This time, it's Audenried students who walk
by Benjamin Herold on Feb 15 2011 Posted in Latest news
UPDATE: District comment.
Students from Audenried High School left school Tuesday morning, with more than 40 gathering at to 440 N. Broad St. to protest plans to convert the school to a charter managed by Universal Companies.
Their message: "We like Audenried just the way it is."
The student protesters chanted,"This is our house!" and "Where is the data?"
Opponents of the move to make Audenried a Renaissance School have argued that the school has made great strides since the new Audenried building opened in fall 2008, and are angered by District statements that the move in part was based on data from the old Audenried, which closed in 2005.
"This is really not fair," said Marquis Lewis, an 11th grader at Audenried. "We have only had the new school for two and a half years and we have a strong relationship with our staff. We want our school back from Universal."
Under the Promise Neighborhood Partnership model, all teaching staff at the school would be force-transferred and Universal would be free to hire whoever they choose.
The School District's plans to convert Audenried to a "Promise Neighborhood Partnership School" met with strong opposition when they were detailed at a community meeting at the school last week.
Ava Reeves, an Audenried 11th grader, said the protest was planned after that meeting. She said students were angered by District officials' comments that questions would be answered in 30 days.
"Everybody here helped organize this," she said. "We are together, we are united. Our goal is to get answers."
Reeves and Lewis conferred briefly with District Associate Superintendent Penny Nixon, who came outside to talk to the protesters. Deputy Superintendent Leroy Nunery and Nixon later met with representatives from the group.
Principal Terry Pearsall-Hargett and other staff members came to District headquarters and encouraged students to return to school. At 11 am, school officials said the students had returned to their classes.
The District's communications office issued a statement in response to the protest, saying,"The District is sensitive to the fact that emotions are running high in the face of this change, but we are confident that the end result, which is increasing academic achievement for our students and improving the surrounding neighborhood, will be met with welcome."
This is the second time in days that the District's Renaissance School plans have sparked a student protest.
UPDATE: 4:28 p.m. District spokesperson Shana Kemp provided the following statement:
We did have an impromptu meeting with a small group at 440 N. Broad this morning to listen to some of their concerns regarding the transition of Charles Y. Audenried Sr. High School from a traditional public school to a charter school. Members of District staff had started the conversation outside, but due to the cold temperatures, brought the group inside to continue the discussion. As has been the plan from the beginning, community meetings will be held in the coming weeks to offer more details about the transition. With regards to the students, The School District of Philadelphia does not approve this type of behavior and will hold students accountable for their misconduct. The District is committed to providing a safe learning environment to all students.
Check back for updates on this unfolding story.
Other outlets reporting on the protest include: The Inquirer/Philly.com, Philadelphia Magazine links to Notebook coverage. We'll update with links to additional coverage as they become available.
Comments (37)
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 11:48.
I don't blame these students for their protests. Universal is a horrendous company that took over Daroff with horrific results. The school is worse off than before with uncaring and unprofessional administration and staff. This company should be forced out of Philadelphia, not given more schools.
Submitted by Anonymouses (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 12:04.
Please tell us that District Associate Superintendent Penny Nixon invited the students inside 440 and away from the indifferent cold.
Submitted by not given a chance (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 12:06.
Audenried wasn't even given a chance. . .we know how this decision was made! Why not give Kenny Gamble that brand new beautiful building. They've had such great results at Daroff....NOT
Submitted by SAMIR MACKEY (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 12:10.
THAT'S WHAT I THINK TO IT'S CRAZY THEY GAVE US A LAST MIN NOTICE BUT LIKE I SAY WE WILL PULL THROUGH THIS
Submitted by not given a chance (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 12:33.
Isn't it ridiculous that Ackerman sidestepped the students concerns and blamed it on their "emotions." PR 101--DISCREDIT AND MINIMIZE YOUR OPPONENT.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 13:18.
Students are rising up and demanding that their voices be heard. First West and now Audenreid! I hope that more students who have legitimate concerns follow their example and speak out.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 13:27.
All of the new buildings are going to charter, Audenreid, West is getting a new building, Bluford..... Wow after all of these years new buildings going to new school providers with no history of results. Like they said show the data, Didn't Vare have a hard time as a Universal EMO. As a matter of face, they lost the contract. I just met an assistant principal from Daroff, was in our building to see how things are run here. laugh out loud, they should at least know how to run schools without looking at traditional public schools
Submitted by Veteran of the WPHS Renaissance (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 16:57.
Come to think of it, is there something illegal or at least unethical about issuing a public bond to get money for building a public building and then turning it over to a private for-profit or non-profit organization - as with Audenreid? The taxpayers/citizens voted to approve that bond, the school district vowed to use it for public purposes - but the benefit is not entirely for the public. Is that a misuse of funds?
Submitted by Meg (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 17:02.
You could be on to something.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 14:18.
The district has their own agenda and it is clear that listening to the people most affected is not a part of it.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 15:36.
What is the data on which the District based its decision? I think it's important to know whether it's old or new and whether it shows momentum since the school reopened.
Submitted by Erika Owens on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 17:29.
FYI, we just updated the post with a statement from the District.
Submitted by Concerned Parentr (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 17:44.
