, he said. He will officially start as superintendent on June 16, but said he intends to “be on the ground fully running” before that.

Mayor Jim Kenney, who attended the announcement, said Watlington is “the right person” to help them and their students “reach their full potential.” Councilmember Maria D. Quinones-Sanchez, chair of council’s education committee, said the city has to work together to “ensure this recovery from COVID leads to more equitable, honest conversations about what our communities deserve,” especially “school district families, who deserve more and better.”

Councilmember Helen Gym said Watlington is walking into a crisis situation stemming from problems like continued teacher vacancies and absenteeism. She said that the district needs 1,000 substitutes a day – meaning 30,000 students aren’t with their regular teachers.

On Thursday, the district’s Chief Talent Officer Larisa Shambaugh said there are 300 vacancies in 220 schools and that the fill rate was 96.5%, down from 98% when the school year began.

Gym also said poor conditions in schools contribute to the gun violence among the city’s students.

“Schools have to be vibrant in order for the streets to be irrelevant,” she said. “I hope that Dr. Watlington understands how serious that is, and a committed person can change that.”

Watlington did not work with collective bargaining units in North Carolina, which is a right-to-work state, but noted that his district participated in a lawsuit challenging a law that stripped teachers of tenure protections. He said he is looking forward to working with the unions here, including the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

Union President Jerry Jordan said that the board “made the right decision” by picking Watlington from among the three finalists for the position. ”Dr. Watlington showed a seemingly very sincere commitment to working in a truly collaborative and transparent fashion,” Jordan said.

Watlington focuses on teacher recruitment and curriculum

During meetings with the Philadelphia community several weeks ago, Watlington emphasized that he believes teachers are the key to successful schools and said he believes that they need to be paid more. High teacher turnover is a huge impediment to learning in schools with large numbers of Black and brown students from low income families, he said.

“Who gets the absolute very best teacher?” he said. “How do you define who the very best teachers are? Those are questions I spend a lot of time thinking about.”

Watlington called himself a teacher, not a bureaucrat. He also discussed ideas about how to bring Philadelphia district graduates back to the city to teach in public schools; the importance of a rigorous curriculum that includes elements like advanced math in middle schools; and his potential support of an audit of the district’s Individualized Education Programs.

Watlington is a native of nearby Willingboro, N.J., and is the youngest of seven children. He was the first in his family to attend college. At his town hall event recently in Philadelphia, he described himself as a “free and reduced lunch child” who grew up poor and could therefore relate well to the students in Philadelphia, which is the poorest big city in the United States with a poverty rate above 25%.

Watlington’s first job in education, he said, was as a custodian and bus driver before becoming a history teacher. He has spent most of his career in education in North Carolina’s 72,000-student Guilford County district, where he started out as a history teacher in 1994 at James B. Dudley High School.

He then served as a curriculum specialist, assistant principal, and principal, first at an elementary school and then at Dudley. He was also the principal of GTCC Early-Middle College High School, which strives to have all students graduate with an associate’s degree or some college credit.

He joined the central office in 2008 and rose to become Chief of Schools in 2017. He was also part of the superintendent’s cabinet.

In 2018, using a North Carolina law designed to increase flexibility for individual schools, Rowan-Salisbury became a “renewal” district. This meant that Watlington oversaw a school system where up to 16 of its 35 schools could become “transformation schools.” These schools assumed control over their budgets, staffing, curriculum, and operations, similar to how charter schools operate.

In detailed comments about teachers, Watlington said in last week’s meetings that he favors “significantly higher salaries to be in the schools where they are needed the most,” he said. He also endorsed recruitment bonuses.

Tony Watlington, who will replace William Hite as Philadelphia’s superintendent of schools, wears a Philadelphia Phillies hat during an appearance in the city on April 1, 2022.

Watlington said he would be open to some form of performance pay for teachers, but he also stressed their performance should be judged in a holistic manner, and not just by looking at test scores.

It is true “that high-achieving schools have good teachers,” he said, “but schools without good test scores also have strong teachers.” Watlington said it is crucial for school districts to identify and retain high-performing teachers even in circumstances where it is difficult.

“We’ve got to have strategies to do that,” Watlington said. “Why don’t we follow market forces of supply and demand in schools as we do everywhere else?”

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has generally been opposed to pay differentials based on the schools in which people are assigned. There is no provision for such differentials in the current contract.

Watlington graduated from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, a historically Black institution, and got a master’s degree in American political history from the Ohio State University.

Watlington said when Chicago and Los Angeles were looking for new superintendents, he wasn’t interested. But Philadelphia interested him immediately, in part because of its history.

“I am enamored of the thought of being superintendent in the very city where Thomas Jefferson facilitated the signing of the Declaration of Independence and where the Constitution was signed a decade later,” Watlington said. “Folks in Philadelphia may take this history for granted, but people in the rest of the country find this exciting.”

He also has a master’s in school administration and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Search began with a pool of 400 people

The Board of Education began its search for a new superintendent in September, when Hite announced that he would leave at the end of this school year. Originally, he was scheduled to leave in August, but then he moved his departure date up to the end of June. Hite is starting a new position with the education nonprofit KnowledgeWorks on July 1.

As part of the process to hire Hite’s replacement, the board hired a search firm, formed an advisory committee of 13 community members, and held a series of public meetings asking people what they looked for in a new superintendent. The board also invited people to fill out a written survey about what they wanted in the next superintendent, from which it compiled a detailed report.

The board’s report about the survey, which received more than 3,900 responses, indicated that the leading characteristics people said they wanted in a new leader included being a problem solver and change agent, cultural competence, and the ability to build trust. This report did not indicate that people only wanted someone who grew up in the city or had experience in its school system.

They chose three finalists: Watlington, Krish Mohip, the deputy education officer with the Illinois State Board of Education, and John L. Davis, the Chief of Schools in Baltimore. All are longtime educators who started out as teachers, but none has ever worked in Philadelphia.

Each candidate spent a day in the city, meeting with preselected groups of parents, students, and community members, and then attending a town hall open to the public. The board then sought feedback from people who participated in the sessions and those who had registered for the town halls.

The board rejected calls to reopen the search from some who were disappointed that no women and no one from Philadelphia were among the three finalists.

However, the board did say that it had whittled down a potential pool of 400 to 35 who were more closely vetted and then to 11 people to actively consider. Of those 11, six were women and three had ties to the city, the board said.

Philly district, principals group split over next year’s schools budget

2022-03-23T18:07:36+00:00

Philadelphia school officials and a principals’ group are disputing whether the district’s proposed budget for next school year represents a step forward for classrooms, or harmful cuts at some schools.

The district’s top financial officer said the proposed $170 million increase for the 2022-23 school year, which officials will unveil in detail at a board of education meeting Thursday, will directly benefit students.

But during a virtual town hall event Monday, the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators and others argued that the proposal would lead to significant staffing cuts for some schools.

The principals stressed that additional literacy, math, and counseling staff are needed more than ever as students struggle to recover skills lost during a year or more of remote learning.

“Our fear is that a significant reduction of the workforce will leave us ill equipped to serve our children at the start of the school year,” said Lauren Overton, the principal of Penn Alexander School.

But Uri Monson, the district’s chief financial officer, said staffing cuts at schools would be tied to enrollment declines like the district’s typical process calls for, and are not part of an overall reduction in positions.

“There’s a shift in resources, but there’s no question more resources are being pushed into schools for students,” said Monson in a Tuesday interview with Chalkbeat.

Monson said the district suspended its usual practice of adjusting teacher allotments in October based on actual enrollment as opposed to projections. This meant schools did not lose teachers this year due to this practice, which is called “leveling.” But the district will resume leveling next year, meaning that staffing loss in some schools will be cumulative.

Members of the principals association say students need more support than ever after two years of the pandemic. And a significant share of administrators believe the enrollment projections for next year are off base, according to a survey from the association.

Monson acknowledged that because the draft 2022-23 budget incorporates two years’ worth of enrollment shifts, the impact is more dramatic and “has made it a little harder for folks” to accept.

The budget, Monson also said, includes a modified extension of a flexible staffing program that empowers principals to hire educators that meet the needs of students at their individual schools. And it closes a per-pupil funding gap between larger and smaller schools in favor of schools with bigger enrollments.

Yet the principals’ group says the proposal falls far short of funding five key positions it has long wanted every school to have: an assistant principal, a climate manager, a school-based literacy leader, a school-based math leader, and a special education compliance monitor.

The district released budget allocations for individual schools on March 9. The school board is scheduled to adopt a final budget for 2022-23 on May 26.

Monson said the district looks at demographics over multiple years to project enrollment. The pandemic didn’t change the general trajectory, even though it made the process of projecting enrollment “interesting,” he said.

But 65 percent of those surveyed by the school administrators group said the district’s enrollment projections are inaccurate, meaning some schools would be targeted for staff reductions in the budget based on population declines that won’t happen.

To make its case on Monday, the principals group highlighted data showing learning loss across the district in both English language arts and math, and cited the big increase in teacher resignations. From Dec. 1 to Feb. 15, 169 teachers resigned from the district, double the number of teachers who resigned during the same period in the previous school year. (Nationwide, schools have generally avoided a mass teacher exodus that some feared, a Chalkbeat analysis found.)

The administrators association says that its proposal for the district to fund the five specific staff positions at each school would create 1,145 positions in total, but that the district’s draft budget only supports 150 of those positions.

Cecelia Thompson, the lone school board member at Monday’s town hall meeting, said she’s willing to listen to arguments that the budget should contain dedicated funding for specific positions at each school.

Shakeda Gaines, president of the Philadelphia Home and School Association, asked parents and teachers to work together and fight for the positions. “We’re tired of watching y’all leave,” she told teachers at the meeting.

And Councilmember Helen Gym urged those attending Monday’s event to show up at a rally ahead of Thursday’s school board meeting in support of the principals group’s position.

“We’re going to make it very clear we think this issue is going to be a priority issue at this school board meeting,” Gym said.

Philly school board rejects calls to reopen superintendent search

2022-03-18T20:18:35+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education will not reopen the search for a new school superintendent, despite some public disappointment with the selection of three men from outside the city as finalists to succeed Superintendent William Hite.

The board said in a statement Thursday that it “conducted a thorough, professional and transparent search” and has “proudly presented the three strongest candidates, all of whom have the experience, capabilities and track record that Philadelphians said they want in the next leader of the district.”

The board said it whittled down a pool of 400 prospects to 35 people who they vetted more deeply, and then narrowed the list to 11 preliminary finalists. Of that group of 11, six were women and three “had experience in the Philadelphia education ecosystem,” the board said.

But none of those people made the cut down to the three finalists. About a dozen protesters outside district headquarters Thursday said the board’s decision to consider only men from outside the city represented very poor judgment. And a member of the city council also expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the process so far.

The board plans to announce the next superintendent the week of March 21. Philadelphia has not had a homegrown superintendent since Constance Clayton, who served from 1982 to 1993.

The finalists are John L. Davis, chief of schools in Baltimore; Krish Mohip, a former Chicago school official who now works at the Illinois State Board of Education; and Tony C. Watlington, superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury district in North Carolina.

This week, each finalist met with parents, students, and educators, and also participated in a town hall with the general public.

The search was run by the firm Isaacson, Miller, with support from an advisory committee comprising 13 Philadelphians “representing diverse communities and constituencies across the city,” the board’s statement said.

Megan Smith, a spokeswoman for the search, said Friday that the board would announce the new superintendent next week, but there’s no date or time yet for that announcement. The choice will be announced at a press conference, not at a board meeting, Smith also said.

The board will deliberate privately over several meetings, said Smith. As part of their deliberations, board members will have written feedback from people who participated in the parent, student, and educator meetings, as well as the town halls.

The Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, the school board’s most vocal critic and watchdog, held Thursday’s rally urging the board to start over.

Protesters chanted “continue the search” and held signs on the steps of the district’s headquarters at 440 North Broad Street.

“It’s kind of shocking” that the board couldn’t come up with a single woman or Philadelphian among the finalists, said Robin Lowry, a longtime health and physical education teacher in the district.

In addition, state Sen. Tony Williams, a Democrat who represents Philadelphia, wrote an op-ed on Wednesday calling for the choice of a new superintendent to be delayed until a new mayor takes office, which will not be for another two years.

City Councilmember Helen Gym stopped short of asking for the search to be reopened, but expressed disappointment in the results.

“I think many people feel the pain of not seeing a woman or a local candidate in the mix, and I hope this knowledge leads us to prioritize investing in our local talent, as we clearly have not done enough on this front,” she said in a statement. “The next administration’s senior leadership should showcase the exceptional talent present within our District, particularly from women of color. Given the lack of local ties among any of the finalists, this is non-negotiable.”

Gym added that of three finalists, Watlington is the only candidate she is open to supporting.

Later Friday, the advocacy group Our Cities Our Schools also expressed support for Watlington.

“He was the only candidate who convincingly talked about bringing stakeholder communities together and empowering people,” the group said in a Facebook post, adding that members had spoken to school communities in North Carolina and “gotten glowing recommendations.”

Philly superintendent finalist Watlington: Success begins with great teachers

2022-03-16T21:23:15+00:00

Where does student success start? Tony Watlington, one of three finalists to be Philadelphia’s next schools superintendent, has a clear answer: Success begins with great teachers.

The “number one ingredient” in any plan to improve students’ academic performance is recruiting, supporting, and training “high-quality teachers,” Watlington said on Wednesday as he made his case to parent and student groups in the city.

“I think the school district of Philadelphia can be a beacon of hope” for other majority Black and brown cities that shows “what academic excellence looks like,” said Watlington, who is currently the superintendent of the 18,000-student Rowan-Salisbury district in North Carolina.

Watlington said if he gets the job, he’ll “be very visible throughout Philadelphia,” engaging in face-to-face town halls, focus groups, and meetings with parent committees. Watlington also said he’d visit schools and talk to teachers on the front lines to make sure he gets their views as well. “I am not a bureaucrat,” he said. “I am a teacher.”

Last week, the Philadelphia Board of Education announced that Watlington, along with John Davis and Krish Mohip, are the finalists to take over for Superintendent William Hite, who is stepping down after the school year ends. Davis, a top official in Baltimore schools, met with Philadelphia parents and educators on Monday, while Mohip, an official with the Illinois state school board, did the same on Tuesday.

Board President Joyce Wilkerson said the board hopes to make a decision about the next superintendent during the week of March 21. She also said the three finalists would have to make the effort to get to know the city.

“We want to make sure we have all the voices around the table,” Watlington said Wednesday. “When you engage with the public, particularly parents, at that level, it can sometimes be a little bit messy. I’m not at all troubled or bothered by those hard and tough questions.”

Strong principals and rigorous curriculum key for Watlington

During his public events in Philadelphia, Watlington discussed several pressing topics for city schools, from funding and curriculum to standardized testing, in addition to the teacher workforce.

Watlington told a town hall Wednesday evening that he started his career in education as a bus driver and custodian, before becoming a history teacher. He also said that growing up poor, his mother buying a set of World Book encyclopedias was a life-changing experience for him.

His background “as a free and reduced lunch student myself who came up from the other side of the tracks,” he said, makes him the “ideal candidate” for this job.

To encourage future teachers, “we should be identifying kids as early as middle school” as strong candidates for the profession, he said. And he suggested using public and private funds to pay for these students to go to college, then have them return to teach in the Philadelphia school district for four years once they graduate. He said it is especially important to recruit Black male teachers.

It’s also important to have “really strong, effective principals” to recruit and retain teachers, he said.

Asked by the leader of a charter school for his opinion of “performance-based pay” for teachers, Watlington said it was “worth having the conversation” about it, but also said he wanted to learn more about how the city operates. He also said any system for judging performance should use multiple measures like students’ input, and not just test scores, in order to identify the strongest teachers.

Watlington said he’s in favor of teachers getting “dual certification” that includes special education teaching, and told parents that this represented a “gold standard” for teachers. On a related issue, Watlington also said he would consider auditing the district’s process governing Individualized Education Programs.

A “rigorous curriculum” is another key to a good school system, said Watlington.

To be successful in the later grades, students need to have experience with upper-level math in middle school, Watlington said. He said he’d push to make Advanced Placement courses and early-college programs available to students. “Studies have shown, and we know this, kids who get Algebra 1 by seventh grade, or sometimes as early as sixth grade, they get on an accelerated track,” he said.

While Watlington said it’s the job of educators to prepare students for standardized tests, he also acknowledged that certain biases are built into those exams. “We just need to figure out how to get all of our children more opportunities to demonstrate their learning,” he said.

Watlington said he’d “absolutely” continue current Superintendent William Hite’s fight to get more money for Philadelphia schools, while also noting that it’s important for city schools to show they’ve been “effective and efficient with the dollars we have.”

His North Carolina district obtained a state waiver that allowed it some autonomy over its budget, and as a result, increased its statewide literacy ranking from 96th out of 115 districts to 74th, Watlington said.

Telling a group of high school students that they lived in a “historic city” where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed, Watlington called providing access to an excellent education the “unfinished work” of the Declaration of Independence.

“I’ve been really impressed to see a large, majority Black and brown school district improve its financial health and do some really good things,” Watlington said.

Chalkbeat Philadelphia Senior Writer Dale Mezzacappa contributed to this story.

Superintendent finalist Mohip wants ‘generational change’ for Philly students

2022-03-15T23:30:39+00:00

Krish Mohip said he wants to lead the school district in Philadelphia “for the children” while acknowledging that providing high quality education education for all students will not be easy.

“I know coming to Philadelphia will be a challenge. I was talking to my wife and, honest to God, I said I feel like if I get this job I’ll be going into battle,” said Mohip, one of three finalists to lead the city’s public schools, in a Tuesday meeting with students. “But it’s a battle worth fighting. We’re talking about making generational change.”

In discussions with the Philadelphia education community, Mohip – who is the Deputy Education Officer for the Illinois State Board of Education – also talked about his past successes and struggles as a district leader in Chicago and elsewhere, empowering educators, and dealing with student trauma, among other topics. He was the second finalist to meet with city residents this week.

Mohip spent significant time discussing his turbulent time leading schools in Youngstown, Ohio, from 2016 to 2019, after the state had taken control of the district due to persistent academic struggles.

While he recounted successes during his tenure, such as a 15% increase in the graduation rate and huge jump in the percentage of ninth graders staying on track, Mohip said his family stayed in Chicago while he worked in Youngstown because “it was not safe” for them to be in Youngstown. His house in Youngstown was also vandalized, and Mohip said he received death threats.

Mohip ended up taking a medical leave several months before his tenure was due to end due to his father’s illness, he said, and did not return to his position. But he said that while he had “some detractors” he was not shaken by the death threats.“I was not afraid of some others that didn’t like the fact I was part of this [state] takeover,” Mohip told a group of Philadelphia educators. “I was focused on what I was sent there to do” and help children be successful.

