I iJ: 11 fJ •l :t ! iJ: I t31 illJ ;] ! '413: t•X•l '-

0 0 TEBO OK SPRING 1997 "TURNING THE PAGE FOR CHANGE"

INSIDE I PoR DENTRo

•

Keystone coverage Policy profile 8 g

Audenried, too '

AFRICAN , 1 ~S \ 3 HISTORY " /

Funding Bottled up in Harrisburg

5

VOLUME 4 • NUMBER 3

Parent organizing

AROUND

'

II,!•

CITY 4 Keystoned! -~· Escuela

~,~ Keystone: - 6 • ~ Los j6venes hablan

'

Support · f_, for ~12

Libraries

by Eric Joselyn

"Olney 's been 'keystoned! '" When these few words were first heard,

they spread with fury through the school's halls. In their wake arose wild rumors, walk­outs, court actions and open hostility. Alongside these responses, others felt excite­ment and the hope for positive change.

In February, Superintendent David Horn­beck officially announced that Olney High School was one of two sites in the District to be designated a Keystone school. Olney and Audenried High were selected for "reconstitu­tion" under a provision first negotiated with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) in 1994. The most prominent aspect of the plan provides for the transfer of 75% of the current teaching staff.

The decision provoked an immediate firestorm of controversy.

Escuela 'Keystone': los puntos basicos sobre una nueva politica

por Chip Smithy Denise C. Jones

"Academicamente en necesidad" es la frase usada por el distrito escolar para describir las condiciones que causaron a que las escuelas de Audenried y Olney fuesen asignadas en febrero 13 como escuelas Keystone.

Ambas escuelas recibieron recursos adi­cionales empezando en el otofio de 1994 como parte de seis conjuntos pilotos de escuelas, o clusters, escogidos para implementaci6n total

de! programa de reforma "Ninos Alcanzando" (en ingles Children Achieving). Pero de acuer­do al superintendente David Hornbeck, los logros estudiantiles en estas escuelas no habfan mejorado y existfa una "inhabilidad· por parte de los empleados escolares en traba­jar como eqaipo para darle vuelta a la(s) escuela(s)". El superintendente identifi~6 estas razones como la base de su movida para

• "~scuela Keyston~" ~on.tin~a en lap. 6

Both supporters and detractors of the Key­stone concept have criticized the way the reconstitution plan was introduced at Olney.

For many observers, events in Olney are a repeat of a pattern that has plagued the current administration - the failure to communicate basic ideas and win support among those affected by reform initiatives.

Why Olney? The District's stated basis for selecting the

schools for reorganization is "a review of per­formance" based on test scores, graduation rates, and student and staff attendance rates, adjusted for the level of poverty at the school.

Olney 's test results and student and staff attendance rates from last year are indeed quite low (see box on p.9).

For many of the families with children attending the school, it didn 't take test scores or teacher attendance rates to prove that many things are very wrong. A concern for many parents was that the school did not even man­age to administer the standardized test to more than half the school 's students. · Students in the English as a Second Lan­

guage programs (ESL) were not among those designated to be tested.

Many ESL students and their families have serious concerns over their treatment and safe­ty in the school. It was in part such conditions that led to "unconditional support for the reconstitution of Olney High" from the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights. The Arab American Association also signed a statement of support for the plan.

See "Olney 'keystonlng' " on p. 8

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK .............. !~'!2--------------------------------------~~~::::::::::;::::;:~;:::::::~~~~~~~~~~s~·p:R~/N~G/997 PAGE 2 Who ya gonna call?

1 NorE1BuooR "Turning the page for change"

A voice for parents, students, and classroom teachers who are working fo r quality and equality in our schools.

