I \ t Summer studying 3 r fourth graders . successful schools Report on 5-16 " v ...... Ten ingredients 7 good schools , .. "Turning the page for change." o FALL 2000 Vol. 8 No.1 PHI LAD E L PHI A , PUB Lie ' - S -ff 0 "0 · I.: .< NOTEBOOK A 'CEO,' not a superintendent, will head the District Philadelphia's schools get new leadership team by Rachel Mat/siler Following the August departure of Superintendent David Hornbeck, the Philadelphia School District is trying out a new leadership mode l. • The District will be l ed by a team, headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with management expertise, who will be supported by a Chief Academic Officer (CAO) focused on the academic side of operations. In recent years, several other urban dis- tricts, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and San Diego, have experi- The school board will conduct a nationwide search and hire a permanent CEO in 2001. mented with a similar approach, replacing the traditional leadership model of a superinten- dent from an education background. Here, the school board has appointed as its Chief Academic Officer Deidre Faim bry, a District vet eran. Fannbry has worked as an English teacher, department head, assistant to former Superintendent Constance Clayton, principal of Simon Gratz High School, and Roxborough Cluster Leader. Upon her appointment in August, Fannbry said that her top priority would be to build on recent advances in the District by replicating successful programs - citing as examples early balanced li teracy and expanded use of technology in the schools. She also empha- sized the need to improve high schools by developing new school-to-career initiatives, increasing graduation rates, and tracking stu- dents' post-graduation success. The school board will name an interim CEO this fall. The District will then conduct a nationwide search and hire a permanent CEO in 2001. A team approach District officials say that the new manage- ment team, which will include the new CEO, Fannbry, Chief Financial Officer Rhonda Chatzkel, Chief Operating Officer Thomas McGlinchy, and Chief of Staff Germaine Ingram, will provide a diversity of skills and experience to meet both the District's acade- mic and fi nancial challenges. One argument for trying the new model is that managing a large school district requires organizational and political skills beyond the experience of most professional educators. In this view, a CEO with business or other leadership experience can bring a fresh vision, improve the efficiency of operations, and artract more funding - thereby freeing educators to concentrate on the business of educating children. Philadelphia's school board President Pedro Ramos explained in an August inter- view that the Philadelphia School District is a huge, complex organization, encompass- ing a police force, a transportation service, a food service, and a maintenance department that are among the largest in Pennsylvania. In addition, the District essentially runs its own law finn, accounting firm, temp ser- vice, and job-recruiting agency. Ramos arg ued that in the past, "the size and complexity of the organization got in the way of our primary mission, which is educating kids." Ramos said he hopes a new CEO will hel p to resolve the District's fiscal crisis by Schools making a difference Some Philadelphia schools stand out for their success - not simply in improving student performance and test scores but in earning a reputation for excellence in the community. Our special report (starting on page 5) looks in-depth at three such schools, all located in high-poverty areas. They are John Welsh Elementary, John Moffet Elementary, and Kearny Academics Plus. Part of the rich learning environment at John Welsh Elementary is its "rain forest," created over the past six years by Patricia Kane and her fifth grade classes. For more on the rain forest and on Welsh, see page 10. "taking a fresh, critical look at how we do things ," fi nding creative ways to leverage new funding, and spending a greater per- centage of each dollar on instruction. According to Rainos , the District's search team, led by Secretary of Education Debra Kahn, Ramos, and school board Vice President Dorothy Sumners Rush, chose Farmbry as CAO in order "to keep imple- menting our reform initiatives." Since the resignation of Superintendent Hornbeck, both Ramos and Kahn have played key roles in managing the leadership transi- tion and the District's contract negotiations with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Some educators are concerned that putting a corporate manager at the helm can distort a school system's priorities, so that budget-balancing takes precedence over meeting children's insrrnctional needs. Distorted priorities? According to one long-term observer of Chicago public schools , this has been a problem in Chicago since the appointment of the current CEO, Paul Vallas, a former city budget director. The observer charged that Vallas has substantially reduced the influence and authority of educators. Ramos acknowledged that Chicago's approach has "brought a 'budget bent' to the whole thing, with budget people prevailing over academics." Ramos said that he is more Tres escuelas desaftan los prejuicios a los estudiantes de bajos ingresos See "New leaders" on p. 3 Un vistazo a las escuelas con exito Cuando se habla sobre "escuelas buenas" en Filadelfia, la conversaci6n a menudo gira en torno a las escuelas que selectivamente admiten s610 a los estudiantes de alto rendimiento acactemico. Tambien las escuelas mencionadas pueden ser las que esran ubi- cadas en los vecindarios mas privilegiados. Pero existen escuelas publicas con exito en Filadelfia que no tienen estas ventaj as- escuelas ejemplares ubicadas en comu- nidades de bajo ingreso, que les sirven en su mayorfa a estudiantes de color y a estudi- antes cuyo primer idioma no es el ingles. En esta edici6n, el peri6dico Notebook destacarii tres de estas escuelas - la Escuela Kearny Academics Plus, la Escuela Elemental John Moffet. y la Escuela Elemental John Welsh. Estas escuelas son sobresalientes porque han progresado significativamente y han obteni do un al to nivel de puntuaciones en los exarnenes de rendimiento del Distrito Escolar. Otro factor que nos indic6 que eran buenas escuelas es que la mayorfa de su personal y padres opinan que estas escuelas han creado un ambiente escolar positivo. Son lugares en los que los estudiantes y el personal se sienten felices de estar. Estas escuelas desafiall el prejuicio comun de que la mayorfa de los estudianres de color y los estudiantes de familias pobres no pueden alcanzar un alto nivel de logro ac ad6mico. Las tres escuel as que seleccionamos se distinguieron por su gran aumento en las puntuaciones de los exarnenes estandariza- dos, por la baja incidencia de ausentismo de los estudiantes y el personal, y por los por- cientos de estudiantes promovidos. Pero ademas, la gente esrn comentando con gran entusiasmo sobre las tres escuelas. "Sf", dicen las personas, "deben observar de cerca estas escuelas. Algo bueno esta ocurriendo". La serie de articu los en esta edici6n es nuestro intento de presentarle a los lectores las irnagenes que describen 10 que vimos al visitar estas escuelas. Tradllcci6n po r Mildred S. Martillez Vea la p. 8. . . Strike threat At press time, the possibility of a teachers' strike still loomed over the city. Until a contract is signed, the teachers' union can call a walkout with 48 hours notice. But negotiators from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the School District have reported some progress in their continuing talks, and both sides seem to be working to avert a strike. For more on the teachers' con- tract dispute and union i ssu es, see pages 2, 4, and 18.
Transcript
I \
t ~ Summer studying ~ 3 r fourth graders . successful schools ~
Report on
5-16
" v ...... Ten ingredients ,~: 7 good schools
, ..
"Turning the page
for change."
o FALL 2000 Vol. 8 No.1
PHI LAD E L PHI A , PUB Lie ' - S ~c -ff 0 "0 · I.: .<
NOTEBOOK A 'CEO,' not a superintendent, will head the District
Philadelphia's schools get new leadership team by Rachel Mat/siler
Following the August departure of Superintendent David Hornbeck, the Philadelphia School District is trying out a new leadership model. •
The District will be led by a team, headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with management expertise, who will be supported by a Chief Academic Officer (CAO) focused on the academic side of operations.
In recent years, several other urban districts, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and San Diego, have experi-
The school board will conduct a
nationwide search and hire a permanent
CEO in 2001.
mented with a similar approach, replacing the traditional leadership model of a superintendent from an education background.
Here, the school board has appointed as its Chief Academic Officer Deidre Faimbry, a District veteran. Fannbry has worked as an English teacher, department head, assistant to former Superintendent Constance Clayton, principal of Simon Gratz High School, and Roxborough Cluster Leader.
Upon her appointment in August, Fannbry said that her top priority would be to build on recent advances in the District by replicating successful programs - citing as examples early balanced literacy and expanded use of technology in the schools. She also emphasized the need to improve high schools by
developing new school-to-career initiatives, increasing graduation rates, and tracking students' post-graduation success.
The school board will name an interim CEO this fall. The District will then conduct a nationwide search and hire a permanent CEO in 2001.
A team approach District officials say that the new manage
ment team, which will include the new CEO, Fannbry, Chief Financial Officer Rhonda Chatzkel, Chief Operating Officer Thomas McGlinchy, and Chief of Staff Germaine Ingram, will provide a diversity of skills and experience to meet both the District's academic and fi nancial challenges.
One argument for trying the new model is that managing a large school district requires organizational and political skills beyond the experience of most professional educators.
In this view, a CEO with business or other leadership experience can bring a fresh vision, improve the efficiency of operations, and artract more funding - thereby freeing educators to concentrate on the business of educating children.
Philadelphia's school board President Pedro Ramos explained in an August interview that the Philadelphia School District is a huge, complex organization, encompassing a police force, a transportation service, a food service, and a maintenance department that are among the largest in Pennsylvania. In addition, the District essentially runs its own law finn, accounting firm, temp service, and job-recruiting agency.
Ramos argued that in the past, "the size and complexity of the organization got in the way of our primary mission, which is educating kids."
Ramos said he hopes a new CEO will help to resolve the District's fiscal crisis by
Schools making a difference
Some Philadelphia schools stand out for their success - not simply in improving student performance and test scores but in earning a reputation for excellence in the community. Our special report (starting on page 5) looks in-depth at three such schools, all located in high-poverty areas. They are John Welsh Elementary, John Moffet Elementary, and Kearny Academics Plus.
Part of the rich learning environment at John Welsh Elementary is its "rain forest," created over the past six years by Patricia Kane and her fifth grade classes. For more on the rain forest and on Welsh, see page 10.
"taking a fresh, critical look at how we do things," finding creative ways to leverage new funding, and spending a greater percentage of each dollar on instruction.
According to Rainos, the District's search team, led by Secretary of Education Debra Kahn, Ramos, and school board Vice President Dorothy Sumners Rush, chose Farmbry as CAO in order "to keep implementing our reform initiatives."
Since the resignation of Superintendent Hornbeck, both Ramos and Kahn have played key roles in managing the leadership transition and the District's contract negotiations with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
Some educators are concerned that putting a corporate manager at the helm can distort a school system's priorities, so that budget-balancing takes precedence over meeting children's insrrnctional needs.
Distorted priorities? According to one long-term observer of
Chicago public schools, this has been a problem in Chicago since the appointment of the current CEO, Paul Vallas, a former city budget director. The observer charged that Vallas has substantially reduced the influence and authority of educators.
Ramos acknowledged that Chicago's approach has "brought a 'budget bent' to the whole thing, with budget people prevailing over academics." Ramos said that he is more
Tres escuelas desaftan los prejuicios a los estudiantes de bajos ingresos See "New leaders" on p. 3
Un vistazo a las escuelas con exito Cuando se habla sobre "escuelas buenas"
en Filadelfia, la conversaci6n a menudo gira en torno a las escuelas que selectivamente admiten s610 a los estudiantes de alto rendimiento acactemico. Tambien las escuelas mencionadas pueden ser las que esran ubicadas en los vecindarios mas privilegiados.
Pero existen escuelas publicas con exito en Filadelfia que no tienen estas ventajasescuelas ejemplares ubicadas en comunidades de bajo ingreso, que les sirven en su mayorfa a estudiantes de color y a estudiantes cuyo primer idioma no es el ingles.
En esta edici6n, el peri6dico Notebook destacarii tres de estas escuelas - la Escuela Kearny Academics Plus, la Escuela Elemental John Moffet. y la Escuela
Elemental John Welsh. Estas escuelas son sobresalientes porque
han progresado significativamente y han obtenido un alto nivel de puntuaciones en los exarnenes de rendimiento del Distrito Escolar.
Otro factor que nos indic6 que eran buenas escuelas es que la mayorfa de su personal y padres opinan que estas escuelas han creado un ambiente escolar positivo. Son lugares en los que los estudiantes y el personal se sienten felices de estar.
Estas escuelas desafiall el prejuicio comun de que la mayorfa de los estudianres de color y los estudiantes de familias pobres no pueden alcanzar un alto nivel de logro acad6mico.
Las tres escuelas que seleccionamos se distinguieron por su gran aumento en las puntuaciones de los exarnenes estandarizados, por la baja incidencia de ausentismo de los estudiantes y el personal, y por los porcientos de estudiantes promovidos.
Pero ademas, la gente esrn comentando con gran entusiasmo sobre las tres escuelas. "Sf", dicen las personas, "deben observar de cerca estas escuelas. Algo bueno esta ocurriendo".
La serie de articulos en esta edici6n es nuestro intento de presentarle a los lectores las irnagenes que describen 10 que vimos al visitar estas escuelas.
Tradllcci6n por Mildred S. Martillez
Vea la p. 8 .
. .
Strike threat At press time, the possibility of
a teachers' strike still loomed over the city. Until a contract is signed, the teachers' union can call a walkout with 48 hours notice.
But negotiators from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the School District have reported some progress in their continuing talks, and both sides seem to be working to avert a strike.
For more on the teachers' contract dispute and union issues, see pages 2, 4, and 18.
PAGE 2 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK
NOTEBl)COK "Turning the page for change"
Volume 8, Number I
f t voice for parents, students, and classroom teachers who are working for quality and equality in Oll r schools.
Advisory Board Ei leen Abrams, Community College of
Philadelphia Kira Baker, teacher Diane Bridges, Hartranft Parent Leadership Team Jane Century, Century Communications Cindy Engst, teacher and parent Keith Harewood Kevin Muszynski, Local Task Force for a
Right to Education Rochelle Nichols Solomon, Philadelphia
Education Fund Victor Perez, Julia de Burgos Family Center Johannes Ponsen, parent Len Rieser, Education Law Center Debbie Wei, As ian Americans United Debra Weiner, Philadelphia Futures OrganiUltians for identiJiauion purposes only.
Notebook Editorial Board: Helen Gym, Eric Joselyn, Myrtle L. Naylor, Ros Purnell, Sharon Tucker, Ron Whitehorne Design: Patricia Ludwig Spanish translation: Mildred S. Martinez Art: Eric Joselyn Proofreading: Eileen Abrams, Elayne Bender, Johannes Ponsen, Len Rieser, Sandy Socolar Distribution: Irvin B. Shannon Printing: Prompt Press
NOTEBOOK EDITORIAL
Philadelphia Public School Notebook is a project of the New Beginnings program of Resources For Human Development. We publish four times a year. Send inquiries to:
Can we work together? Philadelphw Public School Notebook, 3721 Midvale Ave" Phila. , PA 19129. Phone: (215) 951-0330, ext. 107. Fax: (215) 951-0342. E -mail: [email protected]
Special thanks to .. Staff and parents at Kearney, Welsh and Moffet Schools, Ellen Foley, Jolley Christman, our subscribers, advertisers, and volunteers who distribute me Notebook.
Fundjng in pan from Bread and Roses Community Fund, me Allen Hilles Fund, the Samuel S. Fels Fund, IBM Corp., me Rust Fund of me Philadelphia Foundation, and me WilUam Penn Foundation.
"It takes an entire village to fund a school ref ann newspaper."
-UrbOlt proverb
~~:r,~':t ~fel~; ;~tU;h~~~~e~i~~~~~eh:~d; of people working for positive change.
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In this issue, you can read about the good things that have happened at three local schools where administrators, staff, and parents all pool their energies and talents to focus on providing quality education.
But the bitter conflict between the teachers ' union and the School District leadership over a new teachers' contract shows that we have a long way to go yet in Philadelphia to get the major players working together constructively to fix our schools.
