Winter 1995

PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC SCHOOL

OTEBOOK

0 WINTER 1995

VOLUME 2 • NUMBER 2

"TURNING THE PAGE FOR CHANGE"

Hornbeck announces reform action plan Maps out District's strategies thorugh 1999

By Chip Smith Superintendent Hornbeck capped the first six months of his reform tenure by formally presenting on February 6 Children Achieving, his plan for transforming Philadelphia's school system over the nex t 4 years. Initially sketched as a l 0-point program in September 1994, the detail s have been fill ed in by Di strict staff with input from seven citizen task force s and a series of public meetings.

The plan reflects the impact of Judge Doris Smith's November 1994 ruling requiring, among other things, the provision of full-day kindergarten to racially-isolated schools

by September 1995 , and to all schools the following year. Reduced class sizes for early grades wi ll begin to be introduced in the fall of 1996.

While ambitious, Hombeck's prescription addresses only the basic needs of the city's children as described last fall by the team of experts brought in to assess the School District by Judge

Smith. From the readiness of pre-school children , through adequate classroom resources, to standards linked to jobs or positions in higher education , the pl an seeks to involve all sectors of the community in guaranteeing all the city's chil dren an elemental , adequate level of edu cation.

The price tag is in the hundreds of millions, but the " radical" nature of th is reform program does not lie in exotic methods or luxurious surroundings. This is a no-frills program that requires schools to be clean and functioning, teachers and administrators to be accountable that chi Idren are actually learning, and classes to be organized properly in the fall with enough books and computers. Add in other key elements like a school environment free of violence, a full-tim e nurse available at each school (by 1997), and respect shown to students first language as they develop their abil ities in English, and you have what amounts to a decent,

While ambitious, the plan addresses only the basic needs of the city's children.

See "Hornbeck" on p. 8

Protests rock SEPTA hearings; Fare hike spares students By &ic Joselyn Last November the SEPTA Board announced plans to hike their fares and reclaim the highest base fare of any major transit system in the nation.

Transi t officials dined with the hearing examiner, lined up friendly experts for testimony and hoped for quick and quiet approval. SEPTA's designs for raising $ 13.3 million in additional inome from its riders, however, did not go unnoticed by those dependent on SEPTA for their education-Philadelphia's public school students.

Over a few short weeks students and comm unity members became energized by the threat of a hike- a hike that could cut many off from school. Mobilized, they pressured and helped secure a settlement that averted a direct increase in student token costs. In addition, these actions focused attention on the burden transportation costs already place on our school ch ildren.

Student voices joined those of Community Legal Serv ices, the Cons umer Education and Protection Association and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, as they presented testimo-

ny to show the human cost of the proposed fare hike.

The negative impact of a price rise on student attendance is not mere speculation; the School District has docume nted a decline in school attendance follow ing the last fare hike in 1990.

Before hearings in December and early January, youth activists from Asian Americans United began a series of outreach in iti atives to contact students at high schools across the city. Ten thousand flyers alerting students to the fare hike were printed and di stri buted , along with black arm bands, at several high school s.

On January 12, over 350 students attended a noon rally at Central High School to protest not just the increase but the exi sting cost of getting to sc hool.

The next day over I00 students were present to pressure the SEPTA Board as it voted on a compromise settlement.

Students ralli ed in the wake of the final vote and gathered again on February 8th to plan next steps.

Nearl y 31,000 public school students use SEPTA tokens. The School District

AI stake in the Philadelphia school reform debate: our children's lt1lure

Confrontacion de estudiantes evita aumento en tarifas de SEPTA El testimonio de los estudiantes de Filadelfiafrente al Comisionado de SEPTA , referente a el aumento de f pasaj e. Despues de la protesta de estudiantes, la Ju nta Directiva de SEPTA decidio volar en contra def aumenro de tarifas .

Mol Ly, la escuela secundaria Ba rtram.

No es justo para mi y para otros estudiantes que no pueden pagar el a ume nto del pasaje. Creo que el Di strito Escolar de la ciudad de Filadelfia de be dar a todo el mundo--rico o pobre-la misma educacion.

La educacion es una de las cosas mas positi vas que se le puede ofrecer a urr nino. Usted puede pensar que la mayor parte de la violenci a en este pa is es causada por personas no educadas, pero no se les puede c ulpar. Es la sociedad que los impulsa. Si este pais hiciera todo lo que puede para educar a la gente, hubiera menos violencia y crimen.

Dicen queen este pai s somos todos iguales, pero esto no es cierto. Y no son solo las personas pobres e incultas q ue cometen actos violentos. Pi enso que el decir que todos somos ig uales es vio len cia psicolog ica, pues todos sabemos 4ue Ios ninos ricos en este pais ti enen una educac ion mejor que los ninos pobres Conozco ninos ricos de los suburbios que tienen mucho mas dinero que nosotros, mas no tienen q ue pagar por e I autobus. Pero nosotros si que tenemos que pagar. Se que estos mi smos ninos ricos tiene_n mejores esc uelas, clases mas pequenas, mas libros. mejores ed ifi cios escol ares y mejores oportunidades .

Y ahora se algo mas. Si despues de todo esto ll egamos a obtener una educacion no sera debido al apoyo de aquell os que tienen poder. Si no que sera debido a todos los ostac ulos q ue ustedes han puesto frente a nosotros. Asi que tengo una sola pregunta que hacer. Si nosotros fueramo s sus hijos. podrian ustedes

haber fig urado otra manera para bregar con el asunto?

Catzie Vilaphonh, d e la escuela secunda ria Cent ral .

Creo que el a umento de los pasajes no es j usto, los estudi ante de Fi ladelfia ya pagan una de las tari fas mas altas de pasajes comparadas con otras ciudades.

Tomemos a Was hington DC po r ejemplo. Ellos solamente pagan un I/3 de los que nosotros pagamos . En el condado de Upper Darby los estud iantes ti ene la transportac ion gratuita, no pagan nada.

Por que es que nosotros tenemos que pagar tanto?

A lg unas escue las se han dado cuenta de 4ue esto es un pro blema para los esiud iantes . Ex isten algunos fondos para ayudar a los estud iantes q ue tiene buenas notas, pero hay aque llos que no pueden pagar el pasaje toda la semana los cuales as isten a la escuela so lamente alg unos di as , q uien los ay uda? Debido a las ausencias sus notas 'son muy bajas. Estos no ti ene ni la oportun idad de obtener una beca. 'ill

r

What's inside: School vouchers com ing to PA? .. 3 Parents a nd the classroom .......... 4 Behind the Hornbeck pla n ....... 8-9 Summary of Children Achie ving Pla n ............................................ 10 Profile : Philad elphia Inter fa ith Action ......................................... 13 Letters ......................................... 14 Opinion : Breakdown of school community .................................. 15

Dentro Voces de una escuela .................... 6 Julia de Burgos ............................ 6

WINTER 1995

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

PAGE2

Who ya' gonna cati?

Jn this iss_ue w_e list a number of key nation organizations mvo lved 111 wo rk mg for ed al tional change. There are many organ izati~~:­ we were unable to hst m th is issue. Send your listing to Public School Notebook 3?2 1 M idvale Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19 129.'

"Turning the page for change"

Algebra Project: (617) 287 -1508.

A voice for parents, students, and classroom teachers who are work ing for qua lity and equal ity in our schools.

African-American acti vists who address the crisis m math education among inner city students.

Ad-,;sory Board

Arrencan Association of University Women·

Wi lfredo Rojas, National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights Mary Yee. Asian Americans United Debbie Wei. Steering Committee, National Coalition of Educat iona l Activists Eugene Wi lliams, Robert Fulton Parents Association Em il y Style, Co-Director, National S.E.E.D. Project-Seeking Educational Eq uity and Diversity Coleen Davis. LULAC Education Project Rochelle Nichols-Solomon, North Phi la.

Comm unity Compact fo r College Access and Success Shafi k Ab u-Tahir, New African Voices All iance Efrain Roche. Community Focus Newspaper Len Rieser, Education Law Center W1r1<ingGroip Cindy Engst, Kathy Fleming, Helen Gym, Eric Joselyn, Pat Lowe, Myrtle L. Naylor, Hana Sabree,.Chip Smith, Paul Socolar.

Philadelphia Public School Notebook is a project of the New Beginnings program of Resources For Human Development. Spec ial than ks to the Bread and Roses Community Fund for ass istance on this issue.

We publish fo ur times a year. Send inquires to School Notebook, 372 1 Midvale Ave., Phila., PA 19129. Phone: (2 15) 95 1-0330. Fax: (2 15) 95 1 - 0342.

Special thanks . .

Pub lic School Notebook wishes to thank a ll of our s ubscribers, advertisers, a nd the good people who worked on production, translation and distribution. Special thanks for this issue are due to the Bread and Roses Commun ity Fund .

"It takes an entire village to fund a school reform newspaper" - urban proverb

Public School Notebook needs your subscription.

Be part of the educational d ia logue.

Your support helps put this paper in the hands of people working for positive change across the city.

Name Address I Apt.

(8001225.ggg3, ext. 21.

Center for Collaborative Education (212) 348-7821 A network of New York City pu blic schools committed to advancing school reform.

Coordinates an effort to create a national network of elementary schools.

Center for !he Preservation of Pu~ic Education (202) 833-4CXXl Monitors and supports efforts to combat privatization, for-profit schools and school voucher plans. Project of the National Education Association.

When will it be the kids' turn?

Right now, the school board selection process is an insiders' game, filling a post with job requirements like experience managing organizations with $1 million-plus budgets. Furthermore, it's an economically privileged few who can afford to take these unpaid positions. T here need to be some seats on the board for members who are nei ther big-shot managers, nor independen tly wealthy, nor dependent on a corporate sponsor.

Phi lade lphia 's Board of Education desperately needs some more strong advocates for o ur kids. Perhaps Deborah Parks will become one of these advocates. B ut for the future, we need a selection process in which a candidate's ta lents and opinions count more than their connections.

Let's watc h every move c losely the next time there's a vacancy on the board.

Hopefully next time we'll be ready to stand up to the big guys and say, "You 've got to g ive our kids a tu rn !"

Grants alone won't fill the gap . It is certainl y good ne ws that the School District will be getting as much as $50 mi lhon from Walter Annenberg, and potentiall y another $50 million each from the City and the pnvate_sector to_match it. Wnh lots of reform ideas on the ta ble, it is vital to have funds available to implement the_m. Another hopeful sign is that over a m illi on do ll ars per year is earmarked to organize paren ts and communities to partic i t fully m the ilfe of the schools. pa e more

0

The Annenberg gra nt barely impacts on the gap in spend ing er u ii b P htl adelph1a and many suburban di stricts. Some suburbs s end~s !up etween mo re per pupil eac h year than Philadelphia. p ch as $5,000

D

::~~~~i~~r~;~~:~:i1~~~ tax $ 100, $ 75, $ 50, $ 35

Make checks payable to: Public School Notebook I RHO

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Philadelphia School Notebook 3721 Midvale Ave. Philadelphia PA 19129-1532 Phone# (215) 951-0330

Oearnghouse for Immigrant Education (CHIME): (800) 44 1-71 g2 Resou rce center fac ilitating access to materi-

As people debate how much the School Di strict has changed under its new leadership, one thing c learly hasn't changed. When it comes to getting on the school board, it's not what you know-it's who you kno w.

Deborah Parks, a professional lobbyist, is the newest member of th e Phi ladelp hia Board of Education, appointed by the Mayor in December to replace Rotan Lee. While we don ' t want to belittle her strong record of community service , what distinguished he r from all the other candidates is clear. Parks is tig ht with State Senator Vincent Furno. It was F umo's tum, so Ed Rendell appointed Parks to the sc hool board.

"Fumo 's tum?" you may ask.

Yes, that's righ t. Next time, we think it might be State Rep. Dwight Evans' tum again . We' re not sure, because the rules aren't written down anyw here, but it seems that there are only a few powerful guys who get turns in this game. The school children don't get a tum, nor do their parents.

You may be wondering what Mr. Furno has done to entitle him to make this important educationa l decision. One point of his record does stand out: over the past few years, while he has been the city's big man in Harrisburg, the per capita state aid for Philadelphia 's schoo ls has been steadi ly shrinking, with hardly a peep from the Honorable Mr. Furno.

But big n_umbers always have to be put in perspective. The Annenberg an t is to b spent over five years , for an average of $ 1Om illion a year. When spread ~ over mor: than 200,000 stude nts in the School Distric t, this grant represents an additional contribuuon of less than $50 per stude nt per year (w ith the matching funds, yo u can tri le that a mo unt). By compari son, the c urrent expenditure per p ·1 · p Philadelphia is over $5,000. upi per year m

City I State I Zip

·

Provides resources on how schoo ls shortchange g_irls: and strategies for combatt ing gender bias m educat ion.

Even the $300 million per year increase in funding proposed f 1 11 Sm ith 's educationa l team wou ldn 't cut the gap between city and :~~u: by Judge 111 So we cannot le t o ur local and state e lected officials off the hook bs half. h . ·City Council members need to be challenged abo ut the ir plans to add funding levels. Mayor Rendell needs to get 10 work on ~~~i~ e madequacy of ex isting fundmg sources for o ur schools. not just matc hi ng f d f g some s ubstantial new F in a ll y, if you care ab_ou t pu bl ic education. we ne~~ so~rt~he Annenberg gra nt. tered to vote w hen ou r c ity's e lected offic ials fac th Y . . be informed and reg ise e voters in May and Novem ber

Spread the news Help distribute the Phi!adephia Public School Notehook. Yo u can be a part of putting the School Notebook in !he hands of

people across the city. Copies are avail- a~le for d1s1nbt1t1on at yo ur school place

o worship or community center. ,

Contact us at School Notebook 3721 Midvale Ave. Phila., 19129. Ph: 95 1-

a ls, org:mizations and people concerned with

the effecti ve education of immigrant students.

Coalilion of Essential Schools (401) 8633384 National network of innovative schools.

Publishes newsletter, Horace.

Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform (3 12) 322 -4880 Supports bui lding of school-community ties and school reform throu gh training, research, organizing and networking. Currently links activists in Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, New York and Seattle districts.

Desgns for Change: (312) g22-0317 Materials for parents and teachers, offering detai led reports of Chicago's site-based reform, the country's most ambitious governan ce reform.

Independent Commission on Cnapter I (202)-2g3.0115 Coal ition which pushed through important improvements in federal Chapter I law in 1994, and is educating commu nities on how to use the law as a too l for local school reform.

Natio1al Association for the Educ"1tion of Young Chik:Jren: (800) 424-241:, J. (202) 232· 8777 Publishes Young Children and other useful materials on early c hildhood education.

Natio18l Center for Fair and Open Tesling (FairTest): (617) 864-4810 Produces FairTesr Examiner, a quarterly newsletter on assessment issues.

Natio1a1 Cleanrghouse for 81111 ,gual Educalion: (800) 321 -6223 Conducts research and networking about local projects. Newsletter showcases successful programs.

Na1101a1 Coalition of Advocates for Sludenls (617) 357-8507 Network of schoo l reform organi zations.

