Doing more with less

As the school year starts, budget cuts, staffing challenges, and leadership turmoil will force Philly schools to make hard decisions.

by Benjamin Herold

Photo: Benjamin Herold

Katharine Harvey at Clemente Middle School, a Promise Academy with staffing challenges.

A new acting superintendent.

Hundreds fewer teachers and support staff.

And perhaps most challenging of all, roughly $320 million less in the District's coffers, which means cuts in everything from new textbooks to school nurses.

Such are the realities facing a District that enters the new school year needing to do more with less.

Listen to Benjamin Herold's report on the first day of school for WHYY.

"This is a really important time. We need everybody who has anything to do with educating children to feel as though they are part of the solution," said Leroy D. Nunery II, who was named acting superintendent August 22.

Nunery assumes control of a District in transition.

More than 60 principals are starting the year at new schools, numerous school closings are expected to be announced this fall, and a statewide probe into possible cheating on standardized tests could soon deepen.

In addition, the District has also been staggered by recent events, including the messy and protracted departure of former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, the continued statewide push to expand charter schools and voucher options, and unprecedented reductions in federal and state financial support.

The funding cuts will impact schools directly. At Benjamin Franklin High in North Philadelphia, for example, Principal Christopher Johnson says his budget has been slashed by 38 percent. In practical terms, that means 16 fewer teachers, average class sizes that have risen from 23 to 32 students, and the closing of the popular student success center that for years helped students prepare for college.

"Were we hit hard? Yes. Did they take everything? Not even close," said Johnson, who remains positive despite the challenges.

Indeed, the forecast for this school year is not all doom and gloom.

The District is coming off its ninth straight year of standardized test score gains, a streak it hopes to continue by carrying on with the key components of Imagine 2014, Ackerman's five-year strategic plan.

Despite apocalyptic predictions during the budget process, critical programs and services like full-day kindergarten, instrumental music, and free transportation for most students remain intact.

A new educational accountability agreement between the city, state and District offers hope of more transparency in the District's finances and decision-making.

And through the Renaissance Schools initiative, added resources and hopes for overhaul are coming to six of the District's historic – but troubled – neighborhood high schools. Audenried, Simon Gratz, and Olney are among the seven low-performing schools handed over to Renaissance charter operators. Germantown, Martin Luther King, and West Philadelphia high schools are the District's three new Promise Academies.

"We're trying to present the prudent course of action and extend what good work has already been done," said Nunery.

Starting over

But for many schools, staying the course will not be an option this year.

For instance, at Potter-Thomas Elementary School in Kensington, Principal Dywonne Davis-Harris is starting over for the second year in a row.

Potter-Thomas is one of the District's original Promise Academies, or internal turnaround schools. Two weeks before school, Davis-Harris still had more than 20 vacant teacher positions to fill. What was supposed to be a year of continued growth for an established instructional team turned into a last-minute scurry to plug holes.

"Each year, the children are seeing different faces," said Davis-Harris, who described the staffing situation as "disheartening."

Potter-Thomas is not alone.