A fair contract for teachers should focus on two fundamentals. One is to insure employees decent pay and working conditions. Equally important, the contract should be good for kids, insuring that schools are adequately staffed, with a quality teacher appropriate to the grade level and subject matter in every classroom.
But these fundamentals got lost as contract talks became embroiled in legal and political controversy. One culprit was Harrisburg's Act 46, which effectively hamstrings collective bargaining by wiping out the old contract when it expired August 31. It also establishes the possi-bility of a state takeover in the event of a teachers ' strike.
For weeks, the District wielded the threat that they would unilaterally impose new contract terms as Act 46 allows, while the teachers' union went to court to fight the law. Finally, Mayor Street removed that threat by announcing he would not impose new work rules as long as talks were moving forward - moving the focus back to the bargaining table.
But teachers were still on the defensive. The troubling emergence of an apparent alliance between Mayor Street, Governor Ridge, the school board and the Chamber of Conunerce around a "lean, mean contract" created a real fear that management was out to scapegoat teachers and crush the union's power and influence. The Governor threatened that a strike would in fact trigger a state takeover, with teachers then facing the loss of their certification and pensions if they continued to strike.
The two sides had come into the negotiations far apart. The PFT came to the table advocating smaller class size, closing the salary gap between Philadelphia and the suburbs, improved safety, and more resources for
Mp~bii~ PS~h~t~l Notebook instruction. The board called for lengthening 3721 Midvale Avenue the school day and year, curtailing the role of
Philadelphia, PA 19129 seniority in teacher assignment, tying pay Phone: (215 ) 951-0330, Ext. 107 increases to performance, increasing employee
dozens of work rules that are seen as impediments to flexible management.
Perhaps under t):le best of circumstances, a flexible negotiation process could fmd common ground by focusing on how best to use the available resources to support good teaching. We don't know exactly the nature of the conflict behind closed doors. But the sweeping demands of District negotiators suggest they thought the political and legal climate enabled them to "go for it alL"
For PFT negotiators to make the kind of concessions demanded would have been a massive political defeat and effectively broken the back of the union. In an understaffed district that keeps losing experienced teachers, striking such a blow can't help the staffing situation.
What can the parties do to rebuild a labormanagement dialogue that focuses on what is fair to teachers and good for kids?
Firstly, real collective bargaining must be restored: the Board should repudiate the unfair features of Act 46. Beating up on the teachers in order to curry favor with hostile officials in Harrisburg is not a winning strategy. Neither Governor Ridge nor the Chamber of Commerce has a track record of supporting quality public schools, and they shouldn 't be calling the shots in negotiations.
Moreover, the board must focus on the essential questions of authentic education reform, not on punitive takeaways. For example, performance-based pay for teachers - still an experimental concept - will be bitterly dIVISIve if it tS introduced as a tool to deny teachers raises.
The teachers' union, to maintain its credibility in the conununity, must be willing to look at dIfferent approaches to the problems schools face. The union is right that more resources and smaller class sizes are needed - but so are creative solutions to improving teacher quality particularly in schools that are failing badly: Other teacher unions have embraced flexibility, and the sky hasn' t fallen.
New approaches to questions like teacher asstgnment and compensation don't have to be tmplemented everywhere at once. Nor do those approaches have to be the proposals the Board suggested. But if the union fails to take initiattvem addreSSing teacher qUality and accountability, tt can only fUrther isolate itself and prevent the coming together of an alliance that can ~~:~re resources and move our schools
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGE 3
New guide provides details on accessibility for local cultural sites by Debra E. Johnson
Access the Arts, etc... A Guide for People with Disabilities is a publication that lists 75 cultural sites, visual and performing arts
Fourth graders: how many moved Up?
This summer, after much debate about whether to implement new promotion requirements, Philadelphia's school board enforced a policy that there would be no "social promotion" for fourth graders to fifth grade. Fourth graders were expected to demonstrate ability to be ready for the next grade before moving up.
The cohort
• they had to receive passing grades in their four major subjects; • they had to achieve at least a score of "Below Basic llI" on the reading and math portions of the SAT-9 test or pass a different but comparable oral, untimed exam called a "second chance" test; • they had to complete a multidisciplinary project.
Students who had not met the requirements for continuing to fifth grade were
strongly
If these preliminary estimates hold up, the promotion rate for last year's fourth graders would end up at 86 percent. Chester said that in recent years, under a policy of social promotion, the promotion rate had hovered around 91 or 92 percent.
- Barbara A. Bloom
Empowerment team appointed organiza
tions, museums, and movie theaters within the Philadelphia region that are accessible for individuals who
of students who entered fourth grade last fall was the first group of children to have entered
Nevus encouraged to attend the District's summer program, according to Dr. Mitchell
Pennsylvania's Education Empowerment Act took effect July 1. It gives Philadelphia - and ten other districts with low test scores
In Brief - authority to take aggressive new steps to improve student performance. New powers include converting any number of public schools into charter schools, "independent schools," or schools run by for-profi t corporations. Districts may also order "reconstitution" of low-performing schools.
are physically challenged, blind or visually impaired, or deaf.
The guide was prepared by ArtReach, Inc., a program focused on strengthening the connection locally between the arts community and special audiences.
Each site listed in the guide is coded with access symbols to inform the reader about what each facili ty has to offer, such as: • accessible entrances and restrooms • accommodating space for wheelchairs • printed matter in Braille • touch tours • sign language interpretation • Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf
(TDDs). Listings also show hours of operation, cost, and transportation direction·s. Included at the end of the
The guide is useful because it is easy to follow. The access sym
bols are printed in a contrasting color so they stand out from the text.
The definitions contain short yet descriptive information as to what
each symbol means. The guide should be a welcome resource
for disabled persons in the region. Parents, teachers and caregivers will fmd it easier to choose which facilities to attend when exposing their children, students, loved ones, or acquaintances with disabilities to the arts.
To order the gnide, contact the ArtReach office at 215-951-0316 and request an order form or log on to the web site: www.art-reach.org and print the order form.
The guide is available in book form or on audiocassette and costs $5.00 plus postage and handling per copy; ten or more copies of the book are $3.00 each plus postage and handling.
Available, Fall 2000
"PARENTING OUR TEENS"
school under the reform initiatives launched by former Superintendent Hornbeck. These students became the fITst group asked to meet more strict requirements for promotion.
There were three requirements for students to be promoted to fifth grade:
New leaders Continued from p. 3
favorably impressed with the way the new management model is working in San Diego.
The current superintendent of the San Diego School District is a "non-educator," former U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin. Bersin brought in Anthony Alvarado, a recent chancellor for instruction in the New York City schools, as academic head. Alvarado developed a national reputation for instituting reforms that helped to raise the academic achievement levels of low-income children.
According to Professor Rene Nunez of San Diego State University, Bersin has been a controversial leader from the time of his appointment. Nunez said that Alvarado is the key figure in setting instructional policy for . the district.
As Philadelphia embarks on its experimentwitha new leadership system, Board President Ramos says the crucial test will be the District's success in remaining focused on its fundamental goal -improving instruction
Deidre Farmbry is now Chief Academic Officer.
and raising student achievement levels.
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I I
Chester, executive director of the Office of Accountability and Assessment for the School District.
Summer classes were offered to students in third, fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth grades. Overall, roughly 7500 students participated.
The summer program was one part of the District strategy to help underperforming students achieve at or above the "Basic" level. Schools or clusters organized other supports for students in danger of failing fourth grade, such as Saturday programs and after-school classes.
' 'Transition'' classes were set up to help overage students catch up with their peers.
Out of 16,000 fourth grade students last spring, an estimated 3700 (almost one fourth) were encouraged to attend the summer program. Almost 2200 of these students did enroll. Of those, roughly 1500 fourth graders were successfully promoted to fifth grade because of summer work - approximately 40% of the fourth graders who were going to be held back.
The increased authority is tied to significant consequences. After three to four years, test scores must meet a standard, or the state may take over the operations of the district.
Within each empowerment district, a team will create a plan outlining proposed improvement efforts. Philadelphia's team includes Philadelphia school board President Pedro Ramos and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) representative Rosalind Jones-Johnson, two parents of Philadelphia public school students- Audrey Correll and Arnold Hall, Jr. - and representati ves from the business, religious, and higher education communities.
The PFT has joined a lawsuit to overturn the Empowerment Act. Meanwhile, development of a plan is underway. After a public hearing, it is to be presented to the state on December 3.
- ShfllVl1 Tucker
ALLY SAFE SCHOOLS NETWORK A Program of
The School District of Philadelphia
Every year, more students come to our high schools and talk about being
GAY. LESBIAN BISEXUAL • TRANSGENDERED
HOW IS THE STAFF SUPPOSED TO 115'OND?
H!,!: RfS01Vf CONFLICTS?
HOW I DO WE r TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE SAFE AND RESPECTED IN SCHOOL?
The ALLY SAFE SCHOOLS NETWORK is the School District of Philadelphia's program to help
high school staff answer these questions.
For more information, call: Danny Horn. 215-563-0652 Marcy Boroff. 215-351-7643 or, your cluster's Equity Coordinator!
The Ally Safe Schools Network is sponsored by the Office of Standards, EqUity and Student Services and the,Family ~e~ource N~~~!,-- ________ _______ _ ____ _
PAGE 4 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000 -
1. What are some of the difficult issues in negotiations between the School District and the teachers' union?
Going into negotiations, the District's financial s.ituation was precarious. Mayor Street and the school board had just put together a patchwork solution to get through this school year without running out of money. It's hard for District negotiators to put together an attractive financial package for teachers.
At the same time, the District has proposed far-reaching contract changes: lengthening the school day and year, making some employees pay more for beuefits. tying teacher pay increases to evaluations of job performance. and reducing the role of teacher seniority in hiring decisions.
The Mayor says it is imperati ve to make the contract a more flexible document that supports school improvement. Governor Ridge has gotten into the act, saying that Philadelphia might get some additional state funding if the contract is refonned to his liking - while threatening to take over the District if there is a strike.
There has been little attention to issues teachers brought to the table. including curriculum, safety, smaller classes, and teacher training. In the past the union has successfully negotiated contract provisions on educational issues like capplug class size and placing counselors in every elementary school. District negotiators have been reluctant to write provisions on policy issues into the contract.
I
2. How do state laws like Act 46 affect the contract dispute?
Governor Ridge says Pennsylvania's Act 46 allows him to take over management of Philadelphia schools as a "distressed district" if the teachers strike. If teachers continued to
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strike. they could have theu' certification suspended and be banned from participation 1Il
early retirement options. Under Act 46, the old teachers' contract
became void when it expired on August 31, o-ivina management the ability to U1ulaterally frnpo;e uew provisions. After several weeks of withholding comment on this threat,. Mayor Street assured teachers tbat he did not intend to make any such changes as long as negotiations were progresslug.
Act 88, another state law, requires the PFI'to give at least 48 hours' written notice of a strike. The union can walk out only twice during a school year. The District can get the courts ro stop any strike tlm! will nol allow 180 days of instruction to take place by June 30.
3. How do teacher pay and working conditions here compare to elsewhere in the region?
Not favorably. One striking indicator of this is how difficult it is to hire and retain teachers for the Philadelphia schools.
The Philadelphia inquirer reported recently that teachers in Philadelphia public schools average less than eight years of experience. In every school district in the Pennsylvania suburbs except one, the average teacher has more than 10 years experience.
The Inquirer found maximum teacher salary in Philadelphia to be lower than aU suburban districts but one. The starting teacher salary in Philadelphia was also Hear the bottom for the region - $1,500 less than the suburban median. Ap,d class sizes here, capped at 30 in the early grades and 33 for older students, are among the highest in the state.
Philadelphia teachers' ISS-day work year is four days less than the median suburban district. District officials also maintain that the school day is shorter than many other districts in the region. Many parents criticize the
fact that teachers at some levels are able to arrive and leave at the same tiineas the students they are responsible for.
4. How are teacher salaries determined?
Tn the School District, pay rates reflect increases for years of service and for educational credeutials. Teachers may earn extra for staffmg activities after hours or attending professional development wOl:kshops.
Under the pay-for-perfonnance system proposed by the School Districtin negotiations, pay increases would be tied to a teacher evaluation process. The District's initial proposal was that the evaluation include measures of student performance. Pay-forperformance is a popular concept in the corporate world . PennsylVania Governor Ridge has set aside a $1 million fund for school districts that reward supedor reachers.
Proponents of performance-based pay say it will heighten tlle focus on stndent achievement and reward successful teachers by allowing them to move up the pay scale more quickly. But critics say that it's unproven, that evaluations aren't objective, and that teachers will be held accountable for circumstances beyond their control.
5. How does seniority affect teacher assignments here?
Under the old contract, as long as they met job requirements, the teachers with the most "building seniority" got flJst preference at job openings. The School District has proposed switching to a system of school-based selection. The union says this gives principals too much power.
Former Superinteudent David Hombeek recently called Philadelphia's seniority system "one of the most rigid in the country." One problem is that less expedenced teachers end up staffing the most challenging schools.
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A tale of three schools Kearny, Moffet, Welsh show track records of success by Jeanette Kaplan
Three Philadelphia public schools: Kearny Academics Plus, John Moffet Elementary, and John Welsh Elementary.
While just a few miles apart, they are located in different neighborhoods and clusters. They serve different racial and ethnic populations.
They differ in size, in age, and in their facilities.
They have different histories of school change and have adopted different curricula. Their leadership and teaching styles vary.
In each school, students are predominantly from low-income families. Each of the schools sits in the midst of communities devastated by joblessness, poverty, discrimination, urban blight, and government neglect.
Yet, each school has combined its strengths to earn not only a track record of rising standardized test scores, but also a reputation for building a successful school community focused on high expectations for students and teachers alike.
Credits The research for this report on successful schools was made possible by a gram from the Samuel S. Fels Fund.
Primary researcher: Jeanette Kaplan Research assisronce: Barbara Bloom, Myrtle Naylor, Paul Socolar Writer: Jeanette Kaplan Editor: Paul Socolar Editorial advisory committee: Eileen Abrams, Barbara Bloom, Diane Bridges, Kelley Collings, Eva Gold, Myrtle Naylor Photos: Harvey Finkle, Jeanette Kaplan
KEARNY ACADEMICS PLUS: "/ thought / died and went w heaven."
At the comer of 6th & Fairmount, built in 1922, is the small stone school building of Kearny Academics Plus.
The 399 students of this K-to-fifth grade school are children drawn mostly from the neighborhood around Kearny, but some come from outside its boundaries. Last year, 93 percent of Kearny's students were African American.
Part of the Franklin Cluster, Kearny capitalizes on its proximity to Center City. Many of its volunteers come from Center City offices, like the General Services Administration, Social Security Administration, and Philadelphia District Court.
Principal Eileen Spagnola arrived at Kearny seven years ago for her first principalship. In her initial year there, she says she watched and got to know her staff, her students, and her parents.
In her second year, she began making changes in the school's curriculum and climate, and she is now largely credited for creating the environment and importing the instructional programs that made possible a·dramatic increase in Kearny's reading, math, and science scores on the District's SAT-9 test.
The calm atmosphere set by Spagnola, who dislikes noise, mess, and clutter, has caused at least two faculty members to describe their recent coming to Kearny as like dying and going to heaven.
Reading and writing A few years ago, emphasizing the seri
ousness of the school's academic focus, Spagnola changed Kearny's name from General Phillip Kearny Elementary to Kearny Academics Plus.
Today, as it has been for the past few
.. '---.....
