Stetson: 'A new beginning for all of us'
by Benjamin Herold on Sep 08 2010 Posted in Latest news
ASPIRA Stetson principal Renato Lajara supervises a student retucking his new school uniform before the first day begins.
This morning, Stetson Middle School began its new life as a charter school, opening its doors to roughly 700 students from the predominantly Latino community that surrounds the ancient building at B and Allegheny Streets in Kensington.
But while the uniforms and furniture are all brand new, many of the faces at Stetson are the same.
ASPIRA is unique among the District’s four new Renaissance School turnaround providers in bringing back significant numbers of staff from last year – including principal Renato Lajara and 40 percent of last year’s teachers.
“We have to develop leadership in our community,” said ASPIRA Executive Director Alfredo Calderon last spring about the decision to retain Lajara. “He is young, he’s motivated, and he’s from the neighborhood. He was put in a leadership position here [by the District], but then left alone to learn as he was going. With us, he will have a whole team to support him.”
Lajara is the only returning principal at the seven new Renaissance charters. (At Daroff Elementary School, Universal Companies brought back Robert Rouse, who had been principal at the school from 2007 to 2009.)
According to representatives from Universal, Mastery Charter, and Young Scholars Charter School, no more than a handful of teachers returned from last year at any of the six schools those groups now operate. At Mastery Smedley and Young Scholars Douglass, no teachers returned.
“It was almost exclusively a lack of interest on [teachers’] part,” said Young Scholars CEO Lars Beck. “Within a week of the match being made, we held an open house, and we only had three teachers come and express interest. The timing was tough on everyone.”
At all Renaissance Schools last spring, all staff were force-transferred and given the opportunity to reapply for their jobs. Charter operators were free to hire as many returning teachers as they desired. Teachers rehired by charter operators lost their union protections but were free to apply for charter leave, which grants public school teachers who leave for charter schools a five-year window to return to a District school without losing their union seniority.
Despite the risks and the tight timeline, there was significant interest among Stetson staff in working for ASPIRA.
“It’s exciting to be part of something new,” explained Nicole Rice, 24, who returned for a second year at Stetson after teaching 7th grade math inclusion at the school last year. “After hearing the frameworks that [ASPIRA] is working under and the people that they are bringing in to try to improve the school, it just made me want to be a part of that.”
On the first morning, parents took pictures of their children as they queued up ouside in Stetson’s new school uniforms – which include ties for boys and skirts for girls. Staff stopped children with untucked shirts, leading to a repeated routine of unbuckling, retucking, and shoulder shrugging as the students made their way into the building.
Inside, Rice and other returning teachers greeted familiar faces with a smile, complimenting them on their sharp new looks and directing them to the auditorium, where all school staff will now greet the entire student body each morning for announcements.
Stetson is one Renaissance School where there appeared to be some recent progress to build upon; for starters, student absenteeism dropped from 17 percent to 12 percent over the past two years. But at ASPIRA Stetson’s first morning assembly, Lajara attempted to highlight all the changes that are now underway.
“It’s a new beginning for all of you…” he began, then caught himself. “It’s a new beginning for all of us.”
Comments (11)
Submitted by George Dennis (not verified) on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 21:10.
I am a returning teacher at Stetson and I have to say the first week here with the students has been a dream.
Mr. Lajara sold me on his vision 3 years ago and now I am seeing the pieces fall into place. These children will finally have the opportunities that have been afforded many kids in suburban, private and catholic schools. The chance to get a great education in a safe environment with enrichment opportunities that make school a fun place to be.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/12/2010 - 13:22.
I'm curious, why, if you same administration, Stetson was not a "dream" before it became a charter. Was it School District imposed regulations, curricula, etc.? Why is Stetson now like a private school? I read there are new chairs/desks but there has to be more change than merely furniture.
Submitted by Roz (not verified) on Fri, 10/08/2010 - 11:56.
To Annonymous:
I invite you to visit the school and talk to the parents and most importantly meet the Stetson Charter School Advisory Council (SCSAC). Private school carries tuition, Charters do not. Yes, there is new furniture in the school. We felt the students needed to have the feel of a new environment in which they will have a better learning experience.
Submitted by phillyguy2010 (not verified) on Sun, 09/12/2010 - 13:09.
best of luck to Stetson and Aspira. All the best Mr. Lajara and top performances from the staff and students this year
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 09:47.
Young Scholars is really turning aroud Douglass. A student was runninh down the hall with a gun. Parents was not informed of this. The eighth graders had to write a letter. Of course, this incident was swept under the rug. Where is Lars Beck? The principal acts like she knows nothing, but thrm letters are evidence. This never happened at Frederick Douglass Elementary School. One of the teachers locked some first graders in a closet. Another teacher said she do not have control over her class.
