Big test score gains at Renaissance charters
by Benjamin Herold on Sep 27 2011 Posted in Latest news
For the Notebook’s October print edition on school turnarounds, we took a comprehensive look at the city's initial group of seven Renaissance charter schools. This article looks at test score gains at the schools . You can also read more about the extent to which the schools remained neighborhood schools.
Philadelphia’s new “Renaissance” turnaround operators are reporting big gains on the 2011 PSSA exams at the seven long-struggling public schools they converted to charters last year.
All the converted schools saw improvements in both reading and math scores. Six of the seven saw double-digit gains in math.
At Stetson Middle School, for example, 55 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in math last year, up 22 points from 2010. Stetson also saw an 8-point jump in the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in reading, from 25 percent to 33 percent.
“We’re elated,” said Alfredo Calderon, the executive director of ASPIRA of Pennsylvania, which now manages the school.
In 2010, then-superintendent Arlene Ackerman launched her Renaissance Schools initiative, aimed at quickly turning around some of the city’s toughest elementary and middle schools. Seven schools were handed over to four outside managers for conversion to charters, and six more were slated for internal turnaround as District-run Promise Academies.
This year, six more schools, including three neighborhood high schools, have been converted to Renaissance charters. Three more schools were designated Promise Academies.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is expected to release official PSSA results for all schools in the state later this week. But ASPIRA and fellow Renaissance operators Mastery Charter Schools, Scholar Academies, and Universal Companies each provided preliminary PSSA results to the Notebook in advance of the official announcement.
The preliminary results do not include detailed grade-by-grade breakdowns, which could show variations from the schoolwide results. And at some of the schools, there are more tested grades than others. And researchers generally caution simply comparing one year to the next without taking into account both prior trends at the school and what is happening in the District and state at large.
In addition, there could be slight fluctuations in the final numbers. But the overall picture at the Renaissance charters is clearly encouraging, said Thomas Darden, the District’s deputy chief for strategic programs.
"Turning around neighborhood schools that have been chronically underperforming ranks as one of the toughest challenges in public education, and the District is very pleased to see these gains in academic performance,” said Darden.
Tyhesha Ross, the parent of a second grader at Mastery-Harrity in West Philadelphia, said the change from 2010 and 2011 was remarkable.
Before Mastery took over, ““the system was broken," said Ross, speaking when Mastery released their PSSA results earlier in the summer.
"Teachers were overwhelmed, and students were not given the help they needed,” she explained.
But in the 2010-2011 school year, she said, things were different.
“It was a positive change. I got five text [messages] a week from his teacher, telling me something positive about my son,” said Ross.
From 2010 to 2011, the percentage of Harrity students scoring proficient or advanced in math jumped 17 points, from 38 to 55 percent. There was a 10-point jump in the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in reading, from 27 to 37 percent.
Mastery CEO Scott Gordon cited high expectations for students and intensive supports for teachers as the keys to achieving the quick turnaround.
“The big picture for taxpayers and parents is that failing schools can go from low-achieving, violent places to places that parents choose to send their children to in one year,” said Gordon.
Despite concerns from many that the Renaissance charter operators would seek dramatic results by pushing out the hardest-to-serve students, a comprehensive Notebook review of District student enrollment and retention data showed that the schools drew hundreds of local families back while holding on to most of the school’s prior students.
At Harrity, for example, Mastery added 167 neighborhood students to the school’s rolls while losing about two dozen fewer than typical in years past.
“All the evidence points to the fact that these are the same kids,” said Gordon.
At Stetson, ASPIRA achieved its big PSSA gains while adding 68 new neighborhood students and retaining until June 95.6 percent of those enrolled as of October.
Stetson’s principal, Renato Lajara, also led the school for its last two years under District management, when it struggled mightily with low achievement and high levels of violence.
Lajara stressed that the school’s dramatic transformation wasn’t the result of any single program or strategy. Instead, he attributed the change to better, more supportive management.
“The difference is the District gives you a budget and says, ‘Perform,’” said Lajara. “ASPIRA is the opposite. They ask you what your vision is, and then they apply the budget according to the vision.”
The result, he said, has been smaller class sizes, more support staff, an in-school disciplinary academy to handle disruptive students, and a quicker response to the problems that inevitably arise.
Some of the extra supports at the Renaissance charters are made possible by private funds raised by the managers on top of the per-pupil allotment paid them by the District.
“We don’t do the cookie-cutter approach,” said ASPIRA’s Calderon. “We say, ‘OK, let’s set up the ideal school environment, and let’s figure out how to pay for it.’ We go get the money.”
Mastery employs a similar strategy, investing roughly $1 million extra into each of its turnaround elementary schools in their first year. Most of the money is raised from foundations and private donors.
But Gordon said that money represents a one-time investment to initiate the turnaround process. After the first year, he said, the Renaissance charters would be able to function on the same budgets as traditional District schools.
“We can turn around schools, and it can be done at scale,” he said.
Not all of the initial Renaissance charters experienced sharp gains in their first year.
Universal-Bluford, for example, saw a modest 2-point gain in math and a 4-point gain in reading.
Nevertheless, said Janis Butler, Universal’s executive vice president of education, the organization was excited about the progress they made in year one.
“One of the main goals is to make sure you stop the hemorrhaging,” said Butler. “I caution against big spikes. I want to make sure what we do is lasting and there is a steady increase so that we know it’s real.”
District officials have announced a ninth straight year of districtwide gains and said that 110 of 267 schools met their federally mandated Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets in 2010-11. They have also touted significant gains at their internal turnaround schools, the Promise Academies.
But a comparison of the District’s turnaround schools to those turned over to private management will have to wait until the school-by-school results are announced later this week.
All of the 2011 PSSA results for both District and charter schools have been subject to a forensic analysis looking for statistical irregularities that could be a sign of possible cheating. PDE officials have offered no firm timeline for when that analysis or any of its findings will be released.
Comments (110)
Submitted by Mrs. G (not verified) on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 20:45.
This is great news for Philadelphia students. However, this data just proves that the school staff knows and understands the needs of their student population. Rather than being handed one-size-fits-all programs and being told "do what we tell you to do," these Charters are afforded the freedom and resources to implement the programs and initiatives their students need. It is obvious that the students and teachers are given the support needed for success which often does not happen in our District-run schools. That said, if all schools were given the same freedom and resources, we would truly see reform in education.
Submitted by Samuel Reed III on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 22:42.
Mrs G. Amen. I agree. Let charter schools and tradtional public schools operate on a level playing field.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 15:43.
Sam---ain't going to happen. The politicians won't have the easy gravy train they enjoy now with kickbacks from the providers. Plus, do you really believe any of those stats??? I mean REALLY???
Submitted by Proud To Be A Stetson Teacher (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:28.
I believe it because I helped to raise the standards within the walls of Stetson. Stop critiscizing and be a part of the solution, or keep your opinions off the web and to yourself...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:32.
Sorry if I hurt your feelings, sweety pie. Keep an eye on the money maybe you'll learn differently.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:35.
So let's see--some opinions in a democracy shouldn't be made public. Get over yourself !!
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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 22:51.
The whole PSSA scheme is from people who do not know how to measure progress. How could someone measure an increase when the data is not on the same sample? measure class of 2011 and compare to class of 2010? They are human, live samples. The performance between two classes are non-related. This whole thing is bs. It is a tool to distribute money. Unfortunately, it hurts more students than help them. Corruption exists at all levels. Promise Academy isnt about educating children or turning around a school, it is about getting grant and money.