. Photo: Jeanette Kaplan
At Kearny Academics Plus, "expert readers" are assigned to help other students.
years, the academic focus is on reading and writing. Money from fundraisers and other donations purchases more books to supplement the school's emphasis on reading, which has gained tremendous parental backing.
Beyond the basal readers and workbooks that teachers still use in their classrooms, two literacy programs emerge as having a noticeable impact on student achievement.
In 1998, the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLl), a program that emphasizes reading and writing for kindergarten and ftrst grade students, selected Kearny to be one of its model sites.
With its emphasis on classrooms with multiple centers that allow students to read and write in different contexts and for different purposes, the CLI program has provided a strong foundation for Kearny's students.
The 100 Book Challenge, a reading ineen. tive program that encourages children to read independently, arrived in 1996 and plays a large role in all of Kearny's classrooms.
Students who meet their reading goals each marking period receive recognition over the loudspeaker and gold medals from Spagnola, as well as the praise of their teachers and parents.
Already in uniforms Parents are also happy with the uniform
policy that Spagnola successfully introduced into the school.
After four years of incentives and consistent enforcement, now all of Kearny's students and many staff wear its uni foml of
continued on p. 6
Finding and learning from three schools that stand out When people in Philadelphia talk about
"good schools," the talk often turns to schools that selectively admit only highachieving students. Or the schools mentioned may be ones located in more affluent neighborhoods.
But there are also successful Philadelphia public schools that don't start with these advantages - exemplary neighborhood schools located in low-income conununities. serving mostly students of color and students who are not native English speakers.
In this report, the Notebook looks at three such schools - Kearny Academics Plus, John Moffet Elementary. and John Welsh Elementary.
These schools stand out because they have made significant progress and have attained a relatively high level of achievement on School District performance measures.
They also stand out to us as good schools because most staff and parents agree these schools have created a positive learning environment and school climate. They are places where most smdents and staff are happy to be.
And they defy the common prejudice that most sltldents of color and students from poor fanrilies cannot achieve at high levels.
In selecting three schools to study, the
Notebook started by looking at ones that are working primarily with students of color from low-income families. We limited our search to schools with no selective admissions criteria, where more than 80 percent of students are identifted as low-income, and where at least three· fourths are students of color - African American, Asian, Latino, or Native American.
We looked for schools where a significant majority of students - 60 percent or more - are attaining at least the Basic level on the SAT-9 standardized test, and where those test scores have steadily improved since 1996.
We didn't want to rely too much on the . results of one test, so we ruled out schools where there was nol also steady and significant progress on the PSSA, the other 1Dl\ior standardized test given to Philadelphia stu~ dents.
We were left with a pool of 16 schOQls to choose from - all of them elementary or K-8.
We then looked further into how these schools had perfonned and also asked infonned School District observers which ones they would recommend as schools that provide a strong educational program.
The three schools we ultimately selected distinguished themselves by their strong
improvements in standardized test scores, student and staff attendance, and student promotion rates.
But all tlu·ee schools also generated enthusiastic word-of-mouth reviews. "Yes," people said, ''You should look at these schools. Something good is going on."
Learning about the schools Begirnting in mid-May, the Notebook
began its research phase into the three schools. Over the course of four weeks, staff from the Notebook spent over twenty hours at each school, gathering data through observations and interviews.
We hung around hallways, faculty lounges, and offices. We sat in on classes, lunchrooms, award assemblies, celebrations, and music performances.
We made an effort to talk with a wide range of people. including teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other school staff members.
During the summer, interviews were transcribed and observations were typed. Notebook staff and volunteers analyzed the data and compared impressions of the schools.
This series of articles is our attempt to present to our readers a few snapshots that
tell about the schools we visi ted. By no means do they capture all the rich detail of what we saw and heard.
While the overwhelming majority of people we spoke to bad very positive things to say about the schools, we did meet a few students, parents, and teachers who offered alternative viewpoints and expressed concerns - sometimes serious - about the schools.
Even while celebrating the accomplishments of these schools, the Notebook believes their achievements with modest resources should not be seen as an excuse to continue to withhold adequate funding and greater public support for our public schools.
There is still a crying need for more resources and staff, effecti ve staff develoj>ment, and strong community and parental engagement in all our schools. A boost in support might allow these and other schools to move closer to the District's ultimate goal of having most students show proficiency in reading, math, and science.
The Notebook thanks all the principals of the schools for the access !bey gave us to do our research. We thank all the teachers, parents, students, and administrators for their candor and for their good work.
PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000
PAGE 6
Kearny, Moffet, Welsh show track records of success continued from p. 5
light blue shirts and dark blue bottoms. The school has also developed a uni form
bank which recycles the clothes as students outgrow them and passes them along to other families .
Many teachers and parents agree with second grade teacher Chery I Feldscher that the unifoml policy has "made a big difference" in the school's atmosphere and the students' attitudes towards learning.
Eileen Spagnola sees a correlation between decreasing rates of suspension and the introduction of the school uni forms.
Parent Kimberly Savage has observed the changes fIrst-hand. Her oldest daughter graduated from Kearny four years ago. Her youngest daughter is now a flISt grader.
Savage notes, "What makes Kearny really great is the curriculum. Before, kids seemed like they went to school to play. Now it's Academics Plus and, with the uniforms, the children really seem like they want to learn."
For five years, Kearny has been developing good reading skills through the 100 Book Challenge. an incentive program. Younger stu· dents strive to read 100 short books that are color· coded according to reading levels. Students in the upper grades earn points for the amount of time they spend reading or the .number of pages they read.
Besides encouraging reading for pleasure and moving students up the reading levels. the 100 Book Challenge gets students to read for research purposes.
Half the school's library is filled with color· codeD baskets of 100 Book Challenge Books, Teachers can also request thematically grouped 100 Book Challenge books from the Franklin clus·
I ter office when teaching specific units
'--
JOHN MOFFET ELEMENTARY: "A hidden gem"
UniJke Kearny, which has received local and nallonal attention for its rising reading scores ,md uniform policy, John Moffet ElemeJ1lilry is what some of its teachers lovingly refer to as "a hidden gem,"
Pari ()f the Ken,il1gron Cluster, Moffet is located at Howard and Oxford Streets, an area !1estl~d amidst the Kensingron, Fishtown, and Northem Liberties sections of Philadelplua,
The bmlding that Moffet now occupies was built in 19;~. Its unimpressive brick facade hides a cheerful interior, made warmer hy the genuinely friendly ancl goodhumored relationships among its staff.
Air-conditioned and with large. bright classrooms, Molfetloday still bears some vestiges of its original open-school design,
The 3uditOJium is an intimate amphitheater-style space with low red carpeted stairs replacing the rows of auditorium chairs typically found in Philadelphia public schools.
Up until three years ago, Moffet'S second floor had no walls, Teachers shared a common space with one another, relying on ftling cabinets to delineate "classrooms."
Moffet's 523-student population has changed over the years. Once predominantly white, Moffet now reflects the diversifying racial make-up of the neighborhood,
Today, District statistics indicate that 60 percent of Moffet's student population is Latino, 24 percent white, and 16 percent African American, But obscured by the "24 percent white" statistic in the School District's breakdown are a signifIcant number of Palestinian and Albanian students.
Gradual improvement While teachers and parents assert that
Moffet has always been a good school, most acknowledge it's gotten even stronger in terms of its academic focus and bener in terms of its climate.
The changes have been gradual, beginning with former principal Bruce Rachild, who implemented a standard cuniculnm across grades,
Current principal John Kelly, who arrived eleven years ago, illaintains the school's high standards by encouraging his teachers to keep up-to-date on the current research and to foUow the curriculum frameworks and benchmarks proposed by the School District.
Working behind the scenes to secure extra resources is Moffet's program support teacher, Arlene Goldsmith.
Beyond the federal Title I money which helps pay for additional teachers, Moffet relies on grants from the Reading Excellence Act and Read to Succeed to fund summer programs, enhance literacy initiatives, and purchase learning materials,
In addition, a 21st Century grant helps support extended-year summer programs for "at-risk" students in kindergarten through second grade. A grant from PNC enables Moffet to run its Family Literacy Prograrn,
Teacher Leadership Goldsmith is one of a solid cadre of
teacher leaders at Moffet. A former Moffet classroom teacher herself, Goldsmith not only writes grants but also works to make sure teachers get the training they need to implement the new programs,
Other internal structures like the Leadership Team, Small Learning Communities, and grade chairs function to ensure that teachers have input on curriculum and budget decisions,
Indeed, many of Moffet's teachers assume leadership positions by virtue of the 20-plus years of teaching they have put in at the c,chuol.
The school's heavy emphasis on professional development may explain why curriculum initiatives like Balanced Literacy and !Io1irnosa, a math program, are successful at Moffet.
Teachers are fond of quoting Principal Kelly's maxim that Moffet should be so good that they would want to send their own children here, "Treat the kids the way you want your own kids to be treated," KeUy says.
Over the years, a few Moffet teachers have enrolled their children in the school. In an educational system where empty words often fall on deaf ears, that action speaks volumes,
A Moffet snapshot Giving a boost to English language learners
The 86 students in Moffet's ESOL IEn glish for Speakers of Other La nguages] are mostly latino, Arabic, or Albanian, Dorothy Singer, Moffet ESOL teacher, says it takes a child two or three years to exi t the pull·out ESOl pro· gram, which is coordinated to coincide with the language arts periods in a student's regular classroom,
Even before they complete the four·level program. Moffet's ESOL students appear to be we ll integrated into the school's culture, Their classroom teachers speak with pride about their accomplishments,
In one of last year's beginning ESOl class· es, five of nine students were also honors stu· dents, At closing exercises fo~ fifth graders, two outstanding ESOL students - one from Albania and one from Egypt - got medals and special accolades,
JOHN WELSH ELEMENTARY: "A suburban school in the city."
Last year, an independent evaluator came to John Welsh Elementary, an Edison Cluster school located in West Kensingron at 4th and York,
Struck by the school's resources and orderly management of its K to sixth grade students, the evaluator commented that Welsh was like "a suburban school in the city,"
The building, erected in 1966, initially housed students from kindergarten [0 sixth grade. At its peak, classrooms had 36 ell,il .. dren, and the student population rose to 1200,
When the neighborhood 's population began to fa ll in the 1980s, the school became K-5 and started picking up students from Hunter, a nearby K-4 school.
A few years ago, responding to parent demand, Welsh became K-6 again,
Today 72 percent of its 769 students are Latino and 27 percent are African American.
Orderly Environment When principal Steven Alper arrived at
Welsh Elementary in 1988, at the request of then superintendent Constance Clayton, the school was plagued by low achievement, a negative climate, and community turmoi l.
Alper says he spent the next few years cleaning house, developing a host of policies and procedures "to put all the school's stakeholders on the same page and to make sure things were done uniformly and consistently."
In his flISt two years at Welsh's helm, 37 people were transferred or removed,
New staff arrived, Undeterred, Alper spent time mentoring and developing them according to his framework of expectations.
Staff soon discovered, as first grade teacher Patricia Cover did, that there were "procedures for everything,"
, A three-inch binder contains all the poliCies that Cover has collected in her past six years teaching at Welsh, Inside are instructIOns that run the gamut from pupil report card conferences to discipline measures to what classroom materials teachers must display in their room.
The result of all these procedures is what many educators deem to be a "very structured school," where known expectations create an atmosphere of consistency and stability.
Jun Hollis, a former special education
Top: Moffet second grade teacher Carol Friedman is one of many veteran t eachers who lend stability and consistency to the school.
Below: Community relat ions have emerged as a priority at John Welsh Elementary. situated on 4th Street near York.
teacher and cUlTently the administrative assistant, has been at Welsh for over 15 years, He explains the effect of Steven Alper's administration: "When you run an orderly school, other things fall into place, Then the kids can concentrate. They feel safe, They feel secure. They have time to think."
Working together Alper's belief that all of Welsh's stakehold
ers must take significant roles in improving school conditions has ushered in a steady improvement in student acpjevemenl, teacher attendance. and community relations,
It has also helped break down the walls of isolation that ordinarily separate groups of staff and teachers and parents fr·\lm..£.ne another,
Susan Petry, a speech and language pathologist, say~ that the staff has "gonen to the point where we're recognizing that we have the strengths among us as a community from which we can draw when we need to,"
Hence teachers and other staff members help support one another to meet the school's expectations. They adv ise one another on instructi,onal decisions and suppOlt each other in disciplinary actions,
Parents too are being brought into the collaborative culture at Welsh, As one exam
continued on p, 7
A Welsh snapshot Moving beyond bake sales
Supported by the All iance Organizing Project (a citywide parent organiz ing group), the Home & School Association at Welsh was reborn last year, Its role extends beyond the traditional fu nd raising and sup~ort activities usually associ· ated with parent organizations, The revival of the Home & School spurred the development of a fun ctioning School Council at Welsh,
Teachers have joined with parents in a cam· paign to demand a crossing guard, Parents also partnered with staff to launch a parent· run after· school "Homework Club" at Welsh, Parents are securing funds to continue and expand the pro' gram this fall.
A series of teacher-parent dialogues at Welsh last spring helped to identify issues of common concern, One immediate result is a joint commit· tee addreSSing school safety issues,
. r
FALL 21
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGE 7
Common ingredients among the schools • Kearny, Moffet, and Welsh each have many of the same underlying strengths.
After review ing notes from interviews and observations, the Notebook found that Kearny Academics Plus, John Moffet Elementary, and John Welsh Elementary share several characteristics that have contributed to positive school environments and high student achievement.
1. Principal leadership . Among staff and parents, the principals are recognized for set. ting a positive tone in the school. Principals have a visible presence in the school.
2. Stable and committed teaching staff. The teaching staffs experience little tumover and demonstrate strong personal commitments to these schools.
3. Orderly school climate. Most students and teachers feel safe and supported in these schools. The principals follow through on no-tolerance policies for flghting and
Bui ldings are clean and student work is displayed prominently in hallways and/or classrooms.
5. Shared high expectations. Schools set high academic and behavioral expectations for students. These expectations are repeatedly communicated to parents, teachers, and students.
6. Academic focus, reinforced by consistent curriculum. Student learning is the recognized priority. Schools strive to use the same instructional programs across grades to give students a sense of consistency and continUity.
7. Resources spent on reducing cws size and purchasing cwsroom supplies. Principals use federal Title [ funds to hire more teachers to decrease class size. Grants are sought to supplement learning materials.
8. Parent-community partnerships. Schools have a climate that welcomes parent
and community involvement. 9. Shared sense of pride. Stakeholders in
each school - staff, parents, and studentsfeel their schoo l is exceptional and special.
10. Variety of activities for students. Schools support and make available a number of after-school, weekend, and out-ofschool activities for their students.
While a number of these points overlap with major themes in the School District's Children Achieving reform plan, the Notebook did not find a consistent attitude towards the District's initiatives among staff at the three schools.
Rather, we heard expressIOns of a wide range of views toward the Children Achieving program.
Some administrators and teachers appreciated the District 'S new curriculum frarnework and emphasis on communi ty involvement and professional development.
Others said that the Children Achieving agenda complemented existing efforts within the schools to strengthen student performance and served to quicken the change process.
But some said that district-wide initiatives funneled money away from schools and had little positive impact.
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pie of the high degree of parental involvement, Petry cites a 98% parent attendance rate at IEP conferences.
"It 's not as easy as it might have been a while ago because now parents are working a lot more," Petry concedes, "but they are willing. They want to come. They show up."
Last year, teachers and parents began to participate in a dialogue about ending teacher vacancies, lowering class size, and
achieving equitable salaries for teachers. Believing, as parent Tracy Bolden puts it,
that "the surroundings need to match the school," Welsh's Home and School has begun to tackle neighborhood issues too.