Advisory Board Shafik Asante (formerly Abu-Tahir),

African Voices Alliance Wanda Bailey-Green, Philadelphia

Federation of Teachers Akil Baker, student, Central High School Jane Century, Campaign for Public

Education Colleen Davis, LULAC Education Project Kathy Fleming, Gay, Lesbian and Straight

Teachers Network (GLSTN) Caroline Hopkins, parent Lawrence Lee, CoreStates Bank Kevin Muszynski, Local Task Force for a

Right to Education Mynle L. Naylor, Educational Quality

(E-Quality) Lizette Oniz, National Congress for

Pueno Rican Rights Maria Quinones, ASPIRA Len Rieser, Education Law Center Edward Roberson, parent Rochelle Nichols Solomon, Nonh

Phi ladelphia Community Compact Dyheim Watson. student, Bartram High

School Debbie Wei, Asian Americans United Organizarionsfor identifican·on purposes 011/y.

Working Group Cindy Engst, Helen Gym, Eric Joselyn,

Pat Lowe, Shawn Poole, Paul Socolar; Coordinator: Chip Smith.

Philadelphia Public School Notehook is a project of the New Beginnings pro­gram of Resources For Human Develop­men1.

We publish four times a year. Send inquiries to School Notebook, 3721 Midvale Ave., Phila., PA 19129. Phone: (215) 951-0330. Fax: (215) 951-0342.

Special thanks to ...

Carmen Marrero, Sandy Socolar, Iris Violeta Torres and all our subscribers, ad­vertisers, and the good people who help distribute the Notebook. Funding in part from Bread and Roses Community Fund, Campaign for Public Education. Core­States Bank, The Edward W. Hazen Foun­dation, PNI, and the Walter E. Hering Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation

Change is in the

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Mock crusade In his State of the Union speech in

January, President Clinton called for a national "crusade" for education.

But a look beyond the rhetoric reveals that schools sti ll are not a high priority when it comes to federal spending. The President's 1998 budget request provides bigger funding increases for new weapons than for education.

Over the next five years, the President proposes to raise spending on education by a total of $4 l billion. Sound impres­sive? Over the same petiod, the budget for "military procurement" - the amount spent on weapons and military equipment - will rise by about $59 bill ion.

In the year 2000 alone, the U.S. will spend $57 billion just to buy new weapons and military equipment- more than any other country spends on its entire military.

The U.S. has the world's most power­ful military, but it has never built an edu­cational system that teaches au its stu­dents. Schools are in trouble - and not just in- Philadelphia:

•The government's General Accoun­ting Office estimates that it will cost over $100 billion to fix the nation 's crumbling public school buildings. The President's budget devotes $5 billion to this problem.

• Upgrading educational technology is estimated to be a $200 billion problem. but Clinton has allocated $2 bill ion .

•Thousands of young children fall behind in reading and never catch up, but the President's only new proposal to tackle this serious literacy problem is a volunteer

program. •Even after planned increases in aid,

the value of individual federal student loans will remain lower than in J 980. Over those 17 years, college tuition costs have skyrocketed.

The President and Congress need to reorder their priorities and pay real money - not just lip se~ice - to supporting quality education. Concrete steps must be taken to assure that disparitie~ end and neglected schools start getting what they need.

It's time to put aside the traditional but wrong-headed view that funding public education is a responsibility that should be left to the states. One result of this view is that the federal government provides a paltry 3% of Pennsylvania's public school costs. Another is that Pennsylvania, like most states, allows vast disparities in fund­ing between districts.

When states failed to guarantee the civil rights of African Americans in the South a generation ago, the federal government intervened with new laws and fund ing to back it up. Now it's time for another inter­vention - a real crusade to support the right to quality education.

Thanks, but • • • Philadelphia's top leaders, Mayor Ed

Rendell and Council President John Street, have stepped up in important ways since January to support the city 's schools.

Both leaders publicly identified them­selves with the reform program of Super­intendent David Hom beck at a time when some observers speculated he would "be out of town in six months." They have pledged an additional $15 million toward the schools and promise to allocate addi­tional funds resulting from the sale of tax liens. And in another dramatic shift from last year, the City - with the support of the teachers' union and community groups - has fi led lawsuits in both Commonwealth and U.S. Courts demand­tng that the state provide adequate fund­mg for our schoolchildren 's education.

These actions, though Jong overdue are welcome and should be recognized as the pos1t1 ve steps that they are.

At the same time, we need to under­stand how far we still have to go.