In Youngstown, he described himself as the “sole decisionmaker” with the power, among other things, to make changes to the labor contract. At the same time, he said he was a “strong advocate of union labor” and worked with teachers and union leaders.

He also created four advisory councils to bring community concerns and input to his policymaking. “I worked with the community,” he said, and kept the Board of Education abreast of his work though they had no control over him.

Mohip said that two years into his three-year tenure, 91% of teachers said in a survey that the district was “moving in the right direction … By the time I left, I was a guy nobody wanted to see leave.”

Mohip said his mantra is not simply “all kids can learn,” but that “all kids want to learn,” and that if students aren’t keeping up, “it’s not about that child failing but we as adults failing them. … My belief is that every child has the ability to learn and it is up to the adults to make it happen.”

Asked about charter schools, he said his position “evolved over time.” While he was a principal and district leader, he didn’t want the competition from charters, he said. But now, he said, “I don’t think a child cares what governance structure a school is.” What matters, he said, is whether a school is high quality, and if it is failing students, what is needed to reverse it.

In Chicago, he started as a kindergarten teacher, served as a principal, and rose through the administration to be Chief of Schools. He talked about leading a group of 36 schools that needed a “complete reboot,” as he put it, and said he built collaborations with teachers and community members and visited schools often. He said wants he principals to build their managerial skills, reach out to the community, and ultimately improve achievement in the schools.

“You have to give principals the support and autonomy to do what is needed in schools,” he said.

One innovation in Chicago that he led, he said, was the creation of “peace centers” in schools in an effort to combat violence and help students deal with trauma.

“I lost a sister when I was 14, two weeks before I started high school,” Mohip said. “I understand depression. One thing that brought me back was a school counselor, who showed me what was possible.”

In his current job, Mohip said, he helps oversee the spending of federal COVID recovery funds for schools, among other duties.

Asked about “rebuilding trust” in a district where it has been eroding, he said that he considers himself to be “transparent and honest. If something is not working, I’ll tell you … I’m all about transparency.” He also said that “culture is more important than strategy,” and that he is “a big believer in organizational health.”

Mohip, who said he is the child of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, pledged to advocate for more funds from the state for city schools working with local lawmakers, community stakeholders, and others. But he also indicated he would push hard to get city schools what they needed. “I’m not afraid of a fight,” Mohip said.

If he is chosen for the job, Mohip told a few dozen people who came to a public town hall, that his first priority would be to learn about Philadelphia. He also said he would send his children to district schools.

Mohip praised Superintendent William Hite’s leadership and the fact that he stayed for 10 years. He said that if he is hired in Philadelphia, he hopes it is for the long haul.

“This is not a stepping stone to something else, this is me believing I have value to add to this organization,” he said.

On Monday, Philadelphians heard from finalist John L. Davis, the Chief of Schools in Baltimore. Another finalist, Tony Watlington, the Superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury School District in North Carolina, will meet with parents, educators, and students on Wednesday.

Superintendent finalist Davis says Philly educators must ‘move mountains’

2022-03-14T23:37:18+00:00

Philadelphians got their first look at one of the three finalists to be the new school superintendent Monday, as John L. Davis participated in small group meetings with parents, students, and teachers, and also attended a town hall open more widely to the public.

Davis, now the Chief of Schools in the Baltimore City school district, reiterated several times that a key to success in urban school districts is to have educators who have a sincere belief that students can learn to high standards and overall conditions can improve.

In choosing senior staff, he told a roundtable of educators, “I’m going to try to suss out whether you believe in students and whether you believe in adults to help students. You have to believe, first and foremost, that we can move mountains.”

He will want examples, he said – just like students, parents, and educators asked him for examples of what he has accomplished in a 30-year career in education.

Meanwhile, Davis told the parent group that he is “first and foremost” a parent who sent two sons through public schools in Washington, D.C., and now has a daughter there.

Davis said that he went through a “kind of normal progression” through his career in education, starting as a middle school math teacher and rising to principal and then central office administrator in urban school districts.

Parents and students asked him questions about trust and transparency, leadership style, special education, and how a district’s operations contribute to improving education. Students also wanted to know how he planned to increase their motivation.

They were also concerned about equity, both within the district and between Philadelphia and richer suburbs.

“The urban-suburban dynamic is a tough one,” he said, before essentially saying that Philadelphia needs to push as hard as it can to adopt policies and get resources that will help students attain higher levels of achievement. It’s important to provide “education above the basics,” he said.

The issue of equity also came up in a discussion of admissions policies to selective high schools. This year, the district switched to a centralized lottery system in choosing students for “criterion based” schools. This resulted in some high-achieving students getting no offers of admission to any of them, causing something of an outcry.

The goal of Superintendent William Hite and the Board of Education is to make enrollment in the district’s top schools, especially Central High School and Masterman High School, better reflect the district’s demographics. Most students in these schools are either white or Asian American, even though the district is about 80% Black and Latino.

One parent asked Davis pointedly, “How important is it to achieve equity without sacrificing meritocracy?”

Davis said the answer is to focus on “getting more kids in because they are educated well” in the earlier grades, including middle school.“I’m going to lean a bit towards the equitable way of thinking about it because, frankly, there are too many students that come from disinvested areas that just don’t have that opportunity,” Davis said. “We’ve got to open it up and give them that opportunity. I’m going to lean in that direction.”

In response to a question about how he would motivate students to stay in school, Davis said he would fight hard for extracurricular activities and courses that meet their interests. “You have interests and talents that are more than English, math, social studies and science,” he said. He said it is important to go beyond the basics and survey students to see what they want.

In a discussion of funding and making sure Philadelphia has enough money to give students what they need, Davis referenced Pennsylvania’s school funding lawsuit and said, “Every state has its own political dynamics.”

But he pointed out that the Washington, D.C., district managed to modernize its buildings, and also pointed out that the Maryland legislature recently voted to give more money to school districts for their operating budgets. “I want to provide hope it can happen. I’ve seen it happen,” he said.

Davis also said one thing that attracted him to Philadelphia was the Board of Education’s “guts” in adopting “goals and guardrails” for student achievement, leadership, and school conditions, and being diligent about monitoring progress. A lot of district leaders, he said, “don’t want to put out goals … what really counts is what is happening in the classroom. We have to be laser focused on that.”

At a Monday evening town hall with members of the public, 171 people signed up to attend in person, but only about 20 showed up (more than 300 viewed it online). At this event, Davis was asked about charter schools, LGBTQ students, and his identity as a white man seeking to lead a school district that is majority Black and Latino. Of the three finalists, Davis is the only white person.

“As a country we have not done right by Black people for a long long time. We all know this history, I’m not afraid of it, but I’m aware of it,” he said. “I always feel like I have to bring my best, and I have to prove myself every single day.”

Earlier, in the parent meeting, Eric Marsh said he was concerned about the lack of women finalists, especially since women are the majority among educators. The Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, a frequent critic of the district’s leadership, called for the Board of Education to reopen the search.

On charter schools, Davis said he was “neither for or against them,” but stressed that they needed to be accountable.

Davis went to meet with state legislators from Philadelphia after the town hall.

Fellow finalist Krish Mohip, now the Deputy Education Officer of the Illinois Board of Education and a former school official in Chicago and Youngstown, Ohio, will go through a similar process on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the city will hear from Tony B. Watlington, the superintendent of Rowan-Salisbury school district in North Carolina.

School leaders from Baltimore, North Carolina, and Illinois tapped as finalists for Philly superintendent

2022-03-11T23:09:20+00:00

Philadelphia’s Board of Education announced the three finalists to replace Superintendent William Hite – all men, all experienced educators, and none with ties to Philadelphia.

The finalists for the role are John Davis, chief of schools at Baltimore City public schools, Krish Mohip, the deputy chief education officer for the Illinois State Board of Education, and Tony Watlington, the superintendent of a school district in North Carolina.

Each finalist is scheduled to participate in a town hall one day next week, preceded by smaller meetings earlier in the day – one with parents, one with students, and one with teachers and principals. All these meetings will be livestreamed through Facebook.

The school board invited Philadelphia residents to nominate themselves to be chosen for the small groups – 11 parents, 11 teachers and principals, and 11 students.

According to the schedule, Davis’ town hall will be in Philadelphia on Monday, Mohip’s on Tuesday, and Watlington’s on Wednesday.

“The upcoming public meetings and town halls are the next opportunity for Philadelphians to participate in the process,” said Joyce Wilkerson, board president.

Wilkerson said that the board hoped to make a decision during the week of March 21.

Philadelphia has not chosen a superintendent from within its own ranks since Constance Clayton, who ran the district from 1982 to 1993. Wilkerson said that “all the candidates understand that they have to make an effort to get to know Philadelphia.”

Davis is a career educator who started as a middle school math teacher in Baltimore and has held high-ranking positions in both the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., districts, both of which have similar demographics to Philadelphia. In Baltimore, he was the founding principal of New Era Academy High School, an innovative school within the district. He was also the interim chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools in 2016 after Kaya Henderson left.

When he was in Washington, D.C., the district had steadily improving graduation rates, and led big-city districts in math and reading growth on the 2013 and 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, according to the Philadelphia district.

Mohip started as a kindergarten teacher in Chicago, rising through the ranks to be Chief of Schools. In 2016, he became the CEO of schools in Youngstown, Ohio, as part of a state takeover of what the state identified as a “failing” district. This takeover was opposed by teachers and some Board of Education members.

But under his leadership, according to Philadelphia Board of Education Vice President Letitia Egea-Hinton, Youngstown’s graduation rate improved 11 percentage points and freshman academies increased the percentage of ninth graders who stayed “on track” from 63% to 94% in one year. He left that job in 2019 and returned to Illinois. Mohip said he sought to leave his job in Youngstown in part because vandals targeted his house multiple times.

Mohip was recently in contention to be Cincinnati’s superintendent, but missed out on the job earlier this year.

Reached Friday, Mohip said he has a cousin who taught in the district for 31 years who’s shared a lot with him about the schools. He added he’d also bring his experience as a former kindergarten teacher to the district as it looks to boost early literacy, working to expand access to preschool and lengthen the day for pre-kindergartners.

“I have seen nationally where we target third grade as the area where we need to ensure all students are reading at grade level,” he said. “If chosen, I would push on that metric to say that we really need to ensure that students are reading at grade level by the end of first grade.”

Mohip said he also would focus on ensuring federal COVID relief dollars are being used both to close academic gaps and provide wraparound and trauma support. Drawing on his experience with high rates of gun violence in Chicago and Youngstown, he said he would try to expand after-school programs and work opportunities for Philadelphia’s students.

Watlington – now the superintendent in North Carolina’s Rowan-Salisbury school district, which has 18,000 students in 33 schools – has been a high school teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Under his leadership, Rowan-Salisbury’s ranking with respect to third graders’ reading proficiency increased from 96 to 74, out of the state’s 115 districts. Prior to joining Rowan-Salisbury, he was Chief of Schools in North Carolina’s Guilford County district, which enrolls 72,000 students.

In a virtual event last year, Watlington said that while working in Guilford County schools, he and other officials figured out how to accelerate academic progress for a wide variety of student groups. But he also said eliminating performance gaps between students won’t be accomplished unless other societal issues are addressed.

“The pandemic shined a bright flashlight on issues of equity, how our students are so differently situated in terms of their … internet access, their access to devices, their access to teachers and tutors, and things of that nature,” he said, adding that students in racially and socioeconomically isolated schools often lack access to high-quality teachers.

Watlington also cautioned against relying too heavily on a single test to judge whether students should gain access to gifted and talented programs and advanced courses. “Advanced Placement courses are not for the elite. They are for the prepared,” he said.

‘They have to make an effort to get to know Philadelphia.’

Tackling staff shortages, addressing building safety concerns, and getting students back on track after three school years interrupted by the pandemic will be among the tasks facing the new leader of the more than 120,000-student district.

Egea-Hinton said Mayor Jim Kenney had met with all the candidates.

“The Board’s priority has always been for the person chosen to lead the district to meet or exceed the job profile criteria,” she said. “We want the most capable person to take on this important and visible role.”

She added that “there is no candidate that will check every box that you or I have, but I’m confident the three candidates … are well qualified and will be well positioned to fill this role.”

Hite will leave his job in August after 10 years to lead the educational nonprofit KnowledgeWorks. He will also be the inaugural superintendent in residence and executive fellow at Yale University. Hite has said he will be a part of the process to find his replacement, and plans to remain in his current role with the district through the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

“We look forward to collaborating with him to support a smooth operational transition and knowledge transfer to a new superintendent. We are committed to creating an environment where the next superintendent will be well-resourced and set up for success,” Egea-Hinton said.

The search to find Hite’s successor began in October with 17 in-person and virtual listening sessions across the city. A 13-member advisory committee of community leaders, business representatives, clergy, and educators was assembled in December.

Kalyn Belsha of Chalkbeat Chicago contributed to this report.

Philly will announce its superintendent finalists next month

2022-02-23T00:56:41+00:00

The Philadelphia district has narrowed down its list of 400 applicants for superintendent to a small group of finalists and will announce their names in March, the city’s Board of Education said Tuesday.

Among them, 71% are male, 64% are Black, and 20% are Latino. One of them has held a leadership position in the district.

Current Superintendent William Hite will leave the job in August after 10 years to become the CEO of the educational nonprofit KnowledgeWorks and the inaugural superintendent in residence and executive fellow at Yale University. The search to find his replacement began in October with 17 in-person and virtual listening sessions across the city. A 13-member advisory committee of community leaders, business representatives, clergy, and educators was assembled in December.

The finalists will participate in meetings with district stakeholders and one public, in-person, live-streamed town hall where students, parents, teachers, and principals will be able to ask the candidates questions.

The candidates also will take part in three in-person group sessions, one for 11 parents, one for 10 students, and one for 11 teachers and principals. The board is inviting Philly residents to nominate themselves to be chosen for the small groups. Participants must be vaccinated. The meetings are scheduled to be live-streamed through Facebook.

The board will choose the new superintendent in the spring.
Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org

Near his exit, Hite picked to teach and mentor senior education leaders at Yale

2022-02-14T21:48:56+00:00

William Hite, who will step down in June as Philadelphia’s public school leader, has been named the inaugural superintendent in residence and executive fellow at the Broad Center at Yale University’s School of Business for the 2022-2023 school year.

On July 1 he will also begin his new job as CEO of the national education nonprofit KnowledgeWorks. It’s unclear if he will remain in Philadelphia.

In his position at Yale, Hite will lead content facilitation where he will moderate discussions and introduce activities for the cohort in the Fellowship for Public Education Leadership program during the 2022-23 school year

Hite also will teach in and support the master’s in public education management degree program and be charged with providing mentorship to members interested in district leadership roles.

The departing school leader has said he will remain in his role during the search process to find his replacement. When he announced his resignation in September, after serving for almost ten years, Hite said he would remain in Philadelphia until the end of this school year.

Leaders at Yale thought Hite’s background in taking on issues of race and equity in the classroom made him a frontrunner for the fellowship.

“From his laser focus on equity and inclusion to his innovative approaches to effecting meaningful change in underserved communities, he has proven himself to be a paragon of transformational leadership,” said Hanseul Kang, assistant dean and executive director of The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management.

In 2020, Hite wrote an open letter to the school community that grew into an antiracism program, the Equity Coalition, which is a participatory, inclusive group that would set recommendations around what the district’s equity work should be. The effort is aligned with the school board’s strategic plan in its “goals and guardrails.”

“With COVID, we were all virtual. We saw that was traumatic for many of our young people and for our city. Our leadership team had begun some general equity work; then we had the horrendous murder of George Floyd,” he said in an interview with Yale last year. It was the last straw, he said then.

“His impactful, inclusive, and imaginative approach is very much in keeping with the Yale School of Management’s mission to educate leaders for business and society,” said Kerwin K. Charles, an economics professor at Yale.

Though Hite has sought to bring equity to the district, efforts to enhance the selective admissions process have received pushback. In addition to a lottery, preference is given to students from five city ZIP codes that have sent few students to selective schools. The aim of the new system is to make the demographics at the most prestigious schools more reflective of the district’s student population, which is primarily Black and Latino. Student applicants who qualify from targeted ZIP codes and choose selective schools are automatically accepted.

But some angry parents have argued that the new process also has caused problems, as some students this year received no offers at their selected schools.

“I wish to congratulate Dr. Hite on being appointed as Yale School of Management’s inaugural superintendent-in-residence, effective at the end of June,” said Board of Education President Joyce Wilkerson in a statement Monday. “We remain grateful for his continued leadership and service to the school district. Hite is a key part of the plan to onboard his successor.”
The search to find Hite’s replacement is on schedule, according to Wilkerson. Following the finalist announcement next month the school board is expected to invite the final candidates to Philadelphia for a series of meetings where the public will have the chance to address them. A final announcement is expected in the spring.

Philly schools could thrive under Latino superintendent, some activists suggest

2021-12-09T15:32:45+00:00

As the School District of Philadelphia intensifies its search for a superintendent, members of the city’s growing Latino community are floating names of potential candidates and the agenda they should tackle.

Names mentioned include current state and city education leaders, as well as school chiefs in big cities elsewhere. Some value a candidate having experienced poverty — as many of Philadelphia’s students do — and someone who is true to their cultural identity.

The next superintendent should be committed to equity and equality in education, said Carmen Febo San Miguel, executive director of Taller Puertorriqueño Inc. located in Fairhill.

A name mentioned to be considered for Philadelphia superintendent is Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education Noe Ortega.

That person “needs to be concerned with the disconnect that some kids feel in not being represented in schools,” she said. Her group focuses on preserving and promoting Puerto Rican arts and culture through community empowerment.

While Latinos remain a minority in Philadelphia schools, their ranks have grown by half since 2008, now reaching 22% of public school enrollment.

Names that have been floated include Noe Ortega, Pennsylvania’s secretary of education, and Heidi Ramirez, who sat on the now-dissolved School Reform Commission. Ramirez also was executive director of Educator Networks for America Achieves, a national non-profit, and served as chief academic officer for Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tennessee.

Another name is Cynthia Figueroa, who recently accepted the position to lead the nonprofit JEVS Human Services. She was previously head of the city’s Department of Children and Families.

And an out-of-state school leader considered is Michael Hinojosa, superintendent of schools in Dallas, Texas.

Three of Philadelphia’s poorest ZIP codes — 19133, 19134, and 19140 — have the largest concentrations of Hispanic residents in the city, mostly living in the Fairhill, East Allegheny, and Juniata neighborhoods and attending schools like Julio DeBurgos, Luis Muñoz Marín and Philip Sheridan elementary schools.

Thus, it’s important for the next superintendent to have personal experience with poverty and with building systems to support children and families, said Nelson Flores, associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Julio Nuñez, an assistant principal at Sheridan, said that a Latino leader who embraces their identity and understands families’ struggles would validate students.