Submitted by Audax (not verified) on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 23:22.
THIS! I don't doubt that scores have gone up in some cases, but to compare this year's class to last, makes no difference. We're not talking about Ikea products where you can take the screws from any Billy Bookcase and use them in the Billy bookcase you have at your house. How do the marks compare to that group's score last year? That's a better measure, but even then and incomplete measurement.
And no offense, I could always test well, it doesn't mean squat. Could I think? Write? Analyze data? Did I actually just have some basic background knowledge that members of our society should just know and not have to look up on their Iphone? Those things are what is important.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 12:53.
I wish someone would truly "get this." You can't compare two different sets of classes from two different years and sanely expect results.
This is not the only way to measure progress - many other states focus on an individual child's progress as he or she movies through the grades. What other progress matters?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 23:03.
I believe these are the schoolwide averages. This is the traditional way scores have been looked at. It is true more years need to be looked at in order to establish a reliable trend, but it looks positive so far. I think one can look at the schools' data prior to the conversions on the SD's website.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 20:59.
Someone needs to investigate and expose exactly what constitutes a "proficient" score on the PSSA. I was told by a school employee of higher rank (I am a classroom teacher) that 4th grade students could have answered LESS THAN 50% of the questions correctly and still have earned a "proficient" score. I have searched tirelessly for data to corroborate this information and have found that the evidence is terribly difficult to find, if it is even available to the public at all! If this is true, it needs to be made public IMMEDIATELY!!!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 07:26.
It's not just the PSSAs. Here are some PRAXIS results I found amusing.
MY Sci 70/108 raw correct= 163/200 final score with 144 being passing. 65% correct in raw questions passes with ease.
MY Math 45/58 raw correct= 184/200 final score with 151 being the minimum passing.
I'm not bashing teachers...these are my scores and I stand firm in my qualifications to teach but it speaks to the overall perception and standards of education as a whole in this country.
Submitted by Eileen Difranco (not verified) on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 19:32.
If something looks too good to be true, it's probably not true. How can kids who are 3, 4 and 5 years behind go from below basic to proficient in one year? Sorry, I can't believe it.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 00:11.
Does anyone know - how did the student body change once these schools became Renaissance charters? Did any students leave (if so, at what rate)? Did new students enroll (if so, at what rate)? Just curious how this could have influenced scores. It would be really cool if the student population didn't change significantly.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 15:14.
I don't know about the other schools, but Stetson kept their 2009-2010 school year student population. They then admitted any new students that moved into the neighborhood throughout the school year. They treated like a neighborhood school!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 15:50.
In a nice way, you're saying what everybody knows to be true---Unless the population changed dramatically, which is highly unlikely, the stats are a farce which, of course, they are. If you want to keep your job at a Charter, you either make the provider happy or you're gone. It's all a no brainer as you obviously know too. Stop the Charter fiasco and demand that Harrisburg fund our real schools fairly. Stop the profit game for the politicans too. End this trendy shell game.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 00:11.
Does anyone know - how did the student body change once these schools became Renaissance charters? Did any students leave (if so, at what rate)? Did new students enroll (if so, at what rate)? Just curious how this could have influenced scores. It would be really cool if the student population didn't change significantly.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 01:40.
Per the article, the student population did not have significant change. This does help.
I understand the objection to relying so heavily on test scores; however, I have seen where they have been an accurate indicator of successful teaching at my school. We had a hardworking teaching team of two for our 8th grade. Looking at a span of several years, you can see the steady upward progress for both Reading and Math. After they left, the PSSA scores plumeted and have remained pretty steady at their new lower level. True, there were teachers who have taught the same grade for several years, and the scores vary widely year to year. Looking at the class itself (e.g. compare the 4th grade scores with previous year's 3rd grade scores) can be pretty interesting. I found that (in our school) the attributes followed the students better than the teachers, with the exception of the 8th grade.
When quoting improvements only the scores of students who were also there the previous year(s) should be used. Even if only a few, transfers, both in and out, should not be factored in. Likewise the NCLB/Title I money should follow the individual child to his/her school rather than using the current system of a base minimum and estimation of povery level to determine how much of this grant money each school gets.
I would think the key factors mentioned in this article are small class size and teacher support. This should be considered seriously as "reorganization" should not necessarily mean starting with a whole new set of teachers. Teachers as well as students are works in progress. It should mean a better or different way of working as a team.
Did everyone note the statement that these extra services that were provided were funded by one time grants? Probably it took a little "elbow grease" to look for these.
I'm glad the parent in this article states how great it is for the teacher to contact her personally. I must share my experience as a naive and enthusiastic parent volunteer when I suggested to our principal that he ask the teachers to call parents at least once a month to let them know their child's progress. He told me that the PFT wouldn't allow this request. The Union would be on his back. His key assistant (I call her Mrs. Bureaucracy) protested (with great conviction I might add), "the teachers in the Suburbs don't have to call the parents! (her exclamation)" (Yeah, well transfer then, is what I'm thinking.)
I think charters and other innovators will eventually have to deal with the lesser resources that they are given. It is a shame that traditional public schools having greater shared resources can't seem to overcome not having to work for them.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 08:57.
My principal required us to keep a monthly phone log of calls home, to be turned in to her, and call about 5 parents a week. Now, had we not done it, I doubt there would have been any official recourse, but none of us went running to the PFT or complaining.
Principals who hide behind "problems with the PFT" are not effective leaders. Teachers want to do what is best for the kids. If a principal creates an environment where this is possible, and asks for little extras with good rationale, teachers will give. If principals pile on mandate after mandate, with no real clear vision and ever-changing, then teachers protest because it always turns out to be a waste of time keeping them from doing what they have figured out for themselves to be best for kids.
Are there exceptions? Yes. There are teachers who will refuse to do anything but show up, and there are teachers who will do every little thing asked of them. However, I am talking about the climate in the building. If principals have a staff that asks the PFT to intervene all the time-- they created this problem.
Submitted by Rich Migliore (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 09:52.
You are so correct. When I was an assistant principal at Furness, the teachers readily did anything and everything I asked them to do. They never said no to anything. Never!
It is all in how you treat those you lead. If you treat teachers with dignity, respect and professionalism, they will do anything for you. They only need to perceive that you are asking them to do the task because it is the right thing to do for children and the school community.
What is sorely needed in our school system is professional study, conversation, and reflection of what good leadership is.
Great leadership is based on trust and caring about those you lead. That includes students, staff and parents.
I learned that from a book a young teacher at Furness gave to me from his graduate studies. It is entitled, "Encouraging the Heart" by Kouzes and Posner, the leading researchers of effective leadership in both private and public domains.
May I give a quote noted in that book? It was from one of the most successful CEO's in the private sector, Lawrence Federer.
"Trust is a risk game -- the leader has to ante up first!"
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 11:51.
Thank you! The culture in my school last year was one where teachers were constantly looking over their shoulders. I welcomed feedback, especially as a first-year teacher, and often sought it from coworkers and other admin. But our principal would just as soon write you up as talk to you, and he seemed to truly believe that test scores were all that mattered. Every other week there was some new directive that we knew would be thrown out the window the next week, some new paperwork that would never be followed through on, some new threat that would be applied unevenly.
