Now in Philly, a national mayors' conference has unwelcome education views

Submitted by Helen Gym on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 15:37 Posted in Commentary | Permalink

On a day that saw the closing of 49 schools in Chicago, it seems sadly fitting that Philadelphia is kicking off three days as the host city of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' national meeting on innovation. 

The U.S. Conference of Mayors embraces controversial education reform trends that are spreading across the nation's cities: mayoral control of schools, parent trigger laws, charter co-location, and mass school closings. As head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Nutter has supported the organization's call to bring a number of those reforms, particularly mass charter expansion and mass school closings, to Philadelphia. 

Although the theme for this meeting is innovation, Philadelphia has been anything but innovative when it comes to education reform.

Nutter, state Republicans to join forces on school funding?

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 10:21 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks

Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter wants to raise money for the cash-strapped School District, mostly through tax increases on alcohol and cigarettes. But he needs Harrisburg to pass legislation to make that a reality.

Musicians' plea to District: Don't take away our collective soul

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 15:54 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Members of the Philadelphia Orchestra know the vital role music can play in a young person's development. At the School Reform Commission meeting on May 15, Don Liuzzi, speaking on behalf of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he is a timpanist, submitted a petition imploring the SRC not to let budget cuts deprive schools of the music and art programs that are essential to the development of students' self-expression and creativity as well as the future of the city's musical community.

Mastery charter graduates revel in their college choices

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 12:17 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Aaron Moselle and Zack Seward for NewsWorks

Cheering fans, cheerleaders, and mascots filled Temple University's Liacouras Center on Monday afternoon.

None of them was there for a game.

Instead, thousands of students, staff members and parents traveled to the North Philadelphia arena for Mastery Charter Schools' first-ever College Signing Day, an event patterned after National Signing Day for high school athletes.