“When students in the district see this in a leader, they feel seen,” he said. “They feel like their identity is valued, their heritage, their language matters, and that all of this package can be an asset in their lives and careers, not a hurdle to overcome.”

Even more important is having a superintendent who will help Latinx students succeed, said Adam Sanchez, a history teacher at Central High School.

“Most crucially, we need a superintendent who is willing to confront the deep segregation in our school system head on,” he said. “We can no longer tolerate a situation where our schools with the largest Latinx populations have some of the greatest teacher vacancies and lowest graduation rates. These schools need more resources.”

The search to replace Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite, who announced this fall that he would step down next August, started in October. The district collected public feedback through November in councilmanic districts.

The board’s search firm, Isaacson, Miller, released the job posting Friday and plans next month to begin interviews. The school board could narrow the finalists from five to two candidates by February.

State Rep. Danilo Burgos, whose family migrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, spoke highly of Hite and said, “It shouldn’t be about who is Latino or African American. We get too caught up in silos and forget that the overall goal is to provide the best options for our kids.”

Philly board selects advisory group to help search for new superintendent

2021-12-07T21:35:27+00:00

Philadelphia’s Board of Education released the names of 13 members who will sit on the superintendent search advisory committee: They are faith and business leaders, activists and a principal — and they will be charged with helping to find the city’s next public school leader.

Superintendent William Hite announced late September that he would step down in August 2022, staying through the process to find a replacement to lead the more than 120,000-student school district. The search started in October, with efforts to get public feedback going through November across councilmanic districts.

“On behalf of the entire board, I want to share how grateful and excited we are to work with the advisory committee, which will help us evaluate and review final superintendent candidates, and provide insight and input during the process,” said Leticia Egea-Hinton, vice president of the school board.

The official job listing was released last Friday, by Isaacson, Miller, the search firm the board hired to help with the selection process. Interviews are set to begin in early 2022, with the board moving from five to two finalists between January and February.

Advisory committee members:

Rebecca Allen is a student board representative for the district and a junior at Central High School. She is the alliance chairperson for the Philly Black Students Alliance, and the Vice-President and founder of U.N.H.E.A.R.D., which stands for Uprooting Negligence by Habituating Equity and Anti-Racism through Real Discussions. The group leads discussions about anti-racism, inclusion, and diversity. She is also a member of the Nexus team, which builds relationships at Central through restorative justice practices.

Ernie Bennett is the district’s leader of SEIU 32BJ, which represents approximately 2,000 district employees. He is also a member of the Men United Against Violence Network and the Veterans Multi-Service Center.

Virginia Field is a kindergarten teacher at William H. Loesche Elementary School, where she also mentors practicum students, serves as a member of the building committee, and supports the Cradles-to-Crayons program. She comes from a family of public school educators — her parents and sister all taught in the district — and her daughter and son are graduates of the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush.

Regina A. Hairston is the president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Her son graduated from Overbrook High School and her daughter attended Harambee Charter School.

Cindy Lee Hauger is operations director at Project Based Learning, Inc., where she is responsible for human resources, finances, and fundraising functions. Her husband has worked in the district as a teacher and principal for over 25 years. They have two children currently attending district schools — Science Leadership Academy at Beeber — and a child who graduated from The Workshop School.

Ayesha Imani is head of school at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School and Executive Manager of Imhotep Institute Charter High School, where she teaches in intergenerational African-centered learning communities. She attended district public schools for her K-12 education, and all of her children and grandchildren have also attended Philadelphia district and charter schools, including the C.W. Henry School and Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School.

Pep Marie is coalition coordinator of Our City Our Schools, or OCOS, which is a growing education justice coalition, made up of two dozen youth, parent, school staff, and community organizations that work together on issues of investment, governance and funding to transform the district’s schools. Marie is also a graduate of the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, also known as CAPA, and the Philadelphia Student Union.

Marina Nunez is a bilingual family advisor at Hispanos Unidos para Niños Excepcionales (HUNE), a nonprofit organization that provides free bilingual English and Spanish training, technical assistance, and individual assistance to families of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, and to professionals who work with children. Her oldest son graduated from Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School, and her two youngest children attend High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA).

Armando Ortez is a student board representative for the district and a senior at Northeast High School, where he takes dual enrollment courses at Community College of Philadelphia. At Northeast he also participates in track and lacrosse, and recently attended Access Engineering, an enrichment program presented by University of Pennsylvania students to introduce high school students to engineering.

John W. Spencer is the principal of John F. McCloskey School and a member of Teamsters Local 502/Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA). He is a second-generation principal in the district, and an alumnus of Germantown High School. All of his children have attended district schools, including one who graduated this year.

David E. Thomas is vice president of strategic initiatives and community engagement at Community College of Philadelphia, where he designs, implements, and leads the strategic initiatives and programs of the college. He is an alumnus of Central High School, and his son graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School. Dr. Thomas is a board member of Youthbuild Philadelphia Charter School and a steering committee member of Project U-Turn.

The Rev. Mark Tyler is senior pastor at Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church. His youngest two children were educated in the district, including Julia R. Masterman School and Science Leadership Academy.

Christiana Uy is senior director, legal and paralegal, at PREIT Services, LLC, the management affiliate of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT). She has two sons attending the A.S. Jenks School and another son who will enter the district next year. Uy is a member of the Parent and Community Advisory Council to the Board of Education, and also participates in A.S. Jenks’ Home and School Association.

‘Problem solver,’ ‘change agent’: Philadelphians describe what they want in next school leader

2021-12-03T00:12:03+00:00

A coalition builder with educational experience and an unwavering commitment to equity.

A leader committed to transparency, effective communication, and setting the benchmark for Philadelphia students to compete in a global society.

A person with a track record of listening to, engaging with, and working alongside diverse communities in an urban setting.

These were some of the values and qualities Philadelphia’s Board of Education heard often from the public over 25 days of gathering input on what Philadelphians wanted to see in the next public school leader.

The findings were released Thursday in the board’s community engagement report, which detailed feedback from nearly 6,000 residents on what they desire in the next superintendent. It also highlights the strengths and challenges of the district, a snapshot of the last 10 years, and points in its accountability plan to improve student achievement, called “goals and guardrails.”

Superintendent William Hite announced late September that he would step down in August, staying through the process to find a replacement to lead the more than 120,000-student school district. The search started in October, with efforts to get public feedback going through November across councilmanic districts.

The board engaged directly with 1,317 participants via five school-based surveying sessions, six in-person listening sessions, and 37 virtual listening sessions.

“We need someone who is committed to communication with school communities, transparency with parents and the public, and accountability for themselves and senior staff,” said one unnamed participant in the Oct. 27 listening session.

The board heard a desire for the next superintendent to have experience building a strong cabinet. These leaders, the community says, must be able to see where gaps exist and fill them; the superintendent must be able to recruit, retain and manage a diverse team and hold them accountable.

Equally important to residents is the next superintendent’s track record of running a major system similar to that of the school district. They want knowledge of finances, facilities and infrastructure, and equitable distribution of resources.

They also want a leader who can manage predictable and unpredictable events, such as staffing shortages, transportation issues, and internal district relations.

“We can teach the artist to be a technician; we can’t teach the technician to be an artist. We need someone who will understand the important roles of teachers, families, and students to this district,” said an unnamed participant in the Nov. 4 listening session.

Most individuals want the new superintendent to be an effective communicator — a “problem solver,” a “change agent,” with a “people-first approach to decision making.”

Philadelphians shared a desire for the next schools leader to “understand.” The board also heard that families are looking for a superintendent who sees inclusion as an imperative.

Diversity was evident in who participated in the engagement process — well over half of the participants self-identified as Black, Hispanic or Latino, Asian-American, Pacific Islander or multi-racial.

Of the participants, 25.23% were parents or guardians, 22.98% were teachers, 18.46% were district staff, and 11.31% were students.

SInce the process started, the board worked 53 community organizations to host or participate in 48 surveying and listening sessions across the city. Groups included the Center for Black Educator Development, the Chinese Disabilities Project, and the Muslim Youth Center of Philadelphia.

The official job listing is scheduled to be released Dec. 3 by Isaacson, Miller, the search firm the board hired to help with the selection process. Members of the superintendent search advisory committee, or SSAC, are scheduled to be announced Dec. 7.

Interviews are set to begin at the beginning of 2022.

Philadelphia schools honored for work in preserving green space

2021-11-04T22:49:05+00:00

Friends Uani Robinson and Jocelyn Martinez, both 9, bent over to peer at the grass and underbrush near a fence in the schoolyard of Southwark Elementary, where they are both fourth graders. They had helped plant seedlings in their school’s new combination playground and green space and wanted to show off the fruits of their labor.

The seedlings had not yet sprouted anything they could recognize, but another seed had been planted in them that educators and officials hope will grow as they get older: a mission to protect our natural world.

“We’re learning we can help our environment by taking care of our plants,” Uani explained. “It’s very important. It helps our nature and helps us have very good air and water.”

“Nature can do many things for us,” added Jocelyn. “It helps us with our food.”

The green area outside the school, in the heart of crowded South Philadelphia at Ninth and Mifflin streets, is meant to reduce stormwater runoff and reduce pollution in the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is part of a 25-year city and Philadelphia Water Department initiative called Green City, Clean Waters to expand green spaces in non-residential spaces around the city. As part of the initiative, which started in 2011, the district has committed to creating green spaces on school grounds while integrating environmental awareness into the K-12 curriculum.

“As one of the largest landowners in the city, we are committed to bringing more green spaces to our schools and raising awareness about green infrastructure,” said Superintendent William Hite. “We have a mission that every student will have access to outdoor learning environments like this one that integrates stormwater management, play areas, learning areas, passive and active recreation and community resources into green spaces.”

Hite said the district now has 38 schools with green stormwater infrastructure with five more being added each year.

Philadelphia Water Commissioner Randy Hayman presented Hite and Southwark Principal Andrew Lukov with plaques recognizing the district as a “stormwater pioneer,” with special honors to 13 of the 38 schools, including Southwark, for their “exceptional commitment” to the maintenance, education and community engagement around green stormwater infrastructure. “The district’s commitment to greening schools contributes a great deal to the sustainability of our city,” said Hayman

Many of the schools receive grants from the water department to do this work.

Hayman gave a shout out to Homeroom 207 — Uani and Jocelyn’s class — for being present.

“This is a great program for you to be a part of,” he said. “As children you often look at things on the news, and they talk about climate change and environmental sustainability, but you’re dealing with it right here. You are looking at it the same way as the adults and the scientists look at it...what you’re learning now is going to make you a better citizen going forward.”

The district has also been partnering with Fairmount Water Works, which is developing a K-12 curriculum on “understanding the urban watershed.”

It is important that students learn in school that they all have a role in preserving the environment, said Ellen Schultz, director of education partnerships at the Water Works. “We want this embedded in every classroom... this is something they should experience during the school day.”

Green schoolyards like Southwark’s “allow students to learn hands-on about their watershed and green infrastructure,” she said.

Uani and Jocelyn and the other students in Room 207 are among those piloting the Water Works’ fourth and fifth grade curriculum. “They are learning that it’s really important to have safeguards to keep our water clean,” said their teacher, Joseph Ulrich. And they’re learning that they need to do something about it themselves, if they want a livable environment “when they’re my age.”

Lukov, the principal, noted that Southwark has been around for 112 years — it was built in 1909.

“For 111 years, our students did not have a playground nor green space to call their own,” he said. With the added feature that it is environmentally friendly, Lukov said, “now they do.”

Philly school board to vote on search firm to help find new superintendent

2021-10-26T23:56:34+00:00

Philadelphia’s Board of Education will vote Thursday on whether to approve a contract with a search firm to lead the effort to find a new district leader.

Superintendent William Hite announced last month that he will step down next year.

The firm Isaacson, Miller, which is based in Boston but has an office in Center City, will be paid up to $190,000. The firm has led leadership searches for a variety of public and nonprofit organizations, including colleges, foundations, arts and cultural groups, and other public school districts. It also has worked for educational organizations on issues involving social justice and advocacy.
Six firms applied during a public RFP process, with proposals due last week. Isaacson, Miller scored the highest during a review, according to a school board representative.

In Philadelphia, Isaacson, Miller has led executive searches on behalf of Drexel University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. It also most recently completed the CEO search for the Free Library of Philadelphia.

“During this public input process, we have continued to hear that the next superintendent needs to understand Philadelphia,” said Board Vice President Leticia Egea-Hinton in a press release Tuesday. “Following a rigorous review process, Isaacson, Miller emerged as a clear choice, both because of their exceptional reputation and their deep experience working with diverse institutions and communities across our city.”

Once the contract is authorized, the search firm will collect candidate resumes, list the job description, and vet potential candidates. In February, an advisory committee will interview the top five candidates.

The board has not said who will sit on the search advisory committee

Public forums with two finalists are expected by February or March, with a new leader hired in the spring. The new superintendent will likely start in August.

School board members promised last month to have a robust public process to choose a successor to Hite, who is leaving after nearly 10 years leading the district. Hite said he plans to support the transition until the end of his contract on Aug. 31. The public process started earlier this month, with a survey to allow the public to share what qualities they would like to see in the next superintendent.

In the last 16 days, the board has hosted or participated in 34 listening sessions, connected with 832 people, and received 1,002 completed surveys, according to the school board. Megan Smith of Brownstone Communications was hired to oversee the community engagement process.

The board will review the feedback collected in the sessions and surveys, and evaluate it alongside the objectives of its accountability system known as “goals & guardrails.”

What’s next in search to find Philly’s new schools superintendent

2021-10-16T00:13:03+00:00

Amanda Jones started teaching at Muñoz-Marín Elementary School in North Philadelphia about 10 years ago — a year before outgoing Superintendent William Hite was appointed to lead the Philadelphia school district.

Jones, who now serves as the school’s principal, thinks Hite’s replacement should be someone who prioritizes equity. The 610-student school is located in the 19140 zip code, the second most economically disadvantaged area in the city, and access to resources is a concern.

“When we talk about who’s going to lead the district moving forward, all schools should have access to quality education and resources,” Jones told Chalkbeat Friday. “Despite our zip code, all of our students should have quality education.”

Hite announced late last month that he would step down in August, staying through the process to find a replacement to lead the more than 120,000-student school district. The search started this week, with 17 in-person and virtual listening sessions planned across councilmanic districts to seek the public’s input. Students, parents and community members have been invited to share what qualities they would like to see in the next superintendent.

Like Jones, Board of Education member Reginald Streater also has his eye on equity, and points to other important events that are coinciding with the district’s search for new leadership.

“We’re hoping that with the fair funding lawsuit and the federal grant money, we’ll have the opportunity to remake the district to create the 21st century learning environment all children need,” he said.

The seven-year-old lawsuit, in which six school districts and several parents allege state education aid is inadequate and unfairly distributed, is scheduled to go to trial next month. Pennsylvania has one of the biggest gaps in spending between richer and poorer districts in the country. Although the Philadelphia school district is not one of the plaintiffs, Hite has said he plans to testify.

Philadelphia also is set to receive $1.2 billion in federal dollars as a result of the pandemic.

Board members were among those helping to get input from parents outside schools this week. The Board of Education is circulating a survey at sites across the city.

Streater stood in the schoolyard of John S. Jenks Elementary School in Chestnut Hill Friday afternoon, providing assistance with the surveys to parents who were picking up their children.

There are many ways to fill out the survey, online or by attending one of these school-based events — designed to catch parents at school pick-up time — and completing it on paper. People who show up at the school-based events can also scan a QR code into their phone to access the survey.

The survey asks respondents to rank 13 characteristics they would like to see in a superintendent, including “visionary,” “promotes equity,” “listens to community,” “independent thinker,” and “collaborative decision maker.”

It also asks them to rank factors such as whether the person has experience as a teacher or principal, has worked with diverse communities, has worked for the school district, and is from Philadelphia.

It also asks respondents to rank the person’s most important prior accomplishments, from “raised student performance for students from many backgrounds,” to “expanded opportunity for historically underserved students,” to “improved and maintained safe school buildings,” and “is able to connect with students and families.”

The ability to connect with families is important to Jimmaya Sweet, who has children in third and fourth grade at Jenks.

“We need someone who is family oriented and comes out and speaks with us to explain their plan and communicates in a way where you can get feedback,” said Sweet, who is especially concerned about transportation issues.

Board member Lisa Salley, who volunteered Thursday and Friday at Overbrook Elementary and Jenks Elementary, said she felt confident the effort is engaging with people. She said the board would like to see overlap between Hite’s tenure and that of the next superintendent.

“This helps us ensure that there’s a smooth transition that continues to keep the ‘goals and guardrails’ and student achievement at the top of mind,” she said, referring to a new five-year strategic plan focused on improving student performance.

Streater, who appeared at the event along with Salley, said the choice of a new leader is an acid test for the board.

About 602 surveys were completed as of Friday afternoon, not counting printed versions filled out at the school-based events, said Megan Smith of Brownstone Communications. The Board of Education hired the firm to oversee the community engagement process.
Councilwoman Helen Gym said she hopes the district uses the search process as an opportunity to empower communities. “A true community driven process will recognize the shared vision for growth,” she said.

In addition, 77 people have participated in three virtual listening sessions thus far. Monday’s session was in partnership with Urban League of Philadelphia, while Tuesday’s was in partnership with Congreso, and Wednesday’s was in partnership with The PEAL Center and HUNE. There are more than 50 community organizations engaged in the process, including Children First, formerly called Public Citizens for Children and Youth.

Glenda Lopez, who picked up her kids at Muñoz-Marín Friday, said that more “can always be done” by the next superintendent. “They need to focus their energy on different things like extracurricular activities. Things that a lot of inner city schools don’t have,” she said.

Philly parents and teachers wonder what’s next after Hite announces exit

2021-09-30T21:01:43+00:00

After a tumultuous start to the school year in Philadelphia, with delayed buses, labor shortages and trash piling up around schools, some parents and teachers were relieved to hear the news earlier this week that Superintendent William Hite plans to step down next year.

Andrea Gaskins-West McMichael, a Philadelphia teacher and parent of two students, said it’s time for someone new to lead the city’s school district.

“There have been so many circumstances that have happened over the past few years that have exposed some of the differences, some of the inequities between schools in the district — everything from facilities to materials to funding. It’s time to just bring in somebody new that can maybe look at this from a different lens, bringing a different perspective. Hopefully bring about some change in all of this,” she said.

Others were reluctant to blame Hite for reopening challenges, which have affected school districts nationwide.

Brandon Archer, who was a senior at Julia R. Masterman High School last year and now studies at Swarthmore College, spent his last year of high school mostly online, but was cautious about putting all of the blame on Hite for virtual learning. He said it was “impactful seeing a Black man lead a large school district.”

“It is an extremely difficult job when the future of over 200,000 kids is in your hands every day. I do think that I’m excited for the new direction of leadership. But in choosing the new leader there needs to be community and student involvement,” he said.