It turned into a situation where we had to ignore the principal in order to function. This meant he never knew what was going on and led to some serious problems with discipline.
Submitted by Rich Migliore (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 12:30.
That is an "unhealthy climate" and is symptomatic of the adversarial tone that has been set from above. It is an institutional illness that needs to be addressed.
All teachers need to be nurtured and led in a supportive, collegial climate, especially the new teachers.
May I add to my comment above?
"Culture change is a leadership game -- the leaders have to ante up first!"
Hang in there. It really is a great profession.
Submitted by ShouldIStayorShouldIGO (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:07.
You must be a good leader, Mr. Migliore. I've heard good things about Furness's leadership. You are absolutely correct about how to get teachers to do what you want, treat them with respect and value their input, be professional and they'll do the same for you.
In my current school, the principal rules with fear and threats. Threats on the first day that are jobs are on the line. Threats that they will go after anyone who doesn't comply or doesn't seem to want to work for them. In fact, this principal has taken away copier rights from the teachers! Imagine having to give your copies to the secretary at least 48 hours in advance! What effective teachers knows exactly what they'll be teaching on Thursday when its only Monday or Tuesday. We are also not allowed to print anything. So, if you do a lot of research online, as I do, and find a great worksheet to incorporate during your prep for the next period, forget about incorporating it. You won't be able to. Sure, you may have an idea of what you'd like to copy and give the students 2-3 days prior, but given that the school doesn't give you any paper or materials at all (due to budget cuts?), who wants to waste their precious materials on something they may not actually use. Not to mention the environmental waste of misusing the paper.
I wish there were more principals in the SDP like you. You should request to come in and train some of them, including mine. My principal makes it so that I have started searching for another teaching position outside the SDP, in fact, at this point I'd work at a retail store rather than have to put up with such oppressive, dictatorship behavior. It's demeaning, unprofessional, and most of all prevents me from being an effective teacher.
These types of principals push good teachers out. Perhaps the SDP and districts across the nation should be looking at the leadership styles of the principals rather than placing all the blame on those on the front lines, the teachers.
Submitted by Rich Migliore (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 11:56.
Your comment is heartfelt. I wanted to take some time off from commenting because I sometimes get too passionate about this stuff, but your comment is strikingly sad because I can tell you are a deeply caring teacher and I feel so sad for you. That is a terrible environment to work in.
There is a disconnect between what the research points to as effective leadership and the leadership behaviors of many in our school district. What you describe is the worst form of leadership. It is management by threat and intimidation. It is destructive. That was Arlene Ackerman's leadership style.
There are still many Great principals who understand the power of positive leadership. It is collegial, supportive and nurturing among other things. In my book on leadership, I included a chapter called "The Psychological Perspective" which cites pysychological studies relevant to leader - follower dynamics.
My advice is to try to find a school to transfer to that has a principal with a collegial, democratic style. You will find the atmosphere completely different and you will feel like a professional and love going to work every day. Believe me -- you will.
In the mean time focus on the children and do your best for them. The sparkle in their eyes will carry you through. They need you.
And yes, Furness does have a Great principal now and a good leadership team. And a Great group of wonderful teachers who are a Great school community.
Submitted by ShouldIStayorShouldIGO (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 10:14.
Interestingly, my principal is an Ackerman supporter. She is very verbal about how upset she is that Ackerman was "pushed out!" So, that says a lot. Unfortunately, I'm assigned to the school for two years. I'll never make it that long, and doubt I'll make it through this year. Thanks for the advice, kind wishes and support.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 10:45.
Unfortunately, Arlene left us little replicas of herself all over the city. No wonder she is upset that her boss is gone. She probably would have never been hired if employment had been based on merit alone. There seem to see too many incompetent principals this year that are trying to bully their staff into silence and make themselves seem like they are actually doing something by assigningn endless busy work.
Submitted by Teach (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 16:54.
Most principals hated Ackerman. The odds are good that if you transfer elsewhere, you won't have to work with one who supports her disastrous policies.
Submitted by Linda K. (not verified) on Sun, 03/17/2013 - 10:26.
Funny..this year is the first ever to have the following happen to me:
I teach about 800 kids art....mailing my inerims I got the comment from the school ops officer told me that I was sending too many letters and needed to start giving the kids the letters because of the postage. [Like all kids will take a failure letter home]
I told her that with 32 classes, 800 kids of which I have about once a week, a minimum of # assignments are required by the SDP to give a grade. It is the 6th week in this report card period so how else do I contact the 150 plus kids with an F or a D in my class?
Her response: she did not know I was sending interims....I wanted to ask her what did she think I was sending...party invitions?
I use my cell to call for behavior problems both at home and at school. Time of day matters not in that I find Sunday after church just as affective as Saturday morning to call a parent.
I buy the ink, use my computer at home, I buy the paper, envelopes, return labels and THEN had write the addresses [they change alot like the kids phone numbers] and this is the reponse I get?
I sent an idea to the Principle and have yet to get a response--the idea was that we all mail in one envelope the reports...heck, I'd even help fold the and stuff the envelopes....no response and this is week three since my suggestion.
Linda K.
Submitted by Anon 452 (not verified) on Sun, 03/17/2013 - 12:35.
I gave up and started buying stamps as well as envelopes for my interims--but , then again, I am not a specialist teacher with 800 kids! I have about 90. This is typical of the SDP, tell you to communicate and refuse to support it in any real way. I love email, but the reality is many of our parents do not have it--I have had parents who have computer and internet access re (the kids) all the time". I also have parents who are very cooperative with email--it just depends.
Submitted by Linda K. (not verified) on Sun, 03/17/2013 - 17:06.
You are sooo right, they text, they tweet but access to a computer?......I have also suggested that the Principal do something on parent teacher night to help the parents access the internet to see the kids' grades......my sister and brother in law get no paper stuffs......they go to the parent teacher conference WITH the report in hand that THEY print off at home or work [but that is public year round school in Raliegh NC for you....].
I commend you on buying stamps....I stop there....I need that for my bills....smile
Linda K.
Submitted by Anon 452 (not verified) on Sun, 03/17/2013 - 17:22.
I could not do it (buy stamps) for 800! If they want communication, the SDP is going to have to provide the supplies for us to work with!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 12:21.
Yes yes yes! You are "spot on" about my principal. So the problem boils down to, why do these ineffective leaders and "clock punchers" stay forever? Children grow up very quickly. Transfer is the only recourse available to me as a parent. These ineffective leaders are driving us to charters.
My husband, in his line of work, would simply have been fired. Seems this doesn't happen in the PSD. Apparently the concept is, that it is the children that are expendable.
Submitted by Linda (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 23:49.
Common sense says contact the parent frequently good reports or bad. I am sure parents who work in the district or even the Education field expect this for their kids so what is the issue with a phone call? I don't care for them so I send letters through the Pony. After a while kids rather like hearing the "good" reports from the parents.
I also give "good notes" and the kids actually take them home. Some even post them in their lockers! Certificates also help. I asked a student about his older brother, not knowing that his brother was on house arrest for a crime. He stated that he like me as well as couple of other teachers and that his mothers still had the good notes in a box and the certificate on the wall ( one of the only two he ever got in school.)
As a PFT rep. common sense people. The principal should not have to ask you to use it.