The School District is paying someone $275K a year to post quizzes on it's damn Facebook page but when students have legitimate concern about the direction of their ediucation, the Superintendent disregards them. Nice example, Arlene.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 18:04.
To be fair, they also scan You Tube then alert local administrators where to find their school's students' cell-phone videos.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 18:02.
WOW SO now the district is going to discipline the children for standing up for themselves
Submitted by steener (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 18:04.
"[...] will hold students accountable for their misconduct." Was this not a peaceful protest?
Submitted by Hope Moffett (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 18:53.
The students ever ignored the attempts of a passer-by to agitate them. They rose above ignorance and stated their case.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 19:43.
But still,you guys use the old data just to turn this school around...
It's a shame that use student had worked very hard when the school had reopened...No matter what people say about us and our school, we still get our educations and come to attend school everyday.. where are not giving up this fight !
Submitted by TopHeavyStaff (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 22:45.
'The School District of Philadelphia does not approve this type of behavior and will hold students accountable for their misconduct."
Uh, sorry, Mubarak, we'll go home now.
Submitted by Hope Moffett (not verified) on Tue, 02/15/2011 - 22:49.
Drick Boyd's guest blog about West Philly makes the same point. Everywhere autocratic leaders exist, people have the responsibility to demand that their voices be heard.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 11:08.
The peaceful protests held recently by students are a fine example of civil disobedience. For those who may not be familiar with the district's curriculum, civil disobedience is covered in great detail as part of the English 3 curriculum. Students should not be disciplined for a peaceful expression of their feelings. Let's start listening to them so that everyone has a chance to express their opinions!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 11:09.
These jokers really don't understand how ridiculous they sound. We have a school named after Martin Luther King, yet they don't approve of "this type of behavior."
Submitted by Kendra (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 14:09.
Punishing students for protesting? Wow.
Submitted by Ms. Chips (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 14:16.
Were these students and the West students disciplined? If so, a follow-up story is begging to be written.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 19:26.
As far as I know, West students were threatened with consequences but nothing has happened so far.
Submitted by Stephen Flemming (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 18:50.
I wonder why our higher-ups believe that turning schools into charters will increase academic performance? Why do they believe this? What is it about charter schools that they are so bent on turning traditional schools into them? If it's a pedagogical thing, then why not just adopt the pedagogy (way of teaching) instead of taking such drastic measures? UH-OH, I wonder if I will be fired for asking questions?? UH-OH
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 18:57.
Mr. Flemming,
It's about breaking the union and taking no responsibility for improving difficult schools with challenging populations.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 17:16.
TO THE STUDENTS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA: Civil disobedience is NOT misconduct. It is exercising your rights within the law. Obviously someone was not paying attention in history class during the Civil Rights lessons. SMH
Submitted by Meg (not verified) on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 21:11.
It is not entirely their fault, you kow... this piece was removed int he scripted programs.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 13:08.
This video brought tears of joy to my eyes. As a teacher, it makes me SO proud to see students who care enough about their school and its staff to conduct a peaceful, yet determined protest. Of course they did it during school hours! When else could they be heard, when 440 becomes a ghost town by 4 PM?
Three cheers to Audenried students and their teachers! You get it. You REALLY, REALLY get it. On one hand, the SDP is working hard to IDENTIFY the students involved in the protest, LABEL them as troublemakers, RECITE the attendance policy, CALCULATE the maximum penalty allowed and ARRANGE for the students to be punished for speaking out against unjust actions (all Level 1 skills under Webb's Depth of Knowledge). Meanwhile, the students took it upon themselves to ANALYZE the situation, SYNTHESIZE information from various sources about the district's actions, CRITIQUE the SDP's arguments, DESIGN an effective protest, and APPLY CONCEPTS of free speech and civil disobedience to this situation (Level 4 skills).
Since the ability to CITE EVIDENCE is a Level 3 skill, and the SDP appears to be functioning at Level 1, perhaps a specially-designed program of instruction is in order. Anyone want to help me fill out the CSAP forms?
Submitted by Teacher (K.R. Luebbert) (not verified) on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 13:22.
We can be proud of our students doing what young, engaged citizens should do!
Love the last paragraph--very funny, I'll help with the CSAP, but it is going to be long!
Submitted by SAMIR MACKEY (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 12:07.
WHEN WE WERE OUT THERE PROTESTING FOR OUR SCHOOL WE DID IT IN A MANNERLY WAY.WE WERE NOT DISRESPECTFUL AND WE LEFT WHEN WE WERE TOLD TO, SO MY QUESTION TO THE DISTRICT IS WHAT DID WE DO WRONG? IS IT WRONG TO BE PEACEFUL?
Submitted by K.R. Luebbert (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 13:19.
You are right, you acted respectfully and in a grand tradition running from Thoreau to Ghandi to Martin Luther King, Jr. You have nothing to be ashamed and everything to be proud of.
Submitted by Meg (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 15:44.
No, Samir and everyone with you - you were right and acted right. Now, keep talking and listening. You are not fighting alone.
Submitted by samir mackey (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 14:18.
Thank you we are really strong of what we believe in
Submitted by March on 440 (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 14:22.
RALLY TOMORROW! 4PM! District Headquarters!
Submitted by java development (not verified) on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 17:02.
The district has their own agenda and it is clear that listening to the people most affected is not a part of it.
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