Students, teachers developing alternative to Philly school plan
Many students, teachers and community members have made it clear - they don't like the Boston Consulting Group's recommendations for overhauling the troubled Philadelphia School District.
Students, teachers developing alternative to Philly school plan
Kristen Graham
Many students, teachers and community members have made it clear - they don't like the Boston Consulting Group's recommendations for overhauling the troubled Philadelphia School District. They think the $4.4 million in private donations paid to the group was too much, and that the plan bypasses the on-the-ground wisdom of people who actually work in and attend city schools.
On Thursday, a group led by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the Philadelphia Student Union, Youth United for Change and Action United said they would work to develop an alternative - a grassroots plan for the district.
"As a youth leader, I come here today to tell you there are other options," said Kiara Garcia, a sophomore at Kensington CAPA High School. "After years of being ignored, we are here to say: We will develop a plan that works for our district."
The plan - which has yet to be developed - was announced at a news conference outside Spring Garden Elementary.
Teachers' union chief Jerry Jordan said the plan would encompass the wisdom not just of the community, but of retired teachers, principals and superintendents - he did not say whom - would volunteer their expertise to help inform the process.
"Fixing education is not something you do by closing schools and shuffling children from one failing experiment to another," Jordan said.
In order to avoid insolvency, boost student achievement and overhaul operations, BCG officials recommended closing dozens of district schools and organizing the remaining ones into "achievement networks" - groups of 20-25 schools run either by district staff or by outside, nonprofit groups, such as charter organizations or universities.
The achievement network concept in particular has drawn criticism, with some labeling it "privatization" of public education.
The global management firm also recommended massive changes to union contracts.
BCG staff studied the district for six months before arriving at their recommendations, but the community groups objected to the lack of student, teacher and community voice in the plan.
District mother Kia Hinton, whose children attend Longstreth Elementary and Bartram High School as well as Richard Allen Prep Charter, said her children have suffered for years and deserve better.
"For years, my children have done the best they can in schools that have not have the resources to provide them with even the bare minimum of a quality education, and in the last year we have seen these resources further depleted," said Hinton, a member of Action United.
Hinton took particular exception to the district's plan to close schools - about 40 by 2013, then roughly five more every year through 2017.
"My children will not benefit from the closure of their schools or neighboring schools, will not benefit from the lack of oversight and accountability that is synonymous with privatization, and will not benefit from the attacks on unions that threaten to make their teachers' and support staffs' already challenging jobs even harder," Hinton said.
Organizers said they will present their plan to the SRC and the public by the end of the school year, and said they will begin to gather input at a community engagement session on September 22.
Okay, so as of now, no plan, no ideas. Hmmm. And BCG was just a set of recommendations. Hoping the new Federation plan won't cost anything. There is no more money.— Sam Pileggi- Denial seems to be the new standard for our society. Fact is that Philly schools are so far gone that " outside the box " thinking must be appled to save them. I am not sure that the company which has been hired will fit the bill but "same old , different wrapper " just to save union power is not fair to either the kids or the community. SO tell me , on which planet is governmet control more efficient and effective than private? Been to PennDot recently? Social Security? Parking Authority ? ANY government agency?
- The fact is, that not only has the state take over of the SDP discouraged achievement and raided the public coffers, it's removed the ability of the actual people involved, ie. teachers, parents, students and taxpayers to ave any say about it. Why waste the money on paying someone else to do what the public school already does better.
Every time we tried privatizing public education it has failed. Charter schools end up using the same district curriculum, and the test scores only rise according to the level of student the accept. Charter schools were never meant to educate an entire region let alone a district. They were meant as laboratories for experimenting with new educational practices.
Teachers, administrators, parents, students, and taxpayers have had no input as to how the district does it's business for over a decade. We need to oust this awful SRC. We can do it better. We need to close every single one of these private run charter fiascos. They are a waste of money. If this multi million dollar waste of money firm was worth their paychecks, the first thing they would have done would have been to listen to the teachers. If this crazy takeover plan happens, who the hell would ever want to teach here?— PhillySteel36 - We've been spending over 20k per year per student for years and still have most of 16 year olds performing well below grade level. We don't need new plans, we need to bring in someone with a track record of success in a big city school system and letting that person do anything he/she wants to do.— farley
- YOu need to recheck you facts. The district does not even get funded 20k per student. We have underfunded the schools in Philadelphia for decades. Perhaps if we stopped bringing outside administrator with big price tickets into Philadelphia things would actually improve. — iteachinphilly
- These posters are great examples of bullies.
- Like Ackerman?— brinsley
- When you have police interrupt your class a few times a day (for good reason) how could a teacher do their job-when the teacher has no authority over his or her room-when the "parent" plays no roll in their kids education??? I personally could care less because I dont belong to a "community" of like minded individuals
I left the city and it's worth every cent I pay in taxes now I can ignorantly smirk and care less what one calls me :)— MrMikeR - Sorry, but this is laughable. You have the teachers' union (who are solely concerned with keeping their jobs), high school students (who don't have the faintest idea what it takes to run a school district, much less one that is in financial ruins), and former teachers and administrators (who weren't able to fix the problem when they actually worked at the District) putting together a plan to save Philadelphia's schools? The recommendations by BCG are meant to save resources -- the same resources that Ms. Hinton is describing as having been depleted over the years. She may not think that her children would benefit from closing schools, but she's misinformed. Doing so would save the District more than $30 million every year. That benefits every student. If you don't like the BCG recommendations, that's OK -- but now is the time to work WITH the District (not against them) to help shape the plan moving forward.— roxgirl
- Teachers have had no input for over a decade. This one stinks all the way to Harrisburg. Don't lay this at the feet of the teachers and the kids. They've been harassed, scared, attacked, and stolen from. If you want to blame teachers and students for the state of the district, then let them run it. — PhillySteel36
- CLosing the schools does not save the district money at all. IT cost the district money. AS we close the schools, they reopen as charter. The money from the state is now paid to the charter. The charters operate under different rules than the district. They do as they please while the charter operators stuff their pockets with cash. This year, in reaction to not paying rent for the buildings they use, Universal said they were too cash strapped to pay rent because they have over-taken more schools and they are stretched too thin. Last week UNiversal and KIPP were in Camden bidding to take over 5 schools there. If they are too poor to pay rent on the buildings they are using then why are they still out shopping!!!!! The city is being fleeced and lied to by the SRC, the GOVERNOR and the CHarter Operators. IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP AND PROTECT PUBLIC EDUCATION! — iteachinphilly
- The system needs smarter kids.— 2ndNlong
- If the consulting firm had performed this service without the money incentive they got, many may think it is a good idea......... maybe they are the greedy ones....
Where can I invest in the charter schools----- sounds like a good way to make money..........ask the teachers who have fallen victim to these leaders........
— lilmil 
Let them eat cake at the Charter School in the corner store.— Cuddles- I can fix the school system without it costing the taxpayers a single penny. Introduce the concept of parental accountability. Parents actually become responsible for their kids. They must feed and clothe them. They must make sure they do their homework, get enough sleep and generally, stay involved in their lives. Otherwise, no amount of money thrown at the school district is going to change anything. Its way too easy to blame the administrators, teachers and everyone else associated with school system for its failures. Change will come when parents actually make the effort to be parents.— syddan26
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.
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