5 providers outline their Renaissance plans

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 17:46 | Permalink

Several of the 14 potential Renaissance schools have more than one suitor among the six approved outside providers, while others, at least publicly, so far have none.

Five of the six successful Renaissance applicants – all but Universal, which did not respond to interview requests – talked to the Notebook about what schools they were interested in managing and what they thought they brought to the table.

All but one plan to convert their school to charters.

Comments (1)

Only six providers approved for 'turnaround'

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 19:31 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink

The School District has approved just six of 28 providers who applied to lead "turnaround" efforts under the Renaissance Schools initiative at low-performing schools:

1. ASPIRA, Inc., of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
2. Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Philadelphia
3. Johns Hopkins/Diplomas Now, Baltimore, Md.
4. Mastery Charter Schools, Philadelphia
5. Universal Companies, Philadelphia
6. Young Scholars Charter School, Philadelphia

Comments (13)

PA is RttT finalist

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 12:51 Posted in Breaking news | Permalink

Pennsylvania is one of the 15 states and D.C. that were selected as finalists for a share of $4 billion in Race to the Top funding, and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman credits the Philadelphia teachers' contract with helping the state make the cut.

The state now has a better chance to get up to $400 million in additional federal dollars, although Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that the first round of winners is likely to be small. Forty states and DC applied initially. The first round winners will be announced in April.

Add Comment

RttT finalists out Thursday - but not PA?

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 20:20 | Permalink

UPDATE: Pennsylvania is one of the finalists. Local leaders shared their reactions.

Well, Thursday is the day that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will announce the ten finalists for the coveted Race to the Top pot of gold at 2:30 p.m. States will be notified several hours earlier. Five of these states soon will be chosen as the first round of awardees.

Comments (4)

Young Playwrights showcased this week

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 10:40 | Permalink

In all my years covering education, some of my favorite stories have been about Philadelphia Young Playwrights.

I wrote several articles in the early years of the program, which was founded by the late Adele Magner nearly a quarter century ago. Most of these stories were about how English teacher Marsha Pincus and her professional playwright-collaborators were able to coax powerful works of art from students at Simon Gratz High School who were otherwise often considered underachieving.

Add Comment

'Weighted student funding' - any takers?

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 16:04 | Permalink

When Arlene Ackerman came to Philadelphia, she said right off the bat that she planned to implement something called "weighted student funding." The idea is twofold: allocate resources based on students' academic and other needs, and give all schools more autonomy to make budgeting decisions.

Now she is following through.

Comments (12)

Changes in store for high school choice?

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 18:12 | Permalink

Over the snowy weekend, I was visiting with neighbors, two people who put a passion for social justice high on their personal and professional agendas.

But when the conversation turned to recent news articles that raised questions about the equity of the high school admissions policies in Philadelphia,  their first reaction was concern.

Comments (31)

Renaissance community meetings postponed

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 18:42 | Permalink

Due to the bad weather, some, and perhaps all, of the community meetings scheduled for this week at Renaissance Eligible schools will be postponed.

UPDATE: All community meetings have been cancelled. The meetings have been rescheduled for next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Add Comment

Struggles at School of the Future

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 19:18 | Permalink

Starting a little more than a year ago, I got involved in a project sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute to compile a book about Philadelphia's School of the Future, the partnership between Microsoft and the District to create a new kind of urban high school.

My article adapted from the work done for the book by me and others has just been posted on the website of Education Next.

Comments (1)