Ackerman seeking a sense of urgency from teachers

Hundreds of school administrators who packed an auditorium to revel in their accomplishments from last school year yesterday listened to their leader press for further success in the coming year.

Addressing district principals and assistant principals at the Summer Leadership Institute, an annual brainstorming session, district Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said that administrators should embody a sense of urgency.

"I'm going to challenge each of you to take responsibility for all of your children," she said at the Girard Academic Music Program, 22nd and Ritner streets.

Ackerman, in noting gains made throughout the district, said that test scores rose for the seventh year in a row, that the dropout rate fell by 3 percent and that violent incidents were down 17 percent.

Dozens of schools also were awarded $1,000 for meeting certain goals: 118 schools that made adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act, up five from last year, and 90 schools that met 80 percent of district performance goals. Some schools received double the money for meeting both benchmarks.

The numbers were not all positive, however.

The percentage of Empowerment schools - the district's lowest-performing schools - increased 12 percent in a year, from 85 to 95.

"Too many of our children who are attending our schools now will leave the district with broken dreams, and limited options or postsecondary experiences," Ackerman said. "We have come a long way, unfortunately, we have a long way to go."

As part of Imagine 2014, Ackerman's five-year reform plan, every school will benefit from additional resources such as instructional specialists, she said. New nurses and social development teachers will report to most of the Empowerment schools. To the 30 new principals who will report next month, Ackerman gave simple instructions: Hold your staff accountable, know the community, embrace parents and create a safe, sanitary atmosphere. "Treat other people's children as if they were your own," she said.

Morale was high yesterday as principals rallied around Ackerman's motivational statements.

"It's a nice start-off point," said Nelson Reyes, head of Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences, Courtland Street near Ella, a six-year Empowerment school that reached performance goals for the first time last school year.

"We can't rest on our laurels."