District convenes panel to create safer schools

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and Mayor Nutter have convened a panel to deal with recent violence that has sparked concerns about school safety.

The ultimate goal, Ackerman said, is to create an environment in and out of school in which students can learn without fearing for their safety.

"You can't learn if you don't come to school," she said. "One day very soon all of our young people will feel like they can come to school.

"Some of our young people are scared to come to school. They're afraid of what will happen to them from the time they leave home until the time they get to school. I hope we can eliminate that fear."

Members of the commission will be expected to meet quarterly and issue annual reports with recommendations.

If the goals of the commission are realized, truancy rates will decline, and in two years, the district will have no more schools on the state's "persistently dangerous" list.

Scrutiny will be put on the district's "Focus 46" - schools where most of the district's reported violent incidents occur.

Twenty of the schools are persistently dangerous schools, as designated by the state. The rest made the list because they appeared on the list before or have the potential to.

Officials will also focus on middle schools or "feeder schools."

To be designated a Focus 46 school, a campus must have severe problems with daily attendance, violence and truancy.

Those schools enroll just under 37,000 of the district's 160,000 students, but account for nearly half of the district's suspensions. Forty percent of violent incidents reported and 63 percent of chronically truant students also come from these schools.

Nutter reiterated that school safety is not just about what happens in the school.

"We have to make sure that our streets are safe so our kids are comfortable going to school," Nutter said.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and District Attorney Seth Williams, also panel members, have committed to working with the district, said Deputy Superintendent Leroy Nunery, who moderated yesterday's meeting.

Meanwhile, at Community College of Philadelphia, The Campaign for Nonviolent Schools, a youth-led movement, gathered yesterday to discuss ways to improve school climate.

Its next steps include meeting with district officials to begin a conversation about "shifting policy."

Members are advocating to change the ways youth are viewed in the media; create pro-student discipline policies in schools; and petition schools to acquire resources to provide each student with a quality education.