Empowerment School list grows to 95
by Dale Mezzacappa on Sep 11 2009 Posted in Latest news
The School District released its list of Empowerment Schools Friday, and a quick review indicates that no schools (except for one that closed) were removed from last year's list of 85 while 11 were added.
That makes 95 such schools, all designated as "low-performing" and targeted for intensive interventions.
Empowerment Schools are so designated because they are in Corrective Action II status under the No Child Left Behind law - meaning they have missed performance targets for five or more years - or else they were in Corrective Action II status but have made their targets for one or two years.
Last year, the District spent some $30 million extra in Empowerment Schools, according to at least one recent press report (although official District documents said that the cost was $18 million). Supports included a social services liaison, parent ombudsman, "response teams" that regularly visited each school, increased nursing services, a full-time sub, instructional specialists and the assistance of a part-time retired principal.
This year, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has promised closer scrutiny of the Empowerment Schools and much more curriculum direction from the central office, including mandated changes to the reading and math curriculum at all the schools.
Twenty-two (20 if you eliminate William Penn HS, which is in a transitional phase, and Gillespie Middle School, which is closing permanently at the end of the year) are designated as Empowerment I schools, meaning that they are in worse shape than the others.
About 10 so-called Renaissance Schools, slated for "turnaround" that could include outsourcing to private management and top-to-bottom reconstitutions, are likely to be chosen from this group.
The 20 Empowerment I schools are Bartram, Edison/Fareira, FitzSimons, Germantown, Roxborough, University City and West Philadelphia high schools; Stetson Middle School; and Blaine, Bryant, Clymer, Cooke, Douglass, Drew, Dunbar, Harrity, Thurgood Marshall, Potter-Thomas, Smedley, and Stearne elementary schools.
Presumably less crisis-ridden schools are in the Empowerment II category, and some of them actually made adequate yearly progress last year under No Child Left Behind but were kept on the list anyway.
The 11 schools added to the list this year are Communications Tech High School and Ethel Allen, Joseph H. Brown, Daroff, Dick, Feltonville Intermediate, Lowell, Penrose, Solis-Cohen, Spruance, and Taylor elementary schools.
The other Empowerment II schools are listed below.
High Schools: Carroll, Dobbins, Fels, Frankford, Ben Franklin, Furness, Gratz, ML King, Lincoln, Mastbaum, Northeast, Overbrook, Rhodes, Sayre, South Philadelphia, Swenson, Vaux. and George Washington.
Middle Schools: Clemente, Feltonville Arts & Sciences, Harding, Jones, Meehan, Penn Treaty, Pepper, Roosevelt, Shaw, and Edwin Vare.
Elementary Schools: Ethan Allen, Anderson, Arthur, Bache-Martin, Bethune, Bluford, Carnell, Cassidy, Cramp (made AYP), DeBurgos, H.R. Edmunds, Ellwood, Ferguson, FitzPatrick (made AYP), L.P. Hill (made AYP), Holme, Hopkinson, Hunter, Jackson, Kenderton, Lamberton, Lea, Locke, Ludlow, Mann, Munoz-Marin, Morrison, Pastorius, Pennell, Southwark, Sullivan, Taggart, Webster (made AYP), and Wister.
Comments (7)
Submitted by Angela Chan on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 01:14.
As a teacher in an empowerment school, I have a number of concerns regarding the “mandated changes to the reading and math curriculum”.
I am concerned that the decision to implement Corrective Reading and Math appears to be a very recent decision made only a few weeks before the start of school and the hurried fashion it was introduced to teachers during the first week of September.
I’m even more baffled because back in June, the District spent time training us to use Mondo Publications as an intervention, even purchasing brand new oral language charts and guided reading materials, only to tell us now that we will no longer use Mondo because Corrective Reading and Math has become the target intervention. I’m wondering how many empowerment schools also received these materials and how much it cost the District. In light of an anticipated decrease in revenue from the state budget, this hardly seems like a responsible action to take. This seemingly poor planning makes it look like the District is making curriculum decisions haphazardly, and it greatly diminishes the credibility of the District in my mind.