The schools are still some $52 million short on a bare-bones budget for next year. The various lega l actions agai nst tne state wiJJ provide no immediate assis-

lance. And while we're finally seeing some progress in the stance taken by city leaders, _many at the grassroots have yet to see s1gmf1cant changes in their schools two years into the Children Achieving ' reform program.

That's why we miss Commonwealth Judge Doris Smith. In her role overseeing the long-running desegregation case agamst the District, the judge helped keep everyone's eyes on the bottom line: Are the kids who are most in need of an tmproved education finally receiving it?

Wt th Judge Smith moved off the case by the state Supreme Court, who will fill her role? The Distnct itself? Our new! reform-minded . Y dent? W d ' mayor and council presi-

. e on t thmk so. And while the PFr

Judge Smith wh h strongly supported remains to be en s e was on the case, it champion her ~een whether the union will

We look to a~:~n~s for equ.ity. the first place organfz;:d public - and in school by school and _parents-:- actmg Despite the positi ve actoss the di strict. leaders, the need to :~ve: by top city as great as ever. g or.,antzed remains

We urge you ro rnll 1he

Philadelphia area .5/are ~ legislators lisred ii eJ'<' and ~,. , let them know how vou ·, ::: feel about s1a1efi111~li11g • :::

for our schools. (All i111he 215 area.;

State Senators Vincent Furno (D) Vincent Hughes (D) Shirley Kitchen (D) Hank Salvatore (R) Allyson Schwartz (D) Christine Tartaglione (D) Hardy Williams (D)

State Representatives Louise Bishop (D) Alan Butkovitz (D) Andrew Carn (D) Mark B. Cohen (D) Robert Donatucci (D) Dwight Evans (D) Michael Horsey (D) Harold James (D) Babette Josephs (D) William Keller (D) George Kenney (R) Marie Lederer (D) Kathy Manderino (D) Michael McGeehan (D) John Myers (D) Dennis O 'Brien (R) Frank Oliver (D) John Perze! (R) Benjamin Ramos (D) William Rieger (D) James Roebuck (D) John Taylor (R) W. Curtis Thomas (D) LeAnna Washington (D) Anthony Williams (D) Chi-is Wogan (R) Rosita Youngblood (D)

468-3866 471-0490 457-9033 676-2600 242-9710 533-0440 662-5700

879-6625 335-252[ 560-5326 924-0895 468-l5!5 549-0220 747-0757 462-3308 893-1515 271-9190 934-5144 426-6604 482-8726 333-9760 849-6592 632-5150 684-3738 33 1-2600 427-9035 223-1501 724-2227 425-5667 232-1210 242-0472 472-3775 342-1700 849-6426

, For V the record

In the center spread of our Winter 1997 issue, we identified certain schools in the table of test data as "racially iso­lated," without maki ng clear the origin of the term or clarifying that it is short­hand for schools with student popula­tions that are more than 90% African American or Latino

In using the term " ·acially isolated" we meant to follow C mmonwealth Court Judge Dom ~rnith and her rulings in the long-runnmg desegregation case that is now before rhe state Supreme Court. The judge found in J 994 that the School District runs a segregated school system and fails to provide Afr ican American and Latino students with equal access to , among other things, quality teachers, adequate resources, advanced courses, or magnet schools.

Judge Smith placed Philadelphia's ,, 134 "racially isolated minority schools at the center of the legal remedies she . called for. By including the word nunot­

ity she distinguished these schools trorn the two that had more than 90% whtte students. In later documents the short~;, but imprecise phrase "racially_ i so~~:fer has been used by various parues t

to the 134 schools only. . b This legal category was devise1 ~r­

Judge Smith for a spec1f1c J_udtciafi~ition pose._ Outside this context, the de

1 can b_e seen as arbitrary: For exta:Jo/:~r why is the cut-off 90%, and no dents 70%? And why shouldn 't Astan stu be included in the definition?

