Accentuating the new era will be Gov. Rendell's 10 a.m. swearing-in of Heidi Ramirez as a member of the SRC, before the body's regular 1 p.m. meeting.

Ramirez, director of Temple University's Urban Education Collaborative, replaces former SRC Chairman James Nevels, who resigned last August, 17 months before his term expired.

Ackerman, who is not expected to attend today's meeting and whose official start date has not been announced, faces sweeping challenges.

As of yesterday, the district's budget deficit stood at $26 million. On the academic front, while student-test scores have improved over the last five years, an achievement gap persists, with Asian and white students outperforming their black and Latino peers.

Ackerman, 61, who has spent the last several weeks making the rounds at the district's North Broad Street headquarters, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Nyziah Miller, an 11th-grader at Sayre High School, said that he is hopeful Ackerman will find time to meet with student groups, such as the Philadelphia Student Union, of which he is a member.

Miller, 16, said that his school at 58th and Walnut streets lacks enough textbooks in some classes, including his chemistry class, and that teachers are often short of supplies.

Districtwide, he said, students want input on how 70 low-performing schools will be reformed, and they want officials to pay more attention to improving the quality of teaching.

"We hope that we can build a better relationship between her and the Student Union and other youth groups so that she can help us with the problems we have," he said.

Dolores Shaw, chairwoman of the Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project, said that her grassroots organization is looking forward to helping Ackerman move the district forward.

"We're going to work with her fresh. We're not going to let any of her baggage from San Francisco and Washington interfere with us building a relationship with her," said Shaw, noting the places where Ackerman has run school districts.

"In order to go forward right now, it will require open-mindedness from all parties," she said. "We really do want to build a good relationship with Ms. Ackerman because there is a lot of work that needs to be done."

Barbara Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said that the 16,000-member union also hopes Ackerman puts emphasis on giving teachers and students more resources.

"We hope that she will help us fight for the funding that will give students in Philadelphia access to the same educational opportunities that other children in more affluent communities have," she said.

"Our members are looking for a genuine partnership, where we can come together and agree on the priorities. Where we will support, not sanction, schools. Where we can marshal every resource in the community to improve the lives of children," Goodman added.

Ten years ago, state Rep. Dwight Evans helped pass the state's school-takeover law, which was used on Philadelphia's schools six years ago. Evans, a Philadelphia Democrat, said that his support for Ackerman will be contingent upon her embracing key reforms that have been instituted during the takeover.

"I hope she builds on the changes that we started with, 1) parental choice, 2) accountability, and 3) academic achievement," he said.

Greg Wade, president of the Philadelphia Home and School Council, lashed out at the reform commission during last week's meeting because he believed that its members had attempted to block him from meeting with Ackerman - which he has yet to do.

"We're hoping she gets a grip on this budget, teacher quality, reduces class sizes, and that she leads us in the right direction," he said.

"Like I told the SRC last week, I don't have faith in them. I hope she can restore the faith." *