How low can you go? Leading schools into (or out of) ruin.

Submitted by thenotebook on Thu, 04/25/2013 - 10:58 Posted in Commentary | Permalink

by James H. Lytle

The School District announced last week that its budget for next year would be cut by 25 percent. When coupled with the nearly 20 percent reductions the two previous years, school resources will have shrunk by at least 40 percent.

Next year, according to Superintendent William Hite, schools will have principals and teachers, and that's about it. No secretaries, no counselors, no music, art, sports, or extracurriculars. Definitely no afterschool programs. In these stripped-down conditions, every classroom would be filled to the maximum of 30 to 33 students.

That means schools, staffed at the lowest levels in 50 years, will still be accountable for meeting the performance standards that continue to grow ever more demanding.

Notes from the news, April 25

Submitted by thenotebook on Thu, 04/25/2013 - 09:49 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

Trenton school board fired administrator involved in Philly cheating scandal. Times of Trenton

Three Philly schools get grants to expand. Notebook

See also: PSP will give $6 million to three progressive schools. Inquirer

A grant to two District schools and one alternative program will add 1,600 seats. Daily News 

The District's newly released guide to school budgets isn't pretty. Notebook

Guide to school budgets isn't pretty

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 18:52 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

The School District has published its 2014 "Guide to School Budgets" that lays out quite starkly what to expect next year unless new money can be found. The document is meant for principals, School Advisory Councils, teachers, parents, assistant superintendents and community leaders.

Three Philly schools get grants to expand

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 15:18 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Benjamin Herold for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner

Three of Philadelphia's most innovative traditional public schools are set to expand, thanks to $6 million in grants from the nonprofit Philadelphia School Partnership.

All told, Center City's Science Leadership Academy, Germantown's Hill-Freedman Middle School, and the Navy Yard's Sustainability Workshop are expected to add 1,600 new students over the next three years. The hugely popular SLA, a project-based high school known for its use of technology and its partnership with the Franklin Institute, will expand into a second campus inside Beeber Middle School in West Philadelphia.

Community disappointed as Germantown High expansion idea goes unheeded

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 12:57 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Aaron Moselle for NewsWorks

Ignored and disappointed.

That's how some members of the Germantown High School community are feeling this week after learning about the School District of Philadelphia's decision to expand nearby Roosevelt Middle School.

Center City elementary school greens its way to national honor

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 11:32 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Charlotte Pope

Photo: Courtesy of Paul Rider/A K Architecture

Philadelphia’s Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School has been named a national Green Ribbon School, along with three other Pennsylvania schools, for its efforts in environmental stewardship.

“It feels great,” said principal Daniel Lazar, who has been at the Center City school since 2009.

“In a way, it’s a validation of everything that our community has worked towards over the past eight years.” 

The U.S. Department of Education honored 64 schools that scored high on environmental impact, cost savings, curriculum development, and community involvement. Fourteen school districts were also recognized for their environmental efforts.

District looks to restructure top management

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 10:50 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

[Updated, 2:12 p.m. with full text of email]

While it is trying to cope with its fiscal Armageddon, which includes plans to cut by 30 percent its already depleted central office staff, the School District is also seeking to restructure its top management and is advertising nationally for new personnel.

An internal email from Deputy Superintendent Paul Kihn to senior staff was obtained by the Notebook and NewsWorks. In it, Kihn explains that everyone will be required to reapply for their present jobs and announces that the District is seeking people to fill new roles. These include a chief schools officer, as well as several assistant superintendents and deputies.  

Notes from the news, April 24

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 09:53 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

Solomon cyber charter is fighting the state's effort to close it down. Inquirer

Cyber charters are a race to the bottom. Inquirer

A coalition for effective teaching that didn't consult teachers? Notebook

Students grill science honorees at Franklin Institute. Inquirer

3,000 students lace up their sneakers for World Fit challenge. Market Watch

A student's reaction to the District's massive budget cuts. Philadelphia Student Union

Why teachers should attend edcamps. Edutopia

30 years later, nation remains at educational risk. AP

“A Nation at Risk”: Three decades of lies. Diane Ravitch's Blog

Is the Common Core in trouble? Answer Sheet

News summary from Keystone State Education Coalition

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Notes from the news

A coalition for effective teaching that didn't consult teachers?

