Community Leader Sylvia Simms Named to Philadelphia School Reform Commission
Sylvia Simms, 52, of North Philadelphia, is a former district bus attendant and the founder of the group "Parent Power."
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Sylvia Simms, 52, of North Philadelphia, is a former district bus attendant and the founder of the group "Parent Power."
The Pennsylvania public school advocate group "Action United" filed the complaint after, the group said, its analysis of the plan showed that schools slated for closing disproportionately serve African-American, low income, and disabled students.
The debate within City Council chambers was heated.
Also looming is the continued financial woes of the school district, and the debate over the planned closure of 37 school buildings.
District policy calls for anyone signing out a student to go to the main office, with identification, where their name should be matched with a list of approved individuals.
A school district spokesman says the adult woman was entering the school about 10am to register for evening classes when school police at the X-ray machine saw a gun in the woman's diaper bag.
Starting next school year, more than half of the three- and four-year-olds in district preschool programs known as "Head Start" will be served by private day care providers.
After four months of fact-gathering, Superintendent William Hite presented his action plan on Monday to improve Philadelphia schools. His plan has two goals: improving academics and stabilizing finances.
Strawberry Mansion High School is one of the 37 schools the School District of Philadelphia plans on closing.
Chanting "save our schools," an overflow crowd of parents and students packed the first School Reform Commission meeting since Superintendent William Hite announced the school closure plan last week.
Some schools that have received new equipment are now slated to be shut down by the Philadelphia school district.
"Corbett's budget hurt education around the state, not just Philadelphia. And we need to come up with a unified strategy with other districts around the state and restore the funding formula from 2008."
Local activist groups, students, parents and community members plan to come together Saturday afternoon to protest the recommended school closings announced on Wednesday.
Among the high schools to close are Germantown High, Strawberry Mansion High, University City High, and Bok Tech.
Several groups have filed a formal complaint, saying a privately-funded consultant's report for the Philadelphia school district amounted to lobbying.
The effort among Philadelphia's district, charter, and archdiocesan schools known as the "Great Schools Compact" has received a $2.5-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Complicating the matter is that the district hasn't yet named the dozens of schools it may be permanently closing next year.
The hearing lasted hours and was dominated by school parents and other advocates who object to the closure process.
Superintendent William Hite defended the salary increases, saying they coincided with additional responsibilities for employees in the district's IT, finance, and human resources departments.
The Educational Improvement Tax Credit is promoted as a way to provide a better education for poor children, but public education advocates say it actually takes away tax money that could be used to improve schools.
Expanding the program at a time when the state has slashed public school funding is infuriating public education advocates.
"BLOCS provides scholarships from your business taxes to students who not only want to attend a Catholic school but are most in need," says one advertisement.
State senator Tony Williams defends the program as similar to the GI Bill, but some of his Harrisburg colleagues see it as improperly favoring closed groups.
This round of grants gives cash to individual school districts using innovative tools to personalize learning.
The school district says its system of rating schools is flawed and it's looking for an outside firm to fix it.
