Top city schools' criteria in flux?

Concerned that its top academic schools are not racially and economically diverse enough, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is proposing major changes in how students are admitted to them.

The plan would take admissions decisions away from principals and their committees, and select students for magnet and citywide-admissions schools centrally, using a computerized system, according to a "draft" obtained by The Inquirer.

District officials suggested a 1,000-point system, 600 points of which would be based on test scores and grades, according to the draft that was distributed to high school principals. Other factors would include behavior and attendance, and, for the first time, 200 points for "diversity" as measured by a student's neighborhood or zip code and income level.

The proposal could upend a decades-old selection system for the magnet schools, long an educational refuge for the city's middle class where many powerful and influential leaders send their children.

The district canceled a meeting scheduled for tonight to roll out the proposed changes to parents, following concerns from some principals and parents.

Warning that such moves could drive more middle-class families out of the city, some parents and school leaders said they feared that standards would be watered down and that nuances in applications would be missed by a computerized system.

"This admission policy threatens the very existence of special-admission schools," said Amy Ashbridge, a parent on the Home and School Council at Masterman, the district's top-performing school, where admission is very selective. "If our children were not in these special-selection schools, we would be taking ourselves and our tax dollars out of the city. You have to provide a way for middle-class people to be able to live in the city and not have to pay $25,000 a year in tuition."

John Frangipani, chief of school operations, said that a plan would be rolled out in the coming weeks or months and that the draft document was just a proposal for discussion.

"These were just ideas we were floating, and we got some feedback," he said.

District officials, he said, want all neighborhoods and zip codes - from the richest to the poorest - to be fairly represented in magnet schools such as Masterman and Central, where student test scores are among the highest in the state.

"We're concerned about making sure students have all the opportunities afforded to them," Frangipani said.

District officials said they could not provide current economic and racial profiles for magnets overall.

But individual school profiles on the district's Web site - as well as a report by Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based think tank - show that white, Asian, and female students, and those from more affluent families, are overrepresented at magnets as compared with the overall district population.

At Masterman last school year, 28 percent of students were black, compared with 60 percent districtwide. Whites made up 44 percent of students, compared with 13 percent districtwide.

Districtwide, 76 percent come from low-income families, while at Masterman the number is 44 percent. Other magnets also show differences, but not as large.

At the High School for Creative and Performing Arts, 49 percent of students are black, 34.5 percent white, and 48 percent from low-income families.

Officials at Research for Action say the district should look at modifications to its high-school admission system. Students from high-poverty areas with more learning needs tend to be concentrated in certain schools, said Eva Gold, founder and senior research fellow.

"While some students whose parents or other relations know how to navigate the system can obtain adequate information to make informed choices - and even 'game' the system - the lack of information from the district shortchanges more disadvantaged students," Gold wrote in a policy brief issued in January. "Often there are 'late' admissions to selective schools when parents or influential advocates pressure for admittance."

Currently, the district's 19 "special-admission" high schools set their admission standards, covering test scores, grades, attendance, behavior, and other factors. Teams of principals select.

At the 12 "citywide-admission" schools, students enter a lottery if they meet standards.

For years, the district's academic magnet system has attracted the offspring of the city's powerbrokers.

Mayor Nutter's daughter, Olivia, attends Masterman. Others who have or have had children there include former Philadelphia School Board President Pedro Ramos; former Mayor John F. Street, and Fire Commissioner Lloyd M. Ayers.

Under the draft proposal, admission criteria would include sixth- and seventh-grade marks in major subjects and standardized-test scores. Auditions also would count or replace test scores at "performance" schools, such as Creative and Performing Arts.

Under the 1,000-point system, student scores would be entered into a computerized selection system. Schools would have a minimum point requirement.

It also proposes to allot 70 percent of seats by geographic area or zip code and the other 30 percent to children from charter and parochial schools and for students new to the city.

The system is similar to one in Chicago, Frangipani said. District officials looked at systems in other cities, including San Francisco, where Ackerman made changes to magnet admissions as superintendent.

Michael Horwits, a social science teacher at Central, said the current system, in which a school committee pores over applications and selects, works. The committee looks at grades, test scores, recommendations, and other details.

"When you have a team like Central that goes to the Super Bowl every year, why mess with it?" asked Horwits, referring to the school's top test scores.

He also asserted that Central is one of the most diverse schools: 32 percent black, 29 percent Asian, 30 percent white, and 7 percent Latino. Nearly 48 percent are low-income.

Central principal Sheldon Pavel declined to comment on the proposal, but said "we've been satisfied" with the current process.

At Science Leadership Academy, parents are circulating e-mails, encouraging opposition. William W. Felinski, an Edison High science teacher whose son is at the academy, objected to letting zip code be an admissions criterion, saying, "People who are qualified from any zip code in the city are invited to compete to get into that school."

He said he likes that the Science Academy interviews applicants to find those who share the school's goals and interests.

His son, William IV, agreed. "A student has to be qualified or have a passion for being in that learning environment in order for the school to succeed," he said.

Ashbridge, whose 11th-grade twins attend Masterman, asked how a centralized system would measure the rigor of a student's prior curriculum. Many students admitted to the high school had gotten an advanced curriculum at Masterman's middle school.

The district, she said, should increase spots at top-notch schools rather than "dumb down the good schools we have."

Emily Ashbridge, 17, a junior, said she worried a change in standards would hurt the quality of the student body and harm the strong attitude toward high achievement.

"At school, everyone wants to learn and getting bad grades isn't cool," she said.

Shelly Yanoff, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth - long worried about equity - said the district's goal was good, but success would depend on implementation.

"At first blush, it certainly is of concern that some schools don't have enough diversity," she said. "On the other hand, one wonders if a major centralized system will really help."