Letters
Credit due on Feltonville school project
Letters to the Editors
Credit due on Feltonville school project
To the editors:
With everyone that was recognized in "After years of struggle, high hopes for new Feltonville campus" (Winter 2003-04), there is no mention of Bill Montgomery, the School District's director of facilities management and space planning.
I personally would like to thank him. I started working to create a K-8 campus in Feltonville along with Fatima Philips when our children were in kindergarten. If Bill Montgomery had not taken time to visit the schools and let me become a pest in his life, I honestly believe this project would not have come to where it is today. Both Montgomery and Fred Farlino of the Office of School Services saw the extreme need for the new school, and despite a lot of roadblocks, they kept going.
Thank you, Bill and Fred.
Rita Wisniewski
Philadelphia, PA
Free private tutoring an option for low-achieving students
To the editors:
In response to the parent who was not satisfied with the offerings of the School District's extended day program ("Failing Our Children," Letters to the editors, Spring 2004), I would like to inform her and other parents of tutoring options.
For the past two years, under No Child Left Behind, low-income children in grades 1-12 from over 160 low-achieving public schools have had the option of going to a private tutoring center at no cost to the parent.
The School District has done a poor job of informing parents of their rights under this program - due to the fact that they wish to steer all of the children into their extended day program - thereby keeping the No Child Left Behind federal funds in the hands of the School District.
Private tutoring centers are typically open on weekends, as well as after school and in the evenings, and group size is typically small (one to eight students per group).
Parents of children in all schools in grades K-9 have yet another option: Classroom Plus state grants, which provide $500 reimbursement for one-on-one and small group tutoring.
Caroline Brooker, Director, Avante
Tutoring
Philadelphia, PA
District high school reform plan is positive step Teachers and special needs
To the editors:
Your editorial, "Extreme makeover?" (Spring 2004),
looking at high school reform in Philadelphia, provides interesting
insight into the School District's efforts to create smaller high
schools. As noted, school size alone does not assure a quality school.
There are good large schools and bad small schools.
The School District's Secondary Education Movement is much more
than changing school size. It is comprehensive, touching on all
aspects of what goes on in schools - from
activities to curriculum and how it is taught. It is profoundly
and fundamentally changing how schools are organized and how they
operate. A broad-based committee developed the blueprint for change
with representation from all segments of the community, including
students, teachers, administrators, clergy, unions, and universities.
The School Reform Commission then approved this.
This blueprint is a starting point on a long journey. As the plan moves forward, there will be obstacles and revisions. Initially, there is need for a centralized planning effort to determine what is to be offered in a large urban school district and to assure program diversity.
As school foci are determined, people from individual schools and communities should participate in developing how their schools will function. At this time, while it is appropriate to identify concerns, it is also essential to provide support.
Frank Guido
Retired School District administrator
Philadelphia, PA
Views expressed in "Letters to the editors" are not necessarily those of the Notebook.