Last April, when parents took to the street in a protest demanding a crossing guard for the busy intersection at 5th & York, 17 Welsh teachers joined them - a signal that Alper's vision of stakeholders working together is alive and well.
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PAGE 8 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000
La historia de tres escuelas ~ •
Kearny, Moffet, y Welsh demuestran su exIto par Jeanette Kaplan
Tres escuelas publicas de Filadelfia: la Escuela Keruny Academics Plus, la Escuela Elemental John Moffet, y la Escuela Elemental John Welsh.
Aunque s610 se encuentran a varias millas de distancia, esran ubicadas en diferentes barrios y pertenecen a distintos clusters (grupos de escuelas). Le sirven a poblaciones de diferente raza y cultura.
Son diferentes en tamano, en edad y en plantas fisicas.
El historial de cambio escolar es diferente y han adoptado distintos curriculos. Su liderato y estilos de ensenanza varian.
En cada una de estas escuelas, la mayorfa de los estudiantes provienen de familias de bajos ingresos. Cada una de eUas esra en medio de comunidades devastadas por el desempleo, la pobreza, la discrirninacion y la desgracia urbana y desatendidas por el gobiemo.
Pero, cada escuela ha combinado sus fortalezas para lograr no solamente que las puntuaciones en examenes estandarizados hayan subido cada ano, sino tanlbien la reputaci6n de haber creado una comunidad escolar exitosa y enfocada en esperar 10 maximo de los estudiantes y los maestros.
Kearny Academics Plus: ''Pense que habia llegado aI cielo".
En la esquina de las calJes 6th y Fairmount se encuentra el pequeno edifido de piedra de la Escuela Keruny Academics Plus, construido en el 1922.
La mayoria de los 399 estudiantes de kinder a quinto grado que asisten a esta escuela son del vecindmo mas cercano a Keruny, pero algunos vienen de areas mas lejanas. EI ano pasado, e193% de los estudiantes de Kearny eran de raza afroamericana.
Keruny, que es parte del grupo de escuelas Franklin Cluster, se beneficia de su cercania a Center City. Muchos de sus voluntarios provienen de las entidades de Center City, como la Administraci6n de Servicios Generales, la Adrninistraci6n del Seguro Social, y la Corte de Distrito.
La principal, Eileen Spagnola, llego a Kearny siete anos atras, y este es su primer trabajo como principal. En su primer ano, ella dice que observo y conocio a fondo a su personal, a los estudiantes, y a los padres.
Durante su segundo ailo, comenzo a hacer cambios al curriculo y clima escolar. A ella se Ie atribuye la creaci6n del ambiente propicio y la inlportaci6n de programas de instrucci6n que hicieron posible el drarnatico aumento en las puntuaciones obtenidas por los estudiantes de Kearny en lectura, matematicas y ciencia en el examen SAT-9 del Distrito.
La atm6sfera de calma lograda por Spa,,"Ilola, qwen detesta el ruido y el desorden, ha sido la raz6n por la que al menos dos miembros de la facultad han descrito su experiencia en Kearny como "haber llegado al cielo".
Lectura y escritura Hace algunos ailos, y para hacer enfasis
en cuan serio es el enfoque de la escuela en el aspecto academico, Spagnola Ie cambi6 el nombre a la escuela: la Escuela Elemental General Phillip Keruny se llam6 desde entonces la Escuela Keruny Academics Plus.
Hoy, como en los ailos recientes, el enfoque academico ha sido en la lectura y escritura. Con fondos recaudados y donaciones se han comprado mas libros para apoyar este enfoque, que es completamente respaldado por los padres.
Ademas de los libros basicos de lectura y cuademos de trabajo que los maestros usan en sus salones, hay dos prograrnas de alfabetizaci6n que han tenido un efecto notable en los logros de los estudiantes.
El programa Children's Literacy Initiative (CU, Iniciativa para la Alfabetizaci6n de los
Todos los estudiantes de la Escuela Kearny y mucho de su personal usan el uniforme de camisa azul claro y pantalen 0 falda azul oscuro.
Nillos), que enfatiza la lectura y escritura de estudiantes de kindergarten y primer grado, seleccion6 en 1998 a la Escuela Kearny como una de sus escuelas modelo.
El prograrna eLI ha proporcionado una fuerte base para los estudiantes de la Escuela Kearny, ya que pone enfasis en tener salones con centros multiples que Ie perrnitan a los estudiantes leer y escribir en diferentes contextos y con prop6sitos diferentes.
El programa 100 Book Challenge (Reto de 100 libros), un programa de incentivo de lectura que exhorta a los niiios a leer por si
aprovechen otras farnilias. Muchos maestros y padres esran de acuer
do con la maestra de segundo grado Cheryl Feldscher, quien dice que la politica de uolformes ha "hecho una gran diferencia" en la atm6sfera escolar y en las actitudes de aprendizaje de los estudiantes.
Eileen Spagnola ve una relaci6n directa entre la baja en la incidencia de suspensiones y la introducci6n de uniformes a la escuela.
Kimberly Savage, una de las madres, ha notado la diferencia en su propia experiencia.
Su hija mayor se gradu6 de la Escuela
solos, Ueg6 a la Escuela Keruny en el 1996 y juega un papel inlportante en todos los salones de clase.
Los nombres de los estudiantes que logran sus metas de lectura cada periodo de notas son anunciados por el sistema de altoparlantes y ellos
Cada una de estas escuelas estti en medio
de comunidades devastadas por el
desempleo, la pobreza, la discriminaci6n y la
desgracia urbana.
Keruny hace cuatro aiios. Su hija menor estii ahora en primer grado.
Savage dice, ''Lo que verdaderamente hace a la Escuela Keruny especial es el curriculo. Antes los ninos parecfan ir a la escuela a jugar. Ahora
reciben tanto medalJas de oro otorgadas por Spagnola como palabras de elogio por parte de sus maestros y padres.
Unifonnes Los padres esran de placemes con la
nueva politica de uniformes que con exito inici6 en la escuela la Sra. Spagnola.
Luego de haber exhortado y constantemente enforzado el uso de uniformes por cuatro aiios, todos los estudiantes de la Escuela Kearny y mucho de su personal usan el uniforme de camisa azul claro y pantal6n 0
falda azul oscuro. La escuela tambien ha creado un "banco
de unifom1es", que recicla la ropa que los estudiantes ya no pueden usar para que la
se Uama Academics Plus, y con los uniformes, los ninos parecen de verdad estar motivados a aprender."
Escuekt Elementol John Moffet: ''Una joya escondida"
A diferencia de la Escuela Kearny, que ha logrado atenci6n local y nacional por su alza en puntuaci6n y su politica de uniformes, la Escuela Elemental John Moffet es una "joya escondida", como Ie Uaman algunos de sus maestros.
La Escuela Moffet, que forma parte del grupo de escuelas Kensington Cluster, estii ublcada en la esquina de las calles Howard y Oxford. Esta area esra en medio de las secciones. Kensington, Fishtown, y Northern LibertIes de Filadelfia.
EI edificio ocupado por la escuela fue constmido en 1974. Su exterior poco impresionante de ladrillos oculta un interior vivara_ cho, que se lOrna aun mas acogedor por las amistades genuinas y el buen humor de su personal.
La Escuela Moffet, que cuenta con aire acondicionado y salones grandes con buena luz todavia muestra caracteristicas de su disefi~ original "abierto".
El auditorio es eslilo anfiteatro y de ambiente intimo, con escaleras alfombradas en rojo en vez de fllas de sillas de auditorio como tfpicrunente se encuentran en las escuelas piiblicas de Filadelfia.
Hasta hace tres anos, el segundo piso de la Escuela Moffet no tenia paredes. Los maestros compartian un espacio comun, usando archivos para definir los "salones de clase".
La poblacion de 523 estudiantes de la Escuela Moffet ha cambiado con los anos. La escuela, cuya matricula en un tiempo fue de estudiantes en su mayoria de la raza blanca, ahora refleja mas la configuracion de variedad racial de la comunidad.
Hoy, las estadisticas del Distrito indican que el 60% de la poblacion estudiantil de la Escuela Moffet es de raza latina, 24% es de raza blanca, y 16% es afroamericana. En el desglose de las estadisticas de Distrito de ese 24% de la raza blanca, sin embargo, se encuentran un significante numero de estudiantes de Palestina y Albania.
Mejoras graduales y aumento en recursos Los maestros y padres aseguran que la
Escuela Moffet siempre ha sido muy buena, pero la mayoria reconoce que se ha fortaleci do en terminos de su enfoque academico y que su ambiente ha mejorado.
Los cambios han sido graduales, comenzando con el principal anterior, Bruce Rachild, que implant6 un curriculo esrandar a traves de todos los grados.
EI principal actual, John Kelly, lleg6 a la escuela hace once anos. EI mantiene los altos esrandares de la escuela motivando a sus maestros a estar al dia en 10 Ultimo en investigaci6n y a ensefiar el curriculo y parametros propuestos por el Distrlto Escolar.
Arlene Goldsmith, ma~siia del programa de apoyo, trabaja "tras bastidores" asegurando recursos para la escuela.
Aparte de los fondos federales del Titulo I, que ayudan a pagar por maestros adicionales, la Escuela Moffet depende de grants (concesiones) del Reading Excellence Act (Ley para la Excelencia en Lectura) y del Read to Succeed (Lee para Triunfar) para costear los programas de verano, apoyar las iniciativas de alfabetizaci6n, y comprar materiales de aprendizaje.
Ademas, un grant 21 st Century actualmente ayuda a financiar los programas extendidos de verano para los estudiantes "en riesgo" de kindergarten a segundo grado. Otro grant de PNC Ie permite a la Escuela Moffet operar su programa de alfabetizaci6n familiar Family Literacy Program.
Maestros lideres Goldsmith forma parte de un equipo de
maestros lideres en la Escuela Moffet. Goldsmith, quien fue una maestra de sal6n hogar en la Escuela Moffet, no solamente redacta los grants, sino que trabaja para asegurar que los maestros obtienen el adiestramiento que necesitan para implantar los nuevos programas.
Otras estructuras intemas, como el Leadership Team (Equipo de Uderes), los Small Learning Communities (pequenas Comunidades de Aprendizaje) y los representantes de grado, aseguran que los maestros se tomen en cuenta en las decisiones de curriculo y presupuesto.
De hecho, muchos de los maestroS en la continua en la p. 9
,r
FAll 21
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGE 9
La historia de tres escuelas continua de la p. 8
Escuela Moffet asumen posiciones de liderato en virtud de las carreras de mas de veinte aDos que han disfrutado en la escuela.
EI fuerte enfasis que la escuela pone en el desarrollo profesional puede ser la raz6n por la que tienen exito las iniciativas de curriculo como Balanced Literacy (Alfabetizaci6n en Balance) y Mimosa, un prograrna de matematicas.
Los maestros se complacen en citar la meta que tiene e) principal Kelly: lograr que la Escuela Moffet sea una escuela tan buena, que ellos mismos querrfan enviar a sus hi jos alli. "Traten a los nifioscte la misma manera que ustedes quic;en que traten a sus hi jos", dice Kelly.
A traves de los aiios, algunos maestros de la Escuela Moffet han matriculado a sus hijos en la escuela. Esto dice mucho.
Escuela Elemental John Welsh: ''Una escuela de barrio en la ciudad".
EI ano pasado, un evaluador independiente visito la Escuela Elemental John Welsh, que forma parte del grupo de escuelas Edison Cluster y esra ubicada en West Kensington en la esquina de las calles 4th y York.
EI evaluador, impresionado por los recursos de la escuela y por el manejo impecable de sus estudiantes de kinder a sexto grado, coment6 que la Escuela Welsh era "como una escuela de barrio en la ciudad".
EI edificio, erigido en e11966, inicialmente albergo estudiantes desde kinder hasta sexto grado. Al tope de su matricula, los salones ternan 36 estudiantes y la poblaci6n escolar lleg6 a ser de 1,200 estudiantes.
Cuando la poblaci6n del vecindario comenz6 a disminuir en la decada de los 80, la escuela se convirtio en una escuela de kinder a quinto grado y comenz6 a recibir alumnos de la Escuela Elemental Hunter, una escuela cercana de kinder a cuarto grado.
Hace algunos aDos, a petici6n de los padres, la Escuela Welsh vol via a ser una escuela de kinder a sexto grado.
Hoy en dfa, 75% de los 769 estudiantes son de raza latina y 27% son afroamericanos.
Ambiente de orden Cuando el principal Steven Alper Ueg6 a
la Escuela Welsh en el1988 asignado por el entonces superintendente de escuelas Constance Clayton, la escuela sufrfa de bajo rendimiento academico, un clima negativo y problemas en la comunidad.
Alper indica que pas6los primeros aDos "limpiando la casa", desarroUando un grupo de politicas y procedimientos que "pusieran a todos en la misma pagina y para asegurar que las cosas se hicieran de la misma manera siempre".
Durante los primeros dos anos del principal Alper en la Escuela Welsh, 37 miembros del personal fueron transferidos 0 cesanteados.
Se contrat6 nuevo personal. Sin perder el arumo, Alper se tomo tiempo para asesorarlo y desarrollarlo de acuerdo a sus expectativas.
EI personal descubri611ipidarnente, al igual que la maestra de primer grado Patricia Cover, que habfa "un procedimiento para todo".
Cover ha recopilado en una carpeta de tres pulgadas todas las polfticas implantadas en la Escuela Welsh en los seis anos que Ueva enseiiando alii. En la carpeta tiene instrucciones que van desde como realizar conferencias de notas y medidas de disciplina hasta que materiales tienen que exhibir los maestros en sus salones.
EI resultado de todos estos procedirnientos es 10 que muchos educadores denominan como "una escuela sumarnente estructurada", en la que por haber expectativas defmidas reina un arnbiente de constancia y estabilidad.
Jim Hollis, quien fue maestro de educacion especial y actualmente es asistente adrninistrativo, ha trabajado en Ja Escuela Welsh por mas de 15 anos. EI nos explica los efectos del estilo de adrnin.istracion de Steven Alper: "Cuando se opera una escuela de manera ordenada, 10 demas viene por anadidura. Entonces los niiios se pueden concen-
La Escuela Moffet forma parte del grupo de escuelas Kensington Cluster. Las estadisticas del Distrito indican que el 60% de la poblacion estud iantil es de raza latina.
trar mejor. Se sienten sanos y salvos. Se sienten seguros. Tienen tiempo para pensar".
Trabajando juntos Alper cree fmnemente en que todos los
que interesan el exito de la Escuela Welsh tienen que asumir papeles innportantes en la mejora de las condiciones escolares y esto ha creado una alza en los logros de los estudiantes, en la asistencia de los maestros y en las relaciones con la comunidad.
Tarnbien ha ayudado a derrumbar las barreras de separacion que generalmente existen entre el personal, los maestros y los padres.
Susan Petry, pat610ga del habla, dice que el personal "ha llegado al punto de reconocer que tenemos fortalezas entre nosotros como comunidad que podemos utilizar cuando es necesario".
Por esto, los maestros y demas miembros del personal se ayudan entre sf para lograr las expectativas de la escuela. Se aconsejan uoos a otros sobre decisiones de ensenanza y se apoyan en asuntos de disciplina.
Los padres tarn bien han sido incluidos en la cultura de colaboracion en la Escuela Welsh. Como ejemplo de la alta incidencia de participacion de los padres, Petry indica
que un 98% de los padres asisten a las conferencias IEP
"Ahora no es tan racil como antes, porque los padres trabajan mucho mas", dice Petry, "pero estan dispuestos. Como quieren participar, eUos se presentan".