Hite, who has led the Philadelphia school district for nearly 10 years, announced late Monday that he would leave in August 2022, staying on this school year to allow for a “full and complete” search for his replacement. Hite is the latest superintendent nationwide to leave during the unprecedented educational disruptions of the pandemic, following high-profile departures in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. He said he had no plans to seek another job as superintendent, and he will remain in the area. He said his replacement should love the city.

At a press conference Tuesday, the Philadelphia Board of Education promised a “robust” public process to find the next superintendent. The search will begin immediately, members said.

Some parents, students and elected officials in the city have called for that selection process to be centered on the input of families and the greater community.

Jemille Duncan, a senior at Multicultural Academy Charter School, said he hopes the process is transparent and student focused.

“Given all that’s happened the past two years with the pandemic I don’t blame him,” he said of Hite’s decision to leave. “I understand how arduous it has been to be the head of a school district so large and going through so much throughout the pandemic. I think it’s about resources and funding.”

He added, “Whoever they pick should be open to feedback. And having a superintendent that is humble enough to listen to students whose his or her decisions will directly impact I think is one of the best qualities one could have for any superintendent.”

Hite has been credited with bringing some stability to a chronically underfunded district charged with educating mostly low-income children, often with significant needs. In the spring of 2020, when schools across the country closed, Hite took Philadelphia’s public schools virtual. Last year, after months of remote learning, he pushed to get students back into classrooms in phases, beginning with early learners.

But teachers protested and threatened to boycott over ventilation and unsafe building conditions. A third-party mediator ultimately sided with Hite that buildings were safe.

This year, after reopening all schools on Aug. 31, the district has faced a firestorm of criticism after shortages of bus drivers, food service workers, nurses, classroom aides and other essential workers caused chaos in the first weeks of the year.

Five public schools and part of a high school also were temporarily shut down because of COVID cases barely two weeks into the school year. Parents complained the policy to close schools was too stringent. The guidance from the health department has since changed.

Sherice Sargeant, a parent of two district students, thought the district handled the return to school “too fast and inappropriately.”

“The parents’ voice was not considered. And I think the district needs to get back to that old slogan of ‘parents are partners’ versus just pushing information for us to do. Since they formed the new Board of Education to allow parents to speak in the best interest of their children, there seems to be a disconnect at 440 [North Broad].”

Gaskins-West McMichael said she wants more connectivity between the district and the teachers in the decision-making of finding a new superintendent.

“Being a teacher, a lot of times we find other information after the parents and sometimes both. I would like to see clear communication with the staff of the buildings and someone who kind of sees the differences and is making adjustments to address those differences.”

Denise Ortiz, who has two children in the district, a fourth grader at Richmond Elementary and a seventh grader at AMY 5 at James Martin Middle School, was affected by one of the school closures. Students at Richmond returned to school Monday.

She said: “Everything is not going where he said they were going — everything is going the opposite. He was in such a rush to open the schools.”

Philadelphia Board of Education promises ‘robust’ process to find new superintendent

2021-09-29T00:19:48+00:00

Philadelphia Board of Education members promised a “robust” public process to choose a successor to Superintendent William Hite, who announced Monday that he will leave in August after nearly 10 years leading the district.

Board Vice President Letitia Egea-Hinton said the search process for a new superintendent will begin immediately, and the board already has posted different opportunities for public participation. The board plans to hire a search firm.

Egea-Hinton said there will be 17 public sessions in 18 days starting Oct. 11, at least one in each of the 10 councilmanic districts, as well as a “virtual listening session” for anyone unable to make an in-person meeting. A citywide survey also will be available to everyone, she said, and the search committee will seek input from state and city officials.

Once the input is gathered, the formal search process will start in November, with final candidates vetted by an 11-member search advisory committee. The committee will include a teacher and principal, two parents or guardians of students in district schools, two students, and representatives from the charter school community, organized labor, higher education, business and an education advocacy group.

“We commit to deliver to the public timely communication throughout the search,” Egea-Hinton said. “We encourage you to take advantage of the ... opportunities available to you.”

She stressed that the process will be driven by the board’s “goals and guardrails” focus on academic achievement above all else in steering the district’s direction and seeking new leadership.

Hite made his announcement late Monday, saying he decided to share the news now to allow for a “full and complete” search for the next superintendent. At a press conference Tuesday, he agreed with Mayor Jim Kenney and Board of Education President Joyce Wilkerson that it was time for him to move on.

After nearly a decade, Hite outlasted the average tenure of a big-city superintendent as described in a 2018 report and was closing in on the record in Philadelphia for longest serving superintendent. Constance Clayton served as superintendent from 1982 and 1993.

Hite, who said he doesn’t plan to seek another position as superintendent, said whoever replaces him “would have to love Philadelphia.”

“My wife and I love this city and I’ve loved people in this city whether they are complimentary [of me] or frankly, not so much.” He said he plans to stay in the area.

Wilkerson thanked Hite for “10 years of strong and stable leadership.”

Kenney cited several milestones of Hite’s tenure, including progress in early literacy and college readiness milestones, the creation of 17 “community schools,” in which social services are integrated into school buildings, and expansion of free Internet access for students through the citywide program PHLConnectEd. He also led the district through its transition from state to local control, achieved largely because it attained a degree of financial stability after years of funding shortfalls.

“This is a legacy that has benefited countless families throughout our city,” Kenney said. “His diligent leadership and service to our city’s children for nearly a decade has made it possible for Philadelphia schools to begin a new chapter.”

Egea-Hinton said that the board is currently talking to search firms that specialize in superintendent searches and will have a decision “within the next few weeks.” She said there has not been a decision on how many candidates will be considered.

“We’re looking to cast a net across the country and look for people locally as well,” she said, adding that there is “no prejudging” on whether an inside or outside candidate would be preferable.

The plan is to present a list of five finalists to the search advisory committee, which will convene in December. She said the board will reach out to the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers for names of teachers to consider for the panel, but offered few details on how other members of the advisory committee will be chosen.

Final superintendent candidates will be identified “by mid-winter,” Egea-Hinton said.

Both fans and critics of Hite agree that the process should be guided by input from families and the community.

Council member Helen Gym, who was not invited to the press conference but attended as an observer, said Hite was accessible and sincere in his concern for students’ welfare, but faulted him for closing schools and continuing the “privatization agenda” of the state-dominated School Reform Commission, which hired him. Putting the district on a sound financial footing that allowed for the return to local control had a downside, she said, coming “at the expense of tragic understaffing that has jeopardized basic school operations.”

“We now have the opportunity to pick a leader that shares our transformative vision for public education and works to implement it in partnership with us all,” Gym said.

Council member Kendra Brooks said the announcement that Hite is leaving “comes as a relief because the community was made to feel like outsiders.”

“The district can no longer treat our students, families and school staff as if they are expendable,” she said in a statement.

Council President Darrell Clarke and Maria Quiñones-Sanchez, chair of the education committee, said Hite “earned our confidence and helped steer the path towards local control and fiscal clarity. Dr. Hite offered stability, and now will help lead the District through a critically important transition to a new leader next year.”

Clarke said he sees a search process that can be “the fulfillment of what local control actually looks like” through extensive public involvement.

Wilkerson, in an interview, called Hite’s long tenure “a gift,” and said his accomplishments, including increased access for students to Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment in college courses, have been underreported. She said that the announcement of Hite’s departure this week was not triggered by the problems with school opening — noting that similar issues plagued many districts.

No matter who is chosen to lead the district, she said, “making deep and lasting improvements around academic achievement in the district ... is going to be heavy lifting, no doubt about it.”

New Masterman principal wants to create more opportunities at Philadelphia’s elite magnet

2021-09-08T22:44:47+00:00

When the word got out that Jeannine Hendricks Payne had been named the new principal of Masterman, the city’s most prestigious school, her phone lit up. All the messages were a variation of, “You are the perfect person for this job.”

Payne, 45, found this both flattering and humbling.

At first glance, “people would think Masterman doesn’t need anything,” she said. “It has high-performing students, a dedicated staff, influential families. For individuals to know all that, and know me, to say you’re what they needed, means a lot to me.”

The Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School at 17th and Spring Garden streets, with grades five through 12, is the most selective in Philadelphia. It accepts only the highest performing students based on test scores, grades, attendance and discipline records, and has been cited as the best school in Pennsylvania.

But lately it has been roiled with conflict. The school has been rocked by the national reckoning over race that followed George Floyd’s murder by a police officer in Minneapolis more than a year ago, with students and alumni demanding action about the school’s declining percentage of Black students and ongoing problems with discrimination and microaggressions against students of color. Before the start of this school year, teachers protested over how the district informed the school community about asbestos cleanup in the 1930’s-era building.

It is the new principal’s job to lead Masterman through those issues. As a veteran principal, former Masterman student, and its first Black leader, Payne is well suited to the task.

Her signature style is based on openness, transparency and communication, something the school community craves right now.

For the last 13 years she has led two elementary schools in predominantly Black neighborhoods beset by poverty, trying with minimal success to help more of their students qualify for and be accepted to the elite magnet, which has both a middle and a high school. In a district that is 80% Black, Latino and multiracial, just 31% of Masterman students fall into those categories. Just 15% are Black, a sharp drop from 33% about a decade ago.

“The progression of being able to lead in the place where I have tried to prepare students to go for the past 13 yrs, is really important to me,” she said.

And as the mother of a 7-year-old Black boy, she wants to create a school steeped in excellence and equity, one that he will want to attend in a few years — not only because he wants to be academically challenged, but because he can feel comfortable as a Black male in a community that is doing its best to acknowledge and root out racism.

A sense of “responsibility”

A lifelong Philadelphian, Payne grew up and still lives in Mount Airy, the city’s most integrated and progressive neighborhood. Her father Gerald Hendricks, who retired in 2009 after more than four decades in the district, was a physical education teacher and a legendary basketball coach for 24 years at Strawberry Mansion High School. Her mother also taught, but left the district during the constant labor strife of the 1970s to work at the University of Pennsylvania.

The oldest of three, Payne started her school career at Ivy Leaf, a Black-run private school in Germantown, which led to Masterman from fifth to ninth grade. After ninth grade, she transferred to Central High for athletics. “I was a competitive swimmer and I wanted a bigger school.”

She thrived at both Masterman and Central, also highly selective; her experience does not include memories of racial animus. She honestly can’t remember the racial composition of the student body at either school from her time there.

“I also don’t remember feeling very isolated,” she said. “Not belonging was not an issue I felt in either of those school communities.”

Watching how Masterman’s reputation curdled from a beacon of excellence to a bastion of privilege is painful for her. “To see and hear how it is primarily an issue now, really hurts,” she said.

After high school graduation, Payne was determined to be a physician. She enrolled in Xavier University in New Orleans, the country’s only historically Black Catholic college — founded by St. Katherine Drexel of Philadelphia’s Drexel family — which was known for its pre-med program. There, she discovered that she liked the idea of being a doctor more than she actually wanted to be one.

She came back to Philadelphia with her bachelor’s degree in biology, and enrolled in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. For five years she taught high school science at Strawberry Mansion before being pushed toward the administrative track. She was assistant principal at Frankford High before being tapped to lead Edward Gideon Elementary. Six years later, she became principal at Richard R. Wright Elementary.

She spent 13 years at those two schools, and planned to stay at Wright, where her son is a second grader. André will stay there, even as she moves on. “There are people there who have known him since preschool,” she said. “They know he loves dinosaurs and animals.”

At first, Payne didn’t apply for the Masterman job. “I was telling people that Wright was the last school I would be principal,” she said, “and I meant it.”

But she came to believe that she had a “responsibility” to influence the special admissions system from the other side, as someone who understands how much the process is stacked against low-income families.

Not only is she taking on one of the district’s most high-profile positions, but she is doing so as the pandemic persists and amid distrust over the building’s safety.

Parents, teachers, district officials and students interviewed her during the lengthy application process, which she called “refreshingly authentic.” Over and over, they asked why she wanted to be principal of Masterman and what success would look like.

She told them, in part: “I cherish the opportunity to come back and lead a school that I attended.”

Saterria Kersey, president of the Masterman Home and School Association, who was on the selection committee, said she likes that Payne is a scientist and a graduate of an historically Black college. She described her as strong, with a “commitment to her students.”

“As a Black woman, she’ll bring a different perspective,” Kersey said. Her openness “will allow the community to embrace the diversity aspect...I believe she will increase the diversity [of the student body] to what it used to be.”

In short, “she is a good fit” to lead the school to its next chapter.

The selection committee sent two names to Superintendent William Hite, who made the final choice, Kersey said. She officially takes over at Masterman on Sept. 27.

“Many parents had never heard of Masterman”

When Payne was among the seven principals who won the coveted Lindback Award for distinguished principal leadership in 2017, she talked about building a “liberal arts” elementary education that prepared students to go anywhere, including the city’s most selective schools.

At Wright, she had worked hard to create a culture of collaboration, maintaining high standards and making sure the school was welcoming to families.

Wright showed improvements, but it nagged at her that despite outreach to parents, keeping art and music and other specialty classes, and building a strong staff, in six years only two Wright students were accepted to Masterman, with a “handful” placed on the waitlist.

In a high-poverty neighborhood, where many caregivers work low-wage jobs and families move often, “it was hard convincing students and their families to even apply or to want to go,” she said. “Many parents never heard of Masterman.”

As Wright’s principal, Payne saw how Masterman’s admission standards all but lock out a whole segment of the city’s population.

Wright offered the right classes, “but you still have to come every day, almost never be late, never have a behavioral incident.” Plus, get all As with maybe one B, “and be advanced or proficient on standardized tests.”

Pulling off that combination was not easy for most Wright families, no matter how hard parents tried or how smart kids were.

This year, test scores won’t be part of the mix, as most students have not taken the PSSA for two years because of the pandemic. From her experience as a principal in North Philadelphia and a parent, Payne said she understands that who a child is and what they can do “can’t only be wrapped up in test scores.”

But whether this year’s admissions cycle ends up being a one-year experiment or a catalyst for transformation is still up in the air.

For Payne, it is at least an opportunity to “rethink the process,” she said, “if it can be done.”

Philadelphia school board member Angela McIver resigns, effective immediately

2021-07-16T01:02:17+00:00

Philadelphia Board of Education member Angela McIver announced her resignation, effective at the end of Thursday’s board meeting.

Neither McIver nor board President Joyce Wilkerson gave a reason for her exit or disclosed what she’d be doing next.

In 2018, McIver was one of the first nine members Mayor Jim Kenney appointed to the Philadelphia Board of Education. The board took over control of the district after the state-appointed School Reform Commission disbanded. McIver is credited with creating the board’s “goals and guardrails” initiative to focus on student achievement.

“Her contributions to the board’s evolution from the School Reform Commission have been invaluable,” Wilkerson said. “Dr. McIver was instrumental in the development of goals and guardrails.”

Wilkerson also cited McIver’s work on the board’s five-year plan to raise student achievement and her efforts to boost arts and music education, as well as athletics.

“I speak on behalf of the board and saying we’ve truly valued Dr. McIver’s perspective, both as an educator particularly in the area of math, and as a parent, as we worked on policies, budget, and strategic plans together,” Wilkerson said.

McIver, a former middle school math teacher, is the founder of Trapezium Math Club, which helps children build foundational math skills through after-school programming.

McIver thanked President Wilkerson for her leadership and expressed gratitude to other board members “who made me love coming to work every Thursday.”

McIver’s departure comes just months after Mayor Jim Kenney appointed three members: Lisa Salley, Reginald Streater, and Cecelia Thompson.

Philadelphia chief of charter schools leaves to become D.C. state superintendent

2021-06-03T20:50:18+00:00

After serving three years as the head of Philadelphia’s charter schools office, Christina Grant is leaving Philadelphia to become the state superintendent in Washington D.C.

Grant, the district’s chief of charters and innovation, also supervises 18 high schools in the district’s “innovation” network. She will stay through the end of June. Peng Chao, now the executive director of the Charter Schools Office, will assume the position of interim chief of charters.

“Dr. Grant has made an immense contribution to the Charter Schools Office and the 70,000 students it serves here in Philadelphia, and the Board is truly grateful for her service,” said Board of Education President Joyce Wilkerson. With his experience, “Mr. Chao could not be more qualified for this role, and I have every confidence in his leadership going forward.”

Grant, a first generation college student, started her career in education in Teach for America before going to work for the New York City Department of Education. She led the Great Oaks Foundation, a charter management organization, before coming to Philadelphia in 2015 as an assistant superintendent. She became Philadelphia’s interim chief of charter schools in 2018 and was appointed to the permanent position a year later.

Grant earned her doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 and also has degrees from Hofstra, Columbia, and Fordham universities.

Superintendent William Hite said Grant “has had a profound impact on our district, specifically students in our charter schools and within our Innovation Network. She is passionate about ensuring that all children have opportunities to excel and that schools are equipped with the resources and governance necessary to deliver a high-quality education.”

The state superintendent position in Washington D.C. has not been filled permanently since last October, when Hansuel King stepped down. Shana Young has been serving as interim.

Washington, D.C.’s state education department acts as liaison between the city school district and the federal government. It oversees charter schools and early childhood education programs, provides transportation for special education students, administers standardized exams, and organizes data about schools for the public.

In Philadelphia, the charter office chief must manage the often contentious relationship between the large charter sector — 70,000 students in more than 80 schools — and the district, which has the sole power to grant, renew, or revoke charters.

The office has come under fire recently from Black-led charter schools accusing it of racial bias. They say most of the charters recommended for non-renewal are Black-led, even though they make up only about 19% of those in the city. The complaints have been backed by several members of City Council, and the Board of Education has agreed to investigate them.

Charters not granted renewals can stay open for years as they navigate the state appeals process, which is bogged down by conflict between Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and the Republican-led legislature. Currently, the state appeals board has no members.

The Board of Education has not approved a new charter school since taking back local control from the state-dominated School Reform Commission in July, 2018. At its meeting last month it approved an amendment to a KIPP charter originally granted in 2017 by the SRC, which allows the school to open in a different location.

Lisa Haver, a retired teacher who is a leader of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, a critic of the board’s charter policies and practices, said that under Grant, the office “did a good job evaluating new applications. With new leadership coming in, it is an opportunity for the board to be more accountable in the charter renewal process.”
Johann Calhoun and Neena Hagen contributed to the reporting.

New school board member talks goals for Philadelphia students, lawsuit by former affiliate group ACLU

2021-04-13T20:07:17+00:00

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to properly attribute language that appeared on aft.org.

Reginald Streater was picked by Mayor Jim Kenney to sit on Philadelphia’s Board of Education, one of three new board members to join in December.

Streater attended two district schools that have since been closed, Leeds Middle School and Germantown High School. It’s that familiarity and his legal background he thinks will help make a difference sitting on the board.

