Frustration with District failures marks public hearing on school violence
by Helen Gym on Jan 29 2010
A series of speakers at a packed public hearing on school violence – some in tears – shared their experiences last night in what can only be described as a damning indictment of the District. Speaker after speaker – parents, teachers, and a number of students – spoke about their frustration, desperation, and anger in the face of repeated failures by the District to address safety and climate in city schools.
A Fels High School student said when his jaw was broken by a fellow student, the school failed to call an ambulance. The student was hospitalized for a week. When his parent inquired what the school was going to do, the student was offered a transfer if the family was unhappy with the school. Another parent spoke about her struggles for accountability after her eight-year-old son had a rib broken despite her repeated attempts to address his being bullied in school.
“The School District has been a complete failure,” parent Karen Rose said, citing the problem as “complete ignorance” and “lack of knowledge of violence against young children.”
Students from South Philadelphia High School spoke about how little school leadership had changed its attitude toward ongoing concerns by Asian immigrant students. They spoke about harassment in the school cafeteria in full view of adults and about the fact that administration leaders had never checked in with them since they ended their boycott over concern about their safety. They said that the only thing making them feel marginally safer was the presence of cameras in the school. However, the “relationships have not changed,” they said.
A teacher and two parents from Audenried High School were in tears after sharing their repeated requests for assistance despite escalating violence inside and outside the school, including the recent shootings of two students outside. One of the students, Tyree Parks, a student at South Philadelphia High School, was killed.
The hearing last night in South Philadelphia drew more than a hundred people and was the first in a series of public sessions by the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission.
Commissioner Kay Yu said she found the accounts “frankly shocking.” However, community members and parents said the frustrations for them have been long-standing. One community member expressed concern that the hearing would be a “bandaid forum.”
Several speakers said it was important to address climate by building nurturing teaching and learning environments rather than the typical prescriptives like increased security and metal detectors. Students needed more multicultural curricula, several speakers said, including the two students from South Philadelphia High School. Commissioner Rebecca Alpert inquired about counseling and other services available to students and families to cope through the stress following a violent incident.
Education advocate Debra Weiner called upon city leaders to denounce ethnic violence "publicly, swiftly, and passionately." She said schools must not be allowed to "pass the buck."
"Effective schools with great leaders and committed staff counteract negative neighborhood influences every day they open their doors," Weiner said. "If schools have the will, they will find the way to reduce ethnic tension - no matter what happens outside."
Alpert strongly urged the District to support teachers and school staff to speak out at the hearings.
“I’d love to see them encouraged to come out and be part of this process,” Alpert said. “It would be helpful to us if the School District made it clear -- really clear -- that the staff is welcome here.”
The School District did not advertise the hearings through its usual parent networks and last night’s hearing was not listed on the District’s website.
A number of observers noted that the Commission often seemed at a loss in the face of the severity of the concerns presented before them. There were a number of awkward moments. When the student who had his jaw broken gave his testimony, it was initially met with silence. He asked the Commission whether they had any questions.
One of the commissioners eventually asked where the student was from. When he answered “Maryland,” the commissioner then asked the student where he was born. “Vietnam,” the student answered after a pause.
I personally found it tragic to hear all the pain and anger of so many parents, teachers, and students. Having seen the District’s failure to address school violence at South Philadelphia High School, it’s hard not to see story after story as evidence of willful – or perhaps, learned – negligence on the District’s part.
I was also troubled by the lack of School District representation at the hearing. Not a single School Reform Commissioner was present. SRC Commissioners need to listen to first-hand accounts in order to understand the frustration over the difference between the District’s rhetoric and on-the-ground experiences of parents, students and staff. Chief of School Operations John Frangipani appeared to be the only cabinet level official present. When asked for his response to the violence at Audenried (by an audience member), he remained noncommittal and occasionally diversionary, blaming the violence on gang violence that had escalated only in the past two weeks.
It’s unclear what the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission will do with all this pain. At the very least, an entity needs to monitor and report out these cases. But doing so is not going to be enough. With a number of hearings ahead, the District can expect a lot more troubling accounts.
Comments (12)
Submitted by nikki123 on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 07:03.
Thanks for this account. I think your statement about "willful neglect" is right on the money. The district knows that these problems exist. They simply choose to ignore it. A perfect case in point is the absence of anyone from the SRC. Unfortunately, court cases don't go away just because you bury your head in the sand. I'm so happy that the feds are investigating the incidents at S. Philly High. An expensive judgement against the district will, unfortunately, spur action. It's just sad that it has to come to this but it's obvious that change will come no other way.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 09:44.
