Ackerman promises a new day at S. Philly HS

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 08/31/2010 - 19:34 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Things will be different this year.

That's the promise that Superintendent Arlene Ackerman made to a group of South Philadelphia High School freshmen and their parents at orientation Tuesday morning.

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PA not among Race to the Top winners

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 08/24/2010 - 11:20 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Update: It's official. Pennsylvania is not among the winners. In fact, it went from being 7th overall in the first round, in which only two states (DE and TN) won, to being 18th this time. While many other states increased their scores significantly, Pennsylvania's overall score barely changed between the two rounds.

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Access to District payroll records restored for some

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 18:33 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Access to School District payroll records has been restored to key people in Controller Alan Butkovitz's office, while employees within the District whose access was cut off are being asked to justify why they need the records to do their jobs.

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CEP tells state it is leaving Philadelphia

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 17:45 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Community Education Partners, the for-profit operator of disciplinary schools that ushered in the privatization of alternative education in Philadelphia, has notified the state Department of Labor and Industry that it is closing its remaining four schools as of the end of this month. Its contract with the District was terminated June 30, according to District spokeswoman Lisa Mastoon.

The Nashville-based firm said it would be laying off 74 employees. A company spokesperson did not immediately return a call for comment.

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Children's Literacy Initiative gets $21 million federal innovation grant

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 15:44 | Permalink

Philadelphia-based Children's Literacy Initiative is one of 49 winners of so-called i3 grants from the U.S. Department of Education, awarded to school districts and non-profit organizations to promote educational innovation.

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ACTION United says Race to the Top is misguided

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 11:32 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

The Obama administration's strategy for turning around low-performing schools doesn't give communities real power -- which is the only sustainable reform strategy in impoverished neighborhoods, according to the Philadelphia chapter of ACTION United.

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PA among 19 Race to the Top finalists

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 13:03 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Pennsylvania is among 18 states and the District of Columbia named as finalists for a share of a pot of $3.4 billion in money from Race to the Top, the US Department of Education's competition among states to enact favored reforms including charter schools and teacher pay-for-performance. There were 36 applicants in the second round. New Jersey is another finalist.

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PA standards get low marks in study

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 07/22/2010 - 10:15 | Permalink

The Fordham Institute, a big promoter of national education standards, released a report Wednesday comparing existing state standards with the new Common Core standards that a majority of states, including Pennsylvania, have vowed to adopt. And Pennsylvania's standards received some of the lowest scores - a D in English-Language Arts and an F in Math.

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More shakeup atop Philly School District

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 12:52 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Arlene Ackerman is shuffling her top leadership team yet again, the Notebook has learned.

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Ackerman, Nutter tout District gains

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Thu, 07/08/2010 - 18:47 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

Mayor Nutter and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman held a meeting with about 70 business, civic, and political leaders Thursday morning to tout gains on the state PSSA and brag that the District is moving in the right direction under her Imagine 2014 reforms -- but that this progress is not being recognized by the public or in the media.

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