In the proper context, however.f'~e believe the definition remains use

1~;te Conditions at the .1 34 sch ool~ ~~~~\~g [he to be the best indicator fot e':ronn in the. overall tmpact of eclucanon r city. '

•866 1490 1033 ' '.600 1710 1440 i700

i625 '.521 i326 1895 515 1220 1757 1308 515

1190

~ 144 1604 :726 1760 "592 il50

j738 ~600

1035

t501 .227 i667 210 !472 rm 700 i426

rd r ools so­gin ort­a-

the 11001

iur­rition

1e, ~ or

dents

by Barbara Gelman

E ight-year old_ Joey is misbehaving in school. He gets out of hi s seat, calls out of turn and does not complete ass ignments. His read ing ski lls

a_re low, and he has trouble identify ing letters. The teacher complai ns that Joey takes up too much of her

time, and she has told Joey's moth-er that her son may be held back.

What is a parent to do? For the past few years Penn­

syl vania has funded a med ical ass istance program called Early

Periodic Screening Diagnostic Treatment, or EPSDT. Th is

"wrap-around" service for children pro­vides diagnostic evaluation, counseling and

behavior modification in a child's home or school. The goal is to prevent children from

being placed in residential fac ilities and to pro-vide individualized treatment in the least restric­

tive setting. The state d id not pay for these services wi llingly. A

class-action suit on behalf of the children of Pennsyl­vania forced the issue, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in parents' favor in 1992.

1nitially, Medicaid providers were paid directly by the state. More recently, as tbe state began to move Medicaid recipients into health maintenance orga-

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

nizations (HMOs), the City formed its own HMO in an attempt to oversee more effectively state funds flow ing into Ph iladelphia fo r mental health/mental retardation (MHMR) services.

While fou r HM Os are ava ilable to Medicaid recipi­ents for physical health coverage, only one -Community Behavioral Health (CBH), run by the City 's Dept. of M HMR - oversees EPSDT serv ices.

When a fa mi ly is enro lled with a ph ysica l health HMO (Health Partners, HMA, Keystone/Mercy, or Oaktree/Oxford ), a ll children are suppos.ed to be eval u­ated for problems tbat might require EPSDT. Since such screening does not always occur, parents on Medicaid should be aware of otber ways obtain these services.

One possibility is to go to a base-service uni t offer­ing EPSDT. Parents can locate a base-service unit in their area by calli ng the Crisis Mental Health Line at (215) 685-6440. Also , since soine schools now have contracts witb EPSDT providers, you could inq uire at your school office about the availabi lity of the serv ice. Finally, since all EPSDT services in Philadelphia will have to be approved by CBH as of Ju ly I , yo u can con­tact their Intake Unit directly at (21 5) 41 3-3100 fo r a referral to a nearby provider.

Once you make contact, the first step is evalua­tion by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, known as the prescriber. The prescriber 's job is

to assess the child 's mental healtb status in relation to social, educational, medical, housing and recreational needs.

An EPSDT evaluation provides a diagnosis and rec­ommendations for treatment, some of which include mobile family therapy, therapeutic staff support,

'Put African history in the classroom'

by Ulysses "Butch" Slaughter

Members of tbe Coali tion of Educa­tion Advocates are in it for the long haul. They want their history - African and African American history - taught in every classroom in every school to every student in tbe District every day of the school year.

While it 's a long bat­tle, members say, they believe tbe effort for their children is well worth their time.

On February 24, four days before the close of Black History Month 1997, members of tbis coali­

Also among tbe protesters was Leon A. Wi ll iams, a Philadelphia lawyer and education activist. In his address to the board, Williams commented, "The school board has broken tbeir policy as many times as the white man has broken treaties with the Indians."

According to Williams, the school board has been very

unreceptive to the persistent demand for African his­

tory. He says they avoid the issue con-

stantly, promoting multi­culturalism and other

PAGE3

behavior specialist intervention, medical follow-up. school placement or recreation programs.

During the evaluation. Joey 's mother would be asked about her pregnancy. Medical and vision exams would be used to rule out a physical basis for Joey's read ing difficulty. Also, the possibility of Attention Deficit Disorder wou ld be assessed by observing Joey 's behavior at home and in school.