EI ano pasado, los maestros y padres comenzaron a participar en un diaJogo para lograr que no hubiese vacantes de maestros, disminuir el ntirnero de estudiantes por sal6n, y conseguir salarios equitativos para los maestros.
Con la conviccion de que, como indica la mama Tracy Bolden, "el ambiente de los aJrededores tiene que coincidir con el de la escuela", la organizacion Welsh Home and School Association ha comenzado a trabajar para resolver tambien asuntos de la comunidad.
Este pasado abril, cuando los padres realizaron una protesta exigiendo que hubiese un guardia de transito escolar en la interseccion de las calles 5th y York, se unieron a eUos 17 de los maestros de la Escuela Welsh - un indicio de que la vision del principal Alper de lograr que todos los interesados trabajen juntos esta funcionando.
Traducci6n por Mildred S. Martinez
lres escuelas exitosas comparten caracteristicas comunes Despues de revisar las notas tomadas
durante entrevistas y observaciones, el periodico Notebook not6 que las escuelas Kearny Academics Plus, la Elemental John Moffet, y la Elemental John Welsh comparten varias caracterfsticas que han contribuido a la creacion de arnbientes escolares positi vos y a un alto rendimiento acactemico de sus estudiantes.
1. Un principal COli liderato. EI personal y los padres reconocen que el principal es quien ha establecido un tono positivo en la escuela. Los principales tienen una presencia visible en la escuela.
2. Personal de ellseiianza estable y comprometido. Muy pocos maestros renuncian 0 piden transferencia y demuestran estar personalmente comprometidos con las escuelas.
3. Ambie1lte de orden ell la escuela. La mayorfa de los estudiantes y maestros sienten seguridad y apoyo en estas escuelas. Los principales aseguran el cumplirniento de las polfticas de no tolerar las peleas 0 el compoI'tamiento irrespetuoso.
4. Planteles agradables y bien mantenidos. Los edificios estan limpios y los trabajos de los estudiantes esran exhibidos en los pasillos y/o salones de clase.
5. Todos tienell alias expectativas para las estudiantes. Las escuelas tienen altas expectativas academicas y de comportamiento para los estudiantes. Estas expectativas se
comunican repetidamente a los padres, maestros y estudiantes.
6. El enJoque academico es reJorzado por el curricula. EI aprendizaje de los estudiantes es la prioridad. Estas escuelas se esmeran por usar los mismos programas de instruccion a traves de todos los niveles para que haya consistencia y continuidad para los estudiantes.
7. Los recursos se USall para reducir el mlmero de estudialltes por salon y para comprar materiales. Los principales usan los fondos federales del Titulo I para contratar mas maestros y asf disminuir el ntirnero de estudiantes por c1ase. Se buscan grants para adquirir materiales adicionales de aprendizaje.
8. Participacioll de los padres y la comulIidad. Las escuelas tienen un arnbiente que fomenta y recibe con agrado la participacion de los padres y de la comunidad.
9. OrguUo compartido. Las personas que interesan el exito de cada escuela - el personal, los padres y los estudiantes - sienten que su escuela es Ilnica y especial.
10. Actividodes variadas para los estudiantes. Las escuelas auspician y proveen para sus estudiantes una yariedad de acti vidades en las tardes, en los fmes de semana y fuera del plantel escolar.
Mientras que algunas de estas caracterfsticas coinciden con varios de los temas incluidos en el plan de reforma Children Achieving
del Distrito Escolar, el peri6dico Notebook no not6 una actitud comlln hacia las iniciativas del Distrito entre el personal de las tres escuelas.
Mas bien oimos una arnplia gama de opiniones acerca del plan Children Achieving.
Algunos administradores y maestros aprecian el nuevo curriculo del Distrito y su enfasis en la participacion de la comunidad y en el desarrollo profesional.
Otros nos dijeron que el plan Children Achieving complementolos esfuerzos que ya existen en las escuelas por fortalecer el rendirniento academico de los estudiantes y sirvio para aligerar el proceso de cambio.
Pero algunos indicaron que las iniciativas aI nivel de Distrito disminuyeron los fondos de las escuelas y tuvieron muy poca iofluencia positiva.
Traducci6n por Mildred S. Martinez
School District of Philaddphia
Office of Language Equity Issues
1
ESOL & BILINGUAL PROGRAMS
21st and the Parkway • Room 302 Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-7791 • Fax: 299-7792
PAGE 10
Prlncipalleadership can have many different faces
A careful look at the principals at Kearny, Moffet, and Welsh reveals some of the many roles that principals can take as leaders in their school communities.
Paramount is the support these principals give teachers.
Teachers told the Notebook they can count on these principals to create a positive school climate, keep the school welJ supplied, give
MacGruther says. The extra attention that Eileen Spagnola
lavishes on her smdents even extends to the way she disciplines them. Ellen Ginsberg, a kindergarten teacher, describes how the principal is good at giving smdents extra support to keep them on task.
"If a child had come in stamping his feet and falling over chairs and I wasn 't able to
help him pulJ himself together, I would not have thought twice about picking up the phone and calling her and saying, "Can you come in and talk to him for a few minutes?' And she'lJ rub his back. She'lJ listen to him. She'll talk to him. She'll give him a little treat and make him feel special ," Ginsberg explains.
Photo: Harvey Finkle
Principal Eileen Spagnola confers with a parent outside Kearny.
Even Eileen Spagnola's keeping classrooms welJ supplied is seen as a sign of her love for the students.
Felietta Mitchell,
moral and professional support, and develop good relationships with students and the community.
"She loves the children in
this school." Felietta Mitchell, Kearny
parent and classroom aide
When Eileen Spagnola walks down the halls of Kearny Academics Plus, students from kindergarten to fifth grade smile. Some eagerly wave hello. Others say with familiarity, "Hi, Ms. Spagnola."
Eileen Spagnola's response is always warm. She greets the student by name, often throwing in a term of endearment like "honey."
Usually she follows this greeting with a question about the student's well-being. It is clear: she knows these students and they know her.
To the students, Eileen Spagnola is known not just as the school administrator or disciplinarian, but as the smiling person who presents the 100 Book ChalJenge medals and Bingo awards.
According to Yaye MacGruther, who has worked as Kearny's school-community coordinator for fifteen years, Mrs. Spagnola strives to have positive interactions with students.
whose son is in the second grade, says, "She'll do anything and everything for the children."
Cheryl Feldscher, a second grade teacher adds, "1 don't want to sound like she's our Santa Claus - but Eileen Spagnola will buy us whatever learning material we will need. Sometimes we have to wait three or four months, but somehow she finagles to get the money. She never fights with us on that issue."
"He expects and demands
that his children learn and his
teachers teach." Karen Frebowitz, Welsh
fourth grade teacher
Even Welsh principal Steven Alper himself acknowledges that his leadership style leans toward the autocratic.
Fifth grade teacher Patricia Kane remem-
bers receiving a four-page teacher observation form on her flfSt day.
Cecilia James, a noontime aide, remembers Alper informing the staff, "Pink slips are not just for children. I've got yellow slips, pink slips, blue slips. If you want to transfer, you can leave. If you stay, you're going to do it my way."
Successfo chools
Yet staff are quick to credit Alper for creating a well-managed and resource-rich environment where they feel supported.
AJper, who says that he has not been absent since his principalship at Welsh began 12 years ago, is at the school from 6:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.
He devotes long hours to securing extra resources and likes to boast that Welsh is the only school in Philadelphia where a principal can ask teachers to generate a list of needs and not get any requests.
Frugal with his funds, he has successfulJy negotiated with vendors to get pilot programs, materials, and services for free or at significantl y reduced prices.
But beyond the supplies, teachers feel supported knowing that AJper stands behind strict discipline and good teaching.
'The order and the discipline make a world of difference," says Cover, who recalJs AJper defending her decision before an irate parent to suspend a'child for destroying school property.
In the fourth floor halJway, teacher Patricia Kane has been creating a rain forest with her classes for the past six years.
Each year, a class adds something else to the John Welsh rain forest, which now boasts an indoor waterfalJ, beautiful mnrals, piped-in rain forest sounds, and paper fronds and snakes that hang from the walJs and the ceilings.
A few years ago, this rain forest was in the middle of a dispute between the school and the Fire MarshalJ.
AJper refused to dismantle the project. Instead, he located a fire-retarding spray in Texas, had it shipped to the school, sprayed it on the rain forest, and lit a match in front of the MarshalJ to prove that the rain forest was flIe-resistant.
"In other places I don't think I would have had the support," Kane muses.
She adds, "Some other principal would have just said, 'Tear it down. We don 't want
"She's not a person who will just stay in the office. 1've seen her read books to kids. Every month, teachers pick a student of the month from each room. Once a month, they get to have lunch with the principal in the IMC [Instructional Materials Center] . She eats with them. She mms a movie on. She enjoys it with them:' Staff at Welsh credit Principal Steven Alper with creating a well-managed, resource-rich enVi;~~';~~~~Y Finkle
PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK. FALl!
Taking a break after some football action, Principal John Kelly survey
the Fire MarshalJ breathing down our necks.' But AJper supported this. He loves this kind of thing. He wants more of it."
"He comes in, sits down,
and teaches." Jacqueline Lee-Way,
Moffet fourth grade teacher and parent of
former Moffet students
John Kelly, principal· at Moffet for the past 11 years, is no stranger to the classroom. A former math teacher himself, Kelly sees part of his role as making teachers feel safe to try things.
"Failure is not always failure. Failure is sometimes a stepping stone to success," says Kelly, whose typical day is spent checking lesson plans in classrooms and giving teachers feedback.
He visits some classrooms as often as twice a week.
Patricia Reidy, a second grade teacher, describes the principal's high expectations for teachers. "He expects you to be professional. If he comes into your classroom, you should be doing what your lesson plans say that you are doing. Your classroom should reflect what you are doing. You shouldn't have work up from two months ago."
"He expects you to attend workshops. He expects you to keep up on the current things," she adds.
However, John Kelly just doesn't observe. He also participates.
Kindergarten teacher Patricia Brazukas recounts a recent example.
:'Mr. Kelly happened to be walking in, ~d I said, 'Mr. Kelly, you have to listen to Kyle s story about his stitches. ' So he listened and said, 'Oh, that was a wonderful story, Kyle.' Then he told them a story about what hap- . pened when he was a little boy and fell off !uS bike. I think that makes a difference," says Brazukas.
John Kelly is so familiar with his teachers that he can describe each teacher'S teach.ll1g style and strengths. From his surrull ruy, if is
clear that Moffet styles.
Joyce Glenn, been at Moffet f, "As long as you he lets you do it your own person groups, he lets y whole class, he accomplishing."
Not surprisin! much of his time grants towards til wish 1 had more classrooms," Kef
Grades Serv
Student Po~ Total enrollmel % low-income
I % African Arne % Latino % White
I % Asian % Other
No. of special E
No. of ESOL stu
Instruction a % AfricanAme % Latino % White
% of teachers avg, for all ele
Performance : scor~ng Basil Yo SCOring Basi~ % Scoring BasiG % of stUdents % of staff pres
SOLJrce: Schoot District
OOL NOTEBOOK • FALL 2000 -
Photo: Harvey Finkte
tion. Principal John Kelly surveys the Moffet schoolyard.
cks. ' clear that Moffet houses a variety of teaching
indof styles.
le oom. es afe to
is says
19 lchers
r,
"s for )nal. )uld you what
up
.He ngs,"
erve.
J.S
I , and :yle's
Joyce Glenn, a fIfth grade teacher who has been at Moffet for 20 years, confIrms this. "As long as you get to where you need to be, he lets you do it in your own fashion with your own personality. If you work better in groups, he lets you. If you're better as a whole class, he lets you. As long as you're accomplishing."
Not surprisingly, John Kelly laments that much of his tinle is spent on budgets and grants towards the end of the school year. "I wish I had more tinle to do demonstrations in classrooms," Kelly says, "especially in math."
By the
Grades Served
Student Population (Spring 2000) Total enrollment % low-income
[ % African American % Latino % White % Asian % Other
No. of special ed students 1(%) No. of ESOL students 1(%)
Instructional staff I % African American
% Latino
[ % White
% of teachers who transferred out, 1995-99
PAGE 11
Passing and critiquing the test Scores at the schools are climbing, but some teachers decry all the pressure
Kearny Academics Plus, John Moffet Elementary, and John Welsh Elementary have each made great strides in inJproving student performance on standardi zed tests.
For example, data from the District's 1999 SAT-9 standardized test show that 81 % of Kearny's students scored Basic and above in reading, compared to just 26% in 1996.
10 the same tinJe span, Welsh raised the percentage of its students scoring Basic or higher on the science section from 30% to 79%.
Moffet students made big gains on the math section of the SAT-9, jumping from 37% of its students scoring Basic and above in 1996 to 62% in 1999.
Asked to explain the improvement in test scores, principals and teachers point to the strong instructional programs and educational focus at these schools.
Michael Biddle, a second grade teacher, beLieves that Kearny's students outperform other students on these tests because of the school's clear emphasis on reading and writing.
Fourth grade teacher Maggie Broderick agrees. ' 'The real key to the change has to be the students ' ability to read independently. If they can read the test and you have taught children to reason, then they' re probably going to be successful at taking a test."
' 'Their ability to sit down in front of a book for a half hour inJpacts their ability to sit down in front of the test for an hour and to apply themselves."
Three years ago at Welsh, principal Steven Alper took a close look at the standardized tests and the correlation of these tests with the resources in the school.
Alper looked at the goals and outcomes of their math, reading, and science programs and didn' t stop reworking the prograDls until he was satisfIed. Now he says he 's sure these prograDls give students the instruction they need to succeed on these tests.
Arlene Goldsmith, program support teacher at Moffet, believes the way teachers adapt the instructional prograDl mainly accounts for the rise in Moffet's scores.
"Our philosophy is that if you' re adapting
numbers Kearny Moffet Welsh
K-5 K-5 K-6
399 523 769
85.8% 86.1% 91.5%
93.0% 15.9% 27.3%
6.5% 59.8% 71.8%
0.5% 23.7% 0.7%
0.0% 0.4% 0.0%
0.0% 0.2% 0.3%
67 (17%) 61 (12%) 99(13%)
0(0%) 86(16%) 125 (16%)
22 34 50
31 .8% 23.5% 20.0%
0.0% 0.0% 10.0%
68.2% 76.5% 70.0%
29% 7% 8%
and changing your everyday instructi on and the strategies you are using, that should be what helps children do better on the SAT-9-as opposed to days on end of SAJ'-9 practice."
Catherine Fredericks, a third grade teacher, is an example of what Goldsmith describes. Over the years, Fredericks has moved away from a directed math lesson to a more open-ended approach that encourages students to explore various solutions and explain how they arrived at their answer. This approach matches the types of math problems presented on the SAT-9.
Jacqueline Lee-Way uses her knowledge of the content in previous tests to adapt her lessons for her fourth grade students.
A year ago, her students were surprised by the appearance of decimals in the multiplication and division section of a citywide test. At that point in the year, her class had
not yet covered decimals in their Photo: Jeanette Kaplan
math curriculum. Kearny teacher Maggie Broderick pushes he r fourth This year, Lee-Way says her stu- graders to read independently.
dents will defmitely be prepared. Because the SAT-9 is given in tjUrd and
fourth grades, Moffet directs special academic attention towards low-performing third and fourth graders. The school has spent some of its Title I money to hire a retired teacher to provide intensive support for these students in math and reading.
