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Monday, October 10, 2011

Lorene Cary named to SRC
Lorene Cary has been named to the School Reform Commission.

Mayor Nutter has named novelist Lorene Cary to the School Reform Commission. 

Cary, whose novel "The Price of a Child" was the inaugural One Book One Philadelphia selection in 2003, is also the founder of the nonprofit Art Sanctuary, which showcases African American art.  She also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Lorene Cary is a nationally recognized writer, she has a tremendous education background, but for me what is truly outstanding is that she has an incredible passion for the well-being of children; she cares very personally about parents and she’s very much focused on supporting teachers. She will be a tremendous asset to the School Reform Commission and the children of Philadelphia,” Mayor Nutter said in a statement.

Ron Tomalis, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, said, “I am pleased to welcome Lorene to the SRC, as I believe her experience will be beneficial to the school district and the Commission. I look forward to working with her and her colleagues in the coming months as we address many of the critical issues facing the district.”

“I am honored to serve Philadelphia’s students, teachers, and school leaders, and through them, our entire city.  My parents were both Philadelphia public school teachers; I attended elementary school here; our children have spent about half their school life in District schools; and as a writer and arts organization director, I’ve worked with schools and with kids, parents, and grandparents who know that a good education is their only real hope for success.  I am grateful to be called to serve them on this committed and talented team,” Cary said in the statement.

She was born and raised in Philadelphia and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Penn.

Cary founded the Art Sanctuary in 1998.  She lives in East Falls with her husband, the Rev. Robert C. Smith, rector of the Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd. The couple has two daughters.

Cary is Nutter's second appointment in recent weeks.  She joins Rutgers-Camden Chancellor Wendell E. Pritchett, who's now serving as interim chair of the SRC.  Gov. Corbett's nominee, Pedro Ramos, will take over the chairmanship if confirmed by the state Senate. Once Cary is sworn in and Ramos confirmed, the SRC will have five members for the first time since early this year, when David Girard-diCarlo resigned.  The other members of the SRC are Joseph Dworetzky and Denise McGregor Armbrister.

It's not yet clear when Cary will take her oath of office, but it seems likely that she'll be in place by the SRC's next meeting on Oct. 26.
Posted by Kristen Graham @ 2:06 PM  Permalink | 33 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:30 PM, 10/10/2011
    Lorene Cary is very friendly with the local Philly Dem structure. She's pals with Universal, Kenny Gamble, local politicos. She's not going to be an impartial critic of the pay to play going on in the Philly Public School District, the handout of contracts to pals who make contributions but are not qualified, or the patronage jobs system. She'll just be a mouthpiece for the state needing to pay for Philly schools.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:35 PM, 10/10/2011
    sounds like her "tremendous education background" is mostly going to school at Penn. Interesting that they don't list her degrees, or any experience in educational leadership.
    why not just pick a name out of a hat? oh right, then there wouldn't be a guarantee they support the democratic machine.
    all about the children, right?
    — TheRevoltionWillNotBeTelevised
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:55 PM, 10/10/2011
    Looks like the same ole', same ole' to me....
    — kelprod2
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:56 PM, 10/10/2011
    I see he didn't name Helen Gym to the SRC. What a shame.
    — anon
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:18 PM, 10/10/2011
    I guess Maya Angelou and Skip Gates were busy. This board is starting to look like an Ivy league African American studies faculty. Anyway the relevance of her time in Philadelphia public schools is clearly a stretch. From my math, the last time she attended one was around 1964. The city has changed a bit since then. Her first book was about how difficult it was for her to attend an elite New England boarding school. I think that will resonate with the kids at Gratz or Audrenreid. Seems like Nutter has given up on the schools by putting together an overly fancy board of our city's talented 10th. I said it before, the city needs to put the president of the Philadelphia Community College on the board. That is the institution most relevant to the life chances of our public school students.
    — bobcitydoc
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:22 PM, 10/10/2011
    I trust Ms Cary will be a much better person than either of those she is replacing.
    — DoomsdayCritic
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:23 PM, 10/10/2011
    Here's a thought how about naming someone to the SRC that actually has real life experience in the field of education. Someone who has spent years in the classroom dealing with the real life problems of a large urban school district with concentrations of poor families. In other words how about an ex teacher or principal. No let's continue to appoint lawyers, businessmen, politicians or people with experience in university level education. All of which have nothing to do with the reality of actually standing up in front of a classroom on a daily basis.
    — mindstorms
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:28 PM, 10/10/2011
    Amen to this. Why not appoint a current or former public school teacher?

    So please don't complain when I say we need vouchers. This is the best they can do. You are looking at it. After a year of national scandal, here you go. Lorene Cary. Wrote a book. Is an artist. Teaches creative writing. Alrighty then.

    I think I'll hire a painter to do my plumbing.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:37 PM, 10/10/2011
    I think everyone thought that was the direction that would be taken when the house was cleaned. But no, business as usual in Philadelphia. Cronyism at it's best.
    — dogman5
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:25 PM, 10/10/2011
    Doom, what is the greatest problem in the SRC? Fiscal oversight? So we appoint an artist? Because she knows her way around a spreadsheet, analyzes budgets, and can loo at an annual report and say, "I question your assumptions for the next fiscal year?"

    She's completely out of her element.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:42 PM, 10/10/2011
    Where did she go to high school? Where do her daughters go to school?
    — Earl J
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:46 PM, 10/10/2011
    Isn't the Art Sanctuary at 16th and Bainbridge a boarded up building? It sure looks like it still is on Google Maps. The sign on the front says "Art Sanctuary," at the building on the NW corner. I don't know how private builders can't get away with stuff like this but the friends of the Democrats have no accountability for their boarded up properties. The sign says the group gets all kinds of money from the City too.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:51 PM, 10/10/2011
    The truth is the Philadelphia school district needs a top notch Parris Island drill sergeant, and not more lovey dovey Ivy league academic types.
    — kelprod2


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About Kristen Graham
Kristen Graham has covered the Philadelphia School District since May 2008. A native Philadelphian – and a graduate of the district and Temple University – she has written about everything from crime and county government to education since joining the Inquirer in 2000. Kristen, who also spent time as an online producer at Philly.com, has won multiple journalism prizes and if asked politely will sing as much of “Hail Northeast,” her high school’s alma mater, as she remembers. She comes from a family of teachers and believes there is no more difficult or important job than that of an educator.

During the school year, you’ll find Kristen chatting live on Philly.com most Mondays at noon or 4 p.m. 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.

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