Academic records can answer questions about abili­ty and learning style. If Joey i considerably behind his classmates . intelligence testing can help determine appropriate schoo l placemen t.

F o. Bowing the evaluation, an inter~agency team meets to set up a treatment plan. This team mcludes people who are important in the

child 's life. Parent(s) or guardi an(s) have the right to decide who

takes part in thi s meeting, including resource and sup­port people who can act as advocates. Also included in many cases are the prescriber, the case manager, a teacher or social worker. If the child is being followed by the Department of Human Services (DHS), then a DHS protecti ve services worker is required to be pre­sent. The primary care phys ician also receives a forma l invita tion to the meeting, but often does not attend.

Once the plan is implemented, the child is then reevaluated in fo ur months and services are modified as needed. Appropriate school placement and support at home and in school can often lead to a good out­come.

The ul timate goal ofEPSDT is to step aside and allow tbe child to develop on his/her own.

Barbara C. Gelman , Ph.D ., is a consulting psychol­ogist f or the EPSDT program at Best Nest, Inc.

tion were at the Daroff School in West Philadelphia for a meeting of the Philadelphia School Board. There was a "standing room only" crowd because of the controversy surrounding tbe "keystoning" of Olney and Audenried High Schools.

I "tokenisms" to cloud the educational atmos­

phere.

Coalition presents demands

Photo: Fred Engst

Proponents argue that "mind freedom" for African American children can come only from inclusion of their history·- as a separate course and within the general curriculum.

Protest at school board meeting Throughout the crowded auditorium

quietly walked African American men, women and children carrying posters and pictures high above their heads. Up and down the auditorium aisles. slowly they moved like walking commercials, fl ash­ing images and words of their past, pre­sent and future.

King Tut. Malcolm, Mart in . Mande la. A brown baby. "We will have Afri can hi story in our

school!" insisted one poster carried by a ch il d of less than ten years.

"African hi story now !" proclaimed

another. Edward Robinson, a well-known

Ph iladelphia historian was there. He's been there before - in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Now approaching the year 2000, Robinson said that nothing 's changed: "We 're here to talk about putting African hi story in the classrooms."

"African history deserves different treatment than other history," said Wil ­liams. "We believe it should be taught separate from other history. Exclusion of African history is systematic; therefore, inclusion of African history must be sys­tematic."

The Coali tion of Education Advocates placed three

in tbe Ph iladelphia School District, and the Coalition no longer has trust or confi­dence in the District's leadership."

For Wi lli ams, Jack of trust in the school board is an understatement.

"The po licy makers don 't understand our hi story and can't communicate with OLLI' community," said Williams. "They

have no vest­demands before the "Exclusion of African history is

ed interest in teaching our children African histo-

school board. • . • They demand- systematic; therefore, inclusion of ed that African • •

· history be Afncan history must be systematic." ry.

"They understand mandatory,

that it be developed as a separate course, and that African history be infused into the standardized curriculum.

"We are also demand ing that the mate­rial used, the implementation, assessment and testi ng be under community control," said Wi lli ams.

"A proper education is one that includes the history, culture and contribu­tions of tpe Black race," said Coalition president, Jerome C. Avery. "We have investigated and analyzed the problems

that African history would make our chil­dren more competitive with their chil­dren," he continued. "That is a conflict of interest. They don' t send their children to these schools, but they want to control them."

"We ' re not g iving up," promised Wi lliams.

Carter G. Woodson, recognized as the founder of B lack History Month , once said, " If you control a man's mind , you don't have to be concerned with what hi s

body does." The Coalition of Education Advocates is demanding "mind freedom" fo r their children - a freedom they say can come only from inclus ion of their hi story. Until their demands are met, they are prepared to continue to walk.

For more information, contact the Coalition of Education Advo­cates at (215) 473-2459.

Spread the news Help distribute the Philadelphia

Public School Notebook. You can be a part of the network that puts the Notebook in the hands of peo­ple ac ross the ci ty. Copies are avai lable fo r di stri bution to your school , community center, place of worsh ip, specia l public event , or Home and School meeting .

