Equity, community input needed in District’s new school choice plan

To the editors:

According to the Notebook’s September 2005 Newsflash, the District is considering a “preferred choice” plan that will give Center City students preferential access to certain schools. Special restrictions have also been put in place for several new schools expected to open next fall; in some cases, the requirements are so demanding that only a small fraction of the student population will meet them.

“Preferred choice” and special admission requirements can be attractive when you’re one of the “preferred.” The problems come, however, for those who do not make the cut and end up with poorer facilities, less experienced teachers, and less challenging courses. In Philadelphia, we’ve been there and done that – as years of studies and court decisions confirm.

This is not to say that all schools must be open to all comers, or that preferences can never be appropriate. Nor is it to detract from the efforts of the District, and of teachers and families, to improve all schools, including those with open admissions.

But when it comes to deciding which students will have access to which schools, we need a comprehensive plan. Because our system is an interdependent web in which policies implemented for one group of students have an impact on others, the plan should cover the city as a whole – not just a region here or a school there. Most importantly, the plan should ensure that all students have equal access to high-quality programs.

Finally, parents, teachers, students and community members should be part of the design process. Plans that are “rolled out” without being exposed to the light of debate and discussion are unlikely to succeed, and may take us backward. Having made a historic commitment to the goal of achieving equity for all students, the School Reform Commission needs the best thinking of this community on how that goal can be reached.

Len Rieser
Education Law Center
Philadelphia