Another huge concern is the large chunk of time it will take out of the regular curriculum – 45 minutes each out of the literacy and math blocks. Therefore, empowerment schools will have our own Modified Planning and Scheduling Timelines (MPST) for literacy and math (which the District has not yet finished developing). The remaining time we have to follow the Core Curriculum is as follows:
20 minutes – Shared Reading and Read Aloud
35 minutes – Guided and Independent Reading
20 minutes – Modeled, Guided, and Independent Writing
This is our mandated daily schedule for literacy for Grades 3-5, with similar structures for other grades. I fear that this will further narrow an already narrow curriculum. It will severely limit teacher innovation and rich learning experiences for our students that teach them how to think and engage. Still, I would appreciate anyone with suggestions on how to utilize this structure to be creative.
I really hope that this Corrective Reading and Math program is the right thing for empowerment schools. We were told that there is research to prove its effectiveness, and our students really do need the help. If anyone knows of any data from research, please let me know. Maybe it’s just what we need after all.
I guess we’re being asked to take a leap of faith. There is obviously no other choice. So at this point the best and right thing to do is to do our best to implement it well. If we don’t, it would definitely do harm to our students. If we implement it well, I guess at least we can do no further harm.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 07/22/2010 - 10:47.
I have had a just about a few years of teaching experience/ In I'm sad to say that i refuse to ever teach again. It is stated that Math and Reading are the problem / But the problem is us the teachers the administration and so on. I do not know if has dawned on anyone that students are performing low because ///// there is more to core currr... then just basic literacy ( there is no language arts time /// which means students have hard time understanding basic linguisitic like infer or imagery/ nouns . adjectives/ ant/ synm etcccc... then there no time for reading out loud on a brain wave / or focus group etccc. then is diff. no time for the student to actually do the work by them self because the teacher has to stand over top of them like CO's @ CFCF / so there for the teacher never really has much of chance to actually have (diagnosis of a problem furthermore the child is actually a child left behind) Math should have openiness as well and the student should actually learn how to do math from scratch and by computer /// because the sat 's / jobs / college would like to see the students writing , compreh, styles etc.. and make sure their math skills are up to part. Math is diff. important it is a thinking subject and the students should have their space in the classroom to actually do complete the lesson by themselves why the teacher prepares for something else school based . The students can become thinkers they do not think because do not have to /// They have no consequence and they should be left back and not so easily given IEp or alternative schools options because these children are suppose to be our future...... in there is so much pressure on the teachers but not on the students they have to want something to they have to leaarn to make their dreams reality....
thanks , regards jacob
Submitted by Oddjob (not verified) on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 20:12.
It's interesting that Ackerman's grand plan seems to be nothing more than lots of busy work for teachers. The new lesson plans are literally an exercise in trying to justify the jobs of a topheavy administration. It's amazing that we can't get help for kids that are several years behind, but we have all these walkthrough clipboarders roaming our halls. How can we afford them? And now principals and VPs won't even bother with Level One offenses (fighting, swearing, stealing, etc.) because teachers are expected to take care of that on their own. Why? Ackerman wants them to spend more time observing teachers so she can get rid of them. The SRC needs to wake up and give her her walking papers or this district will look like a ghost town. The 200 teachers who bailed before the kids came is nothing compared to what Ackerman's incompetence will wreak upon this school district.
Submitted by Teacher #101 (not verified) on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 07:56.
What is going to happen to all of the other interventions we spent millions on? We have done training after training with this one and that one. We have seen results for different groups of students using different interventions, so who says that this one intervention will do the trick? I bet the company gave AA some kickback or lavish trip. Somebody please check into this! Her salary ishigh enough and our students are failing. Let's get back to using products known to work for OUR students.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 14:23.
As a mother i can't understand why ackerman is still around! These kids need the core curriculum back. Mostley all the kids my children play with can't even spell! Get back to teaching children and stop trying to push your so called plan changes because they don't work!!!!!! Did you every hear the expression if it isn't broke don't try to fix it? We need to get rid of Ackerman now!!
Submitted by Trylisteingtoteachersforachange (not verified) on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 19:14.
Spelling actually went out the window a few years back (along with cursive writing). Some teachers still do tests, but it is not encourage by the Testimoneys that are obsessed with the PSSA and all its variations.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 20:22.
Dear Mother:
Ackerman isn't the problem...the problems in the schools are the result of the teachers...didn't you know that...?
That is the mantra in the schools...
The kids cuss and act out...because the teachers are at fault...
Yes, I agree, get rid of Ackerman and her half of a million dollar salary...
I understand she did a poor job in San Fran...and why would anyone think she would do a good job in Philly...
At least San Francisco has nice weather and the people are more relaxed...and affluent...
I agree with Mother...
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