Some believe that Ackerman, a target of hellish scorn, is heaven-sent

SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT Arlene Ackerman, increasingly under fire from politicians, union officials and even some of her own employees, also has a cadre of supporters who speak of her with an almost religious reverence.

Since taking helm of the school district, Ackerman has grown a firm following - from parents to clergy to community groups - who have gone to bat for her whenever the going got tough. The more heat she's taken, it seems, the more vocal her support has become.

"I'm a spiritual person and I see [her] as a gift from God," said parent Desiree Whitfield. "She's a God-given choice for the School District of Philadelphia."

It's because of Ackerman, Whitfield said, that many parents, especially those in the black community, have been more involved than ever in their children's schools.

Parent and community activist Emmanuel Bussie said that he wasn't an Ackerman fan at first but that after a talk with her about the plight of city schools, he was won over.

"This lady said everything I wanted to hear. She told me we had to fight for our kids," he said. "Once I got to the truth, it was hands down, this lady is doing the work."

The love affairs that some families have with Ackerman began almost immediately after her arrival in 2008.

She courted parents and grandparents with catered events in schools, at which she listened to complaints ranging from tardy bus drivers to school violence. She had monthly parent roundtables and home visits.

She engaged thousands of parents through Parent University, launched in 2009. Officials have said that more than 10,000 participants have so far completed academic and vocational classes.

In addition, she placed dozens of parent-ombudsmen in schools to provide parents with pertinent information and opened a computer-resource center and language-access office for parents inside district headquarters.

Even though Parent University and some other initiatives have been scaled back to cut costs, Whitfield, a mother of a Greenfield Elementary School first-grader, said the programs empowered parents.

"[Ackerman] had opened doors for more parents to get involved in the district," she said.

At a lively School Reform Commission meeting yesterday, Whitfield joined several other supporters in expressing support for the embattled Ackerman.

During the raucous meeting, many shouted, clapped and waved their hands.

"If Rev. Jesse Jackson calls education the civil-rights battle of our decade, then you are my Rosa Parks," said Bussie, holding a broom intended to symbolize sweeping change.

"If you kick Dr. Ackerman out, or think of kicking Dr. Ackerman out, you're going to speed up the process of kicking everybody out - the SRC, the [chief financial officer], the contractors - everybody," he said. One woman shouted: "We got your back!"

During a thunderous testimony, Pamela Williams, a self-described "Baptist minister turned Pentecostal," used Biblical references to give Ackerman words of encouragement.

"Dr. Ackerman, gird up your loins, because that's what the Scripture says," she said, addressing Ackerman with shouts of "Hallelujah" from the crowd.

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper."

Williams, a school police officer under investigation for organizing two recent pro-Ackerman rallies despite being out on disability, said her support for Ackerman and improving education in the city, would keep her involved.

"Dr. Ackerman, I love you, and I thank you for being here . . . what you're doing should be commendable all across this country, " she said.

Supporters - and even Ackerman herself - had complained that outcries about her high salary and bonuses have been because of her African-American race.

"You need to make $1 million, $325,000 ain't even enough," Williams said. "If we can pay basketball players to walk up and down a court and put a ball into a hoop . . . then we can pay you to educate our children.

"What's more important?"