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Inquirer Editorial: School shakeup

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is right to push forward with her plan to radically restructure 18 chronically failing schools. Given the abysmal test scores and staggering dropout rates, waiting is not an option.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's plan to overhaul 18 troubled Philadelphia public schools makes sense. But do it in context. (David M Warren / Staff Photographer)
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's plan to overhaul 18 troubled Philadelphia public schools makes sense. But do it in context. (David M Warren / Staff Photographer)Read more

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is right to push forward with her plan to radically restructure 18 chronically failing schools. Given the abysmal test scores and staggering dropout rates, waiting is not an option.

But any overhaul needs to be done in context with the Philadelphia School District's looming budget deficit, which could be $400 million, and the 70,000 vacant seats across the district.

Under the proposed move, the district will pump an additional $1 million into 10 schools. The remaining eight schools will be turned into charter schools.

The potential changes are sweeping: Most schools will get a new principal and half the teachers could be replaced. Staffers will have to reapply for jobs. School days and the school year will be longer, giving students more needed time in the classroom.

The changes are bold and needed. If anything, why stop at 18 schools? Many more schools are in need of a similar shake-up.

President Obama has pushed for similar reforms as part of his agenda to improve troubled public schools.

Not surprisingly, the head of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers expressed doubt about the plan, saying there was no evidence that the model has worked at 13 other schools that were dramatically restructured in September.

But district officials say the preliminary results from the overhaul of the so-called Renaissance Schools are encouraging.

In fact, one thing is clear: Sticking with the status quo is not an option. Many of these schools have been failing for years. Losing another generation of kids isn't acceptable.

As part of the next phase, some of the restructured schools will get fancy new names like "Promise Academies" or "Promise Innovation Schools." The reforms are all part of Ackerman's broader "Imagine 2014" plan.

Beyond keeping track of all the confusing names for each phase of Ackerman's plans, the big challenge for the district will be to find the money to pay for the changes.

Given the expected massive budget shortfall, every dollar must be spent wisely. That's why the district needs to look more broadly at closing and consolidating schools, given that there are 70,000 vacant seats. Such a move will free up money for the remaining schools.

The other challenge will be to recruit and find the best principals and teachers in all of the schools. The district has been making progress in recent years, but the overall record is abysmal.

For the 2009-10 school year, 41 percent of the city's 267 schools missed the benchmark for "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind law, and half of the district's 11th graders cannot read or do math at grade level.

The 18 schools in line for the overhaul were chosen for their poor academic performance, violence, and dropout rates. Ten are high schools. Those schools clearly need fixing. But a broader plan that takes into account the looming budget shortfall and the declining enrollment is also needed.