“I truly believe that public education should be considered not only a civil right, but also a human right,” Streater said. “To serve Philadelphia in this manner is something I do not take lightly.”

Streater is an attorney at Berger Montague, PC, and served as the vice president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

The ACLU, however, has joined other groups, Offit Kurman P.C., UrbEd and the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, or APPS, in a lawsuit against the school board, saying its new policy limiting the number of public speakers at board meetings violates the Sunshine Act.

Streater talked with Chalkbeat about his mission for district students, the lawsuit by the ACLU, and why he chose to attend Germantown High School.

This is the first of three interviews with the new school board members. It has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

You are not originally from Philadelphia. Where did you grow up?

I was born in Columbia, S.C., and went to public school in the South. For my first and second grade years I moved to Philadelphia and then from that point, I went to private schools and then went on to finish my grade school education at Leeds Middle School and then Germantown High School.

Why did you decide to attend Germantown as compared to a magnet school?

It’s funny, because I actually got into Dobbins, which was a special-admission school. I do sometimes think, ‘What would my life have been like had I attended Dobbins?’ I thought I wanted to be an architect and Dobbins had a great architectural program at that time. I visited Germantown and remember saying, ‘I don’t want to get up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the train and the bus over.’ So while I was at Germantown making my decision, a brother walked up in an Air Force uniform and recruited me to Germantown’s Junior Air Force ROTC there. At that time I was looking for structure. The program entailed two days a week of full uniforms, military ranks, and drill team and color guard drills. And that is what sold to me to attend Germantown. I don’t regret it at all.

As a writer for the American Federation of Teachers wrote, “lessons Black male teachers bring to the classroom go far beyond academic content and pedagogy.” Do you agree?

100%. I do think, especially in the school district, that is becoming even more diverse. And young people, who may not come from our communities, may also not look like us. I think it would benefit us all for young people to see an iteration of a Black man who breaks a lot of the cultural norms. A lot of the stereotypes that have been put forth, growing up, you hear Black men are hyper-masculine and hyper-violent. It’s beneficial to all to see a Black man who is both caring and nurturing. That is a lesson that can be taught that can have profound impacts. Impacts that can be life saving. For example, somebody who was taught by a Black male may grow up to be a police officer, and perhaps they may make a different decision informed by the humanization via a memory of having a Black man as a teacher. I had four Black male teachers in my formative years in my school. I’d like to think that they made a huge impact on my life.

Talk about having to resign from the ACLU board and your thoughts on limiting time for public speakers at board meetings. Doesn’t that go against freedom of speech?

Without additional facts, I do not believe it goes against the constitutionally protected freedom of speech. Well, the lawyer in me is like, ‘I’m going to be careful about what I say’ because as a board member, I am one of the nine members of the board, which is the named defendant in current litigation related to this question, but I’ll talk about it as an individual who happens to be an attorney. Yes, I resigned as a member of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania ACLU board. I did not have to resign, nor was I forced to. Also, the ACLU is representing two nonprofit organizations in a lawsuit against the board, in which I’m a board member.

From my personal understanding, the board is being sued for a violation of the Sunshine Act, not for a free speech violation.

After reading the complaint filed in this matter, I did not locate any arguments or counts as to an alleged free speech violation. From my reading of the complaint, the [basis] of the litigation is based on an argument as to one, the reasonableness of the opportunities that the board gives individuals to speak at action meetings, and two, whether the restrictions are so restrictive that it is no longer reasonable under the Sunshine Act.

From my personal understanding of free speech, I tend to think of what recognizes as “viewpoint discrimination.” For example, if a litigant were to allege that one, the board doesn’t want to hear from individuals because they don’t like the political or religious content of what the speaker has to say, and two, that the board is using the content neutral speaker policy as pretext for viewpoint discrimination, then maybe a free speech argument would be triggered.

In the most recent complaint filed, I have not seen this argument and I have not seen free speech expressly alleged by the litigants. From my understanding, the government may implement permissible time, place and manner restrictions so that it can conduct its business.

The district plans to spend nearly $1.3 billion of the relief money on buildings, academic recovery programs and personnel to help students deal with trauma from the pandemic. Is this the correct route?

If I could wave a magic wand, things such as ventilation and overall safety of buildings would be a reality, now. That stuff needs to be taken care of. As well as the other items you mentioned. Other than this, I’m not sure, because we haven’t really gotten the itemized portion of the budget. I don’t know the answer to that yet.

What’s your goal in coming on the school board?

So my goal was one to look at things from the diversity, equity and inclusion lens. I am particularly excited about the board’s goals and guardrails — as they provide our North Star for a school district that works for all of Philadelphia’s children. I’m looking forward to the prospect of the school district having a DEI officer who has some sort of semblance of independence to root out problematic practices within the district and at our schools. I also want to bring my perspective as a Black man, parent and lawyer to help problem-solve and get us from “no” to “how” as a village and district.

After nearly a year at home, some early-grade students return to Philadelphia schools

2021-03-08T13:10:25+00:00

Naila Baho and her sons arrived at school 45 minutes early Monday, making them among the first students to return to Philadelphia’s public schools after nearly a year of remote learning.

Shoalb and Sudais Khan, in kindergarten and first grade, stood patiently in the cold at 7:30 a.m. with their older brother, Zohaib, a fifth grader who was not going back but came along to translate.

The family, who emigrated from Pakistan in 2019, hadn’t expected to start their new life in America during a pandemic. Baho said Sudais and Shoalb were excited to go to school so they can make new friends and speak English more often. And not spend all day at the computer.

The first family to enter Juniata Park Academy Monday. Naila Baho (top left) mother, Zohaib Khan (top right), Shoalb Khan (bottom right) and Sudais Khan.

“Today [they are] very happy,” she said.

Nearly a year after public schools abruptly closed in Philadelphia, some students in prekindergarten to second grade returned to their classrooms Monday. Students at Juniata Park, a kindergarten to eighth grade school in North Philadelphia, were greeted by Mayor Jim Kenney and Superintendent William Hite on their first day of in-person instruction.

Both Hite and Kenney characterized the day as a milestone — a step toward normalcy, if a small one. Neither would say when more students would be invited to return. Hite said he is hoping by the end of the month the district can open the hybrid model to more early-grade students and perhaps add students in some higher grades as well.

“Although the pandemic is far from over, beginning to welcome some of our students back is a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel,” Hite said. “So we are thrilled to begin doing that.”

The students are returning in three phases beginning with 2,650 students and 53 schools. When all 152 buildings with pre-K through second grade are open — possibly by March 22 — about 9,000 students are expected to attend in-person school two days a week.

The district announced Monday that an additional 45 schools will open for the youngest learners March 15. More schools will be announced on March 15 with their reopening set for March 22.

Teachers, parents, and students at Juniata Park were both excited and a bit apprehensive.

“I’m nervous,” said Jenna Silverman, Juniata Park’s early literacy lead teacher, as she checked in students to make sure they entered through the correct door. But she said she is also ready.

“The teachers here are fabulous, and we did a lot of planning for this,” she said.

Parents also had mixed feelings.

“Obviously I want them to keep them safe, but I don’t want them to fall back when school gets started up again. So I made a personal choice,” said Delaine Martinez, who works in health care, as she dropped off second grader Adriani and kindergartner Cristina. She watched a video of what the socially distanced classroom will look like, which “put my mind at ease. What can I say, it’s part of the new norm.”

Monica Gonzalez said there were “pros and cons” in deciding to have kindergartner Elias and second grader Ethan Cardona go to school in person, but she ultimately decided the pros outweigh the cons.

“Especially Elias, he doesn’t understand the circumstance of sitting in a classroom,” she said.

Silverman said about 60 of the estimated 2,650 students who are returning to district schools this week are at Juniata Park, meaning that 30 or so came Monday. All students are returning in two groups — one on Monday and Tuesday, the other on Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday a virtual day for all.

Jessica Qualtiere, who teaches kindergarten to second grade autism support at Chester Arthur Elementary School in the Graduate Hospital area of South Philadelphia, said much of the assistance in her return to school came from outsiders.

Dennis McVeigh, (left) teacher, with the principal of Chester Arthur Elementary School Mary Libby Monday.

“A lot of the things that you will see in our classrooms were not provided by the district,” she said. “They were from family and community support groups. It’s not a perfect situation. We are trying to flip the positive.”

Philadelphia students are entering a learning environment quite different than the one they left last year. As Chester Arthur students walked from room to room in their first day back, they wore masks and were lined up in the hallway with significant space in-between. Then they sat in classrooms with plexiglass shields attached to their desks.

“My hope for the students in this new learning space is that they feel even more connected to the school and the community,” Mary Libby, the principal of Chester Arthur, said. “I hope they feel loved and supported and understand that we are here going through this new space with them.”

Only one Chester Arthur student who registered to return did not show, Libby said. She noted that all of the school’s teachers returned Monday. “All of the teachers came back,” she said. “Everyone is not vaccinated, but every teacher has had the opportunity to be vaccinated.”

As for when full-time in-person learning might resume for all students districtwide and under what conditions, that is still a huge question mark, dependent on the availability of vaccines and the spread of COVID-19.

Still, “This is truly a great morning,” Kenney said, noting that this time last year the city was taking the unprecedented step of shutting schools down.

Superintendent William Hite, left, and Mayor Jim Kenney at Juniata Park Academy Monday.

Since then, “We’re proud of everything the district did for our students and families during this very difficult period,” Kenney said. “There is no playbook for this pandemic, we did the best we could to meet the needs of our children.”

Hite said teachers did a great job of pivoting from in person to virtual and now to hybrid learning.

“These professionals have been creative, flexible and resilient...and have engaged our students,” he said, also thanking other staff who worked to prepare the buildings.

Kenney said the year has also been hard on parents “and for these reasons and more, I’m so grateful we are able to begin welcoming students back.”

The shift to remote learning for early-grade students has exacerbated concerns across the city about long-term effects on academic achievement, especially for the youngest learners. Kenney said he would favor extending the school year to help students catch up with experiences and learning that they might have missed.

Monday’s reopening is the fourth time since September that the district has attempted to return to some in-person learning. After two false starts in September and November, due to opposition from parents and teachers and a surge in cases of the coronavirus, Hite set a timetable in January for teachers to return on Feb. 8 and students on Feb. 22. That reopening was scrapped after the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers called for third-party mediation over safety issues. The two sides reached an agreement last week.

Many teachers who have been back in their classrooms since last week, however, are complaining on social media of unsanitary conditions and schools that are unprepared and still unsafe for in-person learning.

"We feel lied to & betrayed seeing the condition of our school. Went in today & furniture was not cleaned, mouse droppings are everywhere. How are teachers supposed to have their rooms cleaned & rearranged to be ready to admit students on Mon?" #phled #onlywhenitssafe pic.twitter.com/8y9UlqbI6Q
— Caucus of Working Educators (@CaucusofWE) March 3, 2021

Some district schools are finally reopening. Here’s what we know about Philadelphia’s in-person learning plan.

2021-03-02T15:53:51+00:00

Nearly a year after they left school buildings amid the coronavirus pandemic, some of Philadelphia’s early-grade teachers and students are slated to return in three phases this month, starting with those in 53 schools.

Some teachers are expected to return Wednesday and students on Monday, March 8. But the classrooms they return to will look little like the ones they left behind.

When all 152 buildings with prekindergarten through second grade students are open — possibly by March 22 — about 9,000 students who selected hybrid learning would attend in-person school two days a week under the plan, engaging in remote learning the other three days. They’ll be required to undergo a symptom screening and wear masks, and they will see plexiglass partitions in offices and on their desks and sit in socially distanced classrooms.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers environmental scientist Jerry Roseman is still reviewing documentation for other schools to vouch for their safety, particularly around ventilation and the potential presence of asbestos.

Mayor Jim Kenney and Superintendent William Hite announced the latest reopening plan Monday, an approach agreed to under the guidance of an outside mediator brought in last month at the union’s request.

Here’s what we know so far about Philadelphia’s hybrid learning plan.

How many schools will open?

There are 147 district elementary schools housing the early grades slated to return in the coming weeks. In addition, five high schools have pre-K classrooms: Edison, South Philadelphia, Lincoln, George Washington, and Motivation. For the first 53 schools cleared for reopening, which include 51 elementaries and the pre-K classrooms at Edison and Lincoln, teachers will return on Wednesday and students on March 8. The plan is for the next group of schools to be announced next week, with students returning March 15 and the teachers the Wednesday before. The last group of schools would open for students on March 22.

Are the district’s buildings safe?

Adequate ventilation in the district’s aging buildings has been a main subject of the just-concluded mediation between the school district and the PFT. Given the history in many buildings of asbestos and other hazards, the union is still reviewing documentation and other evidence to ensure that the learning spaces are fit for occupancy. In an effort to improve air circulation in some classrooms, the district purchased 3,000 window fans. But after widespread criticism that they were an inadequate and misguided solution, the two sides in mediation decided not to use them. Instead, the district will buy air purifiers for those rooms and rely more on opening windows in classrooms where that is possible.

What safeguards are in place?

Students and staff will perform a daily self-screening at home, using this document, which asks questions including if they have any symptoms or have been exposed to anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Students and staff will be required to wear masks. They can bring their own, but the district will also provide masks for staff and students.

New setups in bathrooms and classrooms will promote social distancing, and each room will have maximum occupancy signs posted outside. Offices will have plexiglass partitions, and touch-free hand sanitizer and water stations will be available in hallways. The district said enhanced cleaning protocols using EPA-approved products will be put in place.

What about eating, when students are not wearing masks?

School staff will place decals on seats in cafeterias so students are not sitting face-to-face. When possible, all students will face in the same direction when eating. Here is a video about eating in school during COVID-19.

What will the scheduling for hybrid learning look like?

To maintain social distancing, half of students will attend on Mondays and Tuesday, while the other half attends Thursdays and Fridays under the staggered schedule. All students will learn remotely on Wednesdays, when schools and classrooms will undergo extra cleaning. Students will be kept in cohorts to limit interaction as much as possible.

What will remote days look like?

Teachers will provide instruction via livestream for students who are home while also responding to students in the classroom. Each classroom to be used has been equipped with a document camera. These are designed to project documents onto a huge smartboard in the room and over the internet to students who are tuned in remotely.

However, the camera can be trained on anything, including the teacher. If the teacher writes something on the smartboard, the camera can face the board so that both the students in class and the students at home can see what is on it. Teachers can see who is logged on from home on their own computer screen, and they will wear microphones so that students at home can hear what they are saying.

Some school districts chose to have different teachers instruct the in-person classes and the remote learners. But Philadelphia parents made it clear they wanted their students to remain connected to their own classroom teacher. Teachers will be able to engage with the remote students while those in the classroom are doing work, and vice versa.

What about testing for COVID-19?

The district’s human resources chief Larisa Shambough told the City Council recently that staff members will be tested weekly, using two outside contractors: Docs Health, which was selected by the Philadelphia Department of Health, and Wellness Coaches, selected by district insurer Independence Blue Cross.

Hite said he is also planning for rapid COVID-19 testing of students when school buildings reopen. Those tests will be provided by CHOP and administered by the school nurse, and each school that is open will have a full-time nurse on duty. Parents will be asked to grant permission for this testing. More information on student testing can be found here.

What will happen if someone tests positive for COVID-19 in a reopened school?

Any person in a cohort that tests positive will require the entire cohort to pause in-person learning for 14 days. The individuals within the cohort will be asked to quarantine at home for 10 days.

If there are six or more COVID-19 positive cases within a 14-day period, the entire school will be asked to pause in-person learning for two weeks. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health describes six cases within 14 days in one school as an “outbreak.”

Is the outbreak the only thing that triggers a school closure?

There may be instances that schools decide to pause in-person learning for a period of time if a positive case is someone with whom many others have come in contact. For instance, it could be the building engineer who does not regularly mix with students and other staff.

How will the contract tracing be done?

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has provided written and verbal guidance to schools. The schools have their own internal processes, and the schools will notify the department of health of the positive case, at which time a member of the city’s COVID Schools team will begin contact tracing.

When can parents opt in or out of in-person learning?

Parents who chose hybrid learning in the fall can change their mind at any time and go fully remote. Hite said that about 400 families have done this, but many others have said they would like to switch their choice to in-person learning. Hite said there may be an opportunity to enroll students after buildings reopen, and the district has a chance to see how many students actually show up and how many more could be accommodated while maintaining all safety protocols.

When will other groups of students return to in-person learning?

This is unknown. Hite has said he would like special education students in grades three through eight to come back, as well as high school students in career and technical education programs. But this will depend on many factors, including building conditions and the rate of COVID-19 spread in the community. He has also suggested that the district will make use of summer school to help students catch up and offer more in-person instruction to the CTE students who need to be certified on equipment only available in schools.

What do we know about the plan to vaccinate school staff?

The vaccination program started Feb. 22 at the Roberts Center for Pediatric Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and has expanded to six school-based sites throughout the city to offer vaccination opportunities as close to employees’ communities as possible.

CHOP is working with schools and child care providers to identify and reach out to employees who are eligible for vaccination and to provide them with information about how to register for an appointment online. Hite said in announcing the reopening agreement that the seven sites now have the capacity to offer 9,000 vaccinations a week. Not all of those, however, will go to district employees; many are also for the staff of private and charter schools, and child care workers.

According to a CHOP spokesperson, educational personnel will be vaccinated in three waves: staff currently working in private schools and child care centers that have remained open, educators expected back soon, including the district’s early grade teachers, and then all other school staff. Hite said he didn’t know how many district employees had been vaccinated, but he said it was at least in the hundreds, “if not thousands.”

The CHOP spokesperson said: “Our goal is to complete the 2-dose vaccination series for all student-facing personnel in the city within six weeks — and the city has assured us that we will be given enough vaccine to accomplish this goal within this timeframe.”
Johann Calhoun contributed reporting.

Philadelphia school board faces possible legal action over speaker limits

2021-02-25T00:04:04+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education’s decision to limit the number of speakers at its regular meetings is unlawful, according to the American Civil Liberties Union — and three City Council members are asking board members to reconsider the policy.

The ACLU warned in a letter sent to the board earlier this month that the new policy could result in a lawsuit. Asked if they plan to sue, Mary Catherine Roper, the organization’s deputy legal director, said “we are reviewing our options.”

The new policy restricts the numbers of speakers at each public meeting and shortens the time each has to deliver remarks, among other changes. It went into effect at the January board meeting.

City Council members Helen Gym, Kendra Brooks and Jamie Gauthier also urged the board, in a letter sent Tuesday, to amend the rules because they “restrict public input at a time when community voice, buy-in, and trust is urgently needed.”

Roper said in a Feb. 9 letter that the state Sunshine Act “guarantees the rights of residents of Philadelphia to provide public comment on matters that are or may be before the Board“ and “does not allow it to limit the number of individuals” who can speak.