Submitted by Teach (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:43.
The teachers in the suburbs e-mail their students' parents every week. Yes, they're less overworked and paid much, much more, but they absolutely do keep in touch with parents. And that can really work to the child's benefit.
However, I'm pretty sure most suburban teachers don't run into phone numbers that never stop changing. I try to call at least five parents a week, but rarely manage to get through to more than two of them.
Submitted by K.R. Luebbert (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 22:14.
This is a huge problem for us. One of my colleagues tried to call home today to give good news about a student, and NONE of the numbers on the emergency contact list worked. Three numbers, none working! What if that child had been injured?? These were numbers the parent had given at the start of this year! My grade partner and I like to use email, but the reality in my school is that only about have of our parents have it.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 06:35.
I resort to certified letters sent to the address and name on record, at least that way I can show I made the efforts. Phone number wise, I am lucky to get 2 a week that actually are correct and working, and the kids whoseparents I really do "need" to talk with, are smart enough to not give you a working number or to give you one of a "friend of the family."
Submitted by K.R. Luebbert (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 07:53.
We do the certified letter thing as well. Usually somebody picks up/drops off kids, so if we hand out in these areas, we can sometimes talk to a parent or at least get a message to them. Again, it shows we are making an effort.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 06:34.
My life would be much less complicated if I could use email to contact parents. I'm sure most parents of Masterman, SLA, Central, Penn Alexander, Greenfield, Meredith, etc. students have email and teachers at those schools can use it. I'm at a neighborhood high school - I have to rely on using my cell phone. Phone numbers are often wrong. I've had students give me their cell number instead of a parent's.
Contact is key but those of us a neighborhood schools have to take a lot more effort to make contact.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 14:30.
Haha noooo Penn Alexander teachers do NOT email parents. They do not give out their philasd email address.
Submitted by K.R. Luebbert (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 14:54.
Why not? I give all parents my philasd email address on my welcome letter. That is one of the reasons the SDP provides us with email. I also give my cell phone number and the hours I take calls from parents. Most parents (not all) want to communicate.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 15:16.
From what I understand, the teachers (and the administration) there are very stand off-ish. The assumption might be that some of the more neurotic parents would abuse the privilege but I don't really know.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 17:41.
I do the same. I've only had a handful of parents that email - I can only think of 2 - in many years. I use my own cell phone to make calls and give out the number - years ago I used my home phone. That said, it would be much easier if I could initially email parents. I envy teachers that have that option.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 18:34.
Ditto:
Execpt I give them my school phone and prep, lunch and before/after school hours to call, along with my school email. Very little response.
Submitted by Linda (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 23:51.
As for the teachers in the burbs, you better belive they contact the parents. They better, in that those parents attend meetings and conferences. In fact those parents will tell YOU how to teach their kids.
Don't believe that the teachers aren't contacting parents in teh burbs.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 14:46.
I agree with the above. Teachers in the suburbs face a very different set of challenges. Yes, it's easy to get in touch with parents, etc. And yes, the parents are probably more involved. That also means that if you don't stay on your game as a teacher, the parents have the time and resources (i.e. community connections and/or a lawyer) to make a nasty memo from your principal the least of your worries.
Submitted by former teacher (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 07:28.
The previous comment is absolutely untrue. The PFT has no provision in its contract about teachers calling parents. Public school teachers call parents all the time.
Test scores are not a reliable indicator of a school's progress for all of the reasons stated above. In addition, it is highly questionable for a school to make double-digit gains in one year.
Smaller class size, teacher support, and donations from private donors? I wonder how they are able to achieve so much...?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 08:39.
Yes, it's a lie that the PFT prohibits this, yet my principal and his highly tenured "right hand" (besides not hesitating to lie to me) wouldn't even consider asking the teachers to do this. Why?
Instead of making a blanket statement about statistics, that is, what is or is not possible, one should actually look at the numbers. What does that percentage mean in terms of real numbers of students? My school has been "stuck" in the 50some percentage for years now, yet made AYP for the last two years. It will be interesting to see if they can cross this threshold.
Test goals are only one indicator, agreed; however don't shortchange the teachers/schools that do the underlying work to bring improvement in this area. I heard mention (discussion on NPR) that State tests are created from the bottom level of difficulty after all. Take a look at Cook Wissahickon, which has had remarkable and steady gains in ALL its grade levels for several years. It also has a strong level of caregiver and community involvement. It outcompeted my unsupported (I had to hunt the teachers and principal down) grant proposal one year for the Picasso Project.
Communities are eager to support their schools. I know, I asked. I also researched grant opportunities extensively, but as a parent could only submit a few. I did this ALL volunteer. I also donated $$ of my own family's funds to bring in a teaching artist. With only a handful of exceptions, teachers were HIGHLY reluctant to clock in ANY extra hours. The Wissahickon Charter was able to get a nearly $100,000 grant to establish a library, while ours remained closed. Why? Besides NEEDING to, part of their advantage is that they are considered their own LEA (district) which makes them eligible for a higher per school sum. The PSD wants control of grants over $5,000, but there are some opportunities for over this amount that are open to individual schools.
Again I don't think the charters will be able to sustain this, but they are showing the entrenched (and often highly tenured) bureaucrats how VERY WRONG they are. My husband has had an average time in a job of about a year, the latest being the exception (thank goodness its been almost three now). He does highly stressful work with no guarantees of future employment. I don't sympathise at all with all the whining. Nor do I sympathise with the "clocking out" attitude. Our family makes a lot of sacrifices and will continue to do so for the right reasons.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 10:30.
I have a question about the analysis -- the table footnote states that "All data are from charter managers," but the text refers to "district data." Where did this data come from?
Submitted by Benjamin Herold on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 10:46.
The short answer is that the preliminary PSSA results were given to the charter operators by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the charter operators then released them to the Notebook.
The longer answer is that earlier this summer, PDE provided every district and charter operator in the state with preliminary PSSA results for their schools. Those results are unofficial - there may be slight fluctuations based on appeals re: individual students and the like. In June, Mastery chose to release its preliminary results, and, at the Notebook's request, the other Renaissance operators later followed suit. The District has not yet released school-by-school results based on these preliminary scores, but has used them to determine District-wide gains and that at least 110 schools made AYP. PDE is preparing to release the official, final PSSA results later this week.
Submitted by K. R. Luebbert (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 11:10.
We should also keep in mind, that for ALL schools, testing environment, rules, and conditions are only very LOOSELY monitored by the state. Yes, they give us the rules, and we are supposed to follow them, but until the state puts an independent monitor in EVERY classroom of every school during all PSSA testing we will never really know if rules are followed.
Submitted by tom-104 on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 11:57.
In addition to the question of the test results reliability, as a previous commenter stated, whatever the results, the playing field is not level between charters and other schools. Last spring Finance Director Masch held community meetings where he detailed the District's budgetary crisis. In his PowerPoint presentation, it was striking how when it came to regular schools the budget was cut, cut, cut, but when it came to charter schools the budget was increase, increase, increase.
We are creating a segregated system where a privileged few get advantages over all other students. Even if admission is by lottery (itself and inherently absurd, unjust method for admission), resources are being diverted from regular schools to privileged charters who eventually select who "makes the grade."