Contact us at Public School Notebook, 372 1 Midval e Ave ., Phila ., PA 19129. Phone: (215) 951 -0330. Fax: (215) 951 -0342.

!P~~~G~E~4~------------------------------------~S~C~H~O~O~L~N~O~T~E~B~O~O~K"."".',...,...,...~::-:::~----~----------....:S~P~R~I~ k b 'Id power at the base

Alliance Organizing Project, organizing school by school, wor s to uz -

Unified parents win school improvements by Pedro Rodriguez

Conjetta Gonzalez, parent of a seventh grader at Rhodes Middle School. used to walk the halls frustrated and angry about the way she was treated at the school. She said it made her feel like one of the stu­dents, a child.

"That was over a year ago, before the Alliance Organizing Project (AOP) organiz­er came in and trained me and other parents on how to see what's

at helping disenfranchised parents like Ms. Gonzalez gain influence in the affairs of their schools. The goal is to improve edu­cational conditions and help all children

achieve. In the words of Executive Director Gary

Rodwell. AOP's work is about '·power and relations of power" in the school system.

Active in 42 schools so far, AOP and all ied Home and School Associations have

vision for tl1e school and help point the that needed changes'. such as the goals o obtaining resources to fulfill the the Cluldren Acl11ev111g agenda, cann f

way to reach.ed w.1thout a powerful parent ba~~ be

v is~~n;ome cl usters, the AOP and parent M this pomt, however, parents hear co,;_

involvement are welcomed with open fhctmg messages from officials: "Coni arms, Rodwell pointed out. In others the on m - but on our terms ." e

reception is chilly. Some individuals, try­in" to hold on to the status quo in the fa~e of overwhelming fail ure, will do "anything to characterize these parents as

something neg-

Change requires organized base AOP's vision include~broad local col­

lectives of parents that will be able to

hold the

going on around us, how to talk to other parents and listen to each other, and how to get respect from the school," said Gonzalez.

begun to transform the dynamics of school life . Parents are becoming empowered to hold local school administrators and themselves accountable

Parent activism

around the city around a wide range of

issues - from the conditions of buildings and bathrooms to discipline problems and curriculum refonn.

ative," said Needed changes cannot be reached Rodwell.

"Infthhe cul- without a powerful parent base. tureo t e JI schools, par-ents are viewed as powerless," Rodwell noted . "When parents organize, they begin to change that dynamic. The par­ents are not children. To be treated like that turns people off. No wonder we have so much apathy. We want to deal with the schools in tenns that are set jointly."

accountable to each other.

school s

accountable_ as well as holding them­selves

"Now the environment at the school has changed," she noted. "Since we started organizing, the adminisn-ation is more cor­dial - nicer to parents. Parents are greeted respectfully. We like it, and the children like it - and they are proud to see us there. "

The AOP is a two year old effort aimed

Breakthrough at Bartram

Parent power took a giant step for ­ward at Bartram High the even ing of St. Patrick 's Day.

In front of close to 100 parents, stu­dents, community res idents and school officials , Principal Joel DiBartolomeo signed an agreement that recognizes parents' rights to contribute to the school's education of their ~hildren and accepts their organization as an equal partner in that undertaking.

Focus on eight issues The agreement outlines e ight specific

issues of immediate concern to the par­ents. A start will be made at the end of March wi th an inspection by

AOP's parent-centered approach The AOP's method centers on parents

- developing skills that can generate a The AOP and its active parents say

Photo: Tony Burgos

"We are a new kind of Home and School, a new breed of parent power."

Dow, also signed the agreement in recognition of the positive ro le the AOP

played in

"With parents volunteering, I think achieving this victory.

. More than half of the AOP schools are sti ll m the early stages of organizing, but many of the groups are having an impact:

• At Cayuga Elementary, parents are building upon the ir victory in limiting classroom d isruption caused by construc­tion - by working to spread their

school's renovation pol icy district-wide. •At McCl ure Elementary, parents oot

the school to administer both beginnii~o­and end-of-year reading tests. This tes~ ing is part of a nine-point program to improve reading at a school where 67 percent of the children score below basic. The school now has a goal for every child to have read 50 books by June.

