Submitted by Steve Honeyman (not verified) on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 17:26.

This is ridiculous and has been tried before and failed before...Please learn from history and make the children and teachers the priority not politcs.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 15:12.

I cannot believe it; twelve years of my life devoted to the School District of Philadelphia and now I have to look for another job. The district is going to lose some GREAT teachers!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 19:36.

JORDAN SOLD US OUT---VOTE INDEPENDENT TEAM NEXT UNION ELECTION!!!

Submitted by Jonny Rashid (not verified) on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 09:15.

So complain about Renaissance schools and that's all--and your nothing more than a reactionary. Protest the PFT and witch hunt Jerry Jordan, and you lose your biggest advocate. Channel emotions into productive change--one that advocates for real reform in schools using the RTTT money and the Renaissance School initiative and partner with the PFT to reform. This is what I think a responsible adult and educator does right now.

Submitted by Bobbie Cratchit (not verified) on Sat, 01/30/2010 - 10:53.

I still have questions about the selection process of the schools that are on both the "Eligible" list and the "Alert" list. According to the PFT site "Through no fault of the faculty and staff, the federal No Child Left Behind Act mandates reorganizing buildings that have not made "Adequate Yearly Progress" for six years or more. NCLB requires the School District to reconstitute schools (replacing the principal and teachers); turn schools over to private management or convert public schools into charter schools."

If this were the criteria for the schools selected, why then on the "Race to the Top" application list of 76 schools did I find the following:
36 schools matching NCLB mandates were NOT selected. Why not?

6 schools are Making Progress, 2 schools were in Warning (missed AYP One Year ONLY) and 5 made AYP! Of these, 3 "Warning" schools and 2 "Made AYP" schools are on the "Alert" list. Why would these schools be targeted as "Alert" status for Reorganization?

...

Something here is amiss...can someone explain this in a rational way?

Submitted by West Philly High supporter (not verified) on Sat, 01/30/2010 - 09:53.

West Philly High does not belong on this list. We're only there because our principal put us there. Admittedly, we still have a long way to go to make all the changes necessary to bring it to the level of excellence we should expect from all of our Philadelphia public schools. But we are on the path to getting there. A mere five months (five months!!!) after implementing our new strategic plan, the improvements are as dramatic as they are tangible. I urge anyone who doubts this, who thinks that West is it’s same old run-down self, to walk through our building on any given school day. The energy, the creativity, and most of all, the community within our school are all palpable. The transformation we are currently undergoing will take more than five months, though. Our school community needs an administration that is willing to give us the time and support we need to make this transformation complete. We do not need an administration that pulls the rug out from under us just as change is afoot.

Submitted by Paul Socolar on Sun, 01/31/2010 - 01:10.

The press was briefed on Renaissance and given an embargoed copy of the lists on Tuesday, the day before the public announcement. Both West Philadelphia and University City were on the list of Renaissance Eligible schools, but both were listed as "deferred." Hence there were only 12 schools in line for Renaissance status this year.

District staff explained that while the two schools were both on the Renaissance Eligible list because their school performance index score fell in the bottom tenth of all District schools and they were Empowerment Schools, they were being deferred because there are major construction projects going on at both schools.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, District staff decided not to list the schools as deferred, so they were essentially put back on the list of schools to be considered for turnaround this year. Superintendent Ackerman said the District had gone back and forth on the question of whether or not to defer.

Submitted by f (not verified) on Sat, 01/30/2010 - 14:39.

We don’t have to wait four more years to witness the results of Dr. Ackerman’s Imagine 2014 agenda. All we need to do is to reflect upon the current state of Audenried High School. During the course of this school year violent teenage behavior within and outside of this school has been ripping it asunder.

The school was literally torn to the ground and rebuilt during the Vallas administration. A new school facility was erected at a cost in excess of sixty million dollars. The school reopened last year under the watch of the Ackerman administration. Its staff has been replaced. There is a new principal who leads a reconstituted staff of relatively young and energetic teachers. The instructional reforms (remedial reading and math programs) that Dr Ackerman has trumpeted as the district’s next great curriculum innovation are being implemented there. It should be a great school to attend. Apparently it isn’t as good as it was intended to be

....

Currently the Ackerman administration is pouring tens of millions of dollars of stimulus money and additional state funding into purchase of new textbook series, consultant fees, testing instruments and the services of various “for profit” contractors. Who is monitoring these expenditures? The Notebook has not been successful in gaining access to information concerning any of these proposed expenditures until after the SRC has voted their approval.

For too long the people who are most invested in our schools (children, parents, teachers, and principals) have been the subjects of questionable experiments and the victims of failed reform efforts. It is time that we demand accountability from the adults who are the architects and sponsors of these so-called reform activities.

It is time that we the people hold our leadership accountable.