This is the opposite of what is required. The schools which have the most students from low-income, distressed families should be getting the most resources. If a school is failing, class sizes should be reduced (how about the 15 per class the wealthy get in their private schools), they should get extra supports such as additional counselors, and the all supplies they need. Instead the "reformers" blame the teachers for the social conditions and want to close the neighborhood schools, never addressing the cause of the problems, unemployment.
Submitted by former teacher (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 13:00.
At every school I have taught in, every principal has told the faculty that the first step in dealing with student issues, academic or behavioral, is to call a parent. I have never heard a teacher refuse or complain. Teachers welcome parental involvement.
I also have never experienced a "clocking-out" attitude. If a teacher leaves at 3, most likely he/she has arrived well before the students that morning. There is just not enough prep time to prepare lessons, mark papers, call parents, etc. during the school day.
Cliched comments about teacher "whining" are passé. Unless you work for Christie or Corbett.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 13:15.
Good to hear. I guess you never worked at my school.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 16:32.
I wish every school was like the ones you've taught in. I've only been in two. One was just like you describe. The other, unfortunately, was not. Every time the principal asked for something, a segment of the teachers would just refuse and basically dare the administration to force them to do it. The response was the same for great ideas and terrible ideas. It was very dispiriting to the principal that even very student-centered proposals would get shot down because they required minimal extra collective effort that maybe 10% of the teachers would resist. I understand that the resistance was the result of a lot of frustration over years of mediocre management at the District and school level, but it did create an environment where moving forward was not great. Specifically with regard to parent contact, there was very strong resistance that even minimal contact be required before taking more serious behavioral/disciplinary actions.
It was only a very small portion of the staff that had this mindset, but it poisoned the whole culture, because it turned every attempt as school-wide initiatives into a battle over what was technically required of the contract, etc. It was a breath of fresh air to move to a school where the staff only resisted ideas that were actually bad or excessively burdensome, rather than simply "more than we have to do in the contract."
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 13:01.
I don't think Mr. Masch knew the PSD was getting extra money for those students that transferred to the charters, a sort of "headhunter bonus". What happened to this extra money? Hmm, let's see. Some of this went to the additional counselors; some to ensuring small class sizes; some went to putting in a cumbersome, unproven, and mostly redundant system called "Weighted Student Funding" which includes the fashionable "School Advisory Councils"; the rest went to PR for Ms. Ackerman. Now the extra money is gone courtesy of Gov. Corbett, and there is a hole left by the transferred students.
So the "increase, increase, increase" is a result of the "creation, creation, creation", then "transfer, transfer, transfer" which apparently no one is responsible for. The charters now have the advantage because they didn't hire a superstar who failed to deliver, leaving them with less than they needed to function adequately.
The lottery system is used to avoid preferential admission when there are fewer slots than applicants. Have you got a better idea? Is the system Masterman uses more fair? The segregation is glaringly obvious there.
The last I checked, the charters were getting Title I money, which is given to children who are poor. The criteria is those who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Some of the reformers are famous for blaming teachers (Rhee, Ackerman). I am not a reformer, only an idealist who's gone as far as homeschooling. I blame the career deadweights, these are the ineffective principals and administrators mostly, but can include teachers. Last I looked, there were more of these in the PSD than the charters.
My school, by sheer parent attrition had some class sizes around 10 last year. They didn't do any better on the PSSAs. The classroom behavior was just as bad. They are still open and running on the taxpayer account.
No one is to blame directly for unemployment. Fiscal conservatism and lack of capital, if there is anything at all. Possibly lack of imagination (from a bad education) too? Solve these, and we're on our way :)
Submitted by tom-104 on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 17:04.
You asked if I have a better idea than the lottery to prevent preferential admissions. Yes, make the neighborhood schools what they are supposed to be using some of the criteria in my comment above. Then people won't want to get into a charter school. A lottery exists because there is a scarcity of slots.
Of course, this is a political problem because it requires funding which the powers that be will not provide. They say funding Philadelphia schools is a waste of money, a basically racist position.
The lottery for schools makes about as much sense as the lottery for the draft that existed during the Vietnam War. Whether or not someone got sent off to that War depended on their draw in the lottery. I always call the state lottery a tax on dreams, the bigger your dreams the higher the tax.
The reason we have a state lottery is to keep up peoples hopes that their circumstances will change if they get lucky. The same applies to the charter school lottery. It gives people hope that they will get lucky and give their child a better education than the neighborhood school can provide under present conditions. As long as people have their these, many times false, hopes, they will not fight the politicians to fund the schools.
Submitted by Benjamin Herold on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 17:27.
Tom-104,
Thanks for your continued insights on this and other stories.
I want to emphasize, however, that the Renaissance charters do not admit students by lottery. They serve geographical catchment areas, just as District schools do, with the caveat that they are required to also serve students who attended the school pre-turnaround, regardless of where the student lives. Any newly enrolled student is required to document that they live in the catchment area. At some of the schools, however, neighborhood students were turned away because the Renaissance charters have hard enrollment caps.
Please see my complementary story, 'Keeping it in the neighborhood,' for a fuller discussion of student enrollment at the Renaissance charters.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 20:28.
I really enjoy your comments tom-104. They do provoke thought. I don't agree with you on all your points however.
Yes, I also object to lotteries for the reason you cite. Obviously they're a less objectionable way to raise governing funds than legislating tax increases; Oh whoops, they "Help seniors get where they're going" (per poster on the SEPTA buses:)) (pretty tactless statement, don't you think?).
Now on to the disagreements. Please explain to me how charter schools are costing the poor any more than the traditional public schools. The per child funding from the State is actually less. The Federal start-up money comes equally (or arguably more from the working middle class (another discussion for another day)) from all of us. The foundations (which represent the rich who did not want to pass on their wealth to the government) make up the difference, but offer their grant opportunities to the traditional schools as well. Who exactly are these "privileged" that the charter schools are supposedly picking and choosing?
I don't believe the lottery of a charter school is the same as the State lottery. In this case the winners prizes are not created from the sure losses of those who did not get picked. The children do not lose their State allotment if they don't get admitted to a charter. In the case of the draft, the unfairness was in who was able to get a waiver. There are no "waivers" that I'm aware of for charters. If the unfairness that you perceive in a charter lottery is simply that some don't get in, there is the assumption that the charter school was the better school. Although I support innovation, I don't believe that charters are guaranteed to be better always.
I support neighborhood schools, and after having to "park" my kids at mine, kept them there because of my democratic ideology, despite my growing disatisfaction. I hoped my kids could be part of the solution and I worked pretty hard for two years to "make it better". I got pretty much nowhere: A lot of jealous resentment, and an eye opening education in the not so savory undercurrents of humanity. Remember, the neighborhoods of Philly are to this day, NOT yet fully integrated. This means that if you keep a child in a neighborhood school, you will likely subject him/her indirectly to that segregation. By the way, Title I is designed to give a school more per the greater poverty population.
I DO, like you, believe we should be suspicious of the overenthusiasm shown by our legislators to privatize. It is the "churning" of businesses, fueled as you noted by the dreams of many, that make up the unearned income of the wealthy. Does it not make you laugh that the conservatives made it harder to discharge debts in bankruptcy, and in doing so, also made the creation of new businesses harder? Not what they anticipated I'm sure. They were only looking to up their profit margins.
Submitted by tom-104 on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:15.
Thank you for your compliment. I sometimes feel like a lone voice crying in the wilderness.
