9 more city schools to be overhauled; 3 to charters
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
9 more city schools to be overhauled; 3 to charters
Kristen Graham
Three more low-performing city schools will be given to charters in the fall, and six more will be overhauled under Philadelphia School District management, officials said Friday.
Alcorn Elementary, in Grays Ferry, Kenderton Elementary, in Tioga, and Pastorius Elementary, in East Germantown, will become Renaissance charters given to organizations "with a proven track record in both turning around low-performing schools and operating high-achieving schools. The eligible providers have not been named.
Barry, Bryant and McMichael elementaries, in West Philadelphia, Cayuga Elementary, in Hunting Park and Edison and Strawberry Mansion high schools in North Philadelphia will become Promise Academies. They’ll get longer school days and some extra resources, plus must turn over at least half of their staffs.
State test scores, academic growth, average daily attendance, truancy rate, suspension rate and violent incidents were all considered in choosing the schools, district officials said. For high schools, graduation and college matriculation rates were also considered, as was on-track to on-time graduation rate.
It’s the fourth consecutive year that the district has deliberately shrunk itself, turning over some of its toughest schools to outside organizations to run.
Since 2010, 17 schools have been given to charters.
Critics have said it’s a deliberate move to privatize public education, but district leaders have said it’s a management strategy, that they are committed to public education.
Overhauling schools, both as charters and Promise Academies, comes with a pricetag, which wasn’t immediately clear. Although the district is in dire financial straits — it faces a $1 billion deficit over five years without drastic action — leadership and the School Reform Commission have said that continuing the Renaissance program is a priority.
Research shows that the Renaissance schools have performed well. Growth in student achievement and attendance both at Promise Academies and Renaissance charter outstripped gains at comparable city schools, according to a 2012 study conducted by Research for Action, a Philadelphia nonprofit.
The schools tapped to become charters or Promise Academies have struggled for years. All had fewer than 30 percent of their students meeting state standards in reading and math; at one school, Edison, 12 percent of students hit their mark in reading and 8 percent in math last year.
Many have struggled with violent incidents, as well.
The announcement will affect staff, of course.
If they choose to stay in their current schools, teachers in the soon-to-be charters would have to leave the district and apply for jobs with the new charter organizations, which have not been named. If they opt to remain with the district, they would be eligible for other open jobs in the school system.
Every Promise Academy teacher would have to re-apply for a spot in their current school, no more than 50 percent could be re-hired. The others would also be eligible for open district jobs.
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., in a statement, said that it was clear these nine schools needed interventions.
“We believe that we have the capacity to support certain schools
through the Promise Academy model and will engage our external partners with
successful track records to advance others," Hite said in the statement. "Ultimately, our goal is to get the best outcomes for all students."
Advisory councils made up of parents and community members at the three schools picked to be Renaissance charters will provide recommendations to the district on who they want to run their schools, but the district can overrule those recommendations. The SRC is scheduled to vote on the Renaissance charter providers in late April or early May.
they are closing promise academies to open more promise academies. interesting.
— dontlikedems- Good news - Bad news. Arleen Ackerman is rolling over in her grave. And the bad news is that Hite is worse than Ackerman. Philadelphia's new low is our man Hite.
— DarnelX - they are closing schools to give the for profit charters mo money. good to know people in high places— mgondek652
- Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?— AreaMan
- These idiots don't want to learn-just get welfare checks>
— philsfansince1946 - 1 promise acadey's principal has more juice than the other. That's all that is.— Kolitz
- Win for the tax payer one less union teacher employed.— PhillySM
- Hey PhillySM...Unions make life better for everyone. Do you want to go back to the Robber Barons? — Oh Mr. Wilson
- WOW!!!— ceage2
- Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.— pachysandra
- state tax dollars going to private schools is so completely insane , I cant fathom it. charters are not the answer. they are worsening the problem. they're not held accountable. can teach whatever they want, select whatever students they want, and if all else fails, they can always just lie about their test scores like they all too often do. no accountability. sad to see the corporatization of our schools. we're only a few years away from kids attending the McDonalds West Philadelphia High school, presented by Wal Mart.— Ryan
- This is all about union busting.— gb
- The Reagan-Democrats and/or the suburban MALE vote is going to have to realize that since Reagan they have literally been voting themselves out of a (PUBLIC) job.
Does the 'membership' in unions such as Local 98 understand that as PUBLIC Education has fallen, that their PUBLIC contracts have fallen as well?
This is a state-wide problem that will require more than a sympathetic female vote. Yes America needs the strong union labor that supported our Greatest Generation to elevate to a higher plane of civilization as we were prepared to do in 1941, more so than any other western nation .
— Cuddles - Well, at the risk of falling on my sword for Dr. Hite, he's just cleaning up his predecessors collective messes (at least I think that's how the Obamanators put it).— djdekok
- Unfortunately, what happens at charter schools is that they get the state dollars and then determine which students are prone to bring their testing numbers down or who prove to be behavior and attendance problems. Once the money is situated in their bank accounts, they threaten to expel the students or give families the option of sending their children to their neighborhood public school. Make no mistake, there is an assault on public education and poor children's rights to be educated. Public schools are turning into pipelines to prisons forcing students to see what the meals will be like, reduced resources, and little access to freedom to express creativity.
I do hope everyone considers that wh— rmhast
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
