News in brief
Teacher certification declines in schools here
Bartram, King launch new military programs
News in brief
Teacher certification declines in schools here
While upbeat about the School District's latest efforts at teacher recruitment and retention, a local study just released in September revealed that the School District still has far to go in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, especially in the poorest, hardest-to-staff schools.
The report, Once & For All: Placing a Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Philadelphia Classroom, presents grim data about teacher quality in the District, including a decline in teacher certification rates over the past four years across all grade levels, from 93 percent in Fall 1999 to 89 percent in Fall 2003.
Only about half of newly hired teachers last fall were certified, according to report authors.
Teacher attrition was another major concern raised by the report, which found that about half of all new teachers leave the District after three years and one quarter after just one year.
The highest-poverty, lowest-performing schools are the most likely to have the uncertified and least experienced teachers. These schools also face higher rates of teacher turnover.
Researchers applauded the District's recent teacher recruitment and retention efforts, including hiring coaches for new teachers, training for principals on teacher recruitment strategies, and offering financial incentives for new teachers to come to Philadelphia.
The study was conducted as part of Learning from Philadelphia's School Reform, a four-year research project led by the nonprofit group Research for Action aimed at evaluating and helping the public understand the impact of the state takeover of the Philadelphia schools.
Copies of the report are available at www.researchforaction.org or by calling 215-823-2500, x508.
Bartram, King launch new military programs
Military programs are coming to two more Philadelphia neighborhood high schools this fall, while three high schools will launch military academies - self-contained programs centered around the Junior ROTC unit at each school.
JROTC is an elective course taught by retired military personnel in over 3,000 high schools nationwide (and 11 in Philadelphia), using a curriculum provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Bartram High School is starting up such a program this fall, which will cost the District $97,500. Martin Luther King High School's new education manager, Foundations Inc., is paying to start up a similar program, called National Defense Cadet Corps.
The three military schools-within-schools are at Germantown, Bartram, and Franklin High Schools.
CEO Paul Vallas says that military programs are a positive option that should be offered to public school families. Critics of JROTC argue that schools should not encourage students to be soldiers, and that military programs siphon off scarce funds as well as class time from music, arts, and academic programs that are more appropriate for high schoolers.
"If the military wants to have a program, it does not have to be in the schools during the school day - that's not what's needed at high schools that are offering limited options for students," said Dennis Barnebey of Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth and a former teacher at Germantown.
Lt. Col. Russell Gallagher, who heads the District's JROTC programs, maintains that JROTC is primarily a leadership and character development program and says "there is no recruiting involved with it." National surveys of the JROTC program, however, have found military enlistment rates of about 40 percent among high school seniors in JROTC, according to a report by the American Friends Service Committee.
The School District has announced plans for a free-standing military high school to open in 2004.
After years of growth, Edison is smaller this fall
Throughout its history, Edison Schools Inc., the company that took over management of 20 Philadelphia schools last fall, has boasted about its rapid growth. But for the first time this September, Edison opens a school year with a marked decline in the number of students and schools under its management.
While the company retained its contract in Philadelphia, contract cancellations nationally have resulted in a decline in Edison's student enrollment from 80,000 to "approximately 70,000," according to an Edison spokesperson. The company now reports that it manages 102 schools nationally, about 10 fewer than last year.
Hit by public criticism, heavy losses, and a sagging stock price, the company detailed its plans in August for taking the company private. Edison shareholders would receive $1.76 per share in a deal financed by Liberty Partners, a private equity firm. Edison's top executives would retain their posts after the proposed buyout.
The company's stated reasons for the deal refer to fallout from a low stock price, which hindered its ability to raise money, and "the perception of school districts, charter schools and others that Edison's stock price was indicative of its ability to perform its obligations." As a company traded on the stock market, Edison's finances are now open to public scrutiny because regular quarterly filings are required by law. The same disclosures are not required of private companies.
Despite the company's troubles, Edison CEO Chris Whittle did well for himself in the buyout agreement, which promises him an annual salary "not less than $600,000" - a raise of more than a quarter of a million dollars. Bonuses could further boost his earnings by as much as 275 percent.
District begins tackling student vision problems
Moving to address health problems that can interfere with student performance, School District CEO Paul Vallas said that once parents sign permission forms, the District would secure eye exams and then glasses for all students who fail annual vision screenings.
Almost 12,000 pre-K, elementary, and middle school students enrolled in summer school received vision screenings; 2,600 - more than 20 percent - failed these tests. By September, about 60 of these children received glasses, with assistance from the District and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.
Citing a high number of late responses to letters sent home announcing eligibility for these services, Louis Bonilla, assistant director of the Office of School Health Services, said that it is uncertain when the rest of the 2,600 students will receive glasses.
"We have plans to follow up with all of these kids," Bonilla said.
Vallas estimated that it could take up to 3 years to service all District students.
The District recently extended its contract with Pennsylvania College of Optometry to screen up to 5,000 children in Philadelphia Head Start centers during the 2003-04 school year.