In a letter of response, board of education President Joyce Wilkerson disputed the ACLU’s position, saying that the board’s new procedures are “reasonable and compliant under the letter and spirit of the law.”

The policy change was introduced in December as part of the board’s reframing of its leadership around “goals and guardrails” that prioritize student achievement. Key to the new focus has been an overhaul of what happens at board meetings. While the meetings have always included presentations, now the board spends between 90 minutes and two hours questioning Superintendent William Hite about newly developed reports around academic measurements designed to determine if students are on track to graduate with skills they need to succeed — and if not, what to do about it.

As part of the restructuring, the board also decided to limit the number of speakers allowed to comment at any one meeting to 10 students and 30 members of the public, and to cut their speaking time from three minutes to two. In addition, the window of time for getting on the speakers’ agenda has been shortened from two days to one. And speakers who spoke at the board’s prior meeting are put on a waiting list to see if new speakers fill out the available slots.

The new policy also eliminated two committees, on academics and finances, where the public could speak and engage with board members.

“The board is trying to diversify the types of input it gets and the opportunities to provide input,” Wilkerson said. When the district returned to local control in 2018 after 17 years under a state-run School Reform Commission, the city’s home rule charter was amended to allow for an advisory council to advise its members, she said. That council includes parents, community members, retired educators and others, she said, and has proven to be a valuable source of community input.

The board also accepts unlimited written comments on agenda items it is considering, she said, and is planning various neighborhood town halls to its regular public engagement.

That response hasn’t mollified the board’s most attentive critics, who say none of that is a replacement for comment on immediate action items at meetings that are regularly covered in the press.

“It’s wrong, it’s truly wrong,” said Lisa Haver of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, a watchdog group, of the new policy. At each meeting, she and two or three other members, all retired district employees, critique board policies and items on the agenda for a final vote.

The organization sued the SRC under the Sunshine Act for holding an early morning meeting in 2014 to cancel the teachers’ contract. It also threatened to sue the board after it walked out of a raucous meeting that protestors had taken over and continued its business in another room.

On occasion, board meetings, which generally begin at 4 p.m., go on past midnight. Last July, 150 speakers signed up, almost all to protest the district’s plan to reopen for hybrid learning in September. Wilkerson said that the speakers weren’t representative of the whole community, noting that about 30% of parents chose hybrid learning in a fall survey.

She also said that eight or nine-hour meetings can be unproductive and exhausting for the members, who volunteer their time.

When the pandemic ends, she said the board will continue to allow testimony via Zoom for people who cannot travel or attend a particular in-person session.

Other school boards limit the length of their meetings, said Chris McGinley, a former Philadelphia board member who also served as a superintendent in Cheltenham and Lower Merion.

McGinley, who left the board in April, said that his main objection to the new procedures is the elimination of the committees, not necessarily the speaker limits.

“The goals and guardrails could have been applied to the existing committee structure to promote active dialogue between the public and the board,” McGinley said.

Haver said that one reason the public is so aggrieved has to do with when the policy change was put into effect.

“One problem is how they did it,” she said. “This is not the time, when people are isolated, to be isolating people even more.”

Philadelphia board promises change after report on low achievement, racial disparities

2021-01-29T19:47:35+00:00

A report presented Thursday to the Philadelphia Board of Education showed that just 32% of third graders read on grade level, with stark gaps among racial groups and particularly low scores for English language learners and students with disabilities.

The report classified 63 elementary schools as “off-track,” 64 as “near-track” and 21 as “on-track,” categories based on their progress toward meeting five-year goals in reading, math, and college readiness. The benchmarks for the report were gleaned through the district’s internal reading assessment, AIMSweb. Those considered on-track are likely to reach the goal of having 62% of students proficient by 2026.

In a stark example of inequity within the district, the board’s data show that schools considered on track enroll fewer than 5,000 students and are disproportionately white, while the near-track and off-track schools enroll more than 31,000 students in the grades studied, kindergarten to third grade.

At its first meeting since announcing its intent to focus on how the board can assure all students succeed, the board spent two hours questioning Superintendent William Hite about the poor results and discussing strategies for improvement. As part of their five-year “goals and guardrails” focus, they have set a goal for 62% of students to be proficient in English language arts by 2026. This is the first of many promised presentations on the goals and sub-goals. The next report will explore reading achievement for third grade through eighth grade.

Board members have promised to hold Hite and themselves accountable for making improvements, even if it means substantial changes in how they have traditionally operated.

“These trends are not surprising to any of us, now we have to talk about what we can do about it,” said Mallory Fix-Lopez, the board member who led the session.

Potential answers include abandonment of longstanding practices around teacher assignment and putting more resources into some schools compared to others, both of which have been largely off the table in the past. Hite said the findings would inform upcoming negotiations with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, whose contract spells out the terms for how teachers are assigned to schools, which still relies heavily on the choices of teachers.

He and Fix-Lopez said it might be time to offer incentives for teachers to go to and stay in challenging schools.

“We need to understand better what’s causing teachers to move,” Hite said.

Among the causes are school climate, including serious disciplinary incidents as well as student and teacher attendance rates. He pointed out that attendance in the top-tier schools is much higher, with 71% of students attending 95% of the time, compared to 54% in the near-track schools and 43% in the off-track schools.

Besides the numbers showing much lower student attendance, Hite said the bottom group of schools had much higher poverty rates, and more students learning English and with special needs. A higher percentage entered kindergarten already behind and without pre-kindergarten experience. The lowest tier schools also as a group had less experienced teachers, more teacher turnover, and a lower percentage of teachers rated “distinguished.”

At all the schools, regardless of overall achievement, there were racial achievement gaps, with Black and Latino students scoring below whites and Asians. Black and Latino students in the top-tier schools are on track to reaching the goal of 62% proficiency by 2026, with about half reaching the mark now. But two-thirds of white and Asian students in those schools are already there.

Even at the top-tier schools, English learners and special education students are not on track to reach the goal.

Board president Joyce Wilkerson said the district needed to have frank discussions around race, expectations, and “bigotry,” and the potential effect on student outcomes.

“I have this unease, when we talk about subgroups we seem to be masking issues of race,” she said. “I worry that we’re not tackling directly low expectations we have for some kids and the role that that might play....we said we will grapple with the role of structural racism, I worry that we’re glossing over the role of race, bigotry, low expectations, in talking about this in a very sanitized way...if we’re going to do the work, we need to do it in a very authentic way.”

Wilkerson asked whether the researchers controlled for factors other than race that could account for the disparities, such as homelessness. Hite said there were correlations with race, poverty, food insecurity, school attendance rates, and neighborhood conditions, and that the district would further probe that data. Wilkerson also promised to look into disparities by race in student disciplinary referrals and why the percentage of Black and Latino students has declined in coveted special admission high schools.

In response to Wilkerson, Hite also stressed the need for changes in teacher professional development that focus on long-term growth rather than “drive-by” sessions, and that more deeply explore attitudes and expectations.

And he also said that there would be changes in the reading curriculum based on the findings, moving from a “balanced literacy” approach to one that pays more attention to phonics and phonemic awareness.

As part of the “goals and guardrails” reorientation, the board changed its speakers policy, limiting it to 30 members of the public and up to 10 students, and giving them two minutes to speak instead of three. The changes did not go over well with those who spoke Thursday, many of them regulars.

They weren’t mollified by the board’s intent to hold regular town halls every two months, saying that is no substitute for letting people speak at the board’s monthly action meetings.

Jesse Godschalk, a teacher, said he applauded the “frank and open discussion” around the goals and guardrails, but said the change in the speakers’ policy is a “huge step in the wrong direction” that will short circuit any effort by the board to build trust with the community. “We see you replacing this public forum with smaller ones and new procedures that you have full control over,” Godschalk said.

Karel Kilimnik, a retired teacher and member of the watchdog group Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, also criticized the speakers policy and called the goals and guardrails presentation a “colorful rubric…[with] verbiage thrown at the wall to see what sticks.”

The board also indicated its approval for the district’s hybrid learning plan scheduled to begin next month, with six of the seven members speaking in favor of it as long as safety protocols are in place. Only Angela McIver said she was opposed.

She said she “can’t in good conscience” support reopening, planned for Pre-K through second grade students in late February, while “hospitals are overwhelmed by a virus our country has failed to control.” Several speakers also blasted the plan; one speaker called it “ridiculous” with the advent of new variants of COVID-19, another said the administration was forcing teachers to make “life or death” decisions.

“We will hold you responsible when your decision inevitably results in illnesses, deaths, and community spread,” said parent Sonia Rosen.

Philadelphia board wants to confront equity issues and old assumptions, its president says

2021-01-13T15:14:53+00:00

In the Philadelphia school district, teachers typically are allocated based on student enrollment and assigned based on seniority. Class size limits are the same everywhere, with 30 students in kindergarten through third grade, and 33 students in other grades, regardless of a school’s needs or demographics.

These are among the assumptions that have governed how the school district has operated for decades.

It may be time to throw those assumptions and some others out the window, according to the board of education. Rethinking everything about how the board does business, including long-held practices, is the impetus for the board’s new “goals and guardrails” initiative that was announced last month, with all the board members expressing support. They said it is meant to focus their efforts on what really matters — student achievement — and hold themselves and Superintendent William Hite more accountable.

To do that, Joyce Wilkerson, board president, said members of the board are ready to upend accepted norms and practices if they have to, such as the formula for allocating teachers to schools and the method for determining where individual teachers are assigned.

“What we’re doing now isn’t working for too many children,” Wilkerson said. ”We’ve got to start thinking differently.”

For instance, the least experienced teachers often end up in the most high-poverty schools, a result of decades of practice and now codified in hard-fought teachers’ contracts. Historically, that’s because teacher placement has been largely based on seniority and personal choice.

More recently, a site selection process has given principals and other school leaders the ability to recruit for vacancies, but the overall problem remains.

“We can’t say ‘It has always been that way,’ because the outcomes aren’t acceptable,” Wilkerson said. “We want our children to learn and we’re not willing to accept a whole lot of adult behavior as the excuse. We will be tackling tough issues that have resulted in hugely disparate outcomes for kids.”

She said the district should consider student needs, achievement levels, and the degree of poverty in a school when allocating teachers and resources. Some high-need schools also could have smaller class sizes.

“It’s going to be moving resources around. You don’t get equity without moving resources from schools that have more to those that have less,” she said.

Some of the changes would need to be negotiated with the labor unions.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said he favors schools having more resources. But, he added, all Philadelphia schools should have them. “Teachers have always said, ‘Get us what we need for the kids, and we’ll be able to do a better job,’” he said. “When buildings are under-resourced, teachers leave them, and they go to a building where there are more resources. You have to look at the whole picture.”

Jordan said the union would be happy to discuss some of the changes Wilkerson mentioned. But “this is not as simple as just wishing for it.”

For instance, differentiating class size based on the school would need to be studied. “If too many variables occur, it can cause a ripple effect.”

Wilkerson and the board are determined to open this kind of dialogue. “I understand there’s a contract impediment,” she said. “Rather than accepting the problem, we’re creating the expectation that we want to see a solution.”

One of the things she said the board intends to track closely is whether students “are making progress, who’s making progress, and why.”

A report released Wednesday by the Philadelphia School Partnership outlines starkly the racial divide in achievement in the city, and the arguably inequitable access of city students to high-quality schools.

For instance, only 14% of students in K-8 district and charter schools are white. But white students are disproportionately enrolled in schools that are considered high achieving — there are three times more white students than Black students, and four times more white students than Latino students in such schools — which is defined as schools where student achievement is at or above the state average. Black students make up 52% of enrollment in public schools. Latino students account for 21%.

Wilkerson said the board will more closely follow such metrics in its decision-making going forward. She said board members will use a variety of measures to judge school quality, focusing on the relative achievement and progress of subgroups based on race, ethnicity, and English-language ability and special education status.

And the board plans to make more accessible to the public the district’s own considerable research on student achievement and progress, among other issues.

Much of the research, while extensive and available on the district website, is hard to interpret, Wilkerson said.

“We’ve got these reports that are generated, that are extraordinarily dense,” Wilkerson said. “One of the challenges is that it’s not just unintelligible to board members, but to the public writ large.” The board plans to conduct workshops to help people navigate the reports.

And it will be working with the district’s Office of Assessment “in developing reports that get into information that the board wants to see.”

Board members also plan to interact with the public more during board meetings, rather than just listening to complaints and criticisms. They plan to make 10 speaking slots available at each meeting for students, and 30 for the general public, “plus other opportunities” to interact with board members.

Still, there is a lot beyond the board’s control.

Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the nation. More than 80% of students live below federal poverty levels. The appointed board decides how to spend the district’s more than $3 billion budget, but is unable to raise taxes and must rely on the city and state for funds to operate.

Wilkerson said she anticipates the school board will do more to advocate at the state level to address funding inequities, including reform of the charter funding formula. Pennsylvania has some of the largest gaps between wealthy and poor districts of any state in the country.

The nine-member board is appointed by the mayor, and is about to get three new members. Wilkerson said that current members have spent more than a year working this plan.

Hite said he welcomed the board’s new approach, and he said it is past time to confront the equity issue internally and in Pennsylvania. He hopes that it will demonstrate more starkly “what is needed so all children can achieve” the standard of education required to succeed.

“The inequities are clear and glaring,” he said. “As a district we’re going to take it on, it’s going to be a long slog with difficult conversations and difficult actions in order to ensure all individuals are able to reach educational standards.”

Philadelphia school leaders confident schools will reopen this year

2021-01-08T23:30:03+00:00

Superintendent William Hite, Board of Education President Joyce Wilkerson, and teachers’ union President Jerry Jordan all say they are confident school buildings will open for some students this school year.

Hite will likely announce a reopening plan within the next “10 days or so,” he said in an interview Thursday. Hite noted the Pennsylvania departments of health and education had that day revised the guidance for school reopening, encouraging schools to resume instruction for elementary students — even where virus transmission rates are still relatively high.

“Beginning with the start of the second semester, the departments recommend public schools in counties with substantial transmission consider returning elementary school students to in-person instruction while secondary school students remain fully remote, provided they follow all applicable orders and safety protocols,” said the revised guidance, signed by acting education secretary Noe Ortega and health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. They also urged resuming in-person instruction for targeted populations including English language learners and students in special education.

Levine and Ortega cited studies showing younger children have less susceptibility to the virus. But the statement emphasized that the final decision is up to local officials.

“I think it strongly recommends that younger students come back to school,” Hite said. “And I think their timeline is around the end of the first semester, which is the beginning of February. Those are the same group of children we were working toward getting back into the school already.”

Jordan reiterated in an interview that the union had secured during contract negotiations a series of conditions necessary to open schools, complete with grievance procedures to enforce them.

“I think teachers want to be in the classroom, they want to be face to face with kids, kids need direct instruction,” he said. “We as a district and union are farther ahead than many places.”

Jordan pointed to Chicago as an example where the school district and teachers union have failed to reach an agreement about school reopening. District leaders there have moved ahead with plans over the objections of the union.

The school district has tried twice to reopen schools for 30,000 students in pre-kindergarten through second grade — first in September and then in November. Each time, the return was called off due to public opposition. A main concern was that the aging buildings aren’t safe.

Hite said Philadelphia has done more than many other districts to work on their buildings while they are empty of students and staff, and is one of the few to write detailed ventilation reports and make them public. The reports have alarmed parents because many schools have few classrooms that are deemed usable, but Hite noted that initial plans call for relatively few students to return. If areas of the buildings aren’t considered safe, they won’t be used, he said.

He also said there are plans to test students and staff for COVID-19 regularly once buildings are open. “There are protocols in place for testing, it is our goal to get young people back into school as quickly as possible,” he said.

Within two weeks, Hite said, the district is likely to open some schools in each area of the city for students with disabilities who need services that are difficult or impossible to deliver virtually, such as occupational and physical therapy.

In addition to younger students, Hite is concerned about older students in career and technical education classes who need hands-on experience in order to accumulate enough hours for certification in their chosen field.

“They have required hours on equipment that is only available in schools,” he said.

Wilkerson said many teachers and families want children to return for some in-person learning. When the district did a survey in preparation for opening schools on a hybrid model in November for students in pre-K through third grade, about one-third opted to return.

A Chalkbeat analysis of the fall survey results from families showed that in schools with higher percentages of white students, parents were significantly more likely to select the hybrid model over fully virtual. And schools with 80 percent or more economically disadvantaged students saw a lower rate of families choosing hybrid.

The board president thinks the availability of vaccines “changes the analysis somewhat.” She added, however, that the logistics are “mind-numbingly complicated.” For instance, if teachers are given priority for vaccines in Philadelphia, as Mayor James Kenney and health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley have indicated, how will that work for those — about half, she said — who don’t live in the city?

“I have no idea how any of that works,” she said. She predicts that some schools will open and then close again, depending on their neighborhood and the level of spread. Hite also has said as much.

“I am confident in some form or fashion we will have in-person something,” she said. “What I do know is that we need to get kids back in school.”

Chalkbeat intern Neena Hagen contributed data analysis

Mayor Kenney nominates three new members to Philadelphia school board

2020-12-30T18:58:05+00:00

Mayor Jim Kenney nominated three new members to the Board of Education Wednesday, choosing a pioneering scientist, a long-time special education advocate, and an attorney active in the American Civil Liberties Union.

These appointments would round out the membership of the nine-member board, which has operated with at least one vacancy since April. The City Council must now vote whether or not to approve the mayor’s selections.

All the appointees are Black, and Streater will be the only male on the board if all receive the Council’s okay.

The new appointments, all graduates of the Philadelphia district, are Lisa Salley, a metallurgical engineer and business executive who lives in Germantown; Reginald L. Streater, an attorney on the board of the local ACLU and parent of two district students; and Cecelia Thompson, the mother of a 22-year-old with autism who recently graduated from the system.

Philadelphia is the only district in the state where the school board is appointed by the mayor, rather than elected.

Salley, a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls who earned degrees from Carnegie Mellon and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, started her career as a nuclear scientist. She specializes in energy innovation and public safety. Salley has worked for corporations including General Electric and Dow, and consulted with governments and organizations around business development and risk management. She also coaches girls soccer at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church and is a genealogy researcher who has delved into her own Gullah background

In a statement released by the mayor’s office, Salley said the COVID-19 pandemic has “taught us critical lessons that have implications for K-12 education,” exposing a stark digital divide. “We must provide all of our children the confidence to learn and an education that prepares them to be global citizens who embrace technology to make a positive impact on society,” she said.

Streater is an attorney at Archer & Greiner, P.C. who clerked for Chief Judge Theodore McKee in the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals and worked with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which seeks to free wrongfully convicted prisoners. He serves as the Vice President of the Greater Philadelphia ACLU Executive Board and has spearheaded an effort to make the ACLU more accessible to the Black community by planning and executing programming and outreach in Germantown. He attended two district schools that have since been shuttered: Leeds Middle School and Germantown High School.