Submitted by Timothy Boyle on Tue, 04/23/2013 - 12:38 Posted in Commentary | Permalink

The School District of Philadelphia needs all the help it can get, so I’m happy to see a number of local nonprofits band together to offer their advice.

The member groups of the recently launched Coalition for Effective Teaching are calling for reforms to the teachers' contract. As I looked over their list of recommendations, I saw a mix of ideas, some already happening and some that would be helpful. But many of them are misguided. The coalition would have greatly benefited had the members bothered to talk to rank-and-file educators during the planning process.

School District takes Roosevelt Middle from closure list to salvation to expansion

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 04/23/2013 - 09:48 | Permalink

by Aaron Moselle for NewsWorks

Roosevelt Middle School in central Germantown will become a K-8 school at the end of this academic year, according to officials with the School District of Philadelphia.

The East Washington Lane school now serves students in the 6th through 8th grades.

Notes from the news, April 23

Submitted by thenotebook on Tue, 04/23/2013 - 09:45 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

Despite grim District budget, Philadelphia charters seek 15,000 new seats. Notebook

Philly Robotics Expo seeks to inspire a new generation of robot-builders. Inquirer

Among universities, Penn leads the way in helping Philly schools. Daily News

High school seniors are trying different tactics to get off college waiting lists. Inquirer

Hite vows to work with faith-based organizing group to improve schools. Notebook

Community schools -- Are they a solution the District's problems? Our City Our Schools

Pearson continues its digital push, acquiring a flipped classroom manager. Tech Crunch

"Large schools promote racial segregation and discourage interracial friendships." HuffPost

Billionaires vs. Unions: Who is David? Who is Goliath? Diane Ravitch's Blog

News summary from Keystone State Education Coalition

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Notes from the news

Despite grim District budget, Philadelphia charters seek 15,000 new seats

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 04/22/2013 - 17:52 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Benjamin Herold for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner

Twenty-one city charter schools are seeking to add more than 15,000 new students during the next five years. If granted by the School Reform Commission, the charters' requests would eventually mean a new $110 million annual hit to the District's already fragile bottom line.

District officials say a vote on the expansion requests, originally scheduled for April 18, is now expected to take place on May 16. The District's charter schools office has not yet made its formal recommendations to the SRC.

Some of the charters' seat requests are staggering.

Hite vows to work with faith-based organizing group to improve schools

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 04/22/2013 - 17:08 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Bill Hangley Jr.

At a rousing interfaith rally of thousands, Superintendent William Hite vowed to support the community organizing group POWER’s newly launched campaign to organize public school parents into an effective citywide force.

At the rally, held Sunday in the massive Deliverance Evangelistic Church in North Philadelphia, Hite agreed to meet regularly with POWER and encourage principals to let it organize in their schools. In return, Hite asked POWER’s members to help lobby for education funding in Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

At Philly Robotics Expo, students inspire students to think STEM

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 04/22/2013 - 16:41 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Zack Seward for NewsWorks

A Frisbee-launching robot. Things that fly. Gizmos made from motorized Legos.

Those were a few of the many robotic delights on display at the Philly Robotics Expo on Monday. The Philly Tech Week event brought some 750 Philadelphia-area students, ranging from second graders to high schoolers, to Drexel University's Bossone Research Center.

And, oh yeah: The event itself was organized by high schoolers.

Discussion about Germantown High School property's future continues

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 04/22/2013 - 10:47 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Aaron Moselle for NewsWorks

Vocational-training facility. Retirement community. Cultural center.

Those were just some of the new uses for Germantown High School's building that were discussed Friday during "What's Next? A Forum on the Future of Germantown High," a panel event co-sponsored by NewsWorks content partner NBC 10 and hosted by Solomon Jones.