Educational excellence and equity

AS THE SENIOR pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, I represent a constituency that has expressed grave concerns about the status of education in the School District of Philadelphia. With its congregation composed of students attending district-run, charter, private or parochial schools and their families, Enon Tabernacle is deeply committed to expanding educational opportunities for all children in the city of Philadelphia.

As the School Reform Commission seeks to hire the new superintendent, it is imperative that the citizens of Philadelphia stay focused on holding everyone accountable for ensuring that educational excellence is available for all children. The new leader must develop a plan to provide a competitive 21st-century pre-K-12 education that is aligned with college and career paths and replete with equitable resources throughout a well-managed school system. This concept must be embraced as an achievable reality that is the goal of all parents and educational partners.

We must stop ignoring the fact that there is something not only fundamentally wrong, but morally wrong with the picture of our educational system in Philadelphia and, in fact, across America. To meet the demands of a 21st-century global society, every child must have access to an excellent education. We, as citizens, should expect our public-school system to provide equitable access to such learning for every child.

I believe parents have a tremendous amount of power to change how we "do education" in Philadelphia. Recently, a parent shared how she was encouraged by the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It explores examples of dramatic changes that have occurred over time because of one small event or one person. This book underscored for him the important role of parents as being the tipping point for educating all children well.

There are human and financial resource gaps in the school district that we must address by selecting the right superintendent and thereafter surrounding him or her with a strong team. How we welcome, support and work with the next superintendent to bring together the human and financial educational resources in this city could be the "tipping point" for the school district.