As I read this, my eyes are filled with tears. How can District adults be so complacent? A child with a BROKEN JAW for god's sake - and no ambulance called? And the district responses to parents? My god, if this were your own child, would the responses be so cavalier? But that's the point isn't it. It's not your kids. It's the others. How can District administrators sit and talk about raising test scores when children...and teachers... come to school every day in fear. Unless it's in the newspapers, there is no action taken. Just more of the same bureaucratic response. Stop hiding behind the suits and bureacracy and start acting like adults charged with the welfare of children who actually care. I am waiting for an administration representative or SRC member to step forward and apologize now for the failure of the system to do the most basic thing - keep the children safe. And then to do more then lip service.
Submitted by Erika Owens on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 10:44.
The daily newspapers at least (in addition to the Notebook!) are paying attention. The hearing was covered by the Daily News and Inquirer, plus it got picked up by AP. The situation at South Philly also got a ton of media coverage, and it did result in some action, but as we can see from this post, not enough. It's not clear to me what it will take to get more action. All sorts of newspaper coverage and a lot of local TV news reporting as well elicited some response, but also a lot of tension.
It seems to me that the bright spot in the South Philly story is that the students themselves have done a lot to improve the situation in their school and improve and build relationships. They just can't do it alone. Philly Weekly has had some ups and downs in covering this story, but I was encouraged by this post about students break dancing together in an after school activity lead by SEAMAAC.
Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 10:35.
The hearings yesterday were further evidence, if anymore was needed, of the failure of punitive, zero tolerance polices to improve school climate and safety. There are alternatives as many of the speakers indicated. Dennis Barneby from PCCY, for example, spoke about the promise of Positive Behavior Supports, a program the District has supported but in diluted form. Restorative Practices is a related approach that has had substantial success and is being employed with positive results at West Philadelphia High School.
Tomorrow there is a meeting on school discipline and climate to discuss how to improve school climate without further criminalizing youth and pushing more students out of school. Organized by the Education not Incarceration Coalition, it's being held at El Centro De Estudiantes, 2010 N. Mascher St. from 12:30 to 4:30.
Another initiative is a workshop for teachers being organized by Teacher Action Group that will focus on how to employ conflict resolution and restorative practices to create classroom communities based on values like justice and mutual respect. This will be at Youth United for Change office 1910 N. Front St. from 10am to l pm on March 13th.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 11:12.
Lots of talk and unfortunately very little will come of it because the root cause of the issue will be avoided. Everyone is being viewed as a victim by the district, inlcuding those who actually cause the fear and violence. Until there is a willingness for everyone to give up victimhood as identity, nothing will ever change. The district will only change its behavior if the community does.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 11:16.
Frangiapani was the head of the South Region and should know the dynamics about the conflicts with in South Philadelphia, namely the neighborhood violence that starts with multigenerational street gangs. These troubles are nothing new. With that knowledge, the school district should have dedicated more resources to the new Audenreid building to ensure the success of the good kids and provide consequences for the violent kids. It's not rocket science. The school district administration tolerates the violence - Southern only got cameras after the boycott - what about Audenreid? It is criminal that after all of the controversy surrounding that school in the past, true interventions have not been provided to keep innocent students safe. The administration leadership has failed all of the people in Philadelphia.
Submitted by Helen Gym on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:14.
Listening to the testimonies of parents and teachers at Audenreid was extremely upsetting and disturbing, not just because of the stories they had to share but because Audenreid was supposed to have been a re-imagined school with a new building and an entirely new cohort of students. It's a small school and it drew young staff like the teacher who spoke. But despite all that, what's happening there speaks volumes to the fact that so little conversation is being had within the district about what it takes to build a climate of safety, of community, of support and discipline (and discipline not in the punitive sense but discipline as in the expanded definition of rigor and commitment).
I even think the titles the District has - like "climate manager," as if climate is managed - shows the District's lack of vision in this area. Climate isn't managed. It's the foundation of a school as essential as having a roof overhead or heat in the building.
At South Philadelphia High School, it was very powerful to hear these young students say the school may be able to tick off and count up the safety measures implemented, but in the things that really matter - the relationships at the school between and among students, the relationship of the school leadership to all the children and families, the relationship of staff with students - little has changed.
Submitted by Vizzo (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 11:29.
This is sad...if law enforcement and school officials refuse to take this matter seriously, then the students should be allowed to arm themselves...and school should offer self-defence courses.
This does not necessarily improve the situation, but it gives them a chance to survive. And heck, if no arrests/criminal charges were made for the attackers, then fair is fair.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:18.
While the district is absolutely wrong in how it has treated victims of violence, it can't eliminate the violence in the community any more than the Philadelphia police can. Change must come from within the community itself and it should start with denouncing victimhood. The belief that those who are violent are victims of a racist society only perpetuates more violence. If the African American community can't denounce victimhood the proper response to the violence in schools, or the larger community, will never occur. Trying to have it both ways simply doesn't work.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 13:50.
