The Notebook

The District's transformation blueprint

Thomas Knudsen At the end of April 2012, the School District released a reform plan - a "blueprint" to radically transform public education in the city by closing dozens of schools, expanding charters, and reorganizing the School District into decentralized "achievement networks" run primarily by private entities.

The blueprint comes in the midst of a facilities master planning process that guided school closings for the next school year and an ongoing school turnaround effort, Renaissance Schools.

Keep up with the latest developments on the plan and community reaction here.

Transformation plan news and info

District chief to present turnaround plan for schools on Monday

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 01/04/2013 - 12:11 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Four months after William Hite took the helm of one of the most troubled big-city school districts in the nation, the new Philadelphia superintendent is set to release his blueprint for turning the system around on Monday.

Hite is facing a grim reality. He is already committed to closing 37 schools -- nearly one in six -- and needs to stave off what will turn into a $1 billion annual shortfall by 2018 if austerity measures aren’t taken now.

Will the system really decentralize?

Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

Response to the October 2012 edition article “A new blend of public and private”

I think the decentralized approach to school management that is a component of the portfolio model is questionable due to the lack of actually decentralizing.

Choosing a high school keeps getting more complicated

By Dale Mezzacappa Posted in Fall Guide 2012 Edition | Permalink

The always daunting process of getting into high school has a new twist this year.

In a system where studies have found that parents are already befuddled by the process, students and their families have a dizzying array of high school choices – small schools, large schools, themed schools, charter schools, themed charter schools, neighborhood schools that have become charter schools – the list goes on.

PSP gives planning grant to expand Powel School

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 09/24/2012 - 20:24 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

By Benjamin Herold
for NewsWorks, a Notebook news partner

The Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) made its first grant to a traditional public school Monday, giving a team of partners $215,000 to map out a dramatic transformation of the neighborhood schools in West Philadelphia's Powelton Village neighborhood.

National campaign connects students on issue of school closings

Submitted by thenotebook on Thu, 09/20/2012 - 13:58 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

By Charlotte Pope

Student activists brandishing coffin-shaped props rallied on the steps of the School District's headquarters Thursday morning to protest nationwide school closings in a campaign called Journey for Justice.

Young advocates from Boston, Newark, and New York City joined members of the Philadelphia Student Union, Youth United for Change, and Action United for a news conference, and continued to Washington for a rally at the U.S. Department of Education. They demanded a meeting with President Obama.