I don't disagree that many charters may be providing a more stable learning environment for the students and as a result have improved test scores. I sympathize with any parent who feels they must get their child out of the conditions in many public schools.
My concern is for the community as a whole for the long term. The charters are being given every advantage to the detriment of the neighborhood schools. What about the children being left behind in the increasingly horrible conditions due to the budget crisis and reductions in state and federal funding? These children did not choose to be born into these conditions. Whatever their family's circumstances they do not deserve inferior schools. We will all pay in the long run if this is not addressed. As I said in a comment above, the School District is consciously strangling the public schools while giving charters every advantage.
The bottom line is that we have a serious political problem. The state has basically written off the next generation. Governor Corbett has cut education funding by almost $1 billion dollars. At the same time, he has increased the funding for prisons by almost the same amount, including three new prisons. (Some of these prisons will be run by for profit companies, an incentive for a return to slavery...but that's another story. He is also allowing natural gas companies to frack our remaining wildlife areas for obscene profits, and levying NO taxes on them while they pollute our environment and wreck our roads..but that too is another story!) Our local government is basically ruling with an "I got mine" attitude which turns out to be little different than Harrisburg (thus the SRC fiasco).
All the comments I see about charter schools are justified. It is wonderful that they have shown improved test scores (assuming they can be trusted). But what about everyone else? Should they just be written off to lives of misery?
Submitted by tom-104 on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:40.
Anonymous, I did not address this question that you asked: "Please explain to me how charter schools are costing the poor any more than the traditional public schools. The per child funding from the State is actually less."
Figuring out what is happening with budgeting in regards to charters is very hard to follow. There are so many variables, and so many different setups, that it is hard to figure out what is going on. (I am also unclear on Benjamin's point to me about which schools have a lottery. He said Renaissance schools do not, but what about charters; do all or just some of them have lotteries?) The fact that any lotteries exist says there are a limited number of spaces and you most fight of what there are if you care about your child.
I am not saying the charters are costing the poor directly, but they are costing them in regards to funds being directed to charters and away from public schools. Finance Director Masch was very clear about this at the community meetings in the spring. I think this was deliberate because basically he was telling the parents that if you keep your children in your neighborhood school the Administrations policy is now to give them an inferior education compared to charter schools.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 22:56.
It's o.k. I was busy composing another (too long) reply. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I think it suffices to say they have their own admission requirements, often involving a lottery (that should cover it :)
The traditional public schools, though it may not appear so, actually have the greater resources, and the advantage. In addition,they pay much less in rent.
There are a few schools within the PSD who have been successful without being converted to charters and without being a special admission school. Cook Wissahickon would be one of these. It is worthwhile to look at the history of how it used its Title I parent involvement funds. It is also instructive to see the level the parent/caregiver involvement is at. Teachers there have successfully sought out grants. There is no reason why more schools can't do the same.
Speaking of Title I, no one has mentioned the School Improvement Plan, upon which the spending of these monies are supposed to be based. This is no different than what is eulogized in the above article at the charters, involving and letting the staff (and input from parents) craft an ideal learning situation. It's time to stop the posturing and take this seriously. Teachers and caregivers need to get together and pressure the admin unless they want to have to work for the charters, or have fewer choices.
Finally I really agree that Gov. Corbett has cut far too much from education. I am incensed that I have been swamped simultaneously with postcards advertising the State's 529 plans. The large State tuition increases are primarily of the State's making, and this is why they say I should invest? Although our family has never had enough to invest, the thought is thoroughly outrageous.
Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 01:26.
Tom, on the lottery business. Regular charter schools (as opposed to Renaissance Charter Schools) use lotteries when the number of candidates for admission exceed the number of vacancies. Not all Charter Schools are fully enrolled so not all of them have lotteries.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 17:42.
Of course, the only time they lie is when they speak. It's all a farce, a shell game for profit being foisted on the poor of Phila.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 13:14.
I did forget that the SLA does individual interviews with their applicants. This is not entirely fair either in that it gives them control over who they admit as well.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 13:48.
Interviews give a much better idea of a person than paper. If anything, interviews should be preferred because then it isn't about your address in Society Hill or your inflated PSSA scores. Masterman only admits students from Masterman middle school. Wouldn't interviews be better?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 14:23.
Yes, you get a better idea about the whole child; however, we are talking about artificially controlling your student body or leaving out the "difficult" children. What criteria will be used, and even if just, how can we be sure it is applied without personal bias?
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 16:32.
The interview is a very specific screening process. SLA does not accept students with "issues" - that will come out in the interview. It also allows SLA to control their demographics - how many free lunch (which means more Title 1 money), ethnic breakdown, etc, etc. I'm sure SLA is a great place - they have more money and the support of the Franklin Institute as well as cherry picked students. The teachers and principals can't claim to understand "urban ed" any more than Masterman's teachers and principals. They live in a cocoon of privileged that has nothing to do with neighborhood high schools.
Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 17:18.
While conceding test scores are at best a crude measurement of student learning, I don 't think there is much doubt that these schools have made real progress as Renaissance Charters. As the article indicates parents have voted with their feet and enrollment is up at these schools. And, again as Ben points out, fears about pushing out or refusing to take challenging students, have not materialized or at least no one has provided any credible evidence of this.
Does this mean we should embrace privatization and charter conversion? No, but it does suggest that we need to evaluate what these schools are doing well and be willing to learn from their experience.
The extra resources these school receive does play some role and to that extent comparing them with under resourced traditional schools is not fair.
But they also have done some things that may be worthy of emulation. The District's bureucratic, top down style of management and one size fits all mentality discourages the kind of autonomy and innovation that at least some charter schools have realized.
Stetson, the only one of these schools I have some familiarity with, is a very different place than it was before. They not only kept the same students but much of the old staff as well. I suspect, with a central administration that provided more support and allowed for school based decision making the same dramatic gains could have been made without privatization.
Our goal should be to give all schools the supports that experience has shown are necessary for success. At the sametime we do this cause no good by denying the real gains these schools have made.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 19:15.
Mr. Whitehorn,
That is an excellent post that captures an extremely productive, but unfortunately rare, approach to charter school analysis. Rather than categorically denounce them, you acknowledged the very real gains they show (the exact extent of improvement may not be clear, but at this point arguing that many of the Renaissance schools are "no better" than they were before is hard to support).
I am refreshed to see someone step outside the box of "charter v. private" to constructively analyze the provider model that they do not necessarily ideologically agree with to understand what value it does offer. This is so much more constructive than the "charters are evil" perspective so often perpetuated.
More of this type of dialog, where individuals from various points in the ideological spectrum (centralized public system v. mixed provider v. total market) examine at the actual educational impact of schools, rather than trade platitudes about the theoretical/ideological/etc. aspects of the model is really crucial to improving all types of schools.
For those who support unionized, traditional public schools, etc., continuing to demonize all things charter may be fatal to the cause. Test scores aren't perfect. But when it starts to look like not only are charters more stable at retaining neighborhood students, but also drawing neighborhood students who had left back to the neighborhood, it's pretty hard not to acknowledge that something right must be going on in some (not all) charter schools.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 20:52.
I agree with Mr. Whitehorn and your post on his comment. One of the MOST frustrating things I encountered in my naivest attempts at bettering the neighborhood school was the TOTAL disregard of what had been proven to work at other schools or even under their very own roof!!! Seems like anything that did not promise individual advancement was pretty much invisible to the Administration. FIX this blind spot, and you will likely fix the traditional public schools.