Produces compre hensive guide to school restructuring, mon itors spec ial ed ucation issues, and runs the National Center for Immigrant Students.

Natio18l Coalition of Education Ac<Msts (g 141876·4580 Activist gro up of parents and teachers working on ant i-rac ist education projects, including tracking, standardi zed testing and class size. Quarterly newsletter, annua l conference, and electronic bulletin board.

Na!imal Student Alliance (800) 955-3622 Support fo r high school students who wa nt to get seats on local school boards.

Netw011' of Educat.-", 1>n th,:e Amsncas ('.:::02; 429-0 137 Publishes an excellent catalog of curricular resources and a quarrerly newsletter.

Teaching }or Change.

Ft• 'I" I_: I ·41 ), - · I ..f Provides curr icul ar resou rces on history and achievements of gay. lesb ian. and bisex ual

people.

'F I

PAGEJ

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

WINTER 1995

ON $fEC/AL EDUCA-TION '

EYE

by Hana Sabree I want to thank the Norebook for dedicating a column to address the concerns, iss ues, and needs of those receiving special education. "Eye on Special Education" belongs to all who are interested in the area of special education services. We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions on issues you want to see addressed. "Eye on Special ' Education" wi ll provide informat ion as well as views on the defeats, the victories, and the benefits of special education.

One victory for Special Education advocates is the Individual s with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA is the major federal legislation on the education of students with disabilities; formerly the Education for Handicapped Act (EHA). IDEA basically ensures that all chi ldren with disabilities have available to them a "free and appropriate ed ucation in the least restrictive environment." It also states that educationally related serv ices are to be provided to meet the rieeds of exceptional children. Some examples of educationally re lated services are: speech, occupational and physical therapies, tran sportation, and assistance in feeding and toileting. ln addition, IDEA entitles students with disabilities beginning as early as age 14 and no later that age 16 to receive transition planning annua lly as part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). Transition planning is important because it li sts coordinated activities that must occur to prepare yo ur son or daughter for li fe after high school. Some of the activities include ann ual goals and objectives in the area of living arrangements, work or vocational training, community participation, and adult serv ices. Most importantly IDEA ensures that the rights of children and youth with disabilities and their parents are protected. It is indeed fortunate for students with di sabilities and their parents that IDEA exists to protect their rights.

IDEA being threatened Unfortunately the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is being threatened . The IDEA is coming up for reauthorization before Congress.

Many of the guarantees and rights are being reexamined. Now is the time to let your leg islators hear from you that you would like them to reauthorize IDEA. One major point you could state-is that they not open part B of IDEA for rev ision. It contain s the protections that are now g uaranteed and needed, for example, lEP, due process, and parent participation rights. These are at risk by those wishing to restrict IDEA protections if Part B of IDEA is revised.

Write toU.S. Senators: Rick Santorum 9456 Federal Building 600 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19106

A school voucher plan, which would divert massive state puhlic education funds to pay ruirionfor privare and parochial school srude111s, is high on rhe legislarive agenda of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Below are excerprs ji·om marerial prepared by the Pennsylvania Education Coalirion to Oppose Tuition Vouchers, a stare-wide organizarion with over 30 member 01x_anizations· The Penri~y l van ia General Assembly continues to be barraged by religious and private school interests who want the state to divert tax dolla rs from public schools to their private school coffers through a scheme called "tuition vouchers ."

Tuition voucher proponents couch their scheme in mi slead ing term s, such as " parental choice," "G.I. B ill for Kids," and "school reform through competition ." The bottom line, however, is that the voucher legi slation would give a spec ified amount of public money (up to $ 1,000 for each student) to parents to encourage them to send their children to religious and private sc hools. The grant is called a "voucher."

Here are some important fac ts about tuition vouchers: Tuition vouchers remove mi lli ons of taxpayer dollars from public schools and place them in voucher schools which are not accountable to the public.

The proposed legislation would cost at least $250 million annually even if no public school students choose to move to a private or re ligious sc hool.

The $250 million would be needed to subsidize only those who already attend private and re lig ious schools-hundreds of millions spent without changing or improving the education provided to one Pennsylvania child!

Legislation considered in Pennsylvania has not proposed a way to pay for the vouchers. The state would either raise taxes or take away public schools' funds, harming the state's public sch oo l students.

In addition to the direct cost related to tuition vouchers (e.g., the money given to parents to encourage them to send their children to private or relig ious schools), the legislation will result in additional costs for transportation, admini stration . and dissemination of information.

T he voucher schools also can reject children for discriminatory reasons such as religion , gender, economic s\atus, physical abi lity or academic record . The private schools get the "choice" of whic h students to take.

Public school s accept and teach a ll children, including those with spec ial needs. But voucher school s can tum away chi ldren based on the extra cost of educat ing special needs students . .How can we send so much public funding to private and parochial schoo ls when spec ial education is so inadequately fund ed?

Tuition voucher proponents want to "break ground" in Pennsylvania.

Despite a vote by the Penn sy lvani a General Assembly in 199 1 that tui tion

Proposed legislation would cost at least $250 million even if no public school students choose to move to a private school.

vouchers for religious schools a re unconstituti ona l, voucher proponents cont inue 10 seek votes for this legis lation. No other state has impl e mented s uch a plan. S ince 1966, voters in 14 states have rejected vouc her and tuition tax cred il initi atives or referendums 19 times.

Pennsy lvan ia taxpayers already provide substantial nonsectarian services and s upplies 10 pri vate and re ligious schools. In 1992-93 alone, these services cost taxpayers $ 174 million . In contrast, 28 of the 50 states prov ide no s upport to s uc h schools, and most other states provide far less than Pennsy lvani a.

Locally. rhe Pare111s' Union is promoting a postcard campaign to the new governor and /0 the state legislators. opposing the 1•011cher plan. For more information on the Puhlic Education Coalition 10 Oppose Tuition Vouchers, a list ofmemhers, and their campaign "Puhlic Funds for Puhlic Schools." co/1/act Parents' Union, (215) 546-1166.

Statistically speaking·• aFacts and.figures that provide look at our school system Total number of sc hools in 1993-94: 256 High School class size suggested by Council

Phi la. Public school- st udents - teachers.

African American Latino Asian White

62.8% I 0.0% 4.6% 22.3%

Pre siden t John Street: 50

353% 1.4% .4 62.0

Number of children Mayor Rendell schools: 0

Percentage of st udents granted vol unt ary desegregation schoo l 1ransrcrs from 1985 10 199:L 18% of requests by b l a~k s1uden 1s

ha~

in public

Number of tccichcrs. out of 10.769. given ··unsatisfac1ory" rating in 1992-93: I 0 Percen t o f 9th !.!faders w ho mcc1 c riteria to start

33% of requests by whne students.

I01h grade the l1ex1 year: 4Yh

Range in temperatures for classrooms recorded at Julia de Burgos Middle School during an air quality inspection in 1992 93: 47° to 97° F

~n~~~ ~;.n~.~fifli~~c~~~~~c~~c~ :1 ~~1 ~~~~:~~~~in

Estima1cd number of Philadelphia public school drop-ou1s during the 1980s: 70.000

Numher of nationali1ics rcprc-;cntcd in !he stu dent body oi"Ccntral Ea-;1 Middle Schoo l: 1X

Num be r of uncmnpleted work order-.;

(lca~ s .

1993-94: 39.[XXI

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Parents Union's

The Philadelphia

Resource Center welcomes parents to visit our library

Project on Inclusive Curriculum

S.E.E.D. (Seeki ng Educational Equ ity and Diversity)

Arlen Specter 9400 Federal Bu ilding 600 Arch St. Philadelphia, Pa 19106

U.S . Repre se ntatives: Thomas Fogliett a. Chaka Fattah. Robert Borski· House Office Building Washington, DC 205 I 5

If you are not su re who your representative is. call The Commiltee of Seventy at (2 15) 545-0 104.

To suhmit articles to Eye on Special Education. /eG1•e a message fo r the Public School Notebook at 95 1-0330 or mail 10 RHD, 372 1 Midl'ale A1·e ..

Phi/a. PA 1912 9-1532.

Come find out about your

school

4 .

..

.

311 S. Juniper St. Rm.602 Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 546-1166

door

1

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Salutes the Public School Notebook We join them in the endeavor of assuring schools affirm the history and culture of all students by placing them at the center of our agenda .

Teacher and parent facilitated seminars for parents, teachers , school staff, and community members committed to the creation and d evelopme nt of a multi-cultural curriculum and school climate.

For more information. call (215) 248-4834

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

WINTER 1995

By Cheryl Feldman Parents of chi ldren attending C. W. Henry School have carved out an integral role for themselves beyond t.he usual parent-teacher relat1onsh1p.

Through the Home and School Association , a comm ittee call ing itself Classroom Representatives serves as the communication link between teachers, parents , and the Home and Schoo l

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Communites want to be part of what goes on inside our schools

Ferguson School

Opening doors

By Myrtle Naylor Ferg uson Elementary School , located in the heart of North Philadelph ia at 7th and Norri s Streets, ranked 171 of the 171 elementary school s in the city, according to the Philade lphia Inquirer's October 1994 article titled "A D istrict In D istress" The staff and parents of Ferguson are trying to 路tum these figure s around. They are taking parent involvement to a new and unique level.

First they are debunking the idea that in certain neighborhoods, parents just don 't care. They set out to prove that no matter where they li ve, parents do care.

To get parents in volved in the school, they had to get parents into the school.

After using the conventional methods of reaching parents, with little or no success , Ferguson adopted a new approach.

Using the persona l touch and making the school user-friendly is their method of operation. Principal Linda Hall says she believes you have to provide an environment where parents feel comfortable. Ferguson is now "the home of the persona l invitation. "

discuss concerns they have around chi ld rearing in a supportive, non threatening atmosphere.

After taking a survey, Zelda JonesDavis, support teacher for parent involvement, found the need to involve grandparents who are raising ch ildren in a program which was unique to them.

"Grandparents Need More Than Hugs and Kisses" is a newly designed group to help them deal with the particular issues and problems they face.

A Parent's Network meets weekly, planning and organizing activities for parents. They are responsible for the follow-up phone calls and engaging other parents.

Although a Home and School does exist at Ferguson, both Hall and JonesDavis said parents were more interested in being in vo lved in the other activities in the school. They admitted there was .little enthusiasm among parents for serving on a Home and School executive board.

Not all of the endeavors to involve parents have been highly successful , but Jones-Davis is quick to point out this is a learning process for staff and parents alike. Activities which a few years ago on ly had four or five present now will have at least l 00.

How does Ferguson School get such a high level of parent participati on? Hall said she feel s it again returns to the personal touch. She makes it a point of visiting with parents in the school yard when they bring the children in the morning. Often the conversation ends with an invitation to come into school and join their child in the c lassroom.

"The schoo l environment must be made to be welcom ing to parents," Hall said.

How does all of thi s personalization, involvement of parents, caregivers and commun ity translate to higher student achievement? Hall admits hard data such as test scores do not make Ferguson look good. However, the inclusion and presence of parents taking part in their children 's education en hances their children 's abi lities to be more prepared and better able to perform academically.

Di scipline problems have been reduced and the atmosphere of the school is more conducive to learning.

Clead y. bui lding these relationships is seeking improvement over the long haul.

The many school s in Phil adelphia that, like Ferguson, face near-c ri sis situations must look beyond the "quick fix " and work to re-form their ties with the commun ity. This is the lesson from Ferguson .

using the personal touch and making the school user._ friendly is their method of operation.

For many acti vities and events, fl yers are still sent out with the student s; however, the fl yer is often fol lowed with a second , and then parents rece1ve a te lephone call from another parent or a staff member, extending the invitation to join the event.

Another ave nue they use is personal home visitation. For example, th is was the fo undation of Ferguson 's "Parents Make a Difference Open House. " To generate participation in the math and reading classroom observations and works ho ps, which were part of the Open Ho use, the staff and parents took a Sunda y afternoon in Nove mbe r and visited students ' homes and ex tended the invitation to the Open House.

T hey a lso used thi s opportuni ty to e ngage parents and ca reg ivers in the importance of their taking an acti ve part in the ir c hil dre n 's education. T hey have mai ntai ned turno uts of over 200 at the Open House eac h of the last two years.

T hroughout the year a num ber of wo rks hops are offered for careg ivers. including ones on self-esteem as we ll as science . In addition to these educational forums for paren ts. Ferguson has established a mother's support group which brings together caregivers and staff to

Association. c. w. Henry is a K through 8 school located in West Mount Airy. As one of the School District's voluntary desegregation schools, Henry 's population is 64% African American , 33% white, 2% Hispanic, and 1% other. Parents actively support the Home and School , schoo l plays and the excellent music program.

They volunteer in classrooms and as parent peace-keepers to assure the safety of children walking to or from school.

Classroom Represe ntatives, or Class Reps, work to build communication and a strong partnership between the class-

Class Reps work to build a strong partnership between the classroom teacher and parents. room teac her and parents. They assist the teacher in obtaining additiona l resources from the parents, involve parents more in classroom activities, and provide a vehicle to connect parents to school-wide or Home and School activi-

parents can help. Some Class Reps are avai lable during school hours to get more involved in the classroom , while others organize parents during their evening hours.

There are a number of different and successful strategies developed by Class Reps: Judy and two other Class Reps have children in a second grade class. Judy is somet im es ava il able during school ho urs, but the other two moms are not.

One of the mothers worked with the classroo m teacher to get t he names , addresses , and phone numbers of the children and put out a classroom directory for the use of parents and kids. The Reps have divided the classroom parents mto three groups and regularly keep in touch with their parent group, communicatrng. c la ssroom needs, upcoming events m the class, or recruiting help for thrngs s uch as cla ss trips. Judy h as decided to become a regu lar classroom vol unteer, working with individual kids who are either disciplinary problems or need one-on-one help with basic ski ll s In a fi rst grade class, the three Cl~ss Reps established monthly meetings with the .classroom teacher early in the year which have been ope n to parents: Mmutes from these meeting s are distribu~e~ t.o all of the parents. Projects initiat~or y paren.ts mclude a c lassroom direcc ~ ~cqumng old conwuters being di s. ar e by a parent's workplace and he lp-

~~! ~~a~~t them successfully installed in ' puttmg out a newsletter pub-

Teachers who can utilize parents' investment in the classroom environment can find a tremendous resource.

Class Reps to sponsor parent meetings to discuss transitions, as their children head toward high school at the same time that they are leaving childhood and becoming teenagers.

Wh il e there are issues to sort out about appropr iate parent and teacher roles, Class Reps are exploring involvement in mediating parent-teacher problems or in helping commun icate with parents regarding the curriculum and themes wh ich the teacher has planned.

Tamar Magdovitz, a Henry parent and C l ass Rep who is also a teacher at Shawmont, commented , "When yo u have a teacher who is receptive to parent input and invo lvement and parents who are res pectful of the teacher 's methods and curriculum , then Class Reps can f~I~ fil l a tru ly importa nt funcuon 10 t classroom and the school. Teachers wlio c an utili ze parents' in ve stment in th e s uccess of the cla ss room environment can find a treme ndous resource ."

