Simms has kids' interests at heart

WHEN IT COMES to fighting for parents and families of the children in our public schools, School Reform Commission member Sylvia Simms pulls no punches. That makes her a hero to me and to the thousands of Philadelphia families who can't wait any longer for quality public education.

Simms made headlines last week following her decision to support the turnaround of the Wister Elementary School in Germantown. Like it or not, let's at least acknowledge that it took guts for her to advocate that Mastery Charter Schools should be allowed once again to lead the Wister turnaround effort. In supporting Mastery, Simms knew that she would ignite a firestorm of criticism and bitter reprisal from those who support the status quo. This is Philadelphia, after all, where nobody pulls punches when it comes to the future of city schools.

But if you know Sylvia Simms at all, you know that she's not really focused on taking sides in the bitter charter vs. traditional public school debate. Standing with the parents and families who begged the SRC to let Mastery lead the long-overdue campaign to turn around their neighborhood school, Simms was speaking from the heart, just as she always does.

I learned that lesson the hard way several years ago. The first time I met Simms, she was leading a protest against school choice. I didn't have much choice in the matter, either, because I was the target of her protest, which was taking place right outside the door of my office in Harrisburg.

From that rocky start, I've had the opportunity to get to know her. And while we have disagreed at times about public education issues, I learned that her motivations on public education are always based on serving the best interests of the parents and families she has championed for decades.

When Simms laments "the way the district has allowed many of our schools in low-income neighborhoods to fail our students and their families,"she knows what she's talking about. She is from the neighborhood, and she understands that, for parents, "a plan to have a plan" to fix Wister just isn't good enough.

As Sylvia said, eloquently, "families are literally crying for alternatives," and Wister is just the latest example. While I respect the work of Superintendent William Hite, I cannot agree with the district's assessment that Wister has "shown evidence of strong growth" and "is moving in the right direction."

Consider: Fewer than one in five Wister students passed the state English assessment last year. Only 3 percent of Wister students - only six kids - passed the state math assessment. Eleven more students scored in the lowest performance level on the state assessment.

It should come as no surprise that Wister parents are profoundly unhappy about the school's performance. When offered the chance to rate Wister's "school climate," no parents - none - responded positively. More than one-third of the families in the Wister community already have fled to enroll their children in other schools.

Most recently, more than 700 parents from the Wister neighborhood petitioned for immediate and dramatic change at their school. They have said as clearly as possible that they want something different, something better, for their children right now.

That's what drove Simms' decision. Under the bright lights of public scrutiny at a long and contentious SRC meeting, she acted with courage to demand a new path forward for Wister.

Whether you agree or disagree with her decision, whether you choose to vilify or sanctify her motives, there is no mistaking the growing chorus of parents and families who are demanding quality education, now, for their children.

Sylvia Simms heard their voices, and it's about time we all started listening, too.

Anthony Hardy Williams is a state senator from West Philadelphia.

Email: williams@pasenate.com