Hite visits Jackson School to see problems

When Philadelphia School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. showed up unannounced Tuesday morning at Andrew Jackson School, principal Lisa Ciaranca Kaplan asked: "Am I in trouble?"

The South Philadelphia school, hit with large class sizes, was featured in an Inquirer article Tuesday on how Kaplan and teachers grappled with those classes, including one with 36 first graders.

Hite, however, hadn't come to lower the boom. He had talked to Kaplan last week about class size concerns, and Jackson was one of the schools on his radar to visit, he said.

"She needs some immediate help," Hite said. "And we've actually detailed some help for her for first grade."

Jackson will get an additional teacher Wednesday, although it may be a substitute until a permanent teacher can be arranged, he said.

The district will monitor the other large classes in the school and send additional help if warranted, Hite said. The class size cap under the teachers' contract is 30 students in primary grades and 33 students in upper grades.

Kaplan was pleased that Hite took the time to visit, but emphasized that needs remain.

"I'm thankful for any extra bodies, but it's not a solution to my problem. I need a permanent teacher," she said, adding that she hopes to get at least two additional teachers for other grades.

Hite, who visited several schools Tuesday, said the district plans to send teachers to other schools with larger classes, including Mastbaum Vocational Technical School, which reported some classes having 50 or more students.

"We are getting staff over there first thing in the morning. Those classes were so large," Hite said.

James Jetter, a chemistry teacher at Mastbaum, had no class smaller than 45 students. His largest was 51. And these were students who showed up. There were even more on the roster who didn't.

"It's been quite busy," he said, "but the students have been very well behaved. We're all doing the best we can."

While Hite was trying to ameliorate the impact of a money-starved budget, the district was the subject of a legislative hearing in the Franklin Institute.

The House Democratic Policy Committee, led by Mike Sturla of Lancaster County, heard from area leaders on the impact of funding cuts on the district.

Democratic State Rep. Brian Sims, whose 182d District includes much of Center City, said he wanted the hearing because strong voices in this debate had yet to come together in one space.

"I think we're going to go back and continue to really seriously beat this drum about getting an adequate funding formula," Sims said. "You know, I'm extremely frustrated with what this governor is doing right now, and holding up the money that we negotiated from the federal government."

He also is pushing for an alternative to local property taxes to pay for public education.

"I think hands down, the most important thing we heard from everyone is that we need an equitable funding formula. That's not rocket science," he said. "I'm really hopeful that we're going to be able to take back to Harrisburg this demand for a funding formula."

School activist Helen Gym drew applause with this: "Nobody is talking about what it takes to get a child educated. It is literally, 'What is the lowest number needed to get the bare minimum?' That is what we're talking about, the deliberate and purposeful starvation of one of the nation's biggest school districts."