PAGES

Con todo mi corazon She was a mistake, that's what I said, a mistake. Born five years after me, I knew we wouldn't get along. Waking me up at six o'clock in the morning, always telling on me, suddenly becoming my shadow and eventually a miniature me. I was annoyed with the little brat ,but eventually I grew up. She made me realize that no one can ever make me feel as special as she does when she wants to be like her big sister. I learned to stop being so self centered and start listening to my baby sister. I see now a young lady with strength and maturity, facing the problems of tomorrow. She will not face the world totally alone, because she has her big sister to hold her hand. I guess I haven ' t realized the importance of our relationship, but we never really appreciate our fami ly until they are not there. That 's why I write to her now saying thanks for being my baby sister. Te amo con todo mi corazon.

-by Ana Echevarria, Central High School (reprinted from Winter, 1994 edition of The Issue, a Philadelphia student-run publication. For more information on The Issue, write 820 S. St. Bernard St., Phi/a., PA 19143)

Take Me Take me to a place far away, Where no one has gone before, Where the flowers bloom and trees blossom.

Take me where love is harder than a rock, Softer than a cloud, W here children play with joy in their hearts, Take me where no one has taken us before, Take me to a place where there is happiness, A place where no one can hurt you or me.

-by Zussette Reyes, 6th grade, Central East Middle School

Drugs Th.a:nk you for cari.ng for the world.

;you ~de it a whole lot better for people. But, we still have a lot of hatred in 路the world. I wislryou were still here to stop it, like you fought to stop racism.

Thank you, Sneshia Davis, Gillespie Middle School

Meteors I was standing in my yard one night and a meteor crossed my face from left to right.

This rock may have been trave ling for billions of years and it happened to cross our atmosphere.

They look yellow and bluethat's what I think.

They move so fast you'll miss it even if you blink.

When it passes your face it's like a blue and ye ll ow glow.

How fast these things move nobody knows.

-by Brandon Jenkins, Wagner Middle School

In real life people are dying every day because of drugs . A person may owe another person some money. If they don't pay, the person pulls out a g un.

Shootings happen due to people doing drugs.

There are a lot of kids doing drugs.

The reason they are doing them is because of pressure from peers or other people. It's important to the entire world to stop children from doing drugs.

Like on T. Y. they show children pressuring other chi ldren . They try to show you how to handle it, but it doesn ' t work. Kids promise their parents that they won't do drugs, but they break their promises because they give in to the pressure. They a llow other people to control them. There has to be a solution.

My parents tell me every day, when you go outside look all over and be aware of everything around you. A walk to the corner could be death. It's a rough neighborhood out there.

Don't do drugs, it can kill' It doesn't matter how you put it, people are dying every day.

Life is not a game!

From someone who wa nts difference.

to

make a

-by Vincent Reid, Comegys Middle School

Tet ansam-All together

School supplies for Haiti The return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president of Haiti has been hai led as a victory for dem,pcracy, but for democracy to truly take root, public sc hool s must be able to educate a free citizenry.

Mi litary rul e has ended and many sc hools are try ing to reopen. But those that are open often lack the most basic supplies, such as paper, pencils, or notebooks.

In response to the urgent need for school supplies in the Grand Anse region of Haiti, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has begun a campaign called "Tet Ansam", a Creole phrase that means "a ll together."

Collecting sc hool supplies for Haiti is

simple and d irect. An organiz ing packet is ava il able with complete in structions. includ ing exactly what school suppl ies are needed in Haiti. Assembled boxes of suppl ies can be sent to AFSCs Philadelph ia office. AFSC staff wo rking in Haiti's co untryside d istribu te the boxes di rect ly to schools in need.

As a classroom project. co ll ecting school suppli es for Haiti can educate abo ut the people of Haiti and their unfold ing history, as well as meet a crucia l humanitarian need.

For more information 011 how you co11 help. write or call the Special Assistant 011 Haiti, AFSC. 1501 Cherry St ..

Philadelphia. PA 19102. (215) 241-718.

PAGE 6

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

WINTER lffl

Voces de una escuela: Roberto Clemente Ruth Morales, Presidente de la Asociacion Hogar Escuela de la Escuela Intermedia Roberto Clemente.

Estudiantes Marlene Burgos y Tamans Leon le da bienvenida al cambio.

Yo vine de Puerto Rico en e l 1989 con mi familia. Me choco al ver a la escuela que irian mi s hijos. Yo sabia que e l edificio de ta Clemente era inapropiado para los ninos. Se estaba cayendo. No habia gimnasio, ni auditorio, ni siquiera suficientes li bros.

En e l 1989 cas ino habia envolvim iento de padres en la Escuela. Se hizo una re un ion de pad res y vinieron 150 padres.

Ahi fue cuando comenzamos la Asociacion . La majoria de los padres hablaban espano l, asi que empezamos a impri mir hojas sueltas en espanol e ingles.

Muchos de nosotros sentimos que nuestros hijos habian sido marginados Y descuidados. Tu sabes, tanto que se habla de abuso de ninos, esto tam bien era abuso de ninos! E l sistema estaba abusando de nuestros ninos.

S iempre les digo a los padres: Somos minorias, pero a mi no me importa si tu estas en seguro social, ayuda publica, o lo que sea, nosotros tenemos derecho a

una buena educacion para nuestros hijos.

Nosotros no tendremos dinero para dejarles una herencia, pero podemos dejarles una buena educac ion para que puedan ganarse una vida honestamente. ,..Nuestro s estudiantes en la viej a C le mente se vol viero n bien fru strados.

En un mome nto se prendieron fuegos.

Los padres y la comun idad empezaron a organizarse seriamente. Hicimos piquetes fuera de la escue la y suimos a re uniones con ofic ia les de la escueeta.

Adquirimos guag uas y fuimos a l Concili o de la C iudad asi como para que los padres hablaran y protestaran en re uniones de la J unta de Educacion. Por anos a los padres se les prometieron cosas y nunca se nos c um pli a. Ahora tos pad res esta bamos dispuestos a pelear hasta ganar, y e llos lo sabian .

E l Di strito Esco lar fina lmente dec idio darle un nuevo ed ific io a la Escuela Roberto C lemente.

Los padres estu vieron envue ltos en ta pl anificacion de la Esc ue la. Formamos varios comites. E xig imos un arq uitecto Lati no por q ue queriamos a alguien que

"Voces" continua en la p. 7

De Burgos: Escuela bilingue desafia evaluacion injusPar Fbn ll\!hitehorne Muchas escuelas en Filadelfia reciben ayuda federal denominada "Capftulo I" para los estudiantes de bajos ingresos, y el Distri to Escolar ha tra bajado duro para desarrollar un Sistema que ofrezca Oexi bil idad a algunas escue las de c6mo usar esos fo ndos para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes.

Pero la unica esc uela media bil ingi.ie de Fi ladelfia esta en pe ligro de perder e l control de esos fondos federales debido a que las notas de los estudiantes en los examenes estandard no son lo sufic ientemente altas. Tanto el personal como los padres de familia estan hablando claro de lo que e llos consideran una polftica q ue es injusta para los estud iantes de una minorfa lingi.i istica.

La Escuela Med ia Magnet Bilingi.ie Julia de Burgos, como muchas escuelas med ias urbanas. tiene un gran numero de estudidntes que se enfrenta a una fuerte posibilidad de fracaso, debido a sus deficiencias en matematicas y en la lectura.

Entre la mitad y las tres cuartas panes del estudiantado registran notas inferiores al 260. de percentila en lectura y matematicas.

La escuela de Burgos. ubicada en un edificio viejo que era anteriormente la sede de la Esc uela Sec undaria Ed ison en la secc i6n Fa irhill de l Norte de Filadelfia, sirve a una com unidad vfcti ma de la pobreza, un trafico de drogas penetrante y del crimen y la violencia que este genera.

La escuela fue fundada en 1988. en parte por la presi6n de la comun idad latina que deseaba un programa bi lingi.ie. mu l1 icul1U ral que sirviera a los es1udiantes de la escuela media. El estudiantado de la de Burgos esta integrado aproximadameme por el 85 % de latinos. en su mayorfa puertorriquefios. Los cstudiantes afroamericanos constituyen el 15% restante.

Los fo ndos federa les. a traves de un programa llamado "School Wide Projec1s" le ha pem1 i1 ido a la Escuela de Burgos, asf como a otras escuelas de Filadelfia. disefiar programas para mejorar las destrezas basicas de los es1ud iantcs. El "School Wide Projects" perm ite a las escue las detenninar por sf mismas c6mo uti lizar los fondos denominados "Capftu lo Uno".

A diferenc ia de los programas tradicionales del Capftulo Uno, que limitan los

servicios a programas que se pueden retirar para estudiantes elegibles, el "School Wide Projects" autoriza que el dinero se use para servicios a todos los estudiantes.

Este enfoque se considera mucho mas efectivo debido a: su enfasis en la planificaci6n amplia escolar, y el proceso de toma de dec isiones, y el reconocer que el aislar a estudiantes "en peligro" es una medida contraproducente, por lo general.

Julia de Burgos fue la primera escuela media que fue incorporada al programa

de los conceptos y destrezas que seran examinaaas; asf como una serie de reuniones y asam bleas para motivar a los estudiantes y al personal por igual.

Segundo, estan retando el mismo proceso de eval uaci6n por considerarlo injusto; tanto el personal , representado por la Federaci6n de Maestros de Filadelfia y los padres, representados por la Asociaci6n de Home & School, reconocen la desventaja del metodo de evaluaci6n que pone en desventaja a la escuela desde un princi-

Los estudiantes latinos necesitan mas, y no menos, expansion de programas bilingues; mayor numero de maestros bilingues y clases con menos estudiantes.

"School Wide Projects (SWP)" y esta . ahora en su segunda re-evaluaci6n (El Estado evallia a las escuelas al final de cada c iclo de tres afios). El aiio pasado tres cuartas partes de un mi 116n de d61ares ($750,000) fue asignado a dicha escuela medi ante e l dicho programa.

El plan para el uso de esos recursos se desarroll 6 con la participaci6n del personal y de los padres de familia y requiri6 que se conn-<Hara n mas maestros para las clases de lectura con el fin de reducir el tamafi o de la c lase para dicha asignaci6n; comprar mas computadoras con el objet ivo de mostrar al estudian tado la vanguardia de la tecnologfa; contratar ay udantes para el sa lon de clases, biling Lles, de tiempo parcial y contratar a un coordinador de la com un idad . Estos programas, algunos de los cuales han estado durante varios afios. han tenido un impacto pos itivo. de acuerdo con el personal de la escuela y de los padres involucrados.

Pero ahora se le infonn6 a la esc uela Julia de Burgos de que a menos que haya un mejoramiento considerable en las notas de los examenes de toda la ciudad esta pri mavera. la escuela sera descontinuada del SWP. La escuela ha reaccionado de do.s maneras. Primera, el personal y los estudiantes sc estan preparando para lievar a cabo un esfuerzo importante y elevar las no1as de los examenes. incluyendo ad 1esrram1ento ad icional en c6mo tomar el examen. mayor ensefi anza sistemat ica

pio.

Las discrepancias que surgen del metodo de evaluaci6n util izado por el Distrito Escolar y el Estado en la decisi6n si la de Burgos permancera o no como una escuela del programa SWP son importantes no s61o para dicha escuela sino virtualmcnte para todas las otras escuelas en la ciudad que tienen una gran concentraci6n de estudiantes con Profic iencia Lim itada en Ingles (Limited English Proficiency - LEP).

Esencialmente, para que la escuela cua lifique y continue en el SWP, los estudiantes deben ser mejores que los del Capftu lo Uno de las escuelas que no pertenezcann al programa SWP en la ciudad, basado en la estandarizaci6n de l examen amplio en la ciudad.

Como dice una carta de ta Uni6n y de la Asociaci6n de Home & School: "No estamos en un ni vel para estar jugando en cuanto a esta comparac i6n debido a la a lta proporc16n de estudiantes de LEP en Julia de Burgos ."

La mvestigac i6n muestra queen promed10 se necesitan hasta siete afios de ~:ucac 16n para que un estudiante, cuyo gundo. 1d1oma es el ingles, este al nivel de estud1antes angloparlantes.

esc~~ ;ran numero de estudiantes de ta . de Burgos que toman el examen de la c1udad salieron recientemente de l programa de "English as a Second Language (ESOL)"

Muchos estudiantes que se jactan del ingles como su primer idioma, provienen de hogares en donde se habla muy poco ingles. Para evaluar justamente el programa, en la escuela de Burgos, se deben tomar en cuenta todos estos factores.

Recientemente se publicaron los datos de los examenes de toda la ciudad y mostraron que el problema de notas bajas a nivel urbano no esta meramente limitado a la de Burgos. Una escuela simi lar, la Roberto Clemente, obtuvo todavfa calificaciones mas bajas y todas las escuelas con grandes concentraciones de estudiantes con LEP calificaron bastante mal . Mas de la mitad de los estudiantes que se graduan de estas escuelas medias abandonan la escuela secundaria.

Pero este problema no sera resuelto mediante el recorte de recursos, de por sf inadecuados, que se asignan a las escuelas como la de Burgos. Los estudiantes latinos necesitan mas, y no menos, expansi6n de programas bilingi.ies; mayor numero de maestros bil ingi.ies y clases con menos estudiantes, por ejemplo.

El personal y los padres de familias de la escue la de Burgos estan apelando a la comunidad para que los apoye en su campaiia de mantener a la escuela en el programa de "School Wide Projects" y promover un estandard de evaluaci6n mas equitativo. jMantenganse informados!

Februaly sale!

Exciting new product line for March!

Developmental Toys, .Books & Games For All Ages Home Demonstrations, Fundraisers, Catalog/Phone Orders New Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia Part & Full Time Career Opportunities

1

349 W. Hortter St. Philadelphta , PA 19119

WINTER 1995

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

PAGE7

Padre, maestra y estudiantes relfejan sob re su nuevo edificio "Voces" viene de lap. 6 entendiera la c lase de esc uela que queriamos construir. Por ejemplo, los colores de la (n ueva) Clemente son caribenos.

Ahora que tenemos un hermoso edific io nuevo, le pedimos a los padres que participen en la Escuela.

Tambien queremos que la Escuela le sirva a la comunidad. Por eso es que pedimos que hubiese entradas desde la calle al aud itorio y al gimnasio para eventos noctumos. Y habra una c linica de salud para la comunidad manejada por el Hospital St. Christopher.

Estuvimos d urmiendo por muchos anos. lQue rayos estabamos pensando por tantos anos que permitiamos que nuestros hijos entraran a un edificio como que l?

La leccion mas importante en todo esto es q ue los padres, la comuoidad y los maestros somos una fuerza enorme.

Tenemos que envolvemos con nuestras escuelas para saber que esta pasando con

nuestros hijos, y tenemos que unirnos como uno solo para cambiar nuestras escuelas para que nuestros hij os puedan lograr sus metas."

Tamaris Leon y Marlene Burgos, estudiantes de octavo grado de la Escuela Intermedia Roberto Clemente.

En nuestra vieja escuela a los muchachos no les importaba muco muchachos no !es importaba mucho. Los muchachos escribian en las paredes y a nadie le importaba. Ahora colgamos nuestros trabajos en las paredes y nadie los tumba.