The Dead Horse Story from Dakota Tribal Wisdom
When you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, we often try other strategies with a dead horse including:
buying a stronger whip;
changing riders;
saying things like "this is the way we always have ridden this horse;
or appointing a committee to study the horse;
or arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses;
or increasing the standards for riding dead horses;
or appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horse;
or creating a training session to increase our riding ability;
or changing a bylaw to specify that horses shall not die;
or blaming the horse's parents;
or harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed;
or declaring that no horse is too dead to ride;
or providing increased funding to improve the dead horse's performance;
or revisiting the performance requirements for dead horse;
if nothing else happens with dead horses, the last thing we do is promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
(Author: Anonymous)
http://radicalreformers.net/?q=node/9
Submitted by Ms. Chips (not verified) on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 15:17.
The District is admitting that it cannot guarantee the safety of students. It is implying by their indirect responses that it has no interest in doing so. Are they not admitting liability?
Were my kids still in SDP schools, I would be worried.
Submitted by Keith Newman (not verified) on Sun, 01/31/2010 - 00:27.
The article by Kristen Graham: “Commission hears of violence in many city schools” on January 29th 2010, and Helen's comments above, sum up two decades of frustration by citizens of Philadelphia. We have watched our school district disintegrate and have seen children’s futures compromised. In this article John Frangipani of the School District all but admits the school district is helpless to solve the violence problem currently existing in our schools. I know as a teacher that the problem exists because this district has allowed it to exist. At a school I previously worked at a young girl was being sexually harassed. The teacher was about to report it but the girl asked him not to. It seems the same boy had been doing it the year before and it was then reported to the principal who did nothing. The perpetrator, emboldened by this lack of action, increased his harassment, thus she was loathe to have her new teacher report it in the new school year. As I had taught siblings of this girl previously, I reported it to the father. Administrators who seek to blame teachers for everything are fond of saying, “what you permit your promote.” The School District of Philadelphia for two decades has promoted violence which has spilled out into our streets.
As a citizen I know city council investigated this matter in 1992 but like the school district they passed on meaningful solutions. As a teacher, I know Paul Vallas avoided the problem by trying to prevent the report on discipline compiled by Judge Greene from being released to the public. In short, the report confirmed what we teachers knew and have been complaining about for years: Philadelphia discipline is inconsistent and ineffective.
It appears Dr. Ackerman’s solution is to find other people to manage the schools she can’t, which makes this taxpayer wonder why are we paying her the big bucks.
I am running for state office and I will not hand the ball off on this issue. As a citizen, as a teacher, I know there is nothing more important than a viable education for the future of our city.
What we do now
1. Ms. Graham’s article cites the turf wars which find their ways into our high schools. This is why we need small high schools with enforced catchment zones. Competing gangs should not be in the same school.
2. We bring in specialists in working with at risk youth, perhaps those trained by Joe Marshall at his Omega Boys Club. What Dr. Marshall has taught is that the academics can’t get in until the emotions get out. School district administrators, perhaps in need of Renaissance of their own, have not gotten that message.
3. Bring back and expand the Talent Development Model developed by Johns Hopkins. This program, placed in some of our most difficult schools was shown to half the drop-out rate. It’s only problem was that it had the name Johns Hopkins on it and not Paul Vallas or Arlene Ackerman. When egos get in the way of effective programs, that is not putting children first.
4. We enforce school rules right down to the dress code. I truly believe that is what the kids want also. They want a positive climate where all children can and do learn.
What to do tomorrow.
1. Incentives work.-The Promise in Michigan, financial rewards for improved grades in New York, Oklahoma and other states, all demonstrate success. The academic achievement gap arrives at school when children from high poverty neighborhoods often arrive 2 – 2.5 years behind their wealthier counterparts. An incentive program to all parents which I call Individual College Accounts should be in place to create incentive for parents to insure their children arrive at school reading ready. This has to augmented by programs such as the Visiting Nurses Program, High Quality Early Child care as in the Perry Pre School Model, and turn around training of affected parents in the neighborhood as the Harlem Children’s Zone has done. These programs work elsewhere and have a positive return on investment. Why w don’t we have them?
2. Character Education Curriculums- Character Education Curricula are proven to increase standardized test scores and lower crime in the neighborhood.
We can improve our schools and make our community safer. The only obstacle in our way is us. It is time our city truly has a rebirth. It won’t be done by handing the ball to someone else. It will done by us for us, and the time to do it is now.
Keith Newman
Candidate for the 194th Legislative District
newman4staterep@gmail.com
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