More Phila. schools on federal danger list

Although reports of violence are down districtwide, the number of Philadelphia public schools classified as "persistently dangerous" - so unsafe that parents have the right to send their children elsewhere - is on the rise.

The new list, released yesterday by the district, contains 25 middle and high schools. Last year, 20 were given the designation by the state under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

No other schools in Pennsylvania appeared on the list.

Philadelphia School District officials said they viewed the news as mostly good.

Across the district, violence reports in nearly all categories, including weapons offenses and assaults, were down 15 percent, from 6,703 in 2007-08 to 5,715 last year, according to James Golden, head of the district's Office of School Climate and Safety.

To make the "persistently dangerous" list, a school must have a certain number of serious incidents, such as assaults, in the most recent school year and in one of the previous two years. The ratio between reported violence and enrollment determines the designation.

For instance, Golden said, Stephen A. Douglas High was named after just seven incidents last year because fewer than 250 students are enrolled.

Eleven schools reported less violence - most of them with double-digit drops - but still made the list, Golden said. FitzSimons High, for instance, had 43 percent fewer incidents.

"I believe we're moving in the right direction," Golden said.

Officials said the number of persistently dangerous schools had surged in the last few years in part because principals are reporting violence more honestly. Meanwhile, a new zero-tolerance policy has helped tamp down violence, Golden said.

Last year, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said the district would crack down on misbehavior and begin expelling the most violent students.

"We're not going to tolerate these kind of serious incidents, this type of behavior," Golden said.

Although violence was down in most categories, it did rise in one area: Assaults against school police officers increased 17 percent. Golden said he was not sure why, although he noted that officers "are the first line of response."

Weapons offenses fell 27 percent, to 642, and Golden said that number should be even lower.

The district reports any weapon found by the detection equipment at the entrance to every high school. But "the state hasn't told us that we have to do that," Golden said. "It's something that I'm going to revisit with the state and with senior leadership here at the district."

Some schools - Germantown and West Philadelphia High Schools, for instance - have made the persistently dangerous list for several years running. Others, such as Northeast High and Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, are new this year.

Under No Child Left Behind, parents whose children attend persistently dangerous schools have a right to transfer them to safer schools.

Five schools came off the list: Anna Shaw, Elizabeth Gillespie, John Turner, and Roberto Clemente Middle Schools, and Martin Luther King High. Those schools, like all the others on the list, had extra safety supports in place, officials said.

The district has identified 44 schools, including the 25 persistently dangerous ones, as at-risk because of safety problems, Golden said. The 44 are monitored to make sure they have adequate school safety staff, equipment, and technical support from the district.

Golden said he was pleased with the district's progress.

"In some cases, it's a long-term strategic approach to safety, things gradually getting better," he said. "In others . . . you can get them off the list right away."

These Philadelphia schools have been deemed "persistently dangerous."

Middle schools

Warren G. Harding       John Stetson    Roberts Vaux

Theodore Roosevelt    Edwin Vare

High schools

Stephen A. Douglas      Lincoln         South Philadelphia

Edison                   Northeast      Strawberry Mansion

Fels                     Olney East      University City

Thomas Fitzsimons      Olney West      West Philadelphia

Frankford               Overbrook

Horace Furness         William Penn

Germantown            Roxborough

Kensington Culinary Arts

Kensington Business

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