Todos queremos que es ta escue la sea la mejor.

Aq ui nos gusta q ue tenemos salones separados. En la vieja escuela, no podiamos ni oir al maestro. Siempre era tan ruidoso . Las paredes no llegaban a l techo. Los muchachos ti raban papeles y libros sobre las paredes.

Ahora trabajamos mas fuerte por que

no tenemos excusas para no hacerlo.

Antes las 1uces prendian y apagaban y habia grandes rotos en med io del salon, y muchos fuegos. No podiamos escuchar a los maestros.

La mayoria de los estud iantesaqui son realmente buenos. Nos gusta que nos respeten , eso si q ue es bien importan te.

Si un maestro tiene un problema de actitud hacia nosotros, nosotros no podemos respetarlo tampoco. Fijate en la Principal, tu puedes notar que tu puedes de verdad hablar con ella, y todo e l mundo la respeta.

Tambien este edific io nuevo nos hace a nosotros ser mas respetuosos. Por ejemple, los muchachos no le escupen a los otros al pasar debajo en las esca leras como pasaba en el viejo edificio .

Nosotros adoramos tener nuestro propio gimnasio aqui. Antes teniamos que viajar la mitad del periodo (de clase).

Y esta mas estrictio aq ui. Muchos maestros , padres y genie de Seguridad.

Se escuchan las voces de los estudiantes sobre SEPTA "Testimonio" viene de lap. 7 Ademas mi escuela req uiere que los estudiantes participen en servicios comunales para poder recibir credito y graduarse. Esto significa que hay que comprar mas fic has (tokens) para el pasaje. Como podemos comprar mas fichas (tokens) para atender el servicio comunal si tan siquiera podemos comprarlas para atender la escuela?

Hang Do, la escuela secundaria de Central.

Hoy dia hay estudiantes que no pueden pagar por lo que llamamos educacion publica.

Mi fami lia paga $27.00 semanales ya que hay tres ninos que van a una escuela que no provee transportacion . Una de mis hermanas va a la escuela intermedia Pepper. E lla iba a la escuela en la guagua escolar hasta el sexto grado, pero ahora va al septimo grado y tene mos que pagar por sus fic has (tokens) par el pasaje. Mi otra hermana va al centro de aprendizaje de Franklin y tambien tiene que pagar sus fichas (tokens). Reci bimos asistencia publica.Todos los meses mi padres tienen que pagar $108, para que podamos ir a la escuela. Somos seis hijos en mi fami lia.

Imaginense que el futuro mis padres tuvieran que pagar $54. Semanales para

enviamos a la escuela.

El gobierno siempre esta habl ando de sacar a la gente del Welfare . Alguna vez han pensado en el efecto que estegastotendrai en la ciudad? El costo tan alto del pasaje causa que muchos estudiantes dejen la escuela. Para comenzar, en muchas escuelas la educacion no es muy buena.

Muchos estudiantes piensan que si tienen que pagarla para que molestarse. Pero si los estudiantes dejan la escuela por que no pueden pagar el pasaje entonces al no tener una buena educacion no pueden conseguir trabajo. Terminarande de nuevo en Welfare .

La escuela publica debe estar abierta para todos los estudiantes. Hoy dia hay estudiantes que no pueden pagar por lo que llamamos educacion publica. Si ustedes aumentan los pasajes, hasta las escuelas estaran cerradas para el pobre. Yo creo que esto no es dar oportunidades iguales .

Puede que no podamos asistir a la escuela, pero aprenderemos una leccion. La lecci.on sera una que nos ensenara quien verdaderamente cree esta sociedad que es importante y quien debera se desechado.

Es esta la leccion que ustedes quieren darnos a aprender?

Oudeon Vilayphunh, Centro de Aprendizaje de Franklin.

Creo que ya estamos pagando sufic iente por el pasaje, si esto sigue aumentado va ser mucho mas dific il para aquellos estudiantes que ya tienen problemas pagandolo.

Por que el gobierno esta haciendo tan imposible el que nosorros los estudiantes obtengamos una buena educacion? Parece que el gobierno no nos esta ayudando a ir a la escuela sino que nos esta retando a ir.

Una de cosas mas incomprensibles

College going should b e a choice for a ll young peop le . The partners of the North Phila delphia Community COMPA CT believe th a t w ith c on sol idat ed resourc es, committed lea d e rship a nd a community-wide focus on results, more families in North Philad e lphia w ill realize the dream of seeing their c hildren g ra dua te from college.

;uji~leiiJ Ill Ill for College Access and Success

North Philadelphia Community Compact Rochelle Nichols Solomon. Director The Lighthouse 152 West Lehigh Avenue Philadelphia. PA 19133 (2150 739-9340

sobre el costo de! pasaje es que la esc ue la ya tienen un sin numero de normas locas para bregar con el asunto. Yo voy al Centro de Aprendizaje de Frank lin.

Muchos estud iantes de diferentes razas van al la misma esc uela, pero solo las blanco reciben las fichas (tokens) gratis.

Alguien me dijo que los blancos reciben las fichas (tokens) gratis debido a la desegregacion. Yo entiendo que estan tratando de ni velar las oportunidades escolares . Pero todas las semanas, cuando los estudiantes compran sus fic has

Si despues de todo esto llegamos a obtener una educacion no sera debido al apoyo de aquellos que tienen poder. (tokens) y ven como los blancos reciben gratis, se enfadan . Y no importa la razon por la cua l es asi. Se siente como disc riminacion racial.

Yo tengo amigos que van a la esc uela secundaria de Un iversity City. Los asiaticos van alli por que hay un programa de ESOL que los ayuda a aprende r ing les.

Pero no viven en el vec indari o. Ellos tambien rec iben fic has (tokens) gratis por que tiene que salir de su vec indario. Pero hay otros estudiantes en la esc uela que ho reciben la fic has (tokens) gratis . Los estudiantes as iaticos se sienten ma! por esto .

Los otros estudiantes no comprenden por que e llos no pueden recibir la fichas (tokens) grat is.

Para ser honesto, yo tampoco lo entiendo. No entiendo nada de esto. En mi opinion, ning un estud iante deberia pagar un precio tan alto para poder ir a la escuela. Y este cos to ha hecho un sin numero de normas que hieren y enfurece a los est ud iantes. Ustedes nos dicen que qu ieren que nos eduquemos y que vivamos en paz. i,Pero, como podemos hacerlo en esta rea li dad? Puede que los adu ltos en poder entiendan lo que qu ieren con esto. Pero verdaderamente nosotros no lo entendemos.

Trad11ccio11 por Iris Violera

Los muchachos no traen armas. No hay lugares secretos para esconderse al cortar clases. Tambien las ca lies alrededor de la Escuela estan mas seguras. Antes en la calle de enfrente se daban tiroteos con tantos tiradores de drogas.

Pero fueron desde entonces que nuestros padres lograron quo se abriera la nueva (escuela) . Ell os pelearon y pelearon. Tuvieron que hacerlo. Las madres y padres de nosotros dos trabajaban y no podian venir a los piwuetes, pero nosotros ibamos a las protestas con otros jovenes. Los padres necesitaban pelear en serio. Uno no puede masque pedir. Uno tiene que demostrar que uno necesita algo de verdad.

Ahora queremos que la gente sepa que los jovenes aqui somos buenos y que somos una escuela buena. Tambien tenemos e l orgull o de ser la primera clase graduanda de octavo grado de la nueva Escuela Intermedia Roberto Clemente.

Janet Kristman, una maestra en la Escuela Roberto Clemente por los ultimos ocho anos. La Sra. Kristman ensena sexto grado.

En e l otro plante l yo me sentia que era muy privlegiada pues mi salon de clases tenia ventanas y la puerta de! salon se pod ia carrar. Muchas maestros no tenian minguno de estos pri vilegios. Ellos ensenaban en salones donde no entraba la luz del sol y la un ica luz que estaba d ispon ible era la luz electrica. Y c laro esta hay que menc ionar que durante el verano se sentia el ambiente muy cali ente y seco.

Este nuevo edificio es un sueno hecho realidad. La biblioteca esta siendo organizada e incl uira nuevas formas en que los estudiantes tendran acceso materiales educativos. El gimnasio esta designado para hacer deportes y el nuevo auditorio permitira que nuestros estudiantes partic ipen y puedan disfru tar de obras teatrales. Los laboratorios de cienc ia y computadoras son muy modernos; esto ayudara a promover a que los estudiantes sean expuestos a nuevas formas de aprendizaje fuera de! sa lon de clases.

Esperamos que este nuevo edificio aude a crear una fi losofia y actitud positiva en tre maestros y est udi antes. Creo que todo nino merece una buena educac ion y esta nueva escue la de muestra que nosotros va loramos a nuestros estud iantes . Este plantel fue disenado para ser una escuela; el otro ed ificio fue disenado para ser una fabrica.

Los esfuerzos hechos por obtener una nueva escue la genero mucha confianza entre los maestros. Nuestra union se envolvio en e l proceso y muchos maestros fo rmaron parte de los d iferentes com ites Fue un esfuerzo por parte de todos.

Ahora me doy cuenta de e l valor que tienen los padres y la comunidad. Fue a traves de los esfuerzos de ellos que esta escuela se convirtio en una rea lidad ; e ll os trabajaron y trabajaron din parar. El los merecen todo e l credito. Esta nueva escuela d ice mucho de l poder que tienen los padres y la comunidad para cambiar y hacer cosas posit ivas.

Tradu ccio11 por Jose Morales y Felicia Feliciano

WINTER. J 995

SCHOOLNOThe

process behind

By Paul Socolar .

D .d Hornbeck has . Supenntendent 0 a~:n that holds laid out a sweepm,, P f chooling in

promise oh ne~: ~~~~cts now gears up Philadelphia. T 路deas to implement these new~ larg~ and To change a ~st~~路;adelphia School 1 bureaucratic as _e ew level of

Distnct wi~/~~~~;;y from both par~~:~~vne:::achers.

A first step 1n parent engagement families gathered at de Burgos Middle School for one of 22 cluster meetings across the city

Neighborhoods step out to support schools

"Cluster" meetings give voice to grassroots ideas on school change

By Juno Cohan Between December 6 and January 26, 1995, neighborbood school "c luster meetings" were held aro und the city. Parents, community leaders, and many teac hers came together to begin 1he di scussion of empowerment-to radically change our schoo ls. The meetings were supported by efforts from the Alliance of Public School Advocates.

The ideas and information gathered at these 22 meetings had two purposes: to learn abo ut and respond to the Superintendent 's new I 0 point plan for "Children Achieving", and to discuss the key problems fac ing our schools and identify what roles people can play to make them change.

More than 1500 people attended this first round of meetings. They were labeled cluster meetings because they were organ ized around the 22 high school s and the ir feeder elementary and middle schools.

This is the first time in memory that citizens were forma lly asked for their opinions on schools. And give it they did.

We heard from a retired army man who was active in hi s civic association to wnwatch who sa id. " They should give a tax incenti ve to senior citizens who put the ir time in the schoo ls. People are always com plaining abv~i not getting anyth ing for the ir school taxes."

We heard from the hi gh school teacher who wanted to "meet other acti vists and rea lly do something." And from 1he grandmother from Frankford who spoke emo1ionall y of fighting for change for 40 years, and final ly seeing a real opportuni-

ty. The Home and School President from Roberto Clemente Middle School spoke of the strugg le of the comm unity to get a new bui lding, and the need to continue to fi ght. Two students testified that they were put into low tracks and told they could not get into college; and a minister in one neighborhood spoke about how the youth in our neighborhood are holding us hostage," because they are not receiving what they need in the school s and in the community.

It was clear that all across this city, people want the schools to be part of the communities, not just forboding buildings.

Neighborhoods need the schools to help strengthen them, and our schools desperate1y need the neighborhoods to support them.

In ev~ry meeting people repeated, "We want to know what goes on in the school s." They said schools should be open for programs at night and on weekends. Parents want to participate in decision - making, to discuss the curriculum, and to commit themselves 10 making schools work for the children. They want to be welcomed in the schools and to understand the issues fac ing 1he staff. Most of all, people want their neighborhood schools to be safe places for all children.

Th is apppears to be just the beginning of 1he process. More and more people have to be brought into these discussion s.

Many feel that this is our chance to radica lly change the way our children learn and also to change the relationship belween school s and the community. In lhese meetings there was anger. fru stration-and most important, hope.

Neighborhoods need the schools to help strengthen them, and our schools desperately need the neighborhoods to support them.

School Board meetings

All around the town The remaining 1994-1995 schoolvear School Board meerings will he held Monda.vs. unless nmed othe1wise They are scheduled asji>llows: March 6, 1995 7:00 p.m. McCall School.

61h and Delancey S".

March 20, 1995 I :30 p.rn. Boardroom. 2 1s1 and 1he Parkway

April 3, 1995 7:00 p.rn. Clemen1e Middle Schoo l. Fron1 SI. and Erie Ave. April 24, 1995 1: 30 p.m. Boardroom May 8, 1995 7:00 p.m. Houston Schoo l.

Al lens and Rural Lanes May 26, 1995 I :30 p.m. Boardroom (Friday) June 12, 1995 7:00 p.m. Meehan School .

Ryan Ave. and Sandyford Rd.

Yet the three-month planning process through which Hornbeck 's recomme_n dations were developed was one in wh ich arents and teachers played only minor p rol~long the way, there were missed opportunities to engage larger numbers of parents and teachers as real players m this new reform effort. Some who were not touched by the planning process have been left with the fear that Superintendent Horn beck 's plan is just one more top-down directive from 21st and the Parkway.

Defending the planning process, School District spokespeople say that it was in fact an open one, given the time pressures that were faced. But other observers criticize the choices that were made abo ut

~s~~~~~~~c~~ ~=re ~~~e:e~~a~n~~; argue ~~~:~~:~~:r:t~~d ~~~~~~~:~~;n~:

Readmess; Community Services and Supports; Management and Prod uctiv路t .

1 Space and Facilities; and Technology. y, Shell ey Yanoff, director of Ph iladelphia Citizens for Children and Youth, was brought m as task force co dinator. Her charge was to deve lop setorof recommendations for e valuation b/ the superintendent, who would weave them into a unified plan by February.

She lined up bet.w-eeli 15 and 40 participa~.t.s for_ eac~, task force . . . O utsiders from the corporate sector, city government, the academic commumty and social service organizations predommated on the task forces. Yanoff said that this made sense beca use many of the t~sk forces focused on the school d1stnct s _external relat1onsh1ps with the community. . Openness toward outside business and c1v1c leaders is also one of the School District's strategies for garnering more resources_, _and for developing more opportunities for employment. and higher education for the system 's grad uates.

Every task force had at least one parent and teacher member, Yanoff stated.

The administration

ilorn parnnts and teachers mus( Sfart t0 feel that their voices are being heard, if they are going to buy into the reform effort. ;t

lrI'

It.>

I t.>

central adm inistration.

All agree that the next few months are critical, and that more parents and teachers must start to feel their voices are being heard, if they are going to buy into the reform effort.

