On dropouts, Nutter promises results

Ambitious goals set, the mayor now seeks to engage city agencies, schools, and the public

by Dale Mezzacappa

Photo: Harvey Finkle

Mayor Michael Nutter greets a young audience member at a Black History Month event at True Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Logan.

 For newly installed Mayor Michael Nutter, the equation is simple: better public schools and more educational opportunity for the city’s young people equals lower crime rates and an improved business climate.

That is why he has promised to cut in half the city’s dropout rate, estimated at 45 percent, within five to seven years. He said he expects to see progress each year.

“Education is key to the future of this city,” Nutter said in an interview.

“I understand why many of us are focused on day-to-day crime statistics, and of course the city has to be safe. But the reason there is so much crime is that so many young people have a lack of hope, they can’t get a job, they have poor educational attainment, or they don’t see the value of education.”

He said too many young people “have not only dropped out of school, but have dropped out of sight.”

Making the connection

The link between high crime rates and a poorly educated populace may seem self-evident, but the connection is not always made by a public that clamors for increased investment in police and prisons rather than schools. Nutter said that he hopes to change that by spearheading a new level of cooperation between the city and School District.

“These kinds of efforts take time…and focus,” Nutter said. “The public will see a greater level of coordination and commitment, and a new cooperative spirit, to make sure that all eyes are focused on the right things.”

His main strategy for cutting the dropout rate, he said, will be raising awareness, enhancing focus, and working more closely with Gov. Rendell, the School District, and city agencies.

“Sometimes things come together at a unique point in time. For us the time is now,” he said.

His new partner at the District will be incoming schools CEO Arlene Ackerman, who is known to approach the dropout problem as one that begins when students are young.

“It’s unfair to expect high schools to rectify academic issues that started long before students got to ninth grade,” she told a press conference on the day she was interviewed by the CEO search advisory committee. “I believe you’ve got to work backwards while reforming some of the things you’ve got in high school.” She referred to improving pre-K and assuring that all students can read proficiently by third grade as key dropout prevention strategies.

Nutter said that his administration will continue to support Project U-Turn, the coordinated effort to stem the tide that he said “has done very good work in a relatively short period of time.” Since October 2006, Project U-Turn has worked to mobilize disparate elements of the community to develop a new policy agenda and create more options for students who want to resume their education. Led by the Philadelphia Youth Network, the effort includes the School District, the city’s Department of Human Services, numerous community groups, unions, and nonprofits.

Since the launch of Project U-Turn, the District has established a total of 1,400 new slots for young people seeking to return to school, including three new accelerated high schools for struggling students and those who have already dropped out. The mayor recently toured Fairhill Community High School, one of these accelerated schools.