Nutter: Parents, city have education roles

Now that school is back in session, children should not be out after dark as so many often are, Mayor Nutter believes.

They should be at home getting help from their parents with homework, eating nutritious meals and going to bed early enough to be rested and ready for school.

Nutter, the father of a daughter in middle school, plans to say as much this evening during a back-to-basics education speech at South Philadelphia High School, Broad Street and Snyder Avenue.

"I believe that the most critical element to the success of young people in Philadelphia is what adults do," Nutter said yesterday in an interview. "Of course, their first, longest and most consistent teacher will be their parents.

"The schools - teachers, principals and administrators - have a tremendous impact. The business community as well, and certainly elected officials, all have roles to play," he added.

"So I'm going to talk to the citizens of Philadelphia about everyone's different but collective role in improving educational outcomes for kids."

Since taking office in January, Nutter has spoken frequently of two key education goals, and will stress them again this evening: to halve the 45 percent dropout rate within seven years, and to double the number of adults with college degrees over the next decade. Just 18 percent of adults in the city now have four-year degrees.

Toward the dropout goal, Nutter will announce that the school district and the city are preparing to implement an "early-warning system" to stem dropping out among 6th-graders - identified by research as a vulnerable year.

To fund that program and others for at-risk youth, the city will realign more than $200 million now used for after-school, summer and prevention programs, according to a draft of the speech provided by the mayor's office.

On the college front, Nutter will announce the creation of CollegeReady Philadelphia, which will link high-school students to college-preparation programs. Foundation funding is being sought for the program, according to the speech.

To institutions of higher learning, Nutter will propose, as he has previously, that they commit to providing 1,000 scholarships each year to graduating city high-school students.

"If we can get it together and work on our respective tasks, a decade from now, people will be talking about the Philadelphia Miracle, and we'll be more than happy to tell anyone how we did it," according to Nutter's draft.

Education-watchers said the mayor's words are admirable, but he and other city officials must continue working to get more funding for the 165,000-student district.

"He's on the right track," said Greg Wade, president of the Philadelphia Home and School Council, the largest parent group in the city. "Parents need to get involved and get their kids to school on time. But when they get there we need to make sure they are safe and they have books on those desks. That takes an investment."

Gerald Wright, a founding member of Parents United for Public Education, said:

"For what I've heard him say, and the fact that he has appointed people to an education office, it appears that he is serious about education.

"But I'm still waiting for the concrete plan as to how we get more more money to the educational system."

Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who will introduce Nutter tonight, said parental involvement at schools is welcomed and necessary.

"Parents have a right to be engaged in this process of educating their children and they should exercise it. But they can't exercise it if we turn them away," she said.

"So, the school district has a responsibility to say, 'We want you here.' " *