The Notebook

Stories tagged: low-income

Commentary: In education reform plans, poverty has been left out of the picture

Submitted by thenotebook on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 11:00 Posted in Commentary | Permalink

This is a guest blog, and the ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. The Notebook invites guest blog posts on current topics in Philadelphia education from its readers. Send submissions to notebook@thenotebook.org.

by Isabelle Sun

Something is missing in the debate over education reform. The growing chorus of well-intentioned calls to close the achievement gap leaves out one critical issue: poverty.

Not college-ready

Posted in Summer 2012 Edition | Permalink

Gov. Tom Corbett has been slashing funds for higher education. He and other anti-government types are ignoring a growing understanding in the real world: Making college more accessible and affordable is critical not only to individual success but to the nation's future.

Commentary: Committing to a postsecondary success agenda for all

by Rochelle Nichols-Solomon Posted in Summer 2012 Edition | Permalink

In a few weeks, thousands of Philadelphia public high school students will graduate. They will march down aisles to the familiar and always stirring "Pomp and Circumstance." It will be an exciting day for these students, one that will fill them with a sense of accomplishment and optimism about the future.

But based on the postsecondary enrollment data that the Notebook highlights throughout this issue, that future will include a college education for only a few of those students.

Study: Low-income schools shortchanged in funding

Submitted by Will Treece on Thu, 12/01/2011 - 16:48 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

The U.S. Department of Education released a report showing that districts across the country, including Philadelphia, do not equitably allocate their state and local dollars to the highest-poverty schools.

Legislative fight over vouchers may come to a head quickly

by Paul Jablow Posted in October 2011 Edition | Permalink

Supporters and opponents of a state-supported voucher system in Pennsylvania agree on one thing: the fight over the issue in the new legislative session is likely to be quicker and more focused than it was in the last session, when no bill reached Gov. Tom Corbett's desk.

Rep. Paul Clymer (R., Bucks), chairman of the House Education Committee, said that by the start of October, he expected his committee to have a bill different from Senate Bill 1, which failed to gain sufficient support last session.

School profiles

Posted in Fall Guide 2011 Edition | Permalink

Here you can find a list of all of the public high schools in Philadelphia. NOTE: These profiles still list information about the schools from 2010. We are working to update them with information from the 2011 Fall Guide.

Merger of two local groups aims to boost college success

by Dale Mezzacappa Posted in February 2011 Edition | Permalink

Philadelphia Futures and the White-Williams Scholars, two organizations that have long helped low-income students complete high school and go to college, are merging in March as a way to expand and deepen their services.

The combined organization, which has yet to be named, will be in a better position to help students succeed in college once they get there, said Joan Mazzotti, president of Philadelphia Futures. She will also lead the new group.

"We recognize that financial support alone doesn't guarantee college success," Mazzotti said.

Poverty in Philadelphia and its schools: Facts and figures

Posted in December 2010 Edition | Permalink

Every school in the School District of Philadelphia satisfies the federal definition of a "low-income school," meaning at least 30 percent of their students are low-income. In the least poor school, Greenberg, the rate is 44 percent.
More than three-fourths of the children who attend Philadelphia public schools qualify for free or reduced price lunch.
In 74 of 267 Philadelphia District schools, over 90 percent of the student body qualifies for free or reduced price lunch.

Improvement starts with cooperation

Posted in April 2010 Edition | Permalink

To the editors:
When administrators acknowledge the achievement gap is not created by teachers, we will then have an atmosphere where teachers and administrators can work cooperatively on solving problems.

Esos vatos locos forever! And school racial violence, Somali pirates

Submitted by Gustavo Martínez on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 13:26 Posted in Social justice in education | Permalink

I'm supposing none of y'all know what the title to this post means. I'll put it this way: that's proper Chicano English, a southwestern US of A dialect of Spanglish, for "aw yeah, crazy dudes!"

Down there, by our own Berlin Wall, we live in español, but go to school in Spanglish, which goes to show how unsuccessful Operation Wetback was.

What worries me is that still, today, there are people who think that English is the only language that should be spoken in this land. But I take relief when amigos gabachos stand in defense of the many tongues spelling out life in the today's United States. So, gracias to attorney and blogger Len Rieser for his post in response to a Christopher Paslay's op-ed piece that appeared in The Inquirer earlier this week.