Last week Mayor Nutter delivered his budget address – highlights of which you can find at It’s Our Money – but left out a central message: public education. Not once did the mayor talk about public schools or public education. He didn’t even mention the word dropout.
A total of 28 potential managers have applied to run one or more of the 14 potential Renaissance Schools in Philadelphia next school year, in what is one of the most aggressive and fast-tracked turnaround projects in the nation.
In addition, more than 330 organizations have applied to be support partners in these schools, according to District officials.
At its February meetings, the School Reform Commission:
"Any school that does not focus on character, values, the essential part of what it means to be a member of a community, is a school that is always going to have a problem with discipline."
These comments by Pedro Noguera, urban education scholar and professor at New York University, sparked a lively conversation about how to build a positive school climate at a symposium hosted by the Notebook and Need in Deed, a local teacher network, on January 14 at the Comcast Tower.

“Cualquier escuela que no se enfoca en carácter, valores y la esencia de lo que significa ser miembro de una comunidad es una escuela que siempre tendrá problemas de disciplina”.
Student activists are celebrating the School District’s decision to continue its small high school approach and open the Kensington Urban Education Academy this fall.
District Chief of Staff Tomas Hanna said the academy, the fourth school to grow out of the former Kensington High School, will have a curricular focus on teaching careers and social justice and will help create a pipeline of teachers of color and bilingual teachers.
Los estudiantes activistas están celebrando que el Distrito Escolar continuará su enfoque en escuelas superiores pequeñas este otoño cuando se inaugure la nueva Kensington Urban Education Academy.
El funcionario del Distrito Tomás Hanna dijo que esta academia, la cuarta escuela que ha surgido de la antigua Escuela Superior Kensington, tendrá un currículo enfocado en carreras en pedagogía y justicia social y ayudará a crear una reserva de maestros de minorías y bilingües.
Members of the District’s Student Truancy Task Force launched a public awareness campaign in January focused on bringing kids back to school.
Called T.A.C.K.L.E. TRUANCY (Time and Commitment are Keys to Loving Education), the student-led campaign kicked off with radio and newspaper ads calling for students to recommit themselves to their education.
At its January meetings, the School Reform Commission:
The contract negotiated between the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has been hailed as a major step forward, with words like “groundbreaking,” “historic,” “transformative,” and “bold vision.”
But whether it advances the cause of education reform in Philadelphia will depend on how well the union and administration are able to work together to implement some of its more far-reaching provisions.
“The real work begins now,” said Mayor Michael Nutter.
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