October ~unch date The planning process was launched in October. Seven task forces were formed to tackle key elements of Hornbeck's Children Achieving agenda: Work and Post-secondary Education Success; Standards and Assessment; School

generally allowed the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) to

:~~c~~r: i~~:1~:d ~~~~=s~la~:~:~nd ~~~ec::s~r~~n;~~ool ~~~t~~~p~~.;~~~s::~ 1

to avoid antagon izing the teachers ' union.

But neither administration nor union developed a mechanism for involving a broad range of reform-minded teachers in the planning .

Jn the community, a process got underway that did involve hundreds of parents in a series of 22 meetings (see story, left) about Hornbeck 's reform agenda and the role of communities in changing schools. Parents were asked for feedback on the possibi lities for greater parental involvement and the obstacles to it. But these meetings were general

Hornbeck announces Continued from p. 1 "normal" schooling experience for the chi ldren. The plan is "radical" only because what passes for normal today is so wretched.

As to the price tag, Hornbeck made clear that he hoped attention wi ll focus on the actual content of the program- at least at first-and not on the cost.

There are nine parts to the plan plus a tenth that says all of the previous nine must be carried out together for the plan to be effective-no picking and choosing among them. The nine section headings o_utline the contents: "Ser high expecrar10ns for everyone. Design accurare pe1formance indicarors to hold everyone accountahle for resulrs. Shrink rhe cen rralized bureaucracy and let school_s make more decisions. Provide 111tens1ve and susrained professional deve/opmenr ro all staff. Make su re rhar all studenrs are ready for school.

Provide srudenrs wirh rhe commun iry supporrs and services rh ey need ro succeed in school. Provide up-ro -date rechnology and insrru ctiona/ materials. Engage the puhlic in shapin~. understanding, supporrin g and ,;artic-

ipating in school reform. Ensure adequate resources and use them effecti vely."

In outlin ing the conditions we find ourselves in , Horn beck spoke of the increasing ineq uality in the country and its link to the greater educational attainment needed today for productive, decent-paying jobs. He sees thi s moment in U.S. history to be important because for the first time "the economic and moral needs of the country coinc ide." It is morally right to work to overcome inequality and, in the process, the economy will gain va luable human resources.

The plan seek s to attract business support with the promise of a well-prepared workforce. In retu rn it call s upon businesses to devote leadership and resources to the schools, and provide jobs to its qualified graduates. Taxpayers can look forward to reduced public ex penditures on prison and welfare in return for an investment today in the city 's children.

According to Hornbeck, each sector wi ll benefit but each sector has a respons ibility as ~el l. Children will benefit from adequate resources and attention from a staff that wi ll be trained and he ld

95 ....

l y;

!-

td

~r

WINTER 1995

PAGE9

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

the plan: Whose voices were heard?

di scussions and not designed to recommend specific solutions.

Time pressures were a major factor in the process. Deadlines were imposed because of the need to get a grant req uest to philanthropist Walter Annenberg (who had announced plans to give away $500 million nationall y for public education); the need to respond to a Commonwealth Court ruling in the District 's desegregation case; and above all, by heightened expectations for change in a system where discouragement and cynicism have been the norm.

The time frame meant that most task forces met only three or four times. " It certainly didn't allow much time for people to leave our meetings, check with their constituencies and come back," Yanoff commented. But she added that some task force members were able to solicit feed back from their communities.

In the rush to develop the plan, publicity about the process was minimal. Few school district personnel or parents knew what the task forces were, when they met, or who was on them.

Yanoff conceded that "it was an imperfect system, but an

:~~::~1:~ ~~n~pen

community an opportunity to respond to the plan.

Whi le the task forces met and community meetings were organ ized, another grouping - the "design team" - was working and re-working the new model for structure and decision-making in the District. This group was smaller and weighted toward administrators, but incl uded other Hornbeck adv isors. There were no School District parents or teachers on the team.

The design team got ongoing feedback on its work at retreats that brought together School District admin istrators- including regional superintendents and some principals.

Deeding who IMll govern What this team developed, according to Steve Guttentag, staffer for the District's transition and part of the design team, is "an infrastructure for engagemen :,"-a decentralized governance model which allows people at the school level to participate in decision-mak ing.

Guttentag acknowledged that few teachers or parents have had a voice in the planning, but he sa id, " We 've been working hard to create a situation where these people can make f. , decisions. " He J argued that " important decisions haven 't been made yet," and said that over the next few months, parents and teachers will have opportunities for input into issues such as the curriculum standards.

Whi le Guttentag emphasized that many issues haven 't been decided, others expressed concern about what has already been decided and who has been left out of those decisions.

Sources close to the planning process described how the important decision about who would have majority control of the new school governance counci ls was quietly made by the Superintendent with minimal parent and community input.

Earlier last fall, Hornbeck had publicly

Neither administration • developed · nor UnlOn a h . l mec anism or lllVO V· pants on task • forces told the ing a broad range 0if ~:::::s :r~hv~~~~e reform-minded teachopportunities for , , input on the key ers lll the planmng. straints of the task."Debatedid take place, and severa1 partici-

0

issues. Yanoff set up additional weekly meetings with teachers outside of the task force sessions to solicit input.

Yanoff stressed that the District is still open to feedback on Hornbeck's February 6 plan, which drew upon the task force recommendations. The District has printed up the task force recommendations as well as the plan, so people can look at what recommendations are not reflected in the plan. Finally she noted that follow-up "cluster meetings" across the city, organized by the Alliance of Public School Advocates, will give the

"radical" action plan inequality, increas ing hosti lity and suspicion, will continue. The result, with evidence already around us, will be the eventual resort to a "barbed wire society."

Hornbec k expressed concern about Governor Ridge's campaign emphasis on a voucher program dren 's teachers.

-----------for Pennsylvania 's Teachers will have schools. He po inted 5 1% contro l of local out that evidence school counc il s, adefrom across the quate resources to country shows that. carry out the ir work, when implemented, and new opportun ities voucher plan s "do to develop professionnot translate into al ly. The expectation school change." and is that teachers under ex isti ng inequa liti es these new cond itions tend to increase. will now succeed in With the presenpreparing students at tation of the plan each step along the and the audit report to Judge Smith on way to take their place as productive February 15, Horn beck said he will now members of soc iety. be stepping up meetings with the The a lternative to thi s scenari o--as Governor as well as state and city leg islapresented both by Hornbeck and by sevtors. The implementation phase is about era l members of the Board in their comto begin. Everyone has a stake in what ments-is gri m. lf the moment passes. if happens from here on out, as the rea l reform is not fo rthcom ing, then the Superintendent tells it. Let's see if we can likelihood is that the spiral of increasing accountable, school by school, with the children 's achievement as the standard.

In return students are expected to attend c lass and work hard. Parents get more input into curricu lum and the way the schools are run. They are asked to actively support the schools and their chil -

If real reform is not forthcoming, then the spiral of increasing inequality, hostility and suspicion will continue.

At a cluster meeting. an Edison High School sludenl reflects on problems \CJUnD peq le face in their schools floated proposals to set up and empower two school-based counci ls at each school, one with a majority of parents and community members and the other with a majority of educators. The idea met with stiff opposition from teachers and adm inistrators, and both the two-council idea and the idea of a parent/community majority were jett isoned in favor of a model with a single council on which teachers have a majority of the seats.

According to these sources, Hornbeck came to the design team with this deci sion after hearing the views of principals and the PFf; however, very few parents or community people were even aware that the composition of local school counci ls was being decided.

commented.

Other teachers ec hoed Hille r 's concerns that the District needs to build on past reforms-rather than contin uing to lurch from one reform initiative to another-and to start talking and listening to more teachers.

"This whole process hasn ' t really touched people in the school s," comment ed Ron Whitehome, PFf building rep at de Burgos Middle School, and co-chair of the PFf's com munity outreach committee.

Whitehome participated in one meeting about a task force issue and a large teacher conference to plan professional developmen t work. He ca lled the process at these meetings "fai rl y good", but added that "90% of the people at my Plans made for Annenberg rnon8\ school don 't even know the task forces Close Iy tied into the work of the existed." design team was the development of a "There 's very little sense of anyth ing proposal and plan by the School District being different in the to get a $50 million - - - - - - - - - - - - schoo ls," he added. challenge grant from 'The public engageWalter Annenberg. ment process of The Annenberg community meetings money will be used is a good one, but to support pieces of there hasn 't been Hornbeck's plan, any comparable like the development process involving of "small leaming school distri ct communities" of employees."

200-500 students 'There needs to and a community organizi ng effort to be some systematic effort to engage the increase parent and community involvepeople who have to implement the reform ment. program," Whitehorne observed.

Submitting plans for the Annenberg John Skief. coordinator of the money involved a number of important Com munit y Deve lopment charter at West decisions, again made witho ut an inc luPhi lade lph ia High. says cyn icism is being sive process for input. Natalie Hiller, sci given fertile ground because people still ence teacher and charter coordinator of see so many of " the same admin istrators the Crossroads charter at Gratz High running the process who were in place Schoo l, questioned why more teachers before: · Skief sa id he sees Hornbeck\ who have worked to develop small learnabi lity to change this as limited. until the ing communities weren't brought in to comm unity asserts its power. "There plan the request to Annenberg. Hi ller's needs to be a community mandate ror charter is affi liated with the Coal ition of Hornbeck to do the th ings he real ly wan ts Essential Schools. a school reform group to do," Skief said. "At least there is a involved in making the Annenberg grants, and it would have been logica l to get her charter's input.

Hi ller is one of many Schoo l District teachers who have been deep ly in volved in efforts over the past five years to restructure high schools around charters a like Crossroads. She fears those experiences are be ing forgotten in the new commitme nt 10 school reform and par- J ent and community involvement are I round of restructuring. Hiller sa id she sees "a failure to build on ex isting reform invited to app ly for one of the grants effort s," and she questioned why the that will be made available for the hi rDi strict bypassed its own teache rs and ing and training of 22 organ ize rs. brought so many outside professionals Send inq ui ries to the Alli ance or into its planning process .

Public School Advocates, c\o North " It's very fru strating to see a ll the Phi ladelphia Communit y Compact, work that was done. and now it \ like The Lighthouse. 152 West Le hi gh they're starting from scratch ," Hil le ,Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 191 33.

"There needs to be a community mandate for Hornbeck to do the things he really wants to do."

Education-oriented~

community organizing

Com~~~i~t~.g~~:~~~n~~rh

I

PAGE JO

WINTER 1995

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

Highlights of Action Design, 1995 -1999

Hornbeck outlines steps to Children Achieving Superintendent Hornbeck distributed his Action Design Summary at a special Board Meeting and news conference on February 6. The Summary outlines his plan Children Achieving/or the years 1995 to 1999. Following are the Summary's section headings, with addi. tiona / text if the topic was highlighted in the Superintendent's presentation.

Set high expectations for everyone.

Establish one set of rigorous, challenging graduation standards with appropriate benchmarks at the fourth and eighth grades .

Develop.opportunity-to-learn standards to: ensure that all students are given adequate opportunities to meet the new standards; enable students, parents and the commun ity to hold school s accountable for results; and enable teachers, administrators and schools to hold the system and community accountable. Schools will be safe and conducive to leaming ... (P)ull-out programs and tracking will be minimized ... Schools will integrate academic and career preparation instead of tracking some students into college and some into vocations.

Resources will be adequate and distributed equ itably to schools.

Deve lop a school cu lture that is flexible and innovative.

Create an Office of Equity Assurance to make sure that all schools have adequate resources and engage in the type of practices needed for all children to achieve at high levels.

D

l'/illDesign accurate performance s : lindicators to hold everyone accountable for results.

Implement a system of performancebased assessments tied to the new high standards for students.

Design valid assessments for students of diverse language background ... (and) seek non-language-dependent assessment formats.

Design an incentive system for staff that links achievement by all students, including those whom we have historically failed, to real rewards and penalties. Given increased authority over personnel. budgets, profess ional development, instructional strategies, curriculum. schedu ling and teacher/student assignments, and increased resources, school s and small learning communit ies will be accountable for student performance.

Establ ish an Office of Standards, Assessment and Accountability by 1995 to develop standard and assessment strategies and implement the new accountability system.

Begin negotiating agreements with the city 's companies, colleges, universities and unions to assure that all students who meet the graduation standards are admitted to college or hired for a job.

Shrink the centralized bureaucracy and let schools make more decisions. In thi s new scenario, school s wi ll make the important decis ions around teaching and learning. and the central office will set standar\ls, assess progress. monitor for eq uity. and act as a guide and provider of resources and support.

Organize schools into small learning communities of 200 to 500 students.

ll

Beginning with (the) 1995-96 school year, the District will identify six high schools, six middle schools and six elementary schools that will be the first group of campuses of small learning communities. Subsequently, all schools will move to thi s mode of operation .

Establi sh school councils to govern school-wide po licies and resources.

Teachers, who will comprise 51 percent of the members, will be joined by the principal, parent representatives and, in the secondary schools, two student representatives.

Reorganize schools by feeder pattern into 22 neighborhood clusters of six to ten elementary schools, two to four middle schools and a comprehensive high school.

Restructure and downsize the central office so that it becomes more responsive and accountable to learning communities, school s and school clusters.

Allocate decisions about resources to school s in a way that encourages efficiency and innovation and that promotes high achievement by all students in all schools.

Develop a system of client-centered services and supports.

ll

Provide intensive and sus-

tained professional develop路

ment to all staff.

Provide 20 days of time or its budgetary equivalent for the professional development of all school-based teachers, administrators and staff.

Make professional development resources convenient for teachers and administrators to use. Each school cluster wi ll have a Teaching and Leaming Network to help staff... (develop) good teaching and learning practices, and serve as a resource for curricu lum , instruction and assessment strategies.

Prov ide specific professional development opportunities-some ongoing, some transitional- that target priority needs.

-=m Make sure that all students are ready for school.

Provide a developmentally appropriate full-day kindergarten program to all eligible children. In September 1995, full-day kindergarten will be opened in high-poverty, racially isolated schools.

By September 1996, our goal is to have ful l-day kindergarten programs in all elementary schools.

In partnership with the Departments of Health and Human Services, create a Chi ldren and Families Authority. The Authority will...oversee the necessary... services for children and their families, so that all Philadelphia children will be ready for school by age five. . .Provide students with the a!ilcommunity supports and services they need to succeed in school.

Link students with health and soc ial serv ices agencies. At the sc hool level, our immediate goal is to restore 27 nursing positions and eventuall y to have one full-time nurse in every sc hool building.

A Family Resource Network in each cluster will link students and their families, espec ially those with special leaming,Oianguage and cultura l needs . to outside services.

Ensure that each schoo l has an ongoing relationship with at least one com-

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA The Board of Public Education

Superintendent

- - o'掳;;p;;iy - - - - - Ma;:;-agJng- Superintendent

Equity Assurance

Director

Standards, Assessment and Ai;:counlebility

Under the new plan. central administration focuses on services for schools and clusmunity based organization.

Recruit and match 10,000 new volunteers with school s.

Conduct a campaign to prevent student pregnancies, and make sure that students who are pregnant or parenting have access to the health and social services they and their children need.

Provide up-to-date technology and instructional materials.