Submitted by muneerah godfrey (not verified) on Sun, 11/13/2011 - 20:45.
he made this school the best now i want to stay there forever and never want to leave. this school is the coolest out of all the schools in the unite states
Submitted by Rosie (not verified) on Wed, 08/29/2012 - 20:56.
I thought the new Stetson as a charter school sounded very promising, but as the school year got underway I found it to be disappointing. The school does not offer accelerated courses for children who are advance. If a student is advanced and is proud of himself because of it, he's viewed as arrogant. At least that's what my child's teacher told him. Therefore, because my child was supposedly arrogant he could never move up in rank unless he would stop being arrogant. (I think she wanted him to dummy himself down). After talking with the teacher about my child's "disrupted" behavior, I suggested additional work to challenge him and keep him occupy; she dutifully stated "I teach according to the lesson plans which met PA standards."
I will like to point out this charter school is my neighborhood school so it wasn't my choice to send my child to this ass backward school. Yes the desk are cute, the new supplies are a plus, the uniform are ridiculously expensive for a school that "supposedly" care about their low income community but the quality of education is below what I expected.
So as the new year starts, my son will again not move up in rank because I refuse to have him "dummy" himself down so that other peoples' feelings aren't hurt. It's my job to educate my child, that's exactly what I'm doing. I will continue to buy him books and I will continue to challenge him. He doesn't need the school's ranking system to tell him he's doing well. His PSSA's score along with his report card proves that I'm doing my job.
Submitted by Andrew Saltz (not verified) on Thu, 08/30/2012 - 06:09.
Your teacher is also a victim of the system. PSSAs/Keystones mostly factor how many students are behind or at grade level. The "advanced" rating is nice, but the "big" number is "below basic" vs. "proficient". If your son is already proficient, there's no incentive for the teacher to give them extra attendance. If your son was right on the "line" between basic/proficient, I guarenttee he would be a rock star.
I'm not trying to defend the teacher, but its important to know where they are coming from. For my advanced students I set up a lunchtime book club...it worked until I ran out of books (and time).
Good luck.
Submitted by Rosie (not verified) on Thu, 08/30/2012 - 16:08.
I understand that teachers feel overworked and under paid. I also understand that teachers may be a "victim" of the system, but that's no excuse for making my child pay for it. Or even for having my child not move up in rank to try to destroy his self confidence because he must show humility.
The school ranking system is a joke. You have students redirecting each other hoping to reinforce positive behavior. In reality your ranking system is just another tool for bullies. For example, it's a competition of having other students name in their book showing whom they redirected. When teachers aren't looking these students feel superior and concocted story of how they redirected student. It doesn't even matter if the student's redirection was inappropriate. If a student refused to sign, teacher makes a big deal about student giving feedback.
I honestly don't have anything positive to say about this school. It's been an uphill battle trying to give my child a proper education. Stetson worries more about uniforms than proper education. Your Principal is more concerned with the outward appearance of students and equipments. I bet old school house in rural community provides a better education than this.
Submitted by Rosie (not verified) on Thu, 08/30/2012 - 16:21.
I understand that teachers feel overworked and under paid. I also understand that teachers may be a "victim" of the system, but that's no excuse for making my child pay for it. Or even for having my child not move up in rank to try to destroy his self confidence because he must show humility.
The school ranking system is a joke. You have students redirecting each other hoping to reinforce positive behavior. In reality your ranking system is just another tool for bullies. For example, it's a competition of having other students name in their book showing whom they redirected. When teachers aren't looking these students feel superior and concocted story of how they redirected student. It doesn't even matter if the student's redirection was inappropriate. If a student refused to sign, teacher makes a big deal about student giving feedback.
I honestly don't have anything positive to say about this school. It's been an uphill battle trying to give my child a proper education. Stetson worries more about uniforms than proper education. Your Principal is more concerned with the outward appearance of students and equipments. I bet old school house in rural community provides a better education than this.
Submitted by Andrew Saltz (not verified) on Thu, 08/30/2012 - 16:14.
Rosie,
Sorry if I was unclear. We all work in that system and many of us don't treat children like that. What's going on in your school is wrong. I applaud you for taking initiative; I'm glad there are parents who are angry at the changes being forced on us. The teacher has no excuse.
My point, to be more clear: In any system that treats children as numbers, instead of treating children as children, people are going to be dehumanized.
I hope you get out of your school into a better one - but all of the schools in the city (nation) are under the auspices of AYP. A student who will make the grade without much help is much less likely to receive help or enrichment. It's a systemic problem not limited to Stetson.
Thanks again for letting your voice be heard.
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