Phila. schools chief wants ethics training for her staff

Vowing to hold adults more accountable, Philadelphia schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman yesterday disclosed plans to require all central office staff to take ethics training.

Responding to a question about the possibility of ethics classes for students - posed by a Martin Luther King High teacher during a back-to-school meeting yesterday - Ackerman said her concern was not so much children as the adults who serve them.

"I've seen some things in adults that I'm a little nervous with," said Ackerman, who has been schools chief for three months.

In an interview later, Ackerman said she wanted "people to think about the issue of ethics before they make decisions."

Some employees might not realize that past practices considered acceptable - the hiring of family members, for instance - raised ethical issues. Going forward, the lines will be clear, she said.

The classes will start with her senior staff, possibly next month, Ackerman said. Eventually, every central office employee will take the lessons, which will be taught by members of the city's ethics team, she said. The training will last all school year, she said.

It was not clear yesterday how much the lessons would cost or who would foot the bill.

Most of Ackerman's time yesterday was devoted to meeting some of the district's 10,000 teachers and 25,000 other staff. With school opening for students on Thursday, Ackerman yesterday began a four-day whirlwind welcome-back-to-school tour with stops at King in East Germantown; Harrity, a kindergarten-through-seventh-grade school in Southwest Philadelphia; and Strawberry Mansion High in North Philadelphia.

"I'm Arlene Ackerman," she said, shaking the first hand she saw inside King, her first stop of the day - that of Diane Gordon, a security guard. "Nice to meet you."

She made her way to the library, where teachers were in a meeting setting goals for the coming school year. "There's something about the beginning of a new school year that I'm always excited about," she told the crowd. She talked up her 15 years in the classroom, teaching elementary and middle school students.

"I will never forget how hard that job is," Ackerman said. "My job is to clear the barriers so that you can do your job."

Regard each student that walks in the door as your own, Ackerman implored the teachers.

"When I enter a school, I look around and say, 'Would I want Anthony or Matthew to be here?' " Ackerman said, referring to her two grown sons. "When I say no, I have a moral and a professional responsibility to make that school good enough for my own children."

Teachers, she said, have the same job.

In the last few weeks, Ackerman has called on principals to do more for students. She repeated that directive to teachers.

King teachers seemed upbeat about their new boss.

John Volk, a district teacher for more than 30 years, asked her about funding for community-based organizations, which in the past were given contracts to provide staff to help school police keep order inside the building. This year, there's only one nonteaching assistant to work with police.

Ackerman said that grant money for the community groups had run out, and that unlike her predecessors, she would not allow programs for which there is no money to operate. The district is looking at ways to address the situation, she said.

Still, Volk, who teaches math, said he was happy his new boss knew the challenges he faced.

"You can't do this job unless you know what it's like to be in the classroom," he said.

English teacher Jennifer Freeman crossed her fingers when asked for a progress report on Ackerman. Freeman, a five-year veteran of the district, wants more to help her students. A textbook for each to take home would be a good start, she said.

"We're very hopeful that we'll finally start to get some much-needed resources," said Freeman.