Prov ide all schools with the resources and support needed to have one computer for every six students. Transform libraries into technology resource centers.

Consolidate responsibility for the District's technology infrastructure into a single office.

Conduct a comprehensive analysis and make a five-year recommendation of what technology and information resources will be needed to support student learning.

ll

R Engage the public in shaping, . .understanding, supporting and participating in school reform. In order to make the revolutionary changes proposed in the Action Design, we need the public's permission. The schools belong to them-as cit izens, as taxpayers and as parents.

Develop accountabi Iity tools to help the public assess the District's performance. We will develop new reports, with a wealth of easy-to-understand indicators ... [to] be distributed in a variety of ways, including quarterly Report Card Nights in small learning communities.

Develop messages and strategies that clearly explain to people what Philadelphia's sc hools are doing and why.

The Alliance (of) Public School Advocates will select and train 22 community organizers-one in each cluster of schools. These organizers, in turn, wi ll work with parents and other neighborhood leaders to become powerfu I champions for creating the kinds of learning environments that children need to succeed.

Build the capacity of all District staff to be better ambassadors for educational excellence.

1T11Ensure adequate resources u and use them effectively.

Additional resources are not the only requirement for radical change-they are not even the most important ingredientbut additional resources are an absolute prerequisite for dramatically improving student outcomes.

Aggressively improve efficiency and effectiveness in non-instructional areas.

We recognize that if we are to obtain the additional public and private fund s needed to realize the Children Achieving agenda, we must demonstrate that ex isting resources are being used efficiently and effectively.

Investigate alternative financin g opportunities ... and ensure that the District is making the best use of existing space and planning strategically for future space requirements.

Ensure that the District is drawing on all available resources to the maximum extent possible.

Augment the District's operating budget with ancillary private resources, such as the Annenberg Foundation grant, and fund s from other foundations and corporations.

Aggressively pursue greater equity and adequacy of government resources and their distribution.

Redesign teaching and learning so the who, how, where and when are viewed as variables and student achievement remains the constant. As we rethink who teaches (not just. traditional teachers), how they teach (not just the traditional "chalk and talk"), where they teach (not just in traditional classrooms) and when they teach (not just in 45-minute blocks of time, 180 days a year), we should be able to use time and resources more cost effectively. l m Be prepared to address all of llllthese priorities together and for the long term--starting now.

PAGEJJ

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

WINTER 1995

Judge Smith firm on end to school inequities Critics fear reform effort weakened Commonwealth Judge Doris Sm ith issued her rulin g on November 23, 1994, in the long-running desegregation case that pits the Human Relations Commis-sion and education advocacy groups against the Board of Education.

The Judge ordered full -day kindergartens, much-reduced cl ass sizes for grades one to three, an end to the early school -year disrupti on cau sed by roster leveling, and the provision of adequate supplies as well as clean and functioning physical facili ties-in most cases giving first priority to the 134 raciall y isolated schools.

With few exceptions the Judge chose to endorse the recommendations of the court-appointed seven-person Education Team w hose report was presented to the public in September and on w hich the Judge heard testimony and accepted written comment in October. The basic nature of the recommendations speaks once again to the dramatic inequities and crying needs of many of the system 's schools.

The District "maintains a defacto segregated public school system."

The Judge deferred the key question of funding until after a School District plan implementing the order is approved and an independent aud it of school finances is complete. T he court-ordered financial and performance audit w ill uncover possible economies from reorganization and allow realistic cost projections. Once these conditions are met, the Judge may then permit the District to pursue its motion to incl ude the C ity and State as defendants, so that tax money from these levels of government might be tapped to implement a level of education mandated by the State Constitution and law.

First things first, the Judge seems to be saying. Put together a plan and a realistic budget to redress the inequities, and then we can tal k about money.

The School District d idn't see things this way. On December 22, the District appealed 9 out of the 46 paragraphs that make up the Judge's order, and simultaneously requested a stay from Judge Smith on her order until the Supreme

·-

It is still unclear who iMll supply funds to rnpk'Jrnent the reform plan Court rules.

The two main chall enges raised by the District concern: I ) the Judge's alleged " micro-m anaging" of the District's affairs, "usurp(ing) its authority," especially in lhe an:a of school governance; and 2) the unwi llingness of the Judge to address funding issues prior to a plan and audit. Despite the appeal , the District stated its intention to "proceed deliberately wi th all of the reforms contained in Superintendent Hornbeck 's ·children Achieving agenda." The press reported that the District had the backing of Mayor Rendell in making the appeal.

Judge Smith issued her response on January 6 and denied the request for a stay. In her comments , the Judge asserts that w hile the District did rot appeal the fact that it " m aintains a de facto segregated public school system ... (i)nsteao , the School District appealed the very essence of the Court's order to remedy the racial disparities found to ex ist and to bring about equality in education."

In rebutting the School District 's all egation of micro-managing, Judge Smith writes, "The Court conferred substantial latitude and responsibility... to develop the specifics of an acceptabl e plan to be submitted by Febru ary 15 , 1995 and imposed no educational remedies not supported by the record."

On the issue of the District's restructuring plans, the Judge brings to bear the weight of decentralization experience in New York and Chicago . She cites the potential for patronage and graft and blocks the transfer of funds to the direct contrnl of local school councils. Hiring and firing decisions are bound by state's School Code to reside w ith the Board of Education, she states.

Jn making these points the Judge suggests that her order is not so opposed to site-based management as some have made out. Each school is to be run by a Local Counci l made up of the princ ipal , teachers, parents and community representati ves. L ocal councils are to draw up their school's budget and can make personnel recommendati ons to the admin istrati on concernin g school staff.

On the f unding question , Judge Smith states that " the appeal on this ground is totall y devoid of merit. " She then reiterates the cond itions under w hich she w ill allow the State and C ity to be brought into the fundin g picture. First the District must show th at its house is in order and that all poss ible savings and proj ected ex penses are correctl y accounted for. Jn her N ovember rulin g the Judge had noted that " the Schoo l District 's cost projections lack credibility and required substantial revision. " In summary, the Judge concludes: " It is incumbent upon the courts of thi s Common wea lth to end the School District's 24 years of stonewalling and claims of fiscal inability to educate the rac ially isolated school students, and to order the School District to finally satisfy its legal obi igations to these chi 1dren. " Some observers, while uniting with the Judge's insistence that the School District move to correct racial inequities, nonetheless feel she dealt a severe blow to reform efforts by restricting the decentralization of power to local school counci ls. In thi s view, the burden of bureaucracy weighs aga in st any real change unless the centra l structure is dism antled.

"The Judge told the District you have to get from A to B. But she didn ' t provide a way to get it done," commented one school activist and critic. " No one so far has lost their job because the schools are in the shape they' re in. "

Powerful interests concentrated at the Di strict level- the School B oard, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the principal s' union- were suggested as 1ikely to undermin e in vario us ways the exerc ise of power at the local leve l. " Pol itics and patronage are the way things have always been run at the D istrict. So w hile the Judge raises these very reasons in order to oppose decentrali zati on, the effect is to assure th at these undemocrati c practices w ill continue," the acti v ist concluded .

A strategic dec ision now faces reform forces, in this v iew: to accept the li m ited natu re of the decentralization provisions and work to max imi ze local governance w ithin them, o r to bypass the c ity and seek legislati on at the state level to force

"No one so far has lost their job," commented one critic. full decentral ization as was done in Chicago.

For other reform forces, the questi on of governance is secondary to the Judge's focu s on specific services and results. For them the relative dow n-pl aying of the local councils will permit more attention to be paid to what is actually happening in the classroom s.

With the denial of the District 's petition for a stay, Superintendent Hornbeck moved ahead w ith preparation of the plan that was presented to the public on February 6, ahead of the Judge 's February 15 dead l ine. (See story on page 1.)

Once the plan is affirmed , and the Judge is convinced that the interests o f students in the raciall y isolated schoo ls are being addressed adequately -at last- then the condition s w ill be set for the Judge and the Superintendent to

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WINTER1995

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

PAGE 12

Students testify

Fare: "It's not

Students from Central High School played a key role 1n the fare hike protests.

SEPTA fare hike spares students Continued from p. 1 has been subsidizing the student token fare s by purchasing them at$ 1.05 and selling them to students at$ .90. This fare subsidy and other free transit costs are absorbed by the School Di strict at a cost of over $8 million a year.

The final agreement reached with SEPTA allowed the District to maintain the current cost of tokens for students through the end of the school year. At

"Th efi'lg ht to enable a students to Tl'defior f: h dd , J ree as not en e ; lf has 1'ust begun." [[

that time the increase will go into effect but it will be absorbed by the Di strict. This arrangement will cost the students of Philade lphia, in the long run , as vital resources are di verted from other areas to cover th is new cost.

According to School Board President Floyd Al ston , the rate increase will ultimately cost the Di strict $ 1. 7 million per year.

The District suffered an additional financi al setback when SEPTA announced that all token s for this school year wo uld have to be purchased before the rate hike took effect across the city.

District officials estimate this lump payment of $4.5 million will cost our schools over $ I 00,000 due to the loss of projected investment income.

There are seriou s questions if existing student subs idies can continue.

Communications director for the Distric t, C harlie Thomson , was quoted in the Daily News as stating, "We are committed to protecting our students from paying the latest fare increase for as long as poss ible . However, we face other budget pressures whic h are competing for our scarce reso urces."

H1

~

Ill It is s ignificant that the students who came fo rward in the struggle were not simp ly wi lli ng to ta ke their ten-cent break and ret urn q uietl y home.

Discuss ions about fu ture directi ons began ri ght o utside the board room fo llowing the vote. The ir pos iti on is s impl y that the c urre nt tab o f close to $ 400 a year to travel to and from sc hool is unacceptab le. Nearly 110.000 students, one ha lf the Di strict's enro llmen t, are from fa milies on we lfa re and th ousands and tho usands of these fa m ili es must bear the full cost of tra n s po~t ati o n to and from school.

At a " Victory Ce lebration" on Fe b. 8, t 11

:

1

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Lai Har Cheung, a Central High School graduate stated, "The fight to enable all students to ride for free has not ended, it has just begun. " She continued, "As students, we are willing to work with SEPTA and the School District to make free transportation a reality for the hundreds of thousands of students in Philadelphia. We want to form a Youth Advisory Committee with SEPTA and the School District to begin discussing ways to reduce the burden of transportation costs. We deserve to be heard ."

The new rate structure continues the practice of underwriting costs for s uburban riders at the expense of city riders. As initially designed, the proposal hit low-income families and the elderly the hardest.

But, contrary to the hopes of the rate hike's architects, Philadelphia students were not willing to quietly suffer a significant boost without taking action.

They encountered paternalistic and condescending attitudes from SEPTA board members, scant recognition in the press for shaping the positive outcome, and to date, no forma l public acknow ledgment from Schoo l District officials.

They did, however, clearly demonstrate the power of students and their all ies to actively shape the polic ies of the city and governmental agencies.

The students' actions provide a stirring demonstration of an awareness of the events that shape their lives, the ability to articulate their concerns and a wi llingness to take part in the life of our city. Truly, these are skills our schools need to nurture in all students.

grades get hurt because of their attenThe following are exerptsfrom testidance. So they don't even get a chance mony of Philadelphia students before the for a scholarship.

SEPTA Hearing Examiner addressing Also, my school requires students to the fare increase . participate in community service to Mol Ly, Bartram High School. receive a credit and graduate . This just The SEPTA fare increase is not fair to means more tokens for kids to buy. How me and to many other students that are we supposed to get tokens for comcanOt afford the price increase. I think munity service when we can't even the School District and the City of afford tokens for-school?

Phi ladelphia should give everyone- rich Hang Do, Central High School. or poor- the same opportunity to get an My family pays $27.00 each week education. since my family has three kids going to Education is one of the most positive schools that don't provide transportation. things you could offer to a kid. You One of my sisters attends Pepper Middle might think that most of the violence in School. She rode a yellow school bus this country is caused by people that through sixth grade, but now she 's in 7th aren ' t educated, but you can't blame grade and we have to pay for her tokens . them. It's the society that is doing this to Another sister is in Franklin Leaming them. If this country would do all they Center and she has to pay for her tokens could to educate people, less violence too. My family cannot afford this kind of and crime would occur. money. We are on welfare. Each month , They say this country is equal, but it my parents have to pay out $108.00 for really isn't. And it's not only poor, unedthe 6 kids in my family to go to school. ucated people who commit violence. I The government always talks about think it is psychological violence to wanting to get people off of welfare. Do always know that rich kids in this counyou ever think of the long term effect try have a better education than poor this kind of cost has on the future of this kids, and then to tell us we're all equal. I city? The high price of student fares know rich kids in the suburbs who have causes many students to drop out. At a a lot more money than we do don 't have lot of schools, the education isn ' t really to pay for their buses. But we have to. I that good to begin with. Most kids, if know these same rich kids have better schools, smaller - - - - - - - - - - - • they have to pay for it, th ink why bother? classes, more books , But if kids drop out better school bui ldbecause they can't ings and better afford tokens, then opportunities. they can't get a job And now I know since they don ' t have something e lse. If a good education. after all this, we do manage to get an They will end up education, it will not back on welfare. be from the support of all the people Public schools should be open to all who have power. It will be in spite of all students. Even now, many kids can't the obstacles you have put us through. afford what you aall a public education.

So I have just one question to ask you If you raise the fares, even the public today. If we were your kids, wouldn't schools will be closed to poor students. I you be able to figure out another way to don 't think this is equal opportunity. We do this? might not be able to go to school, but we Catzie Vilayphonh, Central High will leam a lesson. The lesson will be School. one which will teach us who this society I don't think the increase in fares is thinks is important and who this society right because students in Phi ladelphia thinks should be thrown away. Is this already pay a higher price in fares than really the lesson you want us to learn? in other cities. Take Washington DC, for Oudeom Vilayphunh, Franklin example. They pay only 1/3 of what we Learning Center. pay. In the next town over, in Uppe1 Why is the government making it so Darby, students don ' t pay a thing for difficult for the students to get a good transportation. Why should we have to education? It seems like the government pay so much? isn ' t helping us to get to school- they ' re Some schools realize this is a problem daring us to go . for kids . There are some funds to help One thing that is crazy about the cost students who get good grades but those of tokens is that schools make up all kids who can only go to school a few kinds of stupid rules to deal with it. Take days a week because they can't afford my school for instance. A ll kids from the fare get stuck again , because their different ethnic backgrounds go there, but on ly white kids get free tokens.

Someone told me that wh ite kids get free tokens because of desegregation. I do understand that they're trying to balance Washington. CTl •.0. the social opportunitie s in the school. .Student fares: But every week , when the other kids buy Students pay $3.00 for 1 tokens->a tokens and see the white kids get free reduction of 70 cents per token. token s, it makes us angry. It doesn't matl?hiladelp!hra ter what the reasons are. It still feels like Student fares: racial discrimination.

Kindergarten-No free transportation I have friend s that go to Uni versity except for special ed program.

