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National report outlines problems with Philadelphia's policies on teachers

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 21:28 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

[Updated, 5/23 with additional reaction]

A report by a national nonprofit studying Philadelphia has concluded that the District does a poor job of hiring and assigning teachers, fails to effectively evaluate or support them, and overrelies on seniority to govern placement and layoffs.

The report, from the National Council on Teacher Quality, also said that Philadelphia pays salaries competitive with surrounding districts and most charter schools for the first 10 years, but then rapidly falls behind -- largely because the only way to get a raise after that, besides a negotiated percentage increase, is for a teacher to accumulate more graduate credits.

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Now in Philly, a national mayors' conference has unwelcome education views

Submitted by Helen Gym on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 15:37 Posted in Commentary | Permalink

On a day that saw the closing of 49 schools in Chicago, it seems sadly fitting that Philadelphia is kicking off three days as the host city of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' national meeting on innovation. 

The U.S. Conference of Mayors embraces controversial education reform trends that are spreading across the nation's cities: mayoral control of schools, parent trigger laws, charter co-location, and mass school closings. As head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Nutter has supported the organization's call to bring a number of those reforms, particularly mass charter expansion and mass school closings, to Philadelphia. 

Although the theme for this meeting is innovation, Philadelphia has been anything but innovative when it comes to education reform.

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Phil Goldsmith pushes for additional school funding sources

Submitted by David Limm on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 13:34 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Former interim superintendent Phil Goldsmith warned members of City Council last week against taking the silver-bullet approach to fixing public schools. He also offered some of his own thoughts on what additional sources of revenue could be tapped to help the cash-poor School District.

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Nutter, state Republicans to join forces on school funding?

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 10:21 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks

Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter wants to raise money for the cash-strapped School District, mostly through tax increases on alcohol and cigarettes. But he needs Harrisburg to pass legislation to make that a reality.

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Musicians' plea to District: Don't take away our collective soul

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 15:54 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Members of the Philadelphia Orchestra know the vital role music can play in a young person's development. At the School Reform Commission meeting on May 15, Don Liuzzi, speaking on behalf of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he is a timpanist, submitted a petition imploring the SRC not to let budget cuts deprive schools of the music and art programs that are essential to the development of students' self-expression and creativity as well as the future of the city's musical community.

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Roxborough community rallies against proposed school cuts

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 14:59 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Matthew Grady for NewsWorks

Standing before hundreds of parents and students gathered in the Roxborough High School auditorium, Timothy Boyle, a math teacher at AMY Northwest, asked the audience about the basic tasks of school personnel.

"Who is going to meet with students to review their high school options for next year?" he asked.

"Counselors," the audience replied, also responding to questions regarding secretarial duties, lunch monitoring, and in-school discipline.

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Mastery charter graduates revel in their college choices

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 05/21/2013 - 12:17 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Aaron Moselle and Zack Seward for NewsWorks

Cheering fans, cheerleaders, and mascots filled Temple University's Liacouras Center on Monday afternoon.

None of them was there for a game.

Instead, thousands of students, staff members and parents traveled to the North Philadelphia arena for Mastery Charter Schools' first-ever College Signing Day, an event patterned after National Signing Day for high school athletes.

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Why Bill Cosby thinks Germantown High should close

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 05/20/2013 - 12:18 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Brian Hickey for NewsWorks

As the final day of Germantown High School's 99-year history approaches — the Class of '13 will don caps and gowns on June 19 — NewsWorks will present a series of stories including interviews with grads and former students.

To launch the GHS series, NewsWorks is sharing excerpts from an interview with Bill Cosby, the actor and comedian who attended the school and failed out in the 10th grade, taking a shoe-repair job rather than repeat the year.

During a 20-minute phone interview in early May, Cosby made it perfectly clear why you didn't hear him get involved in the school-closing protests.

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Stalled on summer learning loss: District offerings dwindle

Submitted by thenotebook on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 18:08 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

This article will appear in our forthcoming print edition focusing on expanded learning time, which comes out at the end of next week.

by Connie Langland

Jennifer Graham says she's well aware of what researchers and educators have come to call "summer learning loss," but she's not concerned. Graham has made sure her daughter is in camp. 

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Amid financial crisis, Pearson a winner

Submitted by Helen Gym on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 15:56 Posted in Commentary | Permalink

Are we in a financial crisis? For the thousands of students who organized a massive walk-out today, yes. But not for a certain sector of contractors who are benefiting from the School Reform Commission’s decisions lately.

The same day that elementary school parents flooded City Council to rally for school funding and a sizeable crowd attended a panel on the destructive impact of high-stakes testing, the SRC on Wednesday approved nearly $1.3 million in contracts related to assessment and accountability, including a million-dollar contract to Pearson for high-stakes teacher and principal evaluations.

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