“I truly believe that public education should be considered not only a civil right, but also a human right,” he said. “To serve Philadelphia in this manner is something I do not take lightly.”

Thompson has spent 16 years as a special education advocate and has been a fixture at meetings of the board and its predecessor, the state-controlled School Reform Commission. She is chairperson of the Philadelphia Right to Education Local Task Force, secretary for the Governor’s Special Education Advisory Panel, a recent appointee to the Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities, and a member of the parent and community advisory group created by the City Council to advise the school board.

A graduate of Girls High, Thompson is pursuing a Masters in Special Education at Grand Canyon University.

“I strive to be a voice for the voiceless,” she said of her appointment. “I believe the greatest gift we can provide all our children is the gift of a high-quality education. And, the success of every student is the involvement and positive engagement of families, who are equal partners with the schools in educating their children.”

Kenney selected the appointees from a list of nine nominees recommended by the mayor’s educational nominating panel earlier this month. The mayor’s office said that 82 individuals had applied to fill the three board vacancies.

Each of his choices “will bring a valuable set of skills and diverse experiences to the table,” the mayor said in a statement “I was inspired by their passion for public education and their eagerness to take on this critical work.”

Lisa Haver of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools has criticized the nominating process as lacking transparency and violating the state Sunshine Act. The nominating panel held two public meetings, an organizing session in November and then to announce the names of the nine people it would submit to the mayor. But its deliberations were all private and the names of all the applicants were not made public. Also, it was disclosed that one of its members did not live within the city, a violation of the city charter.

Haver said Thompson was “a great choice,” adding that she didn’t know the other nominees. But she reiterated that “this was a tainted process.”

Outside of Philadelphia, the state’s 499 other school districts all have elected boards.

The new members will replace Chris McGinley, who resigned in April; Ahmed Akbar, who left in September; and Lee Huang, who plans to step down as soon as his successor is seated.

The City Council is expected to take up the nominations after it convenes in January.

‘Our kids deserve nothing less’: A few wishes for Philadelphia education in 2021

2020-12-23T22:03:50+00:00

Like those everywhere, students in Philadelphia have been hit hard this year. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the nature of their education.

Deprived of attending school in person, they missed the closeness of their friends and peers, not to mention comforting chats with teachers and mentors. Keeping them safe from the virus has endangered their safety in other ways, challenging their mental health and their academic growth.
The pandemic has laid bare long troubling and intractable inequities – and deepened resolve to tackle them. Educators and political leaders embraced the talk of social justice and racial equity. The killings of George Floyd and then Walter Wallace in Philadelphia at the hands of police roiled the city and deepened the resolve to take action.

The school district tried twice to open schools on a hybrid schedule, only to abandon the effort. It is spending millions in an effort to upgrade the ventilation and rid aging school buildings of toxins. Leaders are determined to open them to some students in some way before the end of this school year. How and when this will happen is still uncertain, and building public trust in the buildings’ safety will be a tall order.

In this holiday season, it is a lot to wish for. Chalkbeat reached out to education, community and government leaders to get their views on what’s needed in 2021. Here’s what they had to say:

Jim Kenney
Mayor

“In 2021, I hope all of our students, teachers, administrators and support staff can safely return to school buildings. I also hope our kids can participate in the sports, out-of-school time, and career readiness programs that help them thrive. Finally, I pray that the Commonwealth and federal government step up to adequately fund our schools the way our local government has for the last five years. Our kids deserve nothing less.”

William Hite
Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

“In 2021, my hope is for the continued support of our students and school communities. District staff, city leaders and the business community have worked so diligently during this pandemic to make sure our students had access to resources to engage in learning, healthy meals and even counseling to deal with the trauma so many have faced.”

William Hite speaking into a microphone.

“In the New Year, I hope we all continue to work together to best serve and support children throughout Philadelphia. This is something that is absolutely possible when we keep the health, well being and academic success of our students as our top priorities. My ultimate wish is that we can return to some form of in-person learning, allowing for students and teachers to safely be together in the caring environments that we know our schools provide.”

Jerry Jordan
President of Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

“2020 was a year of deep suffering and loss for so many, and as we look towards the future, we would be remiss if we do not recognize and reflect on the underlying causes for such a catastrophic year. From a devastating government response to the deadly pandemic to the ongoing scourge of racism that has wrought such pain on so many, we know that our struggle is not one that will end when the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31. But there is reason for hope — with a vaccine being distributed, and with a President-elect deeply committed to public education and addressing systemic racism, brighter days are ahead.”

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan.

“In 2021, we’ll be working towards the resolution of a fair contract for educators; we will continue our ongoing fight for safe and healthy schools; and we will continue to pursue equitable funding for public education. We cannot and will not tolerate conditions in our schools that would never be permitted in wealthier, whiter districts. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated so many of the inequities in our education system, and in 2021 and beyond, we’ll continue to use all of our collective power to fight for a more just educational system and society.”

Robin Cooper
President of Teamsters Local 502/CASA
“As we leave this unprecedented year 2020 behind, we hope that 2021 brings a renewed hope and a timely arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine to all United States citizens, but first and foremost will be made available to the essential workers in our schools. We hope for steady support and resources for our school leaders, the unsung heroes, who often work without adequate resources and are still required to perform as if everything that is needed is right at their fingertips.”

“We hope for transparency as we return to schools with sometimes conflicting reports about air quality. We hope for recognizing that sometimes less is more; less screen time, less students, and less assessment; which in turn, will allow us as a district to heal more.”

Christopher Paslay
Teacher
“I’d like to see a safe return to in-person learning, so our students can keep pace with the surrounding suburban districts who have successfully transitioned back into the classroom. It’s time for the district to roll out its long-awaited hybrid model of in-person learning and start the gradual process of safely returning to some level of academic normalcy.”

Maria Quinones Sanchez
Councilwoman and Chair of Council’s Education Committee
“I am encouraged by the nomination of Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, a teacher and administrator, as Secretary of Education. As a Puerto Rican I am proud of his personal story and hope his perspective will help restore confidence in education stakeholders. I hope the Biden administration will prioritize significant investment in public education in partnership with state and local government.”

“I look forward to discussing the future of education in Philadelphia through a real racial and social justice lens where equity means we provide reparations and a student-weighted formula that works for all children, particularly those most vulnerable.”

Helen Gym
City Councilwoman
“We move into 2021 with the safety, mental health and academic success of a generation of children at stake as we determine what kind of school system we are going to reopen. Long before the pandemic, our neighborhood schools were underfunded, which now manifests in inadequate facilities, ventilation, cleanliness and insufficient staff to reopen. We need to continue increasing our investments in a healthy and equitable school system. The more we invest, the sooner we can safely return kids to their schools and assure that the schools they return to will be stronger learning environments for years to come.”

City Councilwoman Helen Gym.

“I’m glad to see a longtime public school teacher become Secretary of Education. I hope that he will increase attention to districts in poverty with increased Title I funding, and a commitment to ensure school districts maintain high civil rights standards.”

Deborah Gordon Klehr
Executive Director, Education Law Center
“We’d like to see significant increases in funding and support from Harrisburg for schools. Philadelphia, like rural, urban, and suburban school districts throughout Pennsylvania, is woefully underfunded by the state. Our case challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s inequitable and inadequate school funding system will be going to trial in Commonwealth Court in 2021, and a favorable ruling in the case will be a turning point for the students across our state.”

Philadelphia superintendent receives ‘needs improvement’ rating in two areas

2020-12-14T23:17:35+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education released its 2019-20 school year evaluation of Superintendent William Hite on Monday, rating him as “needs improvement” in systems leadership and in promoting student achievement.

This is the first time he has received a “needs improvement” rating in any category from either the board or its predecessor, the School Reform Commission, since he started in the 2013-14 school year.

The year “uncovered operational challenges,” the evaluation said, citing the botched co-location of Science Leadership Academy and Benjamin Franklin High School and the continued closing of schools with potentially hazardous asbestos.

It also said that while Hite is focused on student learning outcomes, “our data continues to show that students across Philadelphia are not achieving at the levels necessary to reach their fullest potential.” The board on Thursday announced it was reframing its own stewardship of the district around improving student achievement, an initiative it is calling “goals and guardrails.”

“We look forward to working with Dr. Hite to bring the focus of our city onto this critical issue in order to ensure all students are given an education that allows them to thrive, succeed and lead in a global society,” the evaluation said.

Hite got a “distinguished” rating in professionalism, financial management, and human resource management, and a “proficient” rating in communication and community relations.

Hite took responsibility for the building renovation project that resulted in students at SLA and Ben Franklin having to be relocated for half of the last school year, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut all school buildings. He also said he looked forward to working with the board on its “goals and guardrails” project.

The board also cited “the successes that should be celebrated under Dr. Hite’s leadership which included a system-wide pivot to accommodate the instruction of over 120,000 district children remotely, continuing to grow the number of teachers of color across the district, and receiving a reaffirmation of the district’s credit rating from Moody’s with the statement ‘the Philadelphia School District’s current financial position is the strongest and most stable of its recent operating history.’”

In 2017, the reform commission extended Hite’s contract through 2022.

Last month Hite said that he hasn’t been contacted about a cabinet post in a Biden administration after his name appeared on a short list of preferred candidates for education secretary.

Democrats for Education Reform, a group that was influential in shaping the education agenda of the Obama administration, sent an email to supporters with possible candidates for the country’s top education job, including Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson, head of Baltimore schools Sonja Brookins Santelises, and Hite.

“I’m happy to be named as one of those individuals, but I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on it,” he said. “And no, no one has reached out.”

Philadelphia school board unveils ‘goals and guardrails’ to focus on student achievement

2020-12-11T03:04:56+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education is embarking on an ambitious effort to reframe its stewardship of the school district around improving student achievement, outlining a strategy that will require big changes in the way it has traditionally done business.

Superintendent William Hite called it a “game changer.”

“It’s time to move beyond ‘system survival’ mode and to focus on the success of all our students,” Joyce Wilkerson, board president, said in unveiling the five-year strategic plan. The plan, she said, is the board’s effort to “deliver on the promise of local control, and it starts with the most basic question, ‘Why do our schools exist?’ They exist to provide every student with the tools and experiences they need to be successful.”

Board members said they spent two years on this project, consulting with the Council of Great City Schools and talking to their peers across the country. They also held town hall meetings with parents, teachers, and community members locally.

Part of that time was spent comparing Philadelphia’s test scores to other cities’ on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “nation’s report card,” or NAEP. The test is given to a sample of students across the country and is widely viewed as one of the best benchmarks of student learning. It has no high stakes.

The bottom line for Philadelphia: When measured by national tests, the district scores far worse compared to other large urban districts with a large number of low-income students. Fewer than 20%of the city’s fourth and eighth graders met national benchmarks in math and reading on the last NAEP test, which was administered in 2019. That performance put Philadelphia – the nation’s poorest big city – behind 16 other districts in fourth-grade math and eighth-grade reading and math. In fourth-grade math, it was behind 19 other districts.

“Philadelphia is not keeping up with our peers,” Wilkerson said. “It’s sobering. It shows that as a whole, we are not doing what we need to for our students.”

She added: “We know it’s possible,” based on what other cities have achieved and the pockets of individual school successes in Philadelphia.

Calling their new direction “goals and guardrails,” board members plan to focus on making sure all students stay on grade level throughout their school careers and graduate high school with the “tools and experiences they need to succeed in the global economy.”

“I’m not sure whether those who are listening realize how this is a paradigm shift,” said board member Angela McIver.

The guardrails set “non-negotiable” conditions for schools, including a welcoming environment, access to “well rounded” experiences for all students, including arts and athletics, robust partnerships with students’ families, and addressing systemic racism.\

It is both “obvious and revolutionary…to focus on student achievement,” said board member Lee Huang.

The school board resumed control of the district in April 2018 after nearly two decades under the state-dominated School Reform Commission, an era that Wilkerson – who served briefly as the SRC chair – said paid little attention to student achievement, focusing instead on management tasks, such as approving vendor contracts.

“In one evaluation, the Council of Great City Schools estimates that the SRC spent just 10% of the time talking about student learning,” she said. “Let’s focus less on who gets what contract and more on the big picture.”

Even so, some progress was made in the reform commission era, she said. Based on state tests, more schools moved into the high-performing category and many moved out of the lowest performing category. The graduation rate went up.

Board meetings will look different from now on, with more public engagement and discussion of data, members said. There will be monthly monitoring in public, using data. The vision will guide board self assessments and the annual evaluation of the superintendent.

The first specific goal is to grow the percentage of third through eighth graders who read on grade level according to state tests from 35.7% to 65% by 2026. The board will also compare the academic performance of different subgroups of students, including the economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic categories, English learners and special education students.

“Systemic racism is alive in our district,” Wilkerson said in a briefing for reporters on Wednesday.. “We’ll be tracking suspension data carefully,” she said. “We’re taking a look at everything in the curriculum…retooling the way we spend money and developing more effective academic programs and getting more out of the resources we have.”

The project is beginning in a time of crisis, when the district is looking at looming funding shortfalls due to the pandemic and still trying to determine how virtual schooling has further damaged students academically.

But Wilkerson and other board members said this is the right time to change direction.

“It’s essential to do this at this moment,” said Mallory Fix-Lopez.

Hite agreed. “It does provide us with a focused effort around student outcomes,” he said. “This changes how we look at data…and changes the types of questions we should be asking.”

Board member Julia Danzy said that this may be unsettling to teachers and others who work in the district. She said she understands that people are working hard and trying their best. But doing that and not getting the desired results “causes burnout,” she said. “Our actions are not indictments against you but a critical examination of the system.”

The board faces many obstacles trying to bring about dramatic change: It does not control its sources of revenue – it is dependent entirely on the city and state for funding — and, unlike other school boards in Pennsylvania, it has no taxing authority.

The teachers’ contract also dictates how teachers are assigned to schools. Fix-Lopez said that one issue they know affects student learning is class size, but changing the way teachers are allotted to direct more to the neediest schools would require agreement from the union.

At the board meeting, some members of the public were skeptical about the plan and urged stronger actions.

Community member Horace Clouden said the board should replace Hite, crack down on what he said was poor teacher attendance, and dismiss principals whose schools are underachieving. “Start firing people and not relocating them,” he said.

Cheri Micheau, who used to work in the district with English language learners and students who have immigrated, said she is not confident their concerns will be fully addressed, especially regarding their access to special admission schools.

“These failures are to be sure examples of racism, ethnic discrimination and linguicism. I urge you to mention these students specifically in this document since they are members of yet another group disadvantaged in their daily educational experiences in Philadelphia schools.”

Parent Stephanie King said the board has a long way to go to rebuild trust with the community.

“The goals are aspirational, the guardrails would be a welcoming environment to achieve those goals,” King said. “And I am here to tell you that you cannot achieve any of those things unless you repair the trust and relationship with the people in the schools. The students, the parents, and the teachers. You say you want every student at grade level for math and reading, but you refuse to listen when teachers tell you what they need.”

Mayor James Kenney is in the process of naming three new members to the nine-member board. Activist groups want more input into the process. Two members, Chris McGinley and Ameen Akbar, resigned earlier this year. Huang announced his intention to step down as soon as a replacement is seated.

Johann Calhoun also contributed to this report.

Groups allege ‘no transparency’ from mayor in filling Philadelphia school board vacancies

2020-12-10T14:04:40+00:00

A coalition of education groups on Wednesday called for Mayor Jim Kenney to conduct an open selection process for three school board vacancies.

The Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, Our City Our Schools Coalition and the Philadelphia Black Student Alliance also alleged that by directing the nominating panel to meet in closed session the mayor violated the state’s Sunshine Act, which requires agencies to deliberate and take official action in a public meeting.

“The mayor chooses his nominating panel with no public scrutiny,” said Alliance for Philadelphia co-founder and Coordinator Lisa Haver. “Now, the nominating panel is attempting to choose school board members without any public scrutiny. Why? Why is the mayor shutting us out?”

Students also voiced their displeasure about the process for filling the three board vacancies and the voting power of the board’s two student reps.

“As students we have great concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in the nomination process,” said Youma Diabira, outreach coordinator for the Black Student Alliance. “We are here because that directly connects to our schools representing a diversity of perspectives and skills.”

Kenney launched the process to appoint three new members to the school board on Nov. 10. The schedule was delayed by vote counting in the presidential election. The city extended the application to last Sunday, three days after the original deadline. An additional 12 persons applied, according to a city spokesperson.

In a statement, Kenney said the city has received more than 60 applications and extended the deadline “to make sure all interested candidates have the opportunity to be considered.”

The city charter requires the nominating panel to vet candidates and submit to the mayor three names for each vacancy. The school board was revived in 2018, when the district returned to local control after 17 years under the state School Reform Commission.

Kenney has been criticized for the lack of public input into who serves on the nomination panel and the pool of candidates.

Dana Carter, a member of Racial Justice Organizing Committee Melanated Educators Collective and founder of Parents Organized for a Better School District of Philadelphia, aimed her frustration at Kenney and the Black members of the nominating panel.

“To the Black people on the nominating panel, I ask you, are you demanding transparency?” Carter asked. “Are you too afraid that you would lose your position for what is right?”

She advised committee members to quit, unless the process becomes transparent.

The school board, which is appointed by the mayor, has lost two members since the spring, with one soon leaving. Christopher McGinley, who was appointed in 2018, resigned in March. Ameen Akbar, who was appointed to the board in May, stepped down in October. And Lee Huang, who also was appointed in 2018, was reappointed in May and announced his resignation in November. Huang is still a legal member of the board and still attends meetings. He will remain until his replacement is sworn in.

The board includes President Joyce Wilkerson, and members Angela McIver, Julia Danzy, Mallory Fix Lopez, Maria McColgan, and Leticia Egea-Hinton.

Kenney’s 13-member nominating panel convened in November and is reviewing the applications. This panel is chaired by Wendell Pritchett, provost at the University of Pennsylvania. The nominating panel members are:

Bonnie Camarda, director of partnerships, The Salvation Army of Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Dan Fitzpatrick, president, Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware

Peter Gonzales, president and CEO, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians

Derren Mangum, director of Institutional Giving, Opera Philadelphia

Maura McCarthy, executive director, Fairmount Park Conservancy

Michael Mullins, secretary treasurer, UNITE HERE Local 274

Barbara Moore Williams, educational consultant

Stephanie Naidoff, board member, Fund for the School District of Philadelphia

Ivy Olesh, executive director, Playworks

Ellen Kaplan, citizen at large

Kimberly Pham, community activist and member of the National Council of Young Leaders

Sean Vereen, president, Steppingstone Scholars

A Dec. 7 letter signed by Haver and Our City Our Schools Coordinator Pep Marie called on Kenney to direct the panel to conduct all deliberations in public and to include interactive public testimony at its next convening. The panel did not allow public testimony at its Nov. 17 meeting, according to the organization’s leaders.