City High School. T he Asian kids go Grades 1-6--cbild receives free tran~= there because there is an ESOL program !'°~tio~ (Usually by yellow school bu~) there to help them learn English. But they if child lives 1.5 miles or further from ' don 't live in the neighborhood. They get school. free tokens to go s ince they have to leave Grades 9-12- students must pay their neighborhood school to get there. $9.00 per week unless they meet certi!ln But other kids in the school don't get free complex criteria relating to voluntary tokens. The Asian kids feel bad about it. des~gregation, overcrowding, and other The other kid s there don 't understand parucular situations. why they can ' t get free tokens.

"Even now, many kids can't afford what you call a public education."

Stu<lent transit fares in U.S. cibe .Cincinnati Students over one mile :from a school are provided with public transportation.

Grades 1-8 use yellow school buses.

•Grades 9-12 are bused in "specials" city buses on special routes before and after school. Student fares: I 0 cents each way.

Mi~Naukee

Student fares: free if student qualifies for free lunch.

New York City Student fares: For students Jiving more than 2 miles from their school-free.

For students living less than 2 miles from their school--o.ne half fare ($6.25/week).

o

S88 "Testimony" on p 73

WINTER 19f!_S

PAGE 13

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

Philadelphia Interfaith Action targets schools

Building organization, building power

By Chip Smith "When Superintendent Hornbeck, or whoever from the School Board, comes to the table, we're going to prov ide parents around that same table-and their input will be heard." These words from Carol Wright, a leader of the Ph iladelphia Interfaith Action (PIA) Education Team, capture the organization's plans for the com ing year.

Wright, Cheerie Vaughn and George Schneider, members of the Team's seven-person "collective leadership," recently outl ined PIA's goals, methods, and successes for the Notebook. We want parents to know we are a power organization." says Wright. PIA is made up of "ordinary citizens like us," she emphasizes.

Working for "fundmental change" PIA began five years ago, and is today centered around some 40 institutions, mostly churches, but including also a few community organizations. It is an affiliate of the national Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), with 35 or so member organizations around the country. Best known in Philadelphia for its housing work, given the recent ground-breaking for its Nehemiah housing development of 160 owner-occupied homes in West Phi ladelphia, PIA also has active teams work ing on crime and safety and on city finances, as well as on education.

Funded primarily by its core institutions, PIA is overseen by a Board of clergy and lay people. A fu ll-time professional organizer and regular IAF training programs work to develop leaders·out of ordinary citizens. Concerted action then flows from systematic research and painstaking, personalized organizing methods. A PIA statement presents the group's goal as "fundamenta l institutional change in the corporate and government sectors in order to bring about justice."

At the heart of PIA's work is its organizing method, aimed at " bui lding power." Relational meetings cultivate close personal relationships with people, based on the understanding that "everyone has a story."

Through the sharing of stories, in one-on-one get-togethers and larger house meetings, self-interests are identified-interests that coalesce into issues for collective action. A key component is the IAF's three-times-a-year IO-day training programs that many in PIA have participated in and speak highly of. A local Philadelphia training session drew 80 parents this past fa ll.

Throughout the organizing process , research is a constant theme: surveying members of PIA's affiliated institutions, visiting other cities to learn from IAF

ORGANIZATION PROFILES

Teacher's network forms to counter anti-gay bias GLSTN, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network, is the only national organization that brings together gay and straight educators and community members working to end schoolbased homophobia-the fear and hatred of gay people. It has now launched a chapter in Philadelphia.

Formed after a November conference here, the local chapter of GLSTN (pronounced glisten) "strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected, regardless of sex ual orientation. We believe that such an atmosphere engenders_a positive sense of self, wh ich is the basis of educational achievement and personal growth. Since homophobia and heterosexism undermine a healthy school climate, we work to educate students, teachers, and the public at large about the damaging effects these forces have on youth and adu lts alike.

"We recognize that forces such as raci·sm and sexism have similarly adverse impacts on commun ities, and we support sc)Joo ls seeking to redress all

Student testimony Continued from p 72 To tell you the truth, l don 't understand it either. None of this makes sense to me. In my opinion, no student should have to pay such a high price to attend sch90L And the cost has only meant a bunch of ru les that make students hurt and angry. You say you want us to get an education and you want us to li ve together in peace. But how can we do either one when it's li ke this1 Maybe this makes sense to the adults who are in charge. But it sure doesn't make sense to us.

experience there, identifying and meeting with "key players" in the education arena, developing a briefing memo for new people from press clippings and other documents, and determining the best course of action once an issue is settled on. The result is that once an action is initiated, the organizers have a base, they are focused, and they know what they are talking about.

Accountability is essential for effective organizing, both internal to PIA and in its relations with public officials. " If we ask of a public official some comm itment, and we make a commitment ourselves-as was done several times in the Nehemiah negotiations-we hold ourselves accountable for that," Schneider comments.

When an !AF group moves on an issue, people are prepared. For some individuals, the pace is too slow and they drop away from the group despite their in itial enth usiasm. "Sometimes it's a losing battle, and we have to learn when to let go," Schneider says.

PIA won 't be rushed-"You have to buy into that or else you probably can 't be a part of PIA ," observes Erdeen Britt, an Education Team member leading a commun ity meeting at Sayre Midd le School, one cold evening in January.

"Organizing is a long, difficult process," adds Tony Britt, commenting on the low tum-out at the meeting. "But look at the Nehem iah Project and you see what can be done. " PIA's deliberate pace has demonstrated its effectiveness not only in the Nehemiah Project, but also in the winning of foot-patro ls and PIA training of po lice by the Crime and Safety Team, and in the string of victories around the country won using !AF methods.

such inequities. GLSTN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the contribution it makes in creating a more vibrant and diverse community. " (Quoted from the national mission statement.)

The organization's policy is towelcome anyone who is committed to carrying out th is philosophy in K- 12 schools.

GLSTN's specific national activities include on-site workshops for schools, deve lopment of curricu lum and tra ining resources, retreats which offer support to gay, lesbian, and bisexual educators, and advocacy on behalf of youth, educators and fami lies.

The Philade lphia area chapter's meetings have focused on supporting members and sharing stories of homophobia- and successfu l responses to it-in classrooms and in the workp lace.

A loca l suburban public high school has adopted a chapter of GLSTN for their staff, and GLSTN organ izers are now plann ing outreach to teac hers in the Ph iladelphia public schools.

Another aim of Philadelphia's group is to counter homophobia in the classroom through the forma l education of students and teachers. Members see the District's Multi-Cu ltural , Mu lti-Ethnic, Gender Policy-Policy 102- as a positive step toward s changing an often hosti le climate within our schoo ls.

Homophobia expresses itse lf in many ways within our schools. The local chapter of GLSTN works to make these condit ions less pervasive.

Inquiries about CLSTN or its 1110111/J ly meeting times can be sent care of Public School Notebook, 3721 Midl'ale Av., Phi/a. 19129. The addressfor rite National Office is CLSTN; Box 390526; Cambridge MA 02139

And wh ile deliberate, PIA organizing is anything but passive. Cheerie Vaughn gives as an example a recent "campaigning" effort at an elementary school , where PIA activists talked to parents for a few minutes as they came to pick up their children. Despite having been notified in advance, the principal ev idently felt threatened by the campaigning and came out to te lI people they had to stop, and that they needed a perm it from the Superintendent. The PIA activ ists knew their rights, however, and managed to get the names of 38 people for further follow-up conversations.

"Our parents understand that they don't have to be intimidated by the admin istrators, teachers, the principal or whatever-that they can b~co me empowered through this organization," comments Vaughn. But PIA leaders stress that they are open to teachers and principals being part of their organization also.

Organizing larget is 500 parents The initial goal set by the Education Team is to organ ize 500 parents, centered primarily around 15 sc hool s. Issues will be schoo l-centered at first , but in time the schoo l-based parent's groups wi ll unite for city-w ide projects.

PIA does not see itself as competing with other education groups aro und the city working for fundamental reform.

"We can't do it by ourselves." Schneider adds, "We do feel that the issues various groups are working on probably cannot be resol ved by smal l organizations. And we feel that power can be generated by our approach- relational organizing."

"The main thing," concludes Wright, "is that we al l ha ve a common goaland that is the future of the children."

To contact the PIA Education Team, call Carol Wright at 697-0346 (work) or 424 -0734 (home) or call the PIA office at 329-8804.

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WINTER 1995

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

PAGE 14

READERS RESPOND

Do schools meet needs of special ed students?

Inclusion masks cut-backs Hu P,(J!tnr

Although Hana Sabree's article, entitled "Special Education: bastion of apartheid". which appeared in School Notebook in Fall 1994 , accurate ly documented her experience and frustrat ion in seeking the best poss ible placement for her son, Hassan, it was insu lti ng to those of us who have ded icated our professional careers to teach ing children with specia l needs.

The use of words such as apartheid and segregat ion to descri be the specia l education program is unnecessari ly de rogatory

scarce, as is the case now in our system. new philosophies e merge to j ustify the cutt ing of services.

A perfect example of thi s is the "inclusion" bandwagon that has gained a momentum that 's difficult to overcome as it appeals to the si mplistic wish that putting students in a "regu lar class" will make them "regular". This idea is particularly absurd in our current situation where absentee rates, test scores, and dropou t rates indicate that a reg ular class is the last place to expect help for a special needs chi Id. Where appropriate, inc lu sion is des irable, but not all chi ldren can benefit. Many regular education teachers believe that they are already " including" a variety of ch il dren with very special deficits and needs.

Next, I'd like to di spute the notion he ld by many progress ive, racially consc ious colleagues, that is, that those African-American males who are a little angry and difficult to manage in class are mistakenly labeled and comm itted to a life sentence in special education. Misdiagnosis may occur in some situations, but from what I have experienced, special ed students have sign ificant learning , language processing, behavioral, and/or reasoning deficit s that make it impossible for them

When resources are scarce, new philosophies emerge to justify the cutting of services.

A perfect example of this is "inclusion."

and ind icates a

bias that I believe is very detrime ntal to those studen ts who need the protection, en hancement of selfesteem, and prescripti ve teach ing that can on ly be had in sma ller classes with speciall y trained professio nal s.

Special students need to be taught in a special way. Thi s can on ly happen in a small c lassroom where the teacher has time to figure out how to reach each chi ld .

The spec ial education that I practice at the Logan Elementary School is based on the policies of least restrictive environment, integration into the life of the school , and main streaming whenever it is beneficial to the child. I.E.P 's are written with respect fo r the parent 's input and are carried out in accordance with the law. If these polices are being ignored, or if a particular teacher is not competent, the prob lem needs addressing without condemning an entire program. It is not necessary to pit one program against another; we can support a variety of quality programs so that parents can have options.

There are several factors contributing to the spec ial educat ion bashing that has become so fas hionable. First there is the attempt on the part of admini strators to save money by reducing services to chi ldren whose needs are great but whose vo ices are small. When resources are

De Burgos at risk Cont1nuecl tram ri 76 Burgos but for virtually all the other sc hool s in the city that have a large concentration of LEP (limited English proficiency) students. Essentially, to qualify for continuation, Juli a de Burgos students must do better than Chapter One students in non-School Wide project schools c ity-wide, based on the standardized city wide test. As a letter from the Union and the Home and School Association puts it: "We are not on a leve l playing field in this compari son because of the high proportion of LEP (limi ted English profic ie ncy) students at Juli a de Burgos."

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to learn in a trad itional classroom, even with extra support. This is especially -true when the traditional class has 30 plus students, many of whom are in need of a little ex tra support themselves. Any grade teac her knows l\ow difficult it is to get spec ial education placement for students that they have not been able to reach despite thei r best efforts and suggestions of the student support team.

Testing often takes years because of personnel shortages at the district level. It is j ust not true that great numbers of merely disruptive students are warehoused in spec ial classes.

Another myth is that students that are not English proficient are slapped into special classes. We do have biling ual psyc hologists. My friends who teach ESOL say the problem is the opposite.

That is, that ch ildren suspected of having learning problems are left to languish in regular class with the hope that their problems will disappear once they learn English.

In order for a ch ild to get needed services, it is necessary to label the child with a particu lar exceptionality. This is a regulatory necessity. I'd like thi s to change. There should be a continuum of spec ial options rather than the special/ regular dichotomy that now exists.

I see no solution to the issue of busing students to a school other than the neighborhood school for special services. For example, I teach a class of very special children identified as auti stic. No one elementary school has enough of these chi ldren to fill a class. The fact that my . students are bused from nearby schools in my cluster doesn't seem to present a problem.

Let's take a realistic look at special ed ucation , improve it where necessary, but let's not be manipulated into believing the myth of inclusion by those who want to balance their budgets on the backs of our most vu lnerable students.

Stelle Sheller, reacher

Research shows that on average it takes seven years of education for a student for whom English is a second language to fully catch up to English speaking students. Large numbers of de Burgos students who take the citywide test only recently exi ted from ESOL (English as a Second Language) pro-

"We are not on a level playing field in this comparison" grams. Many more students, who claim English as the ir first language, come from homes in which little English is spoken. To fairly evaluate the program at de Burgos these factors must be taken into account.

Recently rel eased citywide test data showed the problem of low citywide test scores is by no means limited to de Burgos. All the school s with large concentrations of LEP students fared poorly.

Wei I over half the students graduating from these middle schools go on to drop out of hi gh sc hool.

But thi s problem will not be addressed by cutting the a lready inadequate resources allotted to school s like de Burgos. Latino students need more not less - expanded bilingual program~. more bilingual teac hers and small er class size - for exam ple. De Burgos parents and staff are appealing to the community to support them in their campaign to keep School Wide Projects and promote a more equi table standard for evaluation. Stay tuned'

Fighting for what's best To the editor I would like to commend your newspaper for prin ting such a fantastic articl e written by Hana Sabree, "S pecial Education: bastion of apartheid. " Ms. Sabree's article was tru ly an eye-opener for parents like myself. She was able to bring to light how-inadequate the system is by show ing the atrocities committed to her son.

Ms. Sabree writes, "Special education has left c hildren bankrupt emotionall y and socially by denying them goals and opportun ities to learn." I think the spec ial education system should be held accountab le for such criminal conduct.

As a parent of a chi Id who has just entered into the spec ia l education system, I had to search high and low for the appropriate placement for my son.

I knew I had to come to his I.E.P. placement meeting with my "guns loaded."

My son graduated from an excellent "inclusive early-intervention program" which he participated in since he was I 0 months of age; therefore, I knew I had to come to his I.E.P. placement meeting with my "guns loaded", because of the reputation of the spec ial education system. .

My ambivalence about pla~i~g my son in a learning support classroom has lead me to question whether I could have found a better placement, or whether it exists.

Joshua continues to express to me how much he misses " his friends" from the former early intervention program.

Now that he is in a classroom with no gender and ethnic diversity, I am concerned that he will not have interaction with the Hannas, Katherines, Allisons and Kellys of the world.

I tenaciously express that my son be included in music, recess, and all activities that his teacher can fit into the schedule. I sti ll know that he is being segregated from his average developing peers.

I am optimistic that I will keep Joshua in public school because I want only the very best environment for my son, but a large class size and one teacher wi ll not work for my son. Joshua is thriving now and enjoying learning, but I refuse to set him up for failure as we look forward to the first grade .

