When level best isn't good enough

EVERY OCTOBER, Philadelphians can be certain of three things:

The Eagles will give us chest pain. Wawa will reek of pumpkin spice. And the Philadelphia School District will mess with thousands of kids through something called leveling.

Here's how leveling works - or doesn't, depending on whose education is getting upended:

In summer, the district projects student enrollment for the fall and plans teacher assignments. It's a tough task in a city where 30 percent of kids move into or out of public schools each year. In mid-October, the district squares projected numbers with reality.

So teachers at underenrolled schools are moved to overenrolled ones, "leveling" teacher-to-student ratios across the district.

At overenrolled Mastbaum High in Kensington, one gym class was crammed with 77 students for eight long weeks.

At Bache-Martin Elementary in Fairmount, on the other hand, three second-grade classes each had fewer students than the state limit of 30. So Monica Egan, a 15-year Bache veteran, was transferred to overenrolled Julia de Burgos Elementary in Fairhill.

Friday was her last day at Bache, where her students were to be meshed into the two remaining second-grade classrooms. Many children were hysterical.

"They were crying; I had a hard time holding it together myself," says Egan. "They asked why I was being taken away. I told them that children at the other school needed me because they had no teacher at all. They asked if they could have extra hugs. I said, 'You can have as many as you want.' "

On Monday, Egan reported to de Burgos and met her new students. Then the district called with a change of plans. Forget de Burgos; they were sending her instead to Waring Elementary in Spring Garden.

"I'm an adult. I can adjust," she says. "But putting kids through this kind of disruption is crazy."

I'll say. Students need stability and structure, and the first weeks of every school year are spent establishing both, as kids adjust to teachers' expectations and classroom rhythms. And as teachers learn students' needs and strengths. By mid-October, routines are in place to support learning for the rest of the year.

To sever those ties in underenrolled schools is unconscionable. So is leaving students without a teacher for eight weeks in overenrolled ones. How have we gotten used to doing both?

Were the district not so damn broke, says spokesman Fernando Gallard, we could simply hire teachers at understaffed schools as soon as the need is apparent. And we could let teachers remain at underenrolled schools, protecting crucial relationships.

Nevertheless, the School Reform Commission has heard parents' frustration, Gallard says. This year, just 55 teachers have been transferred for leveling, compared with 128 last year.

Still, that number affects thousands of students who are either losing their original teachers, accommodating new students in their leveled classes, getting new teachers at understaffed schools or losing their original teacher as leveled ones reconfigure staffing to accommodate the changes.

"This is absolutely unacceptable," says City Council candidate and public-school advocate Helen Gym. "The school year started on Sept. 8. But for these children, it's starting eight weeks later, a direct violation of the state's order that the school year begin with a full complement of teachers. The issue should be non-negotiable, yet leveling harms children every year."

At E.M. Stanton Elementary in Southwest Center City, fourth-grader Henry Scott was so upset by the transfer of a cherished teacher that he started a petition to stop the madness. Although the teacher has modestly asked not to be mentioned by name here, allow me to quote Henry's petition:

"We want to keep [Mr. X]. We feel this would benefit us by providing the school with better resources, supporting Lego club and helping kids that need extra support. He also helps grow and maintain our award winning garden. In addition, he helps us finish science projects. He also teaches science to every class."

More than 200 people signed the petition. The teacher, deeply moved, wrote Henry a stunning reply, in the persona of the wand of Professor Albus Dumbledore, from Harry Potter lore:

"I am writing to speak to you about courage," he wrote. "Courage is born in everyone, but it usually remains comfortably asleep, inside a person, waiting to be called into action. As we grow older, we often ignore, or forget, the call of our own courage.

"Once in a great while," he continued, "if the conditions are just right, someone young, someone ready, finds himself or herself facing a choice between what is right and what is easy. Many people choose the easy path, and this is perfectly understandable.

"But you, Henry, from your heart, chose to do what you felt was right. Nothing in this world is more valuable than this, for it is as rare, and compassionate, as Phoenix tears. I hope you realize this and that you carry this message with you always. Thank you, Henry, for your courageous support."

Stanton's loss of this remarkable teacher is another school's gain. If only a wand could've ensured that no child had to lose anything in the first place.

Email: polaner@phillynews.com

Phone: 215-854-2217

On Twitter: @RonniePhilly

Blog: ph.ly/RonnieBlog

Columns: ph.ly/Ronnie