The letter also requested residential and financial information for all members of the nominating panel. The organizations contend that not all panel members are registered to vote in the city as required by the Philadelphia charter.

Parent Tonya Bah expressed her frustration on Wednesday with the selection process.

“Transparency and fidelity must be at the forefront of any selection involving those appointed to govern our most precious resource which is public education,” Bah said.

There is still time to apply to sit on the Philadelphia Board of Education

2020-12-04T23:10:45+00:00

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who is looking to fill three vacancies on the nine-member Board of Education, extended the application deadline by three days, to Dec. 6.

“We’re pleased that more than 60 Philadelphians have applied to serve our students in this important capacity,” Kenney said in a statement, noting the deadline was moved “to make sure all interested candidates have the opportunity to be considered.”

Under the city charter, the Education Nominating Panel must vet candidates and submit three names to the mayor for each vacancy.

The Board of Education was revived in 2018, when the district was returned to local control after 17 years under the state School Reform Commission.

One of the current vacancies dates back to May, when member Christopher McGinley resigned for personal reasons. McGinley was one of the original members appointed by Kenney in April, 2018.

But amid the pandemic, Kenney made no move to replace McGinley throughout the summer. Then Ameen Akbar, who had just joined the board in May, announced in October that he was leaving immediately to care for his father, who is in declining health.

Last month, Lee Huang said that he would leave due to new work responsibilities after he was named president of his firm, Econsult Solutions. He said he would serve until a replacement is seated.

All the remaining six board members are female.

Wendell Pritchett, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania and a former member of the School Reform Commission, heads the nominating panel. It will hold a meeting to submit its nine recommendations to the mayor on Dec. 16.

The meeting will be held virtually, and members of the public can submit written testimony using this form.

The mayor will offer his selections to the city council for approval on Dec. 21. The mayor has the option to ask the nominating panel for more names, but mayoral spokesperson Deana Gamble said, “We hope that won’t be necessary.”

The new members will likely be seated in January and will serve a term concurrent with the mayor, who leaves office at the beginning of 2024.

Anyone interested in applying for a board seat can do so here. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

The nominating panel convened on Nov. 17. Its meeting was not public, though a recording of that meeting has since been published on YouTube.

Lisa Haver, of the watchdog group Alliance for Philadelphia Public Education, renewed her objections that the process is conducted largely behind closed doors.

“This is an important public position that controls a $3 billion [school district] budget,” she said. “Why can’t everybody know who is applying? It’s like we wait for the puff of white smoke.”

Philadelphia’s superintendent hasn’t been contacted about top education job

2020-11-12T20:00:33+00:00

After his name appeared on a short list of preferred candidates for education secretary, Philadelphia superintendent William Hite said Thursday that he hasn’t been contacted about a cabinet post in a Biden administration.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to be thinking about that,” he said at a briefing with reporters. “I’m happy to be named as one of those individuals, but I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on it. And no, no one has reached out.”

Democrats for Education Reform, a group that was influential in shaping the education agenda of the Obama administration, sent an email to supporters last week with possible candidates for the country’s top education job, including Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson, head of Baltimore schools Sonja Brookins Santelises, and Hite. All three have teaching experience, have led major public school districts, and are Black.

Regardless of who ultimately leads the federal education department, Hite said Thursday that he believes Biden’s election means a welcome change in direction on several key issues. He hopes to see public schools get more federal aid to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The shift in administrations is “creating the opportunity to get more resources from the federal government to ensure safe environments for our children to return to,” he said.

Philadelphia, where school buildings are on average 70 years old, has been spending tens of millions of dollars to improve ventilation systems during the pandemic. The district also has been working to correct long-standing problems with asbestos, lead, and other environmental hazards, but there is lingering doubt among many parents and teachers over whether schools will be safe.

Hite also said he believed the move from Trump to Biden will benefit immigrant students, particularly those who have faced uncertain circumstances under the DACA, or Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, program.

“What the [incoming Biden] administration has talked about with respect to DACA is really important so that we don’t have families who...always think there is an opportunity to be rounded up and sent out of the country,” he said. “These are things we’re looking forward to in terms of urban education leaders across the country.”

In 2017, the Trump administration tried to end the DACA program, which protected young people, often called “dreamers,” who were brought to the U.S. as children and are undocumented. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the move in a 5-4 ruling.

Hite also said he would like to see someone with experience in public schools lead the federal education department. The current education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is a Michigan philanthropist and longtime advocate for school choice policies who was criticized for having little experience with public education. A polarizing figure, DeVos became a household name during the Trump administration.

On Thursday, Hite said that he was “disappointed” that a surge in coronavirus cases in Philadelphia has caused the district to postpone plans to begin some in-person learning for students in kindergarten through second grade on Nov. 30 and phase in some other students starting in January. He offered no predictions for when school buildings might reopen, and acknowledged that it is possible that students may not return at all this school year.

But even if the district could begin in-person learning in the spring for just a month or two, he would do so, Hite said.

“Any in-person learning is better than none at all,” he said.

Philadelphia district launches equity initiative

2020-09-15T22:59:12+00:00

Superintendent William Hite announced Tuesday the launch of an equity coalition, a comprehensive initiative to end racist practices in the Philadelphia School District, with plans to confront issues ranging from selective admissions policies to educators’ implicit bias.

The coalition “is an organized effort to uproot systems of inequity,” Hite said in a briefing for reporters. The initiative will begin with committees made up of educators and other district employees, and it will eventually include parents, students, and community members.

“We are starting this effort with a laser focus on race and racism, because...it is the root to all systems of oppression,” said Sabriya Jubilee, the district’s director of planning who is helping to lead the initiative.

The equity coalition will focus on a wide array of problems, including the racial achievement gap, selective admissions policies, teacher diversity, and the underrepresentation of Black and Latino students in advanced courses. It also will look at issues related to special education students, immigrants and English language learners, gifted programs, and LGBTQ students.

Hite said that this will be a planning year for the coalition and that any policy changes — including in the admissions process for selective schools — will not take place until next school year.

District leaders also announced the creation of an office of equity within the central administration.

Estelle Acquah, the director of special projects, said the district also plans to offer professional development“with an anti-racism focus,” and will enhance curriculum “through the lens of cultural responsiveness.”

“Overall, the coalition will define what equity means within our district and develop a systemwide equity lens through which we will make policy changes,” said Acquah. It will also “evaluate equity as it relates to the district’s organizational structure.”

The district announced the formation and leaders of committees on logistics, developing partnerships, systems change and research, professional learning, and communications.

“Simply put, the lives of each and every child that are connected to the school district of Philadelphia depend on this work of the equity coalition,” said April Brown, principal of the Laura Waring Elementary School in Center City, who will head the professional learning group. .

The project will be complemented by the Equity Partners Fellowship, which includes a class of 20 “equity fellows,” described as a year-long experiential learning opportunity for school staff — including central office administrators, school-based teachers, principals and support staff, and high school students. The fellows, who will be named and begin work this year, will lead equity groups within their school or office and mentor future cohorts, Acquah said.

The goal of the fellowship is to “build an army of equity champions across our district,” she added.

The admissions policies for magnet schools have resulted in the underrepresentation of Black and Latino students at the city’s most selective high schools, Central and Masterman. Alumni of the schools have demanded changes.

At the same time, the process this year is likely to be different because the pandemic upended the traditional metrics used to assess student qualifications, Hite said. No standardized tests were administered last year and grading policies were thrown into turmoil after school buildings closed in March. Attendance also is harder to measure in a virtual environment. Figuring out what to do this year is a separate undertaking, he said.

Philadelphia, the poorest big city in America, is a mostly Black and Latino district surrounded by mostly white, affluent suburbs, an example of the systemic racism and segregation common to metropolitan areas.

“There is disparity in housing, access to resources, and nutrition and health care, there are significant concentrations of poverty in and around the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “Those are all things that we can lament,” he said. “But as a district, there are also things that we can do to ensure that at least when children are in schools or in this organization, they have every opportunity to achieve, and it’s not going to be based on who they are, or where they live.”

How Pennsylvania plan for vouchers would work

2011-12-13T18:29:00+00:00

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

The tuition voucher plan potentially in store for Pennsylvania is now in the House Education Committee, having been passed by the Senate, 27-20, on Oct. 26. The House has voted down past voucher plans, but the outcome of this year’s version is far from certain.

The plan calls for a three-year phase-in. In the first year, vouchers would benefit any low-income student enrolled in a persistently failing school. The second year, any low-income student residing in a district with a persistently failing school and attending a private school would be eligible. Thereafter, all low-income students would be eligible, regardless of how well their neighborhood school was performing.

Children from families earning less than $29,000 a year would be eligible to receive a full voucher equal to the state subsidy per child in their local district. Students from families earning less than $41,000 would get a voucher equal to 75 percent of the subsidy. On average, a family would receive $7,700 for each student.

In the first year, a failing school is defined as one in the bottom 5 percent of schools statewide based on PSSAs – 143 schools, including 88 in Philadelphia. An estimated 70,000 children would be eligible next year, though projections suggest only 5-10 percent would use them.

A fiscal note prepared by Senate Republicans estimates the cost of the plan at $43 million in 2012-13 and about double that amount –$81 million – the next year. Projections published by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, which opposes vouchers, are much higher: $52 million in year one and as high as $252 million in year two.

Quicktakes: What should the District look for in choosing its next superintendent?

2011-12-13T17:38:00+00:00

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

Click here to view a PDF with feedback from state Rep. Tony Payton, and members of the Mastbaum school community.

Foundations influence urban school leadership

2011-12-02T17:23:00+00:00

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

As large urban districts including Philadelphia grapple with the challenges of finding the right school leaders, they have been influenced by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, which has taken upon itself the task of recruiting and training prospective big-city superintendents and CEOs.

The foundation runs the Broad Superintendents Academy and the Broad Residency in Urban Education. The academy is a 10-month program that trains experienced executives from business, the military, the nonprofit sector, and government to run urban school districts. The residency is a two-year program that puts experienced executives from the private sector inside urban districts, charter organizations, and departments of education, often to coordinate major projects and learn the ropes of education management. Broad’s philosophy is that the best practices in the corporate world will also work well in education.

Former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman was a Broad superintendent-in-residence before being hired in Philadelphia. Tom Brady, who served as the interim CEO before Ackerman’s arrival, was a retired Army colonel who went through the Broad Academy.

The Wallace Foundation also invests in educational leadership, but focuses its efforts on developing and expanding the pool of effective principals. It disseminates and generates reports on school leadership, creates tools including how-to guides for principals, and funds initiatives in selected districts. It is now underwriting a program in six districts, including New York and Denver, to define the job of principals, provide high-quality training, hire the best people, and provide evaluation and support.

Note: Erica Lepping of the Broad Foundation contacted the Notebook to provide a clarification to Broad’s approach to school leadership. She wrote: “The Broad philosophy is that school districts can benefit from incorporating continuous improvement models used by high-performing government agencies and nonprofits that have similarly sought to modernize and innovate to insure that taxpayer dollars optimally serve the public.”

These “continuous improvement” models in areas including assessment, budgeting, professional development, instruction, and facilities have been used by high-performing urban districts that have been awarded the Broad Prize for Urban Education.

She said that there are “many corporate best practices that have no place in education,” or cannot be transferred easily to school districts due to “nonprofit/taxpayer/public service/democratic considerations.”

Behind closed doors with the SRC

2011-11-23T16:12:00+00:00

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

For years, advocates have criticized the School Reform Commission for conducting important business behind closed doors and flouting the spirit if not the letter of the state Sunshine Act.

Their concern was well-founded, according to a recent Notebook/NewsWorks review of meeting agendas from three years of SRC "executive sessions" – the group’s private discussions before their public meetings.

The SRC’s new commissioners say they are committed to being more transparent.

"The default should be that discussion happens in a public session," said Wendell Pritchett.

On November 2, the SRC took another unprecedented step toward openness, granting a Notebook/NewsWorks reporter access to a portion of their executive session.

Attorney David Lapp of the Education Law Center said it’s an encouraging sign.

"This is a small group that has the power to make decisions that affect hundreds of thousands of children and involve billions of dollars in public money," said Lapp.

"It’s important they recognize that the public has a right to be part of the process."

Read the complete story.

Voucher plans elsewhere: No evidence of a quick fix

2011-11-23T16:12:00+00:00

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania House is facing a hot-button and potentially costly issue: whether to go along with Gov. Corbett and the state Senate and approve a taxpayer-funded tuition voucher program.

Passage is uncertain for the program, which would be phased in over three years.

In its first year, the program likely would draw thousands of low-income parents in struggling public schools to try private or parochial schooling for their children. In the second year, the legislation would prove a boon for low-income parents who have been paying for private school all along.

The experience of other cities and states with long-established voucher programs can offer insights into what Pennsylvania could expect from such a program in terms of opportunity and achievement.

The best-known programs are in Milwaukee, Washington, D.C., and Ohio.

Studies suggest, in the words of education researcher Diane Ravitch, that vouchers offer "no magic bullet" to improving outcomes for students.

Some studies point to evidence of higher graduation rates for voucher students and strong parental support. Others counter that voucher programs simply don’t serve the neediest families.

Voucher programs have helped keep alive private or parochial school options, research shows.

Ravitch, in an Education Weekblog post, said proponents "no longer claim that vouchers will close the achievement gap. … Instead, they now say that choice will increase parental involvement or that choice is a good in itself or that choice will save money. That last argument … reveals what matters most these days: not improving education, not encouraging creativity and innovation, but cutting costs."

But former Philadelphia schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman, in an October essay in The Inquirer, said she has come to the conclusion that "allowing parents to vote with their feet and letting some education funding to follow children to new schools is the drastic measure necessary for improving the public education system."

Milwaukee

Milwaukee’s venture into vouchers started two decades ago, launching the school choice debate. But the first real accountability arrived only recently, with mandatory administration of state exams in the fall of 2010 at the nonpublic schools accepting voucher students. And the results were not promising: They showed lower academic achievement in choice schools than for students attending Milwaukee Public Schools. Neither group did well compared with statewide averages.

At the same time, a University of Minnesota researcher, in a January 2011 study funded by a pro-school-choice group, showed higher graduation rates among voucher students compared with public school students. It also showed overall growth for both groups from 2003 to 2009.

The experience in Milwaukee does show how vouchers bolster private school enrollment. "The principal effect of choice [has been] to preserve the city’s private schools, many of them Lutheran and Catholic," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel concluded in 2005. Nearly half of Milwaukee’s Catholic school students hold vouchers, one archdiocese official said.

Washington, D.C.

A federally funded voucher program backed by the Bush administration got underway in Washington, D.C., in 2004, supporting between 1,700 and 2,000 low-income children a year.

A 2010 evaluation team issued mixed findings, making these points:

There is no conclusive evidence that the scholarships affected student achievement on standardized tests.
Voucher students’ chances of graduating from high school were higher – 82 percent for the voucher students compared with 70 percent for the control group, based on the reports of parents surveyed.
And the program raised parents’ ratings, but not students’ ratings, of school safety and satisfaction.

The Obama administration killed the program in 2009 but funding was restored last spring.

Cleveland and Ohio

In Ohio, school choice efforts opened with tuition vouchers limited to poor students attending failing schools in Cleveland. Later came a separate voucher program for low-income students in low-performing schools elsewhere in the state, plus a program for students with autism.

But public school students often outperformed voucher students on recent state tests in Cleveland and other cities in Ohio, though results were mixed depending on grade level and subject matter.

In an email, Robert Tayek, spokesman for the Cleveland Diocese, said the voucher program has helped the city as a whole. "We believe that the Cleveland Scholarship [vouchers] and the presence of Catholic schools have helped to stabilize and preserve urban neighborhoods where the schools are located," Tayek said.

While initial efforts focused on giving low-income students private school options, Ohio is looking at changing that. Recent lobbying to create a "parental choice and taxpayer saving scholarship program" would open the door to families earning up to $95,000.

"Choice is no longer just for poor families and urban schools," said advocate Terry Ryan of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.

The current debate focuses on accountability, Ryan said. "How do you actually hold these schools accountable for performance? If the state is paying the costs, is the school any good?"

As now written, the Pennsylvania plan includes very limited accountability measures for voucher schools and does not offer vouchers to middle-income families.

Legal issues

Ohio also proved to be a testing ground for arguments over the constitutionality of tuition vouchers.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that the Cleveland tuition voucher program, established in 1996, did not violate the First Amendment. The case examined whether the voucher program constituted a governmental "establishment of religion." At the time, 96 percent of more than 3,700 students using vouchers in Cleveland were enrolled in a school with a religious affiliation.

State courts, including Florida and Colorado, have ruled against vouchers.

Voucher opponents in Pennsylvania argue that the state constitution is far more restrictive than the U.S. Constitution. The state Supreme Court has ruled that state monies cannot "reach the coffers" of religious and other private schools.

Nationwide, just two states, Ohio and Indiana, have enacted statewide voucher programs, although five other states offer vouchers to students with autism or other special needs. Tuition tax subsidies exist in nine states, including Pennsylvania. There also is a voucher program serving some students in New Orleans.

As of 2009, a mere 60,000 students, representing 0.1 percent of the 49 million students attending U.S. public schools were participating in publicly funded voucher programs, according to Research for Action, a local nonprofit group.

Organizing groups merge voices to advocate for school reform

2011-11-23T16:12:00+00:00

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

Concerned students, parents, and teachers across several local activist groups formed One Voice Alliance this fall, a coalition aimed at influencing school reform by building a collective voice.

One Voice consists of members from several organizing groups including Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), Teacher Action Group (TAG), West Philadelphia Coalition of Neighborhood Schools (WPCNS), and Education Voters Pennsylvania.

PSU Executive Director Nijmie Dzurinko, who spearheaded the creation of One Voice, said, "We want to create a space that hasn’t existed to focus on really building relationships between students, parents, and teachers."

"It’s not exactly a new organization," Dzurinko added. "It’s a collaborative effort of existing constituencies. We’re amplifying what’s already happening."

One Voice has been meeting since September and is focusing on creating change in how the District is governed. Several representatives of One Voice participated in a forum in October about transparency in District decision-making.

The alliance hopes to use the recent restructuring of the District’s central office staff and the makeover of the School Reform Commission as opportunities to push for reforms.

"Because of everything that happened this summer in the District, it felt like a really important moment to come together," said TAG member Sarah Burgess.

Currently, the alliance is drafting a proposed job description for SRC members.

"I haven’t really seen a job description for SRC members, and it’s always been kind of muddled about what their responsibilities are," said Amara Rockar, chair of WPCNS.

The proposed job description includes suggestions on transparency, budgeting and contracting accountability, community accessibility, and ways to hold the schools chief accountable.

"I think we’ll turn our attention to the superintendent next," Dzurinko said.