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Facts and figures that take a closer look at our schools and society • Chances that a first grader in the District will not meet the criteria to move on to second grade: nearly 1 in 4 • Percent of student respondents to Report Card on the School that stated their schools fail to provide a safe environme nt : 70% • Percent of the school work orders accounted for by vandalism: 11 % • Percent of Philadelphia's 258 schools designated "racially isolated": 52 % • Percent of the District's gifted staff allocated to racially isolated schools: 25% • Amount paid by the District for municipal services, s uch as water, sewer, garbage pick-up (unlike most urban school districts): $4.1 million • Chances that an African American male participated in the Million Man March: 1 in 12 • Out of 258 school buildings, number classified in "good" condition: 22 •Among the 134 racially isolated schools, num ber of buildings classified "good": 8 • Among the 134 racially isolated schools, number of buildings classified "poor": 21 • As of 1994, percent of ninth graders that enrolled in and passed Algebra I: 30% • Estimated value of new equipment stolen from Germantown High School over the summer during construction: $14,000 • Number of principals district-wide: 283 • Number of Latino principals: 9 • Number of Lati no studen ts districtwide: 23,000 • Number of bil in gual special ed c lasses that use native language instruction: 0 • At current rates, the year whe n an absolute maj ority of African American males between the age o f 18 and 40 will be in prisons or penal camps: 2012 •
umber of schools included in the District's first clusters brought on line: 6 high schools, 14 middle schools, 47 elementary schools
READERS RESPOND Vet on JROTC: Been there To the Editor: M ilitarism is defined as a "predominance of the military class or its ideals" and as an "exaltation of military virtues and ideals." I am writing on behalf of my organizati on, the Philadelphia Area Chapter of Veterans for Peace (VFP), to express our appreciation for the articles and letters in School Notebook concerning the intrusion of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) units into the pub lic high schools of Philadelphia. They have informed and strengthened our opposition to the presence in the schools of what we would term a course in Basic Militarism IOI. We are veterans who served du ri ng World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. We experienced the primary objecti ve of military training teaching recruits strict obedience to the authority of the chain of command while bei ng taught the violence of war-making. We experi enced the fact that the mind-set drilled into us whi le preparing to be warriors is at odds with the need lo learn how lo think critically and develop
Voucher defeat "deja vu" Governor Ton~ Ridge ungraciously conceded defeat, December 13, in his attempt to push tu Ilion voucher lcg1slat1on through the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Ridge's .. KIDS 2" bill would have provided grants lo some Pennsylvania families lo cover a portion of the tuition at private or religmus schools. 1l1c lcgislat10n was not fom1ally brought up hccause there were insuffie1cnt votes to pass ll Commenting on these dcvclopmcnLs, Larry f-rankcl, lcgisla11vc director of the American Civil L1bert1cs Union of Penns) l-.m1a, said, .. First, be aware that only Governor Ridge believes he Mts one rntc short All of the legislators, staff and reporters I have talked to think thai the Go•cm r needed at lea.st five more votes,
probl em-solving skill s. We agree with the well-documented evide nce, as stated in Harold Jordan's recent letter lo the Notebook which shows that the Ju nior ROTC prog ram is part of the m ili tary's recruiti ng efforts, now starti ng with kids in middle schools and 14 year-old first year high school stude nts. As JROTC programs proliferate, we are very concerned about the devastating cutbacks in non-m ilitary high school programs such as marching bands, music and art classes, after-school spec ial interest clubs, j uni or varsity sports, etc.: activities that reinforce positive fee lings of self-worth, self-discipline, ful fi llment and the j oy of learn ing. The quiet acceptance of Junior ROTC in our high schools by the school authorities should not continue unchallenged . How many more units will start up next September? There needs to be informed publ ic discussion on this issue. Members of the Philadelphia Area VFP have become part of a coalition that is working to publicize this issue and to have an open evaluation of the program and its stated objectives before any more un its are started. Your readers who are interested in joining this e ffo rt can contact me at 229 West Upsal Street, #104, Philadelphia, PA 191 19; or at (2 15) 844333 1 for more information. Eugene Bloomfield, Secretary, Philadelphia Area Chapte1; Veterans for Peace
Charity case
excuses them fro m pay ing their fa ir share of real esLate taxes. This is seen as a fair exchange for doi ng charit abl e wo rk. Unfortunate ly, the Archdi ocese of Ph iladelph ia has not been all that charitable lo pari shioners in poorer ne ighborhoods, who in recent years have seen their schools and chu rches closed due to " lack of fu nds ." School vo ucher pla ns not onl y cripple the public schools, but in the long run hurt all taxpayers, includ ing the parents of parochial school c hildren. T he Ridge voucher plan offers only an illusion of re lief to these parents because it onl y minimally lessens tuition and does not eliminate the burde n of pay ing real estate taxes. What we need is real refo rm for the fu nding of our educationa l system, reform that w ill benefit everyone. Rich Cro, Mayfa ir r --- - --- - - - - --- -- - --- - ---- - - - ,
Change is in the air.. .
rl8o<YJ
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ADDRESS I A PT.
possibly more, to pass his education package in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. And nobody could predict what wou ld have occurred in the Senate." " I believe that this latest setback for vouchers can truly benefit pub lic education if it means that serious proposals for reform wil l now be considered," Frankel continued. "Parents, students and teachers have offered lots of good ideas for improving our public schools. It 's been hard for the legislature to consider, debate and move forward on any of those ideas during the intense strugg le over vouchers. With vouchers out of the way, the serious work of refonning public education can begin."
Brief update on a story from last issue
To the editor: Having attended Catholic school for twelve years, I feel obligated to speak out against Governor Ridge's school voucher plan. I speak out not on ly because the plan is unconstitu tional, but because it wou ld continue a trend of large sums o f publi c money be ing tran sferred into private hands. The Const ituti on of the United States calls for separation of church and stale. Religious ins tituti ons arc granted the favorable not-for-profit tax status, whi ch
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