While confIdent in the strength of their day-to-day instruction, all three schools also have worked on providing opporturtities for their students to learn and practice specillc test-taking skills.
Once a week, Kearny teachers assign an open-ended question for homework. They model for their students how to rephrase essay prompts, answer multiple choice questions, and practice other test-taking skills.
Denice Brown, a third grade teacher at Kearny, explains that these skills are emphasized so "kids don't get frustrated when the big tests come around."
At Moffet, on testing days, Jacqueline Lee-Way does her best to relieve the anxiety in her students.
' 'There is such test anxiety," she says, ''These test results carry such an effect on these children 's lives." Instead of going out to recess, students talk with Lee-Way about any last-minute concerns they have about the test.
Lee-Way also insists that her students take the test at their own desks and under her supervision because that's the educational setting they are most fami liar and comfortable with.
"It's like wearing an old pair of shoes to take a test. If you' re used to si tting with me, I'm not going to let you go and take the test [with someone else] because that's changed the outcome already."
Kearny were among those that exceeded their fIrst target in 1998, earning them a monetary award. This fall , the District is announcing how schools did on their second two-year target.
Despite the attention and the money these schools have gotten as a result of meeting their goals, many of the educators take a critical stance toward the increasingly prominent role standardized testing is taking in their lives.
One teacher at Moffet describes the enor-mous amount of pressure teachers face to inlprove student performance on these tests. "Your job is on the line," she says.
'Their ability to slt down in front of a
book for a half hour impacts their ability
to sit down in front of the test for an hour.'
A Kearny teacher believes there is too much emphasis on the children's test scores. She fears that energy spent on improving test scores may come at the cost of paying attention to other cha] lenges, like promoting more parental involvement in the school.
Another teacher at Welsh admits that she has done less and less of the innovative teach-ing she likes to do because of the sheer amount of tinle that testing demands.
And principal Steven Alper dislikes the practice of testing a different set of students each year, preferring instead a kind of individual assessment where he can track student
od avg. for all elementary schools. 1995-99 = 21 % 'Ie.'
Over the past three years at Welsh, from November to March, third and fourth grade students can participate in an after-school program twice a week where both testtaking skills and subject content are reviewed. At-risk students are given an extra third day.
performance as students move through each of the grades in his school.
But because of the impact test scores can have on a student's future in this educational system, behind these criticisms lurks an
Performance Data 1999 ) -
'ffhis ~o scor~ng Basic or ab~ve, SAT-9 Reading ys ;. Scor~ng Basic or above, SAT-9 Math
00 SConng Basic or above, SAT-9 Science
,hers ;. of students present 96% or more of days mg o of staff present 96% or more of days t IS
SOurce: Schoot District of Philadetph ia
81.4% 62.4%
82.3% 61 .8%
90.3% 67.8%
49.6% 55.6%
68.6% 80.4%
71 .8% 78.7 % 79.1% 51 .4 % 82.1 %
Each school in the District has been ass igned a two-year "performance target" speci fying the amount of improvement they must attain on an index based heavily on SAT-9 scores. Moffet, Welsh, and
urgent sense of the responsibility that each of these schools and their staff bear.
Moffet teacher Joyce Glenn sums it up thi, way: "I just think we take seriously the work that kids need to be able to do to pass those tests."
PAGE 12 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000
MotTet: teacher leadership and the depth of dedication Administrators, students, parents, and
teachers all agree. Ask what makes Moffet a successful school and the first thing you'll hear is "teachers."
Principal John Kelly describes his staff as an "excellent group of people who work harder here than at other places."
Fifth grader Emi ly is more colorful: "We have great teachers. They teach lessons with some excitement, with some oomph."
Mentorship and collaboration Joyce Glen", a fifth grade teacher, has
spent twenty years at Moffet and is lauded by her colleagues for her "indomitable positiveness:'
Carol Friedman, a second grade teacher, has been teaching at Moffet since 1972 and is now teaching the children of the children she had taught earlier.
Glenn and Friedman are part of a core group of teachers who have worked at Moffet now for over two decades. Besides lending stability and consistency to the school, they have set the standard for new
- teachers to follow. "You work hard, and then you bring the
other people who are new into what your expectations are," explains Glenn. These expectations include coming early, staying late, reaching into your pocket, and above all, putting children first.
" There are some people who have left because they said it's not for them," she adds.
New teachers who stay at Moffet foUow the examples of their peers and discover a school culture where support and collaboration among colleagues are the norm.
Theresa Venhaus, a long-time food service worker at Moffet, says "If you need a hand, we're here. If a teacher is walking on her break through the hall and another teacher is having a problem, they' ll pitch in and help. I' ve had teacherS 'say, 'I'll serve lunches while you take a kid downstairs.' And this is their lunchtime. They don 't have to do that."
Betsy Lamb and Patricia Brazukas, two of Moffet'S kindergarten teachers, lean on one another to help out with classroom discipline, often sending students to one another's classrooms to give both the students and the teachers a mini-timeout from each other.
Teacher collaboration at Moffet results in creative special projects that cut across the
Joyce Glenn, who has spent the last 20 years teaching at Moffet, leads an active math lesson with her fifth graders.
curriculum and involve mUltiple classes. Fairy tale balls and living wax museums are some of the projects that teachers in Moffet's upper grade small learning community ("M & M Kids") have implemented.
Each year, the third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers devise a humorous skit - complete with one teacher dressing up as a giant M & M - to introduce themselves to the students and to give students an indication of "how crazy we are." It's an "oomph" that would encourage any child to love school.
Committing time and money Whether it's to prepare for classes, grade
papers, write grants, enhance a library, discuss reading strategies, or plan special projects, Moffet teachers come early and leave late. While teachers say they sometimes feel it's under-appreciated, it's part of the school's culture and essential to its success.
"It's like you are on a constant treadmill. An enjoyable treadmill, but it's still treadmill," comments Jacqueline Lee-Way, a fourth grade teacher who routinely is one of the last teachers to leave the building.
Though the District mandates that all teachers in the same small learning commu-
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nity have common prep times to meet, teachers are still squeezed to find time to meet during the school day. Many times lunch time becomes work time. Even then, not all teachers have the same lunch.
Teachers in Moffet's K-2 small learning • community have elected to meet once every three weeks before school in the moming. The fact that these meetings are volun-
teachers to spend money out of their own pockets.
Admittedly, Moffet is very fortunate to have Arlene Goldsmith, program support teacher and reading specialist, on staff. Goldsmith also serves as the school's designated "resource chaser," writing grants for the books and literacy materials that supple-
ment the meager $50 each teacher
tary and yet all the teachers participate is a strong indication that Moffet teachers routinely sacrifice their time.
"There are people here from the crack of dawn until lights close," says Carol Friedman. ''There are cars in
New teachers at Moffet discover a
school culture where support and
collaboration are the norm.
gets at the beginning of the year for supplies.
Yet to cover the small things - the decorations, craft items, prizes, and special event items- that make a classroom an inviting place to learn,
the parking lot as late as 6 p.m. - even on Friday. That says a lot."
What also says a lot about their professional commitment is the willingness of
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teachers still spend hundreds of dollars a year. This is a
fact that Governor Ridge should know, asserts kindergarten teacher Betsy Lamb.
For the past 20 years, gym teacher Jeffrey Kall has held after-school sports clubs. He has gained recognition for his long-distance track team, which participates in several high-profJle races like the 10-mile Broad Street Run each year.
Kall estimates that race fees for Moffet's track team, which regularly garners awards in the l8-and-under category, usually cost about $1,600. While fundraisers bring in $1,200, Kall subsidizes the rest.
Last year, a handful of Moffet's teachers donated the money to pay for the school's glitteringly beautiful fifth grade closing exercise ceremony. The event touched the hearts of an auditorium packed with parents, neighbors, friends, and supporters.
The expectation for teachers to achieve and to give is great at Moffet. Teachers do get weary. One teacher describes the pressure as "unremitting." Yet, as Joyce Glenn observes, "People still do it."
Jacqueline Lee-Way explains, ''These are people's lives. These aren't inanimate objects. That's why it bothers me when I hear Governor Ridge doesn't want to give but so much money."
Luckily for Moffet students, their teachers are not so stingy.
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGE 13 -Moffet School and community: a mutual respect
Greeter. TutOl: Security guard. Snow shoveler. TranslatOl: Tour guide.
Joe Pomales, proud parent of two Moffet !ITaduates and one student in the 5th grade, does it all. With his desk by the front door, his is usually the first face that greets incomina visitors.
" A warm, sel t~effacing man, whose formal title is bilingual tutor, Pomales exudes the Moffet spirit. "He puts everybody in a good mood," one teacher comments.
Theresa Venhaus's history with Moffet stretches back 32 years to when her then fi veyear-old son enroUed at the school. What started out as volunteer work through the Home and School Association eventuaUy turned into a 21-year career as a food service worker.
Mother Venhaus, as students and staff caU her, is a Moffet fixture, active in the school's "Voyager" after-school program and always available to sew a loose button or two.
While meeting regularly, the School Council, according to Principal John Kelly, "is not big," and he added that the Home and School Association has been through rough times recently "going in cycles."
Nevertheless, Moffet enjoys a long-standing positive relationship with the neighborhood.
Parents who went to Moffet themselves and who now send their children to the school stiU speak highly of its strong points.
"I love this school. It's the best in the area. The teachers and staff are nice. The principal is the greatest. He relates to parents. He is happy, laughing. He knows how to come to people," says Secundio Rosario.
Joe Pomales and Theresa Venhaus are just twO of the many concerned parents who have become an integral part of Moffet's staff and helped to make the school's culture one that is anentive to its multicultural community.
Photo: Harvey Finkle
Joe Pomales, one of several parents on the Moffet staff, is stationed by the front door and is quick to offer a welcome or a helping hand to students, parents, and visitors.
'"The old school was the same way." Rosario continues, "I like the way they communicate. They don't treat anyone special or better. My daughter has never missed a day in
"There are parents in the classrooms, in the school yard, in the lunchroom. Everywhere. There are always parents here," observes Nereida Pomales, herself a parent and a noontime aide.
Many schools hire parents, but Moffet's staff is noteworthy because it is characterized by teamwork and camaraderie among the various staff members.
"We don't treat aides or parents differently," says Betsy Lamb, who has taught kindergarten for sixteen years. "We see each other aU as educators."
Mrs. Estrada, Lamb's classroom assistant
and long-time community resident, agrees, "We respect one another. We love each other."
Respect for the cultural diversity at Moffet is not just lip service.
Principal John KeUy himself is bilingual . Joe Pomales, already bilingual in Spanish and English, is learning Albanian to serve as a better intermediary for Moffet's growing Albanian student population.
"I don't want to leave the parents bewildered," Pomales says.
Moreover, the school makes a conscious effort to celebrate the multiculturalism of its
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students and to make it a point of pride. Moffet students spend a bener part of
their last marking period studying different countries for an "International Week" celebration that culminates in a series of assemblies and an outdoor parade.
In these performances, music teacher Irene Pelech includes songs that represent the variety of places from which Moffet students hail, including Puerto Rico, Palestine, and Albania
Interestingly, for a school that garners so much parental support and praise, Moffet's formal structures for parent participation are not exceptionaUy strong.
two years. My son graduated with straight As. He's now in Edison. He says, 'I miss it. I wish I could go back to school there again.'"
Because of the school's good relationship with the community, Jeff KaU, Moffet's gym teacher since 1974, feels comfortable conducting track practice in the neighborhood.
"Moffet is an oasis," KaU says. "We run around the block here. Nobody has ever bothered us walking to Temple for gymnastic meets. There's respect in the neighborhood for the school."
Surely, this is because the respect also goes the other way.
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PAGE 14 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000
Instruction at John Welsh Elementary
Teaching and learning of the highest order Al John Welsh Elementary, good instruc
lion keeps students busy and helps maintain discipline in the classroom.
Jim Hollis, former special education teacher and now Welsh's administrative assistant, explains, "You keep their minds
SuccessfUl chools
occupied, keep redirecting them towards the task at hand. They don·t have time to get on each other and have that friction. They're focusmg on higher order tasks. That'S what we try to do."
Principal Steven Alper agrees. "Most important," confirms Alper from behind stacks of educational books on h.is desk, "is that the practice [of teaching] be of the highest level possible:'
After encouraging teachers to try new methods, Principal Alper then asks if their experiences
match up with the research.
Some classroom snapshots In a bright room teeming with plants,
aquariums, and mice and terrariums, Cheryl Spencer is teaching 19 second graders about the life cycle of the butterfly.
Captivated by their teacher 's dynamic voice and gestures, the students listen and happily volunteer to read information from the life cycle posters Spencer has on her blackboard. At the end of class, Spencer reminds the students that their life-cycle projects are due tomorrow.
One floor above, Christine Betz's third graders have split into eight literacy centers for the afternoon. In the spelling center, a group of four students self-administer a spelling test. In the computer center, three students use a software program that Betz designed herself.
A few desks away, four students chant poetry. Two students read to one another in
the buddy reading center. Two more students write si lly stories using story elements fro m cards they select fro m flie boxes.
In a corner, Christine Betz reads with three children. Only once during the center time does she have to remind a group to refocus.
Patricia Kane's filth grade students are in groups too - for a math lesson on organizing data. Each group has a designated recorder, timekeeper, and reporter. In 15 minutes, they have to present to the class a graph that shows how many students have been to how many states. They use data that their own lives have provided.
When time comes for the oral presentation, one group hangs back. ' 'We messed up," their spokesman says.
"That's okay," says Kane, "Fix it verbally when you present it." And the group does.
Across the hall from Patricia Kane is Sherri Kanfer 's filth grade class. Having already finished their basal reader for the year, the class has elected to study and act out a play from another reader.
The play is 'The Streets Are Free," a story about Venezuelan students who are fighting the mayor of San Jose for a playground. Kanfer 's students have studied the play and have prepared a few props - picket signs, a toy camera, a reporter's notebook, a construction paper street, and a heap of trash that represents the vacant lot.
Supporting good teaching Creating a school where teachers can
teach effectively has required that Steven Alper keep abreast of the latest educational research.
He often slips copies of new research into teachers' mail boxes. After encouraging them to try the new methods, he then asks if their experiences match up with the research.
One example of a practice that Alper has implemented is looping, where one teacher follows the class she has taught to the next grade level. Many of the teachers have found the practice to be worthwhile. First grade teacher Patricia Cover says, '1 really enjoyed
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it. I felt like J could do a lot more with them." The students look forward to it too. Last
May, Rodney and Jonathan, two filth graders in Sherri Kanfer 's class, expressed a desire for Kanfer to follow them into sixth grade.
Showing real passion, they said, ''We' re going to go to Mr. Alper and ask him if we can have Ms. Kanfer next year. He better usten-{)therwise we' re going to go to another school!"
Alper and the teachers also demonstrate a
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Top: Welsh scie nce teache r Che ryl Spencer has a w e llequipped classroom with a stunni ng collection of plants and small animals.
Left: Stairwells a nd hallways at Welsh are graced by co lo rfu l and educational murals, including the Wall of Achievement, documenting accomplishments of people of color.
sensitivity to the various learning needs among their students. Welsh has a fu ll-time speech and language pathologist who
Welsh possesses some of the most beautiful indoor
murals in the School District.
administers therapy to children who need speech and language support.
For its visual learners, John Welsh possesses some of the most beautiful indoor murals in the School District.
Themes range from different literary genres and Philadelphia landmarks to world geography and the ''Wall of Achievement," which documents the accomplishments of a number of people of color.
Stellar examples of the projects that teachers undertake to engage their students are two large displays on the fourth floor hallway.