Deborah L. Ha zel, parent

·What's your opinion?

School Notebook welcomes your letters, reviews, or opposing viewpoints. Please send to Public School Notebook, 372 1 Midvale Ave . Phila.

PA 19129.

Correction In our Fall, 1994 issue, the text crediting the source of a cartoon was omitted. The cartoon that appeared on page 19 was dra wn by Tony Auth and was reprinted from the Philadelphia Inquirer with the artist's permission.

We apo logize for the error.

WI NTER 1995

PAGE 15

SCIJOOL NOTEBOOK

GUEST OPINIONS Violence, lack of superv1swn

Breakdown of the school as community

By Ben Lariccia Violence in the schools is a topic receiving a lot of media coverage these days-shootings in the hall ways, assau lts on the playgrounds, vandalism against school proper ty. Commi ssions at every Jevel have been formed to address the problem .

In response, school officials and educators point their fingers at the violence on the streets. "The schools are the vietims of a violent soc iety," they cry. " These children come from dysfunctional homes and nei ghborh oods." T he standard i nterpretation is that the students contaminate the school with violence that they " track in" from the commun ity. l n publ ic discussi ons i t's rarely heard that the school s t hemsel ves facilitate at least some of the violent acts that we are

What role does the school play in allowing violence to take place? seeing. Rather than wring our hands and point finger s at the comm unity, everyone invol ved with education needs to foc us on the school system and ask , "What role does the school play in allow ing violence to take pl ace?"

Psychologists tell us that children cannot begin to master academics until they feel secure. Studies show that students who constantly worry about

Community speakout

"The new guy" "Whal are your impressions of rhe new Superinrendenl, Dr. Hornbeck?"

Courtney Si m pson, parent, Farrell Elementary School and Olney High School: "I th ink he m ight do a better job than the previous superintendent. He seems to be w illing to put the problems of the school s out in the open instead of hiding the failures."

assaul ts do poorly at school. Moreover, anxious students often disrupt the school cl imate, thereby addi ng to the fears of other students.

If it goes without saying that the atmosphere in a school influences student achievement, then the issue of adequate supervision of ch ildren is a key one. In my experience, the qual ity of supervision makes the difference between a school with many violent incidents and one with few. Surprisingly, it's an issue which is not bei ng addressed by school reformers who seem more focused on curriculum issues. W hy not give some attention to the idea that the school should be a community?

Quality of supeMsk:Jn How does the quality of supervision impact on violence? We know what happens in a neighborhood without police services. The top dogs take over and intimidate the underdogs. Drug dealers, if present, call the shots and everyone either moves out or shuts up. Schools that allow chi ldren by the hundreds to pass through the halls with no adults present, to enter the school building unsupervised, or to take recess in the absence of supervising adu lts are prov iding the conditions for violence.

When large numbers of children congregate w ithout superv ision, intimidators have free reign. The intimidated are victimized or they rise to a level of violence that wi ll prevail over the aggressor. It is a climate where all the neutrals have abandoned the terrain and where the role of victim or victimizer is determined by

Eula Chester, comm unity member, parent of a public school graduate: "! like his ideas of dea ling with the whole child. I'm impressed he recognizes there must be accountability on all levels."

Wanda Sabb, parent, Howe Elementary School: "My first impression is one of sati sfaction at this point. l think he is tru ly comm itted to school reforrn and to knowing how to better reform the schools through communicat.ions with parents , teachers and the students. I have seen thro ugh the media that he is committed to student in volvement.

Following up on the news ...

Can't stop the music Twelve instrumental m usic teacher positions, el iminated during last summer's budget cuts, have been restored after persistent protests by mu sic program supporters at school board meetings in the fall.

Students, parents and teachers testified, waved signs, and even performed music at board meetings.

Schools organi zed letter-writi ng cainpaigns and petit ion drives. Protesters turn ed up relentless ly at board meetings and finally won over Superintendent Hornbeck and· the school board to restore the cuts with funds from a sma ll budget su rplus.

Reg iona l music festivals, which were also in jeopardy, wil l go on, thanks to some substantial private donations to help the regions mount the productions .• Velma Simmons, the School D1stnct s music curriculum support coordinator, said that instrumenta l music staffing district-wide was still below the Ju ne 1993 level.

About 200 of the 257 scliools have instrumenta l music programs.

Superintendent Hornbeck to ld protesters last fa ll that their protests ra ised the issue of whether the instrumenta l music program should be included as on~ of the standards for Philadelphia schools. If so. t11en every school should have a program.

Hornbeck stated.

At Fels High School. 100 students protested unsafe. dirty cond1tions and the sd1ool"s failure to respond to their concerns. February I 0. students gathered outs.:Je S<'l1ool. angry at lack of action on violence and 1ntimidcit1on in schocl Tl1e protesl lirought son;.oresults at Fels. but raised the question of how schools are earn 19 for our ·hilclre11 the success of one's arsenal-whether it incl udes karate chops a la Power Rangers or a .38 magn um. I t is a breakdown of community.

What do we do abo ut sec uri ng adequate supervision of our children? One tactic might be to ask the administration for a study of the discipl inary reports (pink slips in the School District of Phi ladelph ia) to deterrn ine where violence occurs and where more supervision is cal led for. Anonymous student surveys would also reveal those areas or situations that give students reason to feel threatened.

Parents and

ment be doing? Collecting reliable data on school violence i s a first step.

Acti vists complain that i nformation can be man ipu lated to make violent schools appear less so. I dentifying schools with a lack of adequate supervision and supporting the hiring of more staff are part of any attempt to improve school climate. Above all , reformers need to underscore the concept of the sc hool as a community. It's not enough to have the best curriculum, the best teac hers, or even the most up-to-date facilities and then ignore the way students interact w ith eac h other and with staff throughout the f. building .

The schoo l 's responsibility is to create a climate that is safe and nurturing.

An institution wh ich brings hundred s and even thousands of children together under one roof on a daily basis will set condit ion s for how they treat each other.

Let's make su re it does its job right.

Let 's bu ild the school as a community.

Ben Lariccia is a middle school reacher in rile School Dis1rie1 (}f Philadelphia and rhe Prcside111 of rile Greater Olncv Comm1111ir.v Council.

Employees need to recognize that their presd; ence can mean therf. lJ · ference between saJ ety fi and danger or students.

teachers are very familiar with the circumstances of assaults; they are a good source for identifying a lack of adequate supervision. A school with good union representation wi ll also make the case for adequate supervi sion.

Studying the lack of supervision in our schools will do little in the way of improv ing school climate if the adu lts are not there to do the superv isi ng. Wi th teachers legall y responsible for what happens inside the classroom, NTA's (non-teac hing assistants) are assigned superv ision of the hall s and other public areas. For that rea son, schoo ls must not lose their paraprofess ional staff. More NTA's, cafeteria workers, playground monitors, parent vo lunteers and others are needed to popu late the public areas of the school and give it a safe cl imate.

These 3re the very workers whose ra nks have been trimmed over the past few years!

And what about the professionalsteachers and adm ini strators? They need to support parents· efforts to get better supervision. T hey shou ld communicate norms for appropri ate behavior. More importantly, schoo l employees need to

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recog nize that their presence in a gi ven

area of the building can mean the difference between safety and danger for student> and for others. Administrators who are invisible set a bad examp le and their behavior helps to accommodate disorder and may hem. D isruptive students read tl1e absence of adults as a blank check for engaging in violence and other in appropriate behavior.

What shou ld the schoo l reform :nove-

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SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

PAGE 16

Voices from a school: Roberto Clemente

WINTER 1995

Parent, teacher and students reflect on their new home Ruth Morales, President of the Home and School Association at Roberto Clemente Middle School.

I came here from Puerto Rico in 1989 with my family. I was shocked to see the school that my children would go to.

I knew that the Clemente building was not appropriate for kids. It was falling down. There was no gym, no auditorium, and not even sufficient books In 1989 there was almost no parent involvement in the school. A parents' meeting was held and 150 parents came.

That's when we started the Home and School. Most of the parents spoke Spanish so we began by printing flyers both in Spanish and in English.

Many of us felt that our children had been pushed aside and neglected. You know, there is so much talk about child ab use, but this was also child abuse. The system was abusing our children.

I always tell parents, we are mmorities, but 1 don 't care ifyou'reon social security, welfare, or whatever, we have a right to a good education for our children. We don't have money to leave an inheritance, but we can leave them a good education so they can earn an honest living to support themselves.

Our students at the old Clemente became very frustrated. At one point fires were set in the school. Parents and community people began to organize seriously. We held rallies outside of the school and attended many meetings with officials. We got buses and went to City Council, and we had parents speak and protest at school board meetings. The School District finally agreed to a new facility for Roberto Clemente School.

Parents were involved in the planning of the school. We formed several committees. We requested a Latino architect because we wanted someone who understood what kind of school we wanted bui lt .· For example. the colors of the bu ilding are Carribean.

Now that we have a new beautiful building, we are asking that parents come into the school and volunteer.

But we also want the school to serve the commun ity. That is why we asked that there be outside entrances fo r the auditorium and the gym for.evening events. And there wi ll be a health clin ic staffed by St. Christopher's Hospital for the community.

We were sleep ing for many years .

What were we thinking about for so many years that we could let our kids go into a building like that?

The most important lesson, I believe is that parents, comm unity and teachers are a strong fo rce. We have to be involved with our schools so that we know what is going on with our children, and we have to come together as one to change our schools so that our children can ac hieve.

Janet Kristman a teacher at Roberto Clemente for 8 years. Ms. Kristman teaches 6th grade.

In the old building I was privileged to have windows in my classroom, and I had an actual door that closed. A lot a teachers didn't even have that before.

They were teach ing in the middle of the build ing where the only light was electricity. And of course in the summer there was no air flow and it was very hot.

T his new building is a dream come true. Our new library is being set up now. It will include many more ways for students to access materials. The gym is designed for sports and the new auditorium will allow students to perform and see theatre. The science labs and computer labs are modem and will encourage kids to enjoy learning outside of a regular c lassroom.

We hope this new building wi ll help to create a more positive attitude and philosophy among the staff and students.

Part of the exc itement is that every ch ild deserves a quality education. The

l<jds celebrate winning a decent school facility at the new Clemente Middle School new school is a statement that says that we value the them. This is a fac ility that was actually designed to be a school.The other building was designed to be a factory.

The efforts for the new school generated a lot of support from the teachers.

Our union got involved and many teachers served on the committees that were set up. It was a team effort.

I now realize the value of parents and community. It was through their efforts that the new school got rolling. T hi s new building says a lot about the power of parents and community to change things.

Tamaris Leon and Marlene Burgos, 8th gr aders at Roberto Clemente Middle School In our old school the kids didn ' t care so much. Kids would write on the walls and no one cared. Now we hang our school- work on the walls and nobody rips it down. We all want this school to be the best.

Here we like that we have separate classrooms. In the old school, we couldn 't hear our teacher. It was always so loud. The walls didn't reach to the ceilings. Kids wou ld throw paper and books over the wall s.

Now we work harder because we have no excuses not to. Before the lights would go on and off and there were big poles in the middle of the room, and many fires.

We couldn ' t hear the teachers.

Most of the kids here are rea ll y good.

We li ke to be respected. That's really important to us. If a teac her has an attitude towards us, we can ' t respect the m back. So if they give us respect we respect them back. Look at the principal, you can tell yo u can really talk to her and everyone respects her.

A lso thi s new building makes us be even more respectful. For instance, the kids don't spit on each other going down the stairs like in the other school.

We love having our own gym here.

We used to have to get on the bus for half the period.

And it 's stricter here. Lots of teacher, parents, and sec urity. Kids don 't bring weapons. There's no secret places here to hide when you cut class.

A lso the streets around the school are safer. Before on the street in front there were shootings sometimes with a ll the drug dealers there.

But then our parents got the new school started . They pushed and pushed. They had to . Both of our parents work so they couldn ' t come to the rallies, but we went to the protests with the other kids.

Now we just want people to know the kids here are good , and we're a good school. Also we are proud to be the first 8th grade to graduate from the new Roberto Clemente Middle School.

Bi-lingual middle school challenges unfair evaluation

Federal funds, local control threatened at de Burgos , ~~ I

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Many schools in Philadelphia get federal ··chapter I" aid for their low income students. and the School District has worked hard to develop a system that gives some schools fl exi bility in how they use those do ll ars ro meet students· needs.

But Philadelphia's only bilingual middle school is in danger of having its power 10 control those federal funds taken away because students" standardized test scores aren "t high enough. Staff and parents are speaking out against what they see as a po licy that is unfair to language minority students.

Julia de Burgos Bilingual Midd le Magnet School. like most inner ci ty middle schools. has a large number of students who face the prospect of fai lure because of inadequate math and reading skills. Between half and three quarters of the student body scores below the 26th percentile in reading and math skil ls.

Located in an aging building that used to house Edison High School in the Fairhill Section of North Philadelphia. de Burgos serves a community victimized by poverty. a pervasive drug traffic. and the crime and violence that it breeds. The

school was established in 1988, in part because of pressure from the Latino community for a bil ingual, multi-cultural program to serve middle school age students. T he student body at de Burgos is ro ugh ly 85% Latino, largely Puerto Rican. The remaining 15% is African American.

Federal funds availab le through a program called School Wide Projects have allowed de Burgos. and other Philadelphia schools, to fashion programs to improve students' basic sk ill s. School Wide Projects allows schools themse lves to determine how to use Chapter One funds.

Un li ke traditional Chapter One programs. wh ich restricted services to pullout programs for eligible students.

School Wide Projects allows the money to be used for services to al 1 students within a building. With its emphasis on

sc hool wide planning and decision-makin g, and its recognition that isolating "at ri sk" students is generally counter-productive, this approach is widely regarded as more effective.

Ju lia de Burgos was the first middle schoo l in Philadelphia to be brought into School Wide Projects and is now up for its second reevaluation (schools are evaluated by the State at the end of a three year cycle). Last year $750,000 was allotted to the school under School Wide Projects. The plan for using thi s money was developed with the participation of staff and parents and called for hiring additional read in g teachers to lower c lass size for reading, purchasing more computers with the aim of exposing al l children to state of the art technology, hiring part time bilingual classroom assistants and a community coordinator.

These programs, some of which have

Staff and parents are speaking out against what they see as a policy that is unfair to language minority students.

been in place for several years, have had a positive impact, according to school staff and involved parents.

But now Julia de Burgos has been told that unless s ubstantial gains are made in c ityw ide test scores thi s Spring, it will be discontioued in School Wide Projects.

The school has reacted to this threat in two ways. First, the staff and students are girding up for a major effort to boost test scores. including extra training in testtaking. more systematic teaching of the concepts and ski lls that will be tested, and a series of meetings and assemblies to motivate students and staff a like.

Second, they are challenging the evaluation process itself as unfair; both the staff, represented by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and parents represented by the Home & School recognize the disadvantage the method of assessment puts the schoo l at from the outset.

The issues raised by the method of evaluation used by the School District and the State in determining whether DeBurgos will remain a SWP school are of importance not simply for Julia de ~· ·~ "[)"9 2'_t(~__/<.J,C." .._.>/I;_.

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