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 17:46.
Why is no one questioning the validity of these gains?
I question it.
We are all well aware of the cheating scandals across the nation.
I'm skeptical. Double digit gains in 6 out of 7 of the charters in math?
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 18:38.
Of course, you're right and it's not even close. It's all a scam to make money while pretending to educate the kids better than the traditional Public Schools. It's a business and all businesses are in the business of making money. With no union, workers know they better make the provider--what a silly name--happy or they're gone. This isn't complicated.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 17:48.
Walk into Daroff tomorrow and you'll see more kids in the halls than in class. It's all a joke, well, not all but mostly, it's nothing more than a shell game for profit. Of course, that's true if the population remained the same as did the staff. There is no magic bullet, no miracles.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 18:43.
Yes, I believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny too. So let's see, the population is the same and the staff is the same but somehow, double digit improvement is seen. PLEASE !!!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 19:00.
Well, the staff isn't the same...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 18:52.
Can you say, Imhotep, Peirce, Vare, King, the outfit at 3800 Broad St. etc. ???? Please, Elmer Gantry and Jimmy Swaggart would make a ton of money on people who are drinking the cool aid in reference to Charter Schools. I'm sure there are exceptions but the genesis of ALL of them was a for profit model, replete with fast, easy money for the providers and the pols who selected them. There needs to be a moratorium on all new charter schools and the ones in existence need to be REALLY monitored not some nebulous, intramurally based system that's beyond useless and, of course, supported by the pols. Charters are the new, trendy way to make money on the sly for crooks like Archie, Evans, Porter and Gamble.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 20:00.
Teachers at our charter school worked our tails off last year. And so did the STUDENTS.
That is why scores went up drastically.
We are working our tails off right now. Teaching is hard and even the most effective teaching is filled with imperfection.
The key to a successful school is people that work hard and finding the inspiration to continue to work hard.
Submitted by tom-104 on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 20:29.
That's good, but the implication in your statement is that teachers in public schools don't "work their tails off". This is a scam put out by the "reformers" to blame teachers for the social conditions their students come from.
This is not an excuse for low scores, it is a diagnosis, just the way a doctor diagnoses a sick patient. The patient most receive medicine and intensive care to regain health. In the public schools a sick school is blamed, starved, and eventually closed.
Check out this speech from the Save Our Schools march:
http://bit.ly/nbCtc7
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 20:45.
Tom-104, thank you, public school teachers do work their butts off, I am one of them. I come to work very early in order to prepare for my students and I am generally the last car on the lot to leave at night. I work at home preparing materials for my students. I buy things to add to their learning. For me, my students had nothing in terms of materials to teach with. The budget was frozen, so there was no money for me to purchase materials for my students, so the budget came from my own pocket. Why? Because I do truly want my students to succeed and I want to expose them to as much as possible because they all deserve a fighting chance.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:21.
Be encouraged that the kids will never forget you.
Submitted by Teach (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:34.
Are you saying before the charter took over the teachers weren't working as hard? I'm sure you worked your tails off. I'm unconvinced that those who came before you did any less.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 21:48.
I'm sorry, but I am so sick of the whole "charter school" attitude
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 09:32.
Divide and Conquer--Be careful--we are all teachers and educators. Charter School teachers--try to unionize or in some other way, voice collectively your opinions and see how quickly you're gone no matter how well you teach. The PFT has its problems but being paid a livable wage won't happen unless workers demand it. Unions protect people against unfair labor practices and charters are businesses, first, last and only.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 15:45.
Right On, My Brother.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 09:34.
Does anybody really believe the above gains knowing what we know about the abuses throughout the country? This time last year, Imhotep could walk on water. Now, they've been exposed for the joke that it is. More and more of these for profit "Schools" will be exposed as their employees demand rights.
Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 16:00.
agreed.
come on media...take the blinders off. a 22% gain in literacy and everyone's patting themselves on the back & you guys are still drinking the kool aid and reporting this crap as proof of progress.
get real!
5 or 6% gain...congratulations. that shows measurable improvement. 22%, i'm sorry, is just not a believable figure. it's cheating and not even smart cheating. literacy gains like that don't happen overnight. nope. not buying it. i'm so looking forward to the data analysis reports from 2010 & 2011 pssa tests that the state promised to release.
to paraphrase warren buffett, "it's not till the tide goes out that you find out who's been swimming naked"
Submitted by Parent who knows better. (not verified) on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 08:24.
Adults can be so cruel. There is no joke about getting supports for your child to go to college, being accepted, recieving SAT scores that allow them to access the college, being told over and over you are a scholar and having teachers stay on Saturdays and even in the summer because they care enough to back up their believes in their students. I find it ridiculous that anyone can call Imhotep a joke. Are you really telling me putting my son in a safe, welcoming, beautiful environment, in a school that monitored his progress, sent me bi weekly reports, access not only to his grades but his class work, coaches that made sure he was academically eligible to play football and monitored his grades weekly, made him go to 10th grade summer enrichment, PSSA special support classes and all the while giving him work appropriate for his grade would not show improvement? You must be saying despite all these supports my son and I have recieved he is too dumb to pass an exam?
Stop this cruelty to students and parents. What we have recieved is invaluable. Not only did my son achieve, my daughter who entered Imhotep with low PSSA scores, left the school knowing how to write, prepare a thesis, present a dissertation and became a Keystone Scholar at her college. Stop hating on Imhotep and other schools that believe and help students achieve!
By the way I have a son in a traditional public school whose teachers are equally supportive. Many go beyond their call of duty. Let us not forget that the teachers in Charters are wonderful teachers from the public schools. They make a choice where they want to be. But more importantly the fight is not between charters and public it is with the state that keeps telling us we need to be taken over but the state will not be responsible for the funding. Keep the Focus and fight where it belongs.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 10:15.
With all due respect---Imhotep??? Are you joking?? Your other points are right on time.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 16:14.
BINGO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OF COURSE, you are so right. What is wrong with these gullible folks who look at the scores and BELIEVE them. How?? Why? Especially in light of all the corruption staring them directly in the face. How dumb are they ??? and I'm NOT trying to be rude, honestly, I'm not.
Submitted by Jon (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 10:47.
The most significant part of the article was this: "The result, he said, has been smaller class sizes, more support staff, an in-school disciplinary academy to handle disruptive students, and a quicker response to the problems that inevitably arise." How great would it be if all public schools had the permission and resources to do this? The attack on public education by only allowing charters this common sense freedom to teach using these best practices is abundantly clear. How hard can it really be to let all schools do this? Could it be the need for public education to fail to clear the way for those profiteers who seek to privatize our schools? Bet on it.
Submitted by K.R. Luebbert (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 14:09.
You are so right, Jon. I noticed that, too. Why not give all schools
"small class sizes, more support staff, and an in school disciplinary academy". Regular public schools have had support and discipline staff taken away from them, and then they will wonder why climate and achievement suffers! They will not allow us a level playing field, yet will criticize us for struggling!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 14:56.
We have an entire academic division meant to do this. It is underutilized and underfunded. Smaller class sizes end up being 30. Support staff... disciplinary staff get laid off and there are no NTAs. Done the way it was meant to, we already have this.