One is the John Welsh rain forest, the fruit of an ongoing research project created by Patricia Kane's fifth graders over a six year period.
The other is a display of three large but fr iendly looki ng paper-mache dinosaurs made by Welsh's special education students.
FALL 21 --Tl "1' .
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGE 15 -The Welsh lunchroom: the 'Menu of Manners'
''This is the best lunchroom I have ever seen in twenty-five years," conunents Carol o'Toole, who was at Welsh last year doing her principal internship.
Feeding over 750 students a day in three half-hour shifts, the Welsh lunchroom is a vaunted example of the school's effort to instill order and decorum into every activity of the school day.
"At [list I thought it was too strict," o'Toole admits, "But at other schools a lot of serious incidents occur at lunch - so if this is what it takes ... "
What it takes is a well-choreographed program where student movement and behavior are strictly defined and monitored from the time students enter the cafeteria to the time they leave.
Called ''The Menu of Manners," the lunch program begins with teachers bringing their classes in single ftle boy-girl lines to the door of the lunchroom. There they wait until a food service worker gives them permission toenter.
In their lines, the students enter, pick up their lunches, walk to their designated tables, place their lunches at their assigned seats, stand facing a mural of a chef on the lunchroom's western wall, and' wait for the rest of the students to arrive.
All of this is supposed to happen in silence.
This beginning exercise unfolds over several minutes and cuts down on the amount of free time students ha ve after they fi nish eating - usually the time in lunchrooms where students become the most rowdy, having eaten up their lunch in all of five minutes.
After all the classes are standing silently, facing the proper direction, a staff member
leads the students in a brief choral recitation. Only then are students permitted to sit, eat, and talk amongst themselves.
If the noise rises above an acceptable level, students are given three warnings. If they exceed three warnings, they are given a "silent lunCh," a consequence that staff do not hesitate to apply.
During silent lunch no talking ispennitted. Its duration ranges from five minutes to . an entire lunch period. If a student talks, he or she is asked to stand and loses recess privileges for the day.
For severe infractions, a letter is sent home to parents. On the third infraction, the parent must either take the child home or come sit with the student during lunch. As one lunchroom worker notes, working parents don't have time for that, so behavior usually shapes up pretty quickly.
While consequences are swift, so are rewards. Individuals get selected as helpers, and points are awarded for classes who behave well.
Classes with points are the first to go out for recess. At the end of each month, the class with the most points gets an ice cream parry.
i:i i:i i:i
Lunch at Welsh wasn't always this way. The building was constructed without a cafeteria and, up until 1988, students ate in their classrooms. The school spent a great deal of money on noontime aides to cover individual classrooms.
After the arrival of principal Steven Alper, lunch was moved to the gym, which today still functions as both lunchroom and gym, and the Menu of Manners was created.
i:i i:i i:i
Cecilia James, a noontime aide since 1978 and now a grandmother of a Welsh student, walks around the lunchroom with a microphone. With authority, she constantly reminds both students and staff of the lunchroom rules.
James, whose three children have all graduated from Welsh, helped build the lunchroom program, which initially was designed by former program support teacher Sharon Simpson.
"Consistency in this lunchroom is what makes it work," says James, who describes her work at Welsh as a labor of love.
The sensible placement of sufficient supplies and people helps too. Food distribution
Photo: Harvey Finkle
Cecilia James quiets the Welsh lunchroom.
takes place in two separate areas - cutting down on the crowding and disorder that typically plague lunch service areas.
The I unchroom seats up to 250 students per lunch. Nearly each of the 23 tables has a large trash can next to it for easy clean-up. Buckets with soapy water and rags are accessible for staff and students to wipe down tables.
Seven noontime aides, called "lunch teachers," monitor specific tables. They receive assistance from an elected volunteer, a "helper," from each class.
As the only students allowed to move around the lunchroom, the "helpers" wear badges to identify themselves. They throw away trash, wipe down tables, and assist in the distribution of second helpings.
Parental support is part of what makes ''Tbe Menu of Manners" work. Every September, letters detailing lunchroom regulations are sent borne so parents are apprised of the school's expectations. And, according to Cecilia James, every "lunch teacher" currently has or has had a child attend Welsh.
While the strict lunchroom protocol often gives rise to complaints among students, the benefits are not lost on them.
Angel, a sixth grade student who has attended several other schools, says of Welsh, ''They are strict in the school, but itis fun. You get points for ice cream parties."
He then adds with a mischievous grin, "If they weren't as strict, we'd be having food fights right now."
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PAGE 16 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000
Assessing, addressing students' individual needs Kearny takes advantage of its small size
In a ctistrict where elementary school populations can reach into the 800s and class sizes are often 30 or more, Kearny Academlcs Plus is a school of different proportions.
With 400 stndents, Kearny is small for a public elementary school in Philadelphia. Moreover, Principal Eileen Spagnola has cbosen to concentrate its resources on reducing class size.
As a result, teachers get to know their stndents as individual learners. Linda Abrompab was impressed with this fact soon after her grandson enrolled at Kearny.
Describing his first few weeks in first grade, Abrompab remembers, 'We bad a rough three weeks. Ms. Blackburn had luncb with my grandson inctividually a couple of times so she could get to know him. She was patient, loving, and nurtnring. After that, he settled right in."
With approval, Abrompab now says, "She knows my grandson like I do. I can talk with her about him."
Part of Kearny's school cultnre is to pass this knowledge along to other teachers as stndents move up the grade levels.
Fourth grade teacher Maggie Broderick has spent half of her 28-year teaching career in the School District of Philadelphia. When she came to Kearny three years ago, she immectiately recognized a clifference in the way teachers talked about stndents during the school's Comprehensive Support Process meetings, where teachers gather to ctiscuss inctividual students.
'When I sit down and bring somebody up," Broderick says, "everybody has a story and has known this child since kindergarten, so we're like family sitting around the table talking about this child and the child's needs."
Small class size isn't the only factor that
has created a learning environment that allows teachers to respond quickly and appropriately to their learners.
Kearny also performs internal assessments of stndents with remarkable efficiency.
There is very little wait time between a teacher's identifying a struggling student and the time when steps are taken to address the student 's needs. Broderick remembers that within three days of voicing a concern about one of her students her first year at Kearny, a meeting was set up and strategies were put into place.
Ail these assessments drive instruction at Kearny and help the school keep on top of one of its biggest challenges: transfer stndents from other schools.
According to Vaye MacGruther, Kearny's school-cornrnunity coordinator, "Parents hear about the school and try to get their children in."
There is little wait time between a teacher's identifying a strug
gling student and the time when steps are taken to address the
student's needs.
The increasing number of transfer stndents tests Kearny's ability to keep its reading scores high.
Ruth Cohen, the language arts resource teacher who performs the initial assessment on the transfer stndents, cornrnents, "I had fifth graders that walked in the door that told me they were reacting a fourth or flith grade book, but when I gave them a Qualitative Reacting Inventory, they were reacting on a second grade level."
Nevertheless, since students are immediately assessed, the school is aware of and
Photo: Jeanette Kaplan
Teachers at Kearny get to know the abilities of their students as individual learners.
preparing for the new challenges their changing population is bringing them.
To remectiate the stndents, Kearny's teachers have moved through a variety of methods - from reading cycling, to small group pull-out sessions, to working with kids in classrooms.
Cohen hopes that this year, an expected reduction in class size and new federally funded "literacy interns" assisting teachers in some classrooms will further address this need.
In addition, the school has fuUy embraced
the Balanced Literacy Prograrn, which helps teachers work more effectively with stndents of varying reading levels.
Maggie Broderick observes, "From the time a kid steps into the building, whether they are a middle of the year transfer or not, energies are irnmectiate. The wheels start working to assess that child and address that child's needs. It's just the way the wheels of this engine work."
It's clear that Kearny's wheels are working and helping it to adapt to new challenges.
School maintains multigenerational ties in the community while building new ones
Kearny: keeping up the connections Talk to a few people, trace a few famlly
histories, and a compelling picture of multigenerational connections to Kearny begins to emerge. These connections help to keep people involved in Kearny long after their initial contact has passed.
"Kearny is one of the best elementary schools. I'm happy with the education there," says parent Veronica Boucaud. Having attended Kearny herself in the 1970s, Boucaud is talking from experience.
Boucaud has also sent all three of her children to Kearny. Boucaud's youngest daughter is in the first grade. Her oldest daughter, now at Masterman, left Kearny last year after completing the 4th grade. And her son now stncties at Stoddart Fleischer Middle School.
Linda Abrompab attended Kearny in the 1960s. She remembered her days at Kearny so fondly that when she becarne disgusted with her grandson's West Philadelphia elementary school, she marched right into Kearny to talk to principal Eileen Spagnola about enrolling him there.
Ritagay Sisk-Jarnison is another Kearny alumna, from the 1950s, and she sent her children to the school in the 1970s. She has continued to find herself involved at Kearny through her work as a cornrnunity activist with Residents, Inc. and East Popular NAC.
"Of aU the schools I attended, including college, Kearny is the one I remember most about," she commented. ''The teachers always went that extra mile for you."
Ann McClary and Mildred Bates both followed their children to Kearny as volunteers, but remained long after, serving the school as food service workers. With a collective 40 years of Kearny work experience between them, McClary and Bates agree that the school's pleasant atmosphere, the stndents, and the principal keep them happy to stay.
"Loving and kindness is what Kearny is made of," agrees Felietta Mitchell, a parent who followed her son to Kearny and became a classroom aide. MitcheU cites it as a reason why stndents (and probably the staff too) find it difficult to leave the school.
Another group that maintains a long-term connection to Kearny is the Tenderlions, a club made up of men who grew up together in the neighborhood. The Tenderlions have formally adopted the school and host a summer picnic so Kearny children can get together while they're on vacation. They also make an annual donation to the school.
A boost for Kearny's cornrn~nity connections is a new after-school literacy program started this fall with support from
Public/Private Ventures. Principal Eileen Spagnola said the school will also be open more often in the evenings this year for parent and cornrnunity workshops.
Kearny has also had success in cultivating ongoing relationships with some of its institntional partners.
The school's pleasant atmosphere,
the students, and the principal make
people happy to stay.
Employees from General Services Administration have been involved in a tntoring program at Kearny for nearly two decades. The prograrn matches each GSA employee with one stndent whom teachers have deemed needs extra academlc support and would respond well to inctividual mentoring.
Charles West, a project analyst, has come every Wednesday to the school since 1984. West says that he still sees young people that
he has tntored over the years. "They've become teenagers but they can relate to me. I've had some small positive effect on their lives. Sometimes kids just need an adult to show interest in them."
The one-to-one pairings cultivated between Kearny stndents and volunteers appear to result in meaningful relationships that encourage volunteers to stay connected to the school.
A newer partnership is the District Court reading program, where volunteers from the District Court are paired with students from Cheryl Feldscher's second grade class.
Each week the Kearny stndents go to the Court House and meet with their tntors to engage in various activities - reading, doing . word searches, writing stories, surfing the Internet, talking, and occasionally, as one stndent remembers happily, spinning on chairs.
As a testament to the emotional connection between stndents and their tntors, when Cheryl Feldscher's class couldn' t make it to their last session at the District Court because of a bus cancellation, the tntors came to them instead. Taking taxis and bearing gifts, the tntors arrived at Kearny to spend one last day with their stndents to celebrate their accomplishments.
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK
Message to PA on budget surplus
Give Back the Give Back is a non-partisan campaign to encourage homeowners to "give back" Pennsylvania's tax rebates by pledging them to a needy school district.
"We want our public officials to put our money where our needs are-in our children and families, in our schools and communities," states the pledge circulated by the campaign.
The campaign is a response to the unanimous action of the state legislature granting up to $ 100 to every homeowner in Pennsylvania as a way of "giving back" a portion of the state's huge budget surplus
I just prior to Election Day. The rebates are estimated to total $330 million dollars,
Activism around the city
"[sn't it sad that we look to Harrisburg for leadership, and our leaders feel that we are better qualifled than they to spend our tax money?" said Sue Arnold, a resident of Montgomery County who supports the Give Back campaign and wrote her state representative about it.
Participating organizations in the campaign include Public Private Venmres, Taller Puertorriqueilo, Philadelphia Student Union, Philadelph.ia Federation of Teachers, Parents Union for Public Schools, and Women's Way.
During the weekend of October 13 I through 15, campaign activities are planned
for the Avenue of the Arts, malls, neighborhoods, and houses of worship to inform the public and collect more signatures for the Gi ve Back Pledge.
PAGE 17
To sign the pledge or find out more, call Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth at 215-563-5848, The Give Back the Gi ve Back Pledge can be fou nd on the web at www,pccy,org,
The state's deadline for a rebate application was postponed until October 20. Application information is available by calling 1-877-721 -8520 or from the web site www.l00dollars.state.pa.us.
Voters wanted With a President, a Senator,
Congress people, State Senators and Representatives up for election in Philadelphia on November 7, efforts are underway to reverse the decline in vOler turnout here,
The "NonVoters Campaign," launched by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values and the League of Women Voters, is a nonpartisan effort for people to show their coneem by going door-to-door and building the greatest possible voter tumou!. For information, call 215-248-5673 or go to www.nonvoters.org.
"This is the moment when citizens with strong concems-like school funding-can bring them to bear on the one process that every politician has to take seriously: the electoral process," commented Ed Schwartz, director of the Institute.
The Think Tank at Awbury will award up to ten grants of $50 each to a high school student or group of students implementing an idea that increases vote~ registration or tumou!. Students should submit ideas and time lines with name, address and phone, age and grade, a parent or guard ian's signature and phone, the name of their school. and the name and phone number of a school official. Send submissions to VOTE! The Think Tank, c/o Martel, 6130 Ardleigh St., Philadelphia, 19138.
HAND in HAND
~ PARENTS· SCHOOLS· COMMUNITIES
United for Kids
Become a part of
PROJECT 10,000_ A Children Achieving Agenda Initiative Recruit and Match 10,000 New Volunteers with Schools
For more information contact
The Project 10,000 Office The School Disrricr of Philadelphia
21st Srreer &The Parkway, Room 505 Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-7307 or (215) 299-7461
Yes, I wanr ro devore rime to rhe Philadelphia Public School
students and I want to be a Project 10,000 volunteer.
Narrle ______________________________________ ___
Address ________________________ _ Zip Code ____ _
Phone (~ _______________ _
PAGE 18 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK FALL 2000
Book review: Teachers look to transform their unions by Ron Whitelwrne
"Those who understand the vital importance of a system of public education must simultaneously defend and transform our public schools so thl0' equitably serve all studellls. And those who understand the vital role of teachers unions must simultaneously defend members' rights while bllilding a new vision of teacher unionism."
So writes Bob Peterson, who - along the Michael Charney - edited Transforming Teacher Unions: Fighting for Better Schools and Social Justice. The editors are teachers and union activists in the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation's two major teacher unions.
They have pulled together an anthology that includes 25 articles dealing with broad questions of union strategy and specific practices developed by reform-minded locals around the nation. It also includes interesting material on the history of teacher unions, a discussion of the NEAlAFT merger, and a study/resource guide. Contributing
Dear Families:
authors include union activists and leaders, classroom teachers, and education reform advocates like Jonathan Kozel and Herbert Kohl.
Transforming Teacher Unions traces the rise of teacher unions based on their embracing an industrial model of organization. The industrial model has as its central focus defending the rights and conditions of teachers. Through energetic organizing and a willingness to strike, teacher unions were able in the 1960s and 1970s to dramatically improve salaries and working conditions, winning grievance procedures, layoff and transfer policies based on seniority, and other basic protections that unionized workers in the industrial sector had gained earlier.
