Editorial: New chapter, same book

Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman finally seems to realize that part of the challenge in a city where perception too often becomes reality is making sure your story is heard.

Accordingly, she went on the offensive last week with Mayor Nutter, bypassing the media to meet with business and community leaders to talk about the "significant gains" the district made during the last school year.

The data actually were reported last month, but you can't blame Ackerman for wanting to make doubly sure that the story wasn't missed. The district's efforts to boost student achievement are paying off.

For the first time, more than half of the district's students met or exceeded state benchmarks in math and reading. The high school graduation rate has also improved, although too many students are still flunking out.

Also worth noting: Class sizes in grades K-3 have been reduced at low-performing schools; summer school has been expanded; and 13 failing schools will undergo radical restructuring.

That's progress the district should be proud of, but, like a lot of other struggling urban districts, it still has a lot of work to do before giving itself an A.

Nutter candidly acknowledged that the 167,000-student district is "not necessarily where we want to be, but we're not where we were." The system continues to let down too many students.

At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2123 to get every student up to speed academically. By then, more generations of students would be lost.

Ackerman is trying to avoid that travesty. But she doesn't feel her efforts get as much media attention as the day-to-day problems inherent in running any large school system. So, the district has hired public-relations consultants, and she has promised to revamp her internal communications staff.

One move that should help Ackerman and the School Reform Commission forge a better relationship with the public is their decision to release the performance criteria that the SRC used in giving Ackerman a $65,000 bonus.

The state Office of Open Records ruled two weeks ago that the district must make the information public. But until late Thursday, district officials were saying they had not made up their mind about appealing.

They made the right decision. If Ackerman is so concerned about getting out her story, she should make it clear that she has absolutely nothing to hide.