I also agree with doing small ones in-school. There are five new schools like this that just started this year. I don't know how they're doing.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 18:10.
Are the 5 new schools Public or Charter?? By the way, as soon as Charter Staffs begin to complain about essentially having NO rights, the can of worms will open for all to see. I teach near Daroff and the parents in our neighborhood are hip to the lie about Universal-Daroff. Sooner rather than later, all this foolishness will be exposed unless the politicians who are connected with crooks like Gamble etc. are able to cover it all up which is doubtful.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 18:03.
Henry Ford once said--the answer to all questions is money. Money here makes all the difference as usual. Carpetbaggers are climbing over one another promising poor inner city families that their charter school will save their kids which is nothing more than a shell game promoted by the pols for their own profit purposes. Unless we stand and force the government to fund the traditional Public Schools FAIRLY, this charade will take over all schools. This needs to be done by any means necessary.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 17:57.
I agree---Lots of easy money, very easy money for the profiteers as you call them. I call them scoundrels but we're on the same page. Thank You.
Submitted by Fitz (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 11:11.
Isn't it possible that most of the gains, particularly the largest numbers, actually came from re-enrollment of local students who had attended a better school the year before?
For example, Harrity gained 167 students, bringing its enrollment to 787 (from the article linked about enrollment). So last year's enrollment was 620.
620 * .38 = 235.6
787 * .55 = 432.85
So the difference is 197 more students passed the tests, when 167 additional student enrolled. I'm not saying 100% of those 167 student necessarily did pass the test, but presumably, they were at a 'better' school the year before, as opposed to the students who were at Harrity, and probably did have a higher passing rate. I would love to see a breakdown of just students who were at Harrity the year before to see if they were the ones making the dramatic gains.
The article that is linked about enrollment data doesn't give enrollment figures for the other schools, simply the changes in enrollment so it's hard to say if this trend holds true. In fact, Darnoff showed gains despite a decline in enrollment, so perhaps it is due to the switch to charters.
But I think it's worthwhile to consider what an influx of students whose parents pulled them out of a failing school and sent them to another, possibly 'better' school, would do when added into the test scores of a consistently failing school, even if there had been no switch to charter schools.
Submitted by Fitz (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 11:15.
Isn't it possible that most of the gains, particularly the largest numbers, actually came from re-enrollment of local students who had attended a better school the year before?
For example, Harrity gained 167 students, bringing its enrollment to 787 (from the article linked about enrollment). So last year's enrollment was 620.
620 * .38 = 235.6
787 * .55 = 432.85
So the difference is 197 more students passed the tests, when 167 additional student enrolled. I'm not saying 100% of those 167 student necessarily did pass the test, but presumably, they were at a 'better' school the year before, as opposed to the students who were at Harrity, and probably did have a higher passing rate. I would love to see a breakdown of just students who were at Harrity the year before to see if they were the ones making the dramatic gains.
The article that is linked about enrollment data doesn't give enrollment figures for the other schools, simply the changes in enrollment so it's hard to say if this trend holds true. In fact, Darnoff showed gains despite a decline in enrollment, so perhaps it is due to the switch to charters.
But I think it's worthwhile to consider what an influx of students whose parents pulled them out of a failing school and sent them to another, possibly 'better' school, would do when added into the test scores of a consistently failing school, even if there had been no switch to charter schools.
Submitted by Philly taxpayer, parent, former teacher (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 13:19.
Good explanation for some of the test score gains. The article about Harrity in this month's print edition of The Notebook mentions that several Catholic schools closed in 2010 and parents enrolled their kids at Harrity. That fits your hypothesis, Fitz. Of course this whole discussion assumes that the gains in test scores came from testing conditions that were not manipulated. Considering the wide scope of cheating in Philadelphia during PSSA testing, that's a shaky assumption.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 14:32.
EXACTLY---How can any reasonable person rely on the above scores as being accurate. For the life of me, I can't believe some of the comments above, extolling the virtues of these "Gains" without hesitation. Anybody who even remotely understands the remote chances of double digit gains from one year to the next with all or even most of the variables consistent from one year to the other, realizes how questionable, on face value, that is. When you couple the enormous problems the country has with testing, one should much more likely ignore the scores completely, especially those from Charters whose business model js always followed with both eyes on profit.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 20:26.
Exactly Right--Cool Aid Drinkers think the scores are serious.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 13:27.
This is exactly why they should judge the school by the individual students not the school. Philadelphia schools are extremely transient so you start comparing apples to oranges. It's all a farce.
Submitted by tom-104 on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 11:46.
The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS recently had a program about how the public schools have failed to reach adolescent African-American males. I found the interviews with the students to be very compelling and worth a look. “Too important to Fail” is at http://tinyurl.com/3er3vur
I have great respect for Tavis Smiley and his seriousness. Unfortunately, he did not do his homework in terms of the politics involved in solving the crisis in public education. This is glaringly obvious when he says that the budget deficit in Philadelphia is $35 million!
The entire program pushed the privatization agenda of charter schools being the solution to the education crisis. There was no context in terms of the very people who are behind privatization are conservatives who have neglected urban schools for decades and are promoting their free market nostrums in education as another source for profit.
Particularly outrageous to anyone from Philadelphia will be (tada!) Arlene Ackerman being interviewed throughout the program as an authority on education. The interviews were apparently done before her buyout, though it is mentioned at the beginning that she is no longer Superintendent of Philadelphia schools, but gives no reason why and the conditions under which she left.
What those who support the privatizers agenda overlook is that the conditions they portray are for a select group (by lottery or whatever) and large numbers of students in public schools are being short-changed to provide those conditions. This will never change as long as the community does not unite to demand from the politicians that the conditions they are creating in charter schools be provided in all schools.
It behoves us, however, to look at this and see what we can do to change the current conditions in the public schools, even in the midst of the economic crisis, to reverse the dropout crisis.
Submitted by Annonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 15:37.
Tavis Smiley is very self serving. He is about self promotion and lining his pockets. I assume he gets funding from some of the same sources that support privatization.
That said, there is a crisis for male students of color in particular and males in particular. Schools have always been designed for students who will sit, listen, and follow directions. Young girls, in general, are more apt to comply. I don't know if it is genetic, cultural or a mixture (probably).
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 11:50.
This is proof that the charters are working. We need more of them.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 15:40.
No. What this is proof of is that when you allow Charter schools to hand pick their students, grab the Title I and other federal funding per pupil--THEN push out the Special Ed., ELL, Truant and behavior problem students into the neighborhood schools (who cannot refuse them) after the first quarter has passed, you too can look like a genius at the end of the year when the PSSA and other AYP testing takes place. I won't even get into the difference in funding, other than to say, if Charters want special rules, then fine, let them raise their own money and stop draining funds from the neighborhood schools who get the Charter's most challenging students
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 20:05.
Of course, you are right and all reasonable people feel the same thing. Charters are a joke and soon, will be for all to see.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 10:33.
If the union will ever stop coddling their marginal teachers and motivate them to perform, they might get the same results. Teachers wearing shorts and flip-flops to school and expecting students to look up to them is a joke. Welcome to the future where teachers are held at a higher expectation level and rewarded for succeeding. Some charters are self-serving and detrimental. SOME are hand picking motivated strong instructors and paying them accordingly.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 08:28.
Economics
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