But recently, the limits of this model -namely the tendency to ignore broader educational questions and simply focus on servicing the contract- have become more evident.
New Trends in Teacher Unions In the face of growing public criticism
and isolation, a different kind of unionism has developed. Its proponents, leaders like Tom Mooney of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers and Adam Urbanski of the Rochester Teachers Association, argue that unions, while continuing to insure due process and economic progress for teachers, must also take responsibility for teacher quality and student learning.
They seek a collaborative relationship with management in developing measures to improve teaching. Presidents from 21 AFT and NEA locals have come together in TURN (Teachers Union Reform Network) to promote tlllS perspective, which they call "professional unionism." The presidents of both national teacher unions have articulated this perspecti ve.
Petersen and Charney embrace this development but argue that unions must take a further step, advocating what they call "social justice unionism." The hallmark of social justice unionism is the recognition that unions must fight for the needs of students and the broader community not as an
September 7, 2000
Student attendance has steadily increased over the last four years but improvement is still needed.
Truancy is an unexcused absence from school. It also is an indicator for possible academic failure and other problems. Truant students are at risk for getting involved in delinquent behaviors, early pregnancy, possible drug and a lcohol use, physical injury and school failure . Indeed, unsupervised youth who are frequently absent from school generally are unsafe and more likely to be victims of crime or participants in c rime.
The School District of Philadelphia will continue to work together with the Philadelphia Police, SEPTA Police, and Housing Authority Police on a truancy initiative to locate students who .are truant and return them to school. Effective Monday, September 25, 2000 the police wi ll stop students who are on the street or in the subway system after 9:00 a .m. When this happens, one of the following steps will be taken depending upon where the student is found.
1. The police will escort students located near their assigned school into the building. Upon the student's arrival at school, school staff w ill meet with the student as well as notify you that your child was truant from school.
2. Students who are located a distance away from their assigned school and outside of the Center City area will be escorted by the police to the nearest school attended by students who are the same age. School staff w ill meet with the student as well as notify you and your child's school that your child was truant from school. You may come pick your child up or, if you are not available to do so, your c hild w ill spend the day at this school and will be sent home at the close of the school day.
3. Students who are located in or near the Center City area will be escorted by the pOlice to the School District's Truancy Support Center. This center is located in the Palumbo School at 11th & Catherine Streets (215-351 -7635). Center staff will meet with the student as well as notify you and your child's school that your c hild was truant from school. You may come pick your child up or, if you are not available to do so, your child will spend the day at the center and will be sent home at the close of the school day.
In each case, your child 's school will work with your c hild and you to develop a plan to make sure that the student attends school regularly.
We urge you to discuss the importance of regular schoo l attendance with your child. Students, families, school staff and community members all working as partners together can ensure that the future is safe and bright for all of our children .
Deidre R. Fainibry, EdD. Chief Academic Officer .. School District of Philadelphia '
Sincerely,
John F. Timoney Commissioner Phila. Police Department
Arnold Hall, President ,Home & School Association School District of Philadelphia
afterthought but as a central task. Social justice unionism calls for dealing
with the questions of race and class that lie at the heart of the inequalities in our schools and society. A social justice union, for example, would pay particular anention to educational equity concerns like tracking and curriculum bias as well as educating its members to combat racial and class inequality.
Relevance to Philadelphia The development of professional union
ism has been noted by the Philadelphia media. Statements by AFT president Sandra Feldman and contract provisions negotiated by TURN locals have been used to jab at the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) during contract negotiations. While the PFT and other locals need to look at examples like Cincinnati, an analysis that places the burden on the union for failed education reform ignores a number of points:
• Significant changes in contract language and practice in Cincinnati, Rochester and Seattle were all negotiated, not imposed by school boards using big sticks like Pennsylvania's Act 46.
• These reforms rested on a degree of mutual trust and collaboration that is largely absent in Philadelphia - both in contract provisions and in the culture in the schools. The Career Ladders program in Cincinnati, much cited but little studied by local advocates of performance pay, came about only after over a decade of collaborati ve negotiations, joint committees, and reforms. Even then it was controversial among teachers.
• Changing the way teachers are evaluated, assigned, or compensated is no substitute for delivering the resources needed for learning to occur. Indeed, a lack of resources can sabotage reforms. In Rochester "merit pay" has fallen short of expectations because teacher salaries are no longer competitive, and teachers receive no reimbursement for advanced degrees.
But reform-minded teachers in Philadelphia need to think about what makes sense here, given our history and reality. In so doing, this book will be an invaluable resource.
Transforming Teacher Unions, Bob Peterson and Mic.haeI Charney, eds., ($12.95) is available from the nonprofit educational publisher Rethinking Schools, 1·800-669-4192, or www.rethinkingschools.org.
Ron Whitehome is a teacher, a PFI' activist, and a member of the Notebook editorial board.
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FALL 2000 PUBLIC SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGE 19
~, . To the Editors The Notebook Letters to the editors
From the editors While our normal policy is not to print
anonymous letters, the Notebook editorial board is printing this one because it appears authentic - and to make clear our interest in open discussion about tbe serious problems facing OUr public schools. The view tbat "disruptive, disrespectful students" are the major, overriding problems in Philadelphia schools is one that we often hear.
'I was offended' As a public middle school teacher in Philadelphia, r have seen beautiful, brand new textbooks defaced andior mutilated within weeks of first use, with vulgar pictures and words scribbled throughout them. Books are often strewn around the floors of classrooms, to be stepped on or thrown at classmates if the need arises.
To the editors: I read Edison High School student Joseph
Krwnienski 's article "City students deserve an equal chance," (Summer 2000) highlighting the differences between an urban and a suburban school. While I agree that suburban schools are provided more resources, money alone cannot solve all of the problems that plague inner city schools.
I was offended by Mr. Krzemienski 's assertion that in urban schools, "you find unswept floors, graffiti on walls ... and
~~ Research for Action
., What qUl schools do to support girls through the difficult middle school years?
., Are your children learning the science and math they need for the 21st century?
., How do you know if your Local School Council is working?
Are you interested in these questions and others? Research fo r Action conducts research on public education in Philadelphia and across the country. Write or call for our publication list and to learn more about how Research for Action is working to improve your schools.
Research for Action c/o International House 3701 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104
unspeakable restroom facilities ," compared to clean, well-kept suburban school buildings. I have bought my own brooms and dustpans for my classroom, which is swept several times each day (often by me). Yet students insist on throwing paper, candy wrappers, sunflower seed shells, and anything they please on the floors. Bookshelves and windowsiUs are other student-favored spots for debris - any place, it seems, but the trashcans.
The cleaning woman on my floor (God bless her) constantly sweeps up the hallways after the students. Our hallways are not unswept - but they are continually littered on, like the streets surrounding our school. I showed Mr. Krzemienski 's article to our cleaning woman, and she was incensed.
As for graffiti, blame destructive students and no one else - not the state or city because of "inadequate funding." Perhaps Mr. Krzemienski would have graffitiremoval costs written into the School District's budget, at the expense of new computers or classroom materials .
I agree that student restrooms are "unspeakable" - because that is how some students have chosen to treat them. Liquid soap dispensers remain empty because some students elected to add various bodily fluids to them. Students also purposely stopped up toilets by cramming them with paper towels - so paper towel dispensers also remain empty. Several times in the winter, male students urinated on radiators, causing a foul odor to permeate the hallways.
In contrast, while staff restrooms are by no means beautiful, they are clean, graffitifree, and usually stocked with soap and
The editors do have strong differences with the autbor's viewpoint. As tbe original article by Krzemienski argued. tbose who blame school condi tions on "bad students" are ignoring tbe profound disrespect that is communicated toward our youth when tbese youth must attend poorly funded, prison-like schools.
But we'd like to hear more on tbis subject. Tell us what you think of this teacher'S comments. And tell us if you think we should publish anonymous letters in tbe future.
Mail letters to tbe Notebook. 3721 Midvale, Phila., PA 19129; or fax to 215-95 \-0342; or email to [email protected] .
paper towels. Staff restroorns remain decent because staff members use them for their intended purpose.
Many bright, weU-behaved children attend inner city public schools. Unfortunately, disrespectful and destructive students often ruin the facilities for everyone. Of course inner city schools could use more funding - but aU the money in the world cannot make students behave responsibly and treat books and facilities with respect.
As someone who spends each day in an urban school, I need to teU the other side of this very troubling story. I would be shocked if you print this letter, but I will look for it.
A Jrustrated teacher (unfortunately, I am afraid to use my name or school)
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A conversation with the outgoing schools chief Hornbeck points to progress - and continued need to speak out
Just before leaving his post in August, Superintendent of Schools David Hombeck spoke with Notebook editor Paul Socolar about his six years ill that office and about holl' theflllure looks for the School District. The interview is excerpted here.
Hornbeck anllounced his resignation in JUlie after the city struck a budget deal with Govemor Ridge that kept Philadelphia schools afloat for a year but forced the District to cOllunit to major cutbacks.
Notebook: You've cited rising test scores as a sign of significant improvement in student achievement in the District But there are skeptics who say, ''It's just that kids and schools have had lots of practice taking the SAT-9 test" What's your response to those who still aren't convinced of the real improvement?
Hornbeck: You see changes in classrooms and practices in schools aU across the District that are significantly more than practicing for the test.
You also see bigger gains in the test scores at those levels where there have been bigger changes in the classrooms. There's been a goocl deal less change at the high school level than at the elementary school level. and there's been a good deal more improvement at the elementary school level than at the high school level.
The fact that fourth graders have seen a 48 % increase in their test scores, and that's the
already been the products of practices that clearly were not as good as what teachers and principals are beginning to do now.
Increasingly the smaU learning communities are becoming more than just a reflection of rostering. In the early days of smaU learning communities, almost none of the smaU learning communities were self-contained. <
They might have two or three classes by themselves, but then students would go out aU over the school, and they missed the point of small learning communities. So I think that as small learning communities move into place, more and more that will change.
Also. the idea of the Comprehensi ve SUppOI1 Program - the CSP process- has taken longer to take root in high schools than in elementary schools. Sometimes the problems of high school kids are more complex. But as teams of faculty in these more self-contained SLCs pay more attention to individual kids, that wi U make a difference in their achievement.
I think that as multidisciplinary and service learning projects become more a focus of high school students' work and as faculty recognize how you tie those hands-on activities to the curriculum, you're going to begin to see significant leaps forward. You have teachers who are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how you connect those real life experiences to the classroom.
There are also some initiatives like the Talent Development model [a reform model
being implemented at six high schools]. The dif-
cohort of kids that had fuU day kindergarten-that is the kind of thing that one would look for.
The fact that the gains are susrained over a four-
'You see bigger gains in the test scores at those levels where there have
been bigger changes in the classrooms.'
ference between Strawberry Mansion High School today and Strawberry Mansion High School two years ago is the differ-
year period, at least at the fourth gritde level, is further evidence.
I think that a piece of the early gains was a consequence of becoming more efficient at it - having people take the notion of performance achievement seriously. On the other hand, I think taking the notion of performance achievement seriously is a gain in and of itself.
The kind of test the SPJ-9 is makes it more difficult to practice for than the historic exclusive reliance on multiple-choice tests. You can practice for the test by having kids write a whole lot more. But glory, haUelujah! The kids are writing a whole lot more. The more kids write, the better writers they will become, but they will also become better thinkers.
The thing that concerns me a lot about the critics who come up with these various explanations for kids' improved achievement is that I think it reflects the fact that those people don't believe our kids can learn. So they've got to go find a different explanation for higher achievement than the fact that kids know more or have worked hard or that the teachers are doing things differently.
Notebook: What about the schools, like the high schools, that are lagging behind their performance targets for school improvement? Do they need something more or different than what they've been getting from the District?
Hornbeck: One of the great things that the high schools are going to get - if we're able to stay the course - is that m another five years they're going to get last year's fourth graders.
The kids who are eleventh graders this year were already in the founh grade when I came here. They have nor had the advantage of all the different changes. and they had
ence between day and night. The
notion of research-based insttuctional strategies, which has been much more prevalent in elementary schools, will find its way much more forcefully into high schools.
I think we will get there. People say to me, ''What would you do
differently?" I would initiate programs that treat kids as the vehicles of change - not just the objects of change - far earlier. I would have started Freedom Schools earlier; I would have introduced service learning earlier. As that grows, it will contribute significantly to high schools.
Notebook: You have tried to implement "fair opportunity to learn standards" - a variety of supports for students to give them a shot of achieving the District's "performance standards!' But you haven't had funding to put the "fair opportunities to learn standards" in place fully. Is it still fair to hold students and schools accountable to the performance standards?
Hornbeck: I think not, and we took the first step this year when we made the bifurcated decision to keep the promotion standards in place for fOUM graders but not for eighth graders.
We did that because we were able to put into place just enough of the fair opportunities to learn for fourth graders by way of summer programs and transition programs and extra academic help after school during the school year. We felt comfonable enough in continuing to hold them accountable.
But the money was not such that we could do what we had pledged to do for eighth graders, and so we suspended the promotion requirements for them.
The real test is going to be next year. The
Photo: School District of Philadelphia
Superintendent David Hornbeck stepped down August 14, six years after being appointed to lead the School District. A "chief executive officer" will replace him (see p. 1).
deficit is going to be such that we're going to be hard-pressed to put a patchwork thing together again.
I do not believe that teachers and kids have the tools to achieve at those high levels without the extra resources. If we can't give them the tools, I think it's unfair to deny [students] promotion or deny [teachers] pay increasesor whatever form the accountability will take after the new contract. .
Notebook: You've been a crusader for eqnitable funding for public education. This has been controversial, especially in Harrisburg. What's your advice about the appropriate role for future superintendents?
Hornbeck: In my view, the next superintendent ought to be more courageous and less timid than I was in chaUenging the powers that be,
dents, the parents, and the union leadership. The kids need to be vehicles for change
and not just objects of change. The Philadelphia Student Union and Youth United for Change and the Freedom School participants are good early exarnples of students becoming more sophisticated in responsibly dealing with issues.
With parents and other community people, one of the real problems is that we get exactly what we'U stand for. By and large, parents and the wider community for 30 years in Philadelphia have accepted what Harrisburg has been willing to dish out. Whenever they get heated up, it has been by and large directed at the Board or me.
Yet most of the complaints do have to do with things for which money is at least a piece of the answer. It's as often as not misdirected, for perfectly understandable reasons.
It's a whole lot easier to get at the Board or the
particularly in Harrisburg. The problem was not speaking out more, organizing more, caUing people to account. I would hope the next superintendent would certainly be no less a crusader - I'd hope even
'The problem was not speaking out more,
organizing more, calling people to account.
Superintendent than it is to get at the Governor or the leadership of the General Assembly.
The union leadership is going to have to have a broader sense of its
I would hope the next superintendent would be
no less a crusader.'
more so.
Notebook: Whom do you see as the major players who will affect the possibili-ties for progress in the system? '
Hornbeck: In the traditional ways, I think the Mayor, the Secretary of Education, the Board, the president of the Board, and the Superintendent are going to be the key people.
But if we are going to succeed, three other groups of people have to take a different and much more significant role. Those are the stu-
its membership.
responsibility. A union has a responsibility to
But by and large, their actions have centered exclusively on what's good for adults and not what's good for kids.
I think that has thrown union leadership into disrespect even in the eyes of some of their teachers, but certainly in the eyes of the wider public and the political leadership. They're going to have to change their ways if kids are going to have a future they deserve.
