Ackerman plan would revamp and reimagine failing schools, close others

TEN CHRONICALLY failing Philadelphia public schools will be converted into charter schools or placed under the wings of other successful school operators in the fall of 2010, district Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said yesterday.

The shake-up of the schools, which have not been identified, is part of the first phase of "Imagine 2014," a $50 million five-year plan that Ackerman outlined during a contentious School Reform Commission meeting.

The plan, which will be refined during two months of community meetings before the SRC adopts it in April, ultimately calls for up to 30 troubled schools' being placed under new management, and possibly getting new staffs. Conversely, a group of successful schools would get rewards - including greater academic autonomy from the district.

The plan also calls for reducing kindergarten class sizes to no more than 20 students, and 1st-through 3rd-grade classes down to 22 children. In middle schools, the ratio of students to guidance counselors would be reduced to 150 to 1, and 200 to 1 in high schools.

Ninth-graders would get an individual graduation plan, and each high school would receive a College Access Center. Three new career and technical high schools would open, as would one small high school dedicated to preparing future teachers, according to the plan.

Ackerman, who took the district's helm in June, said the reforms are routine in many suburban schools but nonexistent here.

"What we have up here in terms of what we're expecting and envisioning in the implementing of this plan is the basics - the basics, folks," she told the audience, which was larger than usual.

"My own children got what's up here, and many of us who have succeeded got what was in this presentation," she added, likening the reforms to a Volvo rather than a Mercedes-Benz.

She said that only individuals and organizations with proven track records will be allowed to manage schools here. "If you haven't done it, we're not even going to offer it as an option for these communities," she said.

In another development, school officials announced that William Penn High and Gillespie Middle would be closing due to low enrollment. This is the first move that the district has made in response to a district-commissioned report last fall that found that there are 43,500 empty seats in city schools.

William Penn, at Broad and Thompson streets, in North Philadelphia, has 633 students and will close at the end of next school year. Gillespie, at 18th and Pike streets, in Nicetown, has 167 students and will close at the end of this school year, officials said.

Public meetings about the closures will be held after the March 10 SRC meeting.

Early reaction to the five-year plan was cautious and mixed.

Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said that turning struggling schools over to outside managers is "irresponsible," given that those schools have not received basic resources and programs.

"The district's new strategic plan is one more attempt by the administration to shift the blame for consistently under-resourcing schools to the teachers and staff," Jordan said. "Why blame the teachers for oversized classes, for not having enough books, for failing to hire certified teachers for every classroom?"

"I feel this has to do with profit and it's a control thing. This is a disgrace," said Markeeta Hudgens, 17, who attends Overbrook High School. Hudgens and several classmates attended the meeting and said that they feared that Overbrook would be one of the schools targeted for new management.

The students, members of the activist group Philadelphia Student Union, said that their school needs more computers and textbooks to take home, more qualified teachers and smaller class sizes.

Carol Fixman, executive director of the Philadelphia Education Fund, said that she liked what she heard, but wants more specifics.

"There's some wonderful concepts, the direction is optimistic, the trend is positive," she said. "I'm eager to see the details, of course." *