•At Sheppard Elementary, where safety is a major issue, parents won the placement of a school crossing guard at Mascher and Cambria Sts., a notorious drug comer.

• At Kensington High School, where most students do not have a chance to take college preparatory courses, April actions organized by Youth Un ited for Change will put the spotlight on this lack of academic opportunity.

parents of Bartram's main building. Recommen­dations then

we are on the road to success." "This [coop­eration between the

school and parents] is a great idea," said an exuberant Virginia Morris, the proud

mother of a seni or at the school. "There are still problems - in instruction for example, and also the teachers being absent too much. But with parents volun­teering to help with the schools, I thirik we are on the road to success.""

Morris added, "I think now, to com­plete this picture, we need student involvement at this level. The students also need a voice."

• At Rhodes Middle School in Sn-aw­berry Mansion, where 1,000 student sus­pensions per year had been considered normal, parents convinced the adminis­tration to establish a Parent/ School Support Committee to fi nd alternatives to ; uspensions. A pu blic action is planned for April .

will be sent to the School District stat­ing the problems that exist and a pro­posed time-table for fix ing them

Other issues the parents addressed centered on attendance policy, measures to improve the school's receptivity to parents, and options for helping students with discipline problems. A general report-back meeting will be held in 60 days.

Tony Britt, president of the Home and School Association at Bartram, hailed the agreement as a major step in the pursuit of high academic ach ieve­ment for the 3400 students enro lled at Bartram, in Southwest Phi ladelphia. "We are a new breed of Home and School, a new breed of parent power," commented Britt.

Parent collaboration hailed For Principal DiBartolomeo, working

with a dedicated and detennined group of parents is "a historic moment and the highlight of my career and the history of the school."

DiBartolomeo added that "this col­laboration will enhance our ability to provide quality educat ion" to all the youth at Bartram.

In addition to Britt and DiBanolo­meo, the local organizer of the Alliance Organizing Project (AOP). Supreme

Energy at Elverson

Parents and family members at Elverson Midd le School are taking the lead man effort to improve their stu­dents' school. Starting last fall , parents wmking with an Alliance Organizing Project (AOP) organizer have bui lt the Elverson Parent Leadersh ip Team to take an acttve role m sc hool policy-making.

The new parent organization's first step was to establish a common vision - a shared li st of key concerns that would direct their energies.

For more information, call the All iance Organizing Project (AOP) at (215) 739-5702.

R .s fl PARENT

41

LEADERSHIP

Seeking to improve the learning envi­ronment, the Leadership Team then con-ducted an mspection of the buildin LlSOdliglHbuibs have been replaced The They li sted needed repairs g. ea ership Team also prom ted · begun research on suspensions and the and improvements to p a safety broader d1sciplme policy

estab li sh a basis for later A key part of th AOP Parents' efforts at evaluation. • 'J e Strategy is to maintaz'n EJve1son have rece1vednn-

The public address sys- independence t . support from the new .P tern was quickly fixed 1 ye Wln COOperafion h , cipal, Oliv ia Dre ibeibJS. \ throughout the building. The class bells W ere pOSStble. key part of the AOP mode are now up and functioning, and over mspection. is for parent group> to era-

More recently fam·I ma! ntain i'ndependence yet win cosospi'b)e. ' i y members have tion with adm ini strators where po

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SPRINGJ997 SCHOOL NOTEBOOK PAGES

Philadelphia voices uniting to demand an end to 'rip-off' ·

Governor's school funding plan draws fire by Paul Socotar

"Something has to give in Harrisburg. The state has to come up with some more money for schools."

This viewpoint. is increasingly shared by groups fighting for adequate funding for Philadelphia schools, the Mayor, City Council members, and School District officia ls.

All are looking to the state to pl ug a gaping $52.8 million hole in the School District 's 1997-98 budget. And all are taking action. _

After years of talk about the idea, the School Distri ct and City are initiating two lawsui ts against the state - in Common­wealth Court and in U.S . District Court - charging that the state's fu nding sys­tem is fundamentally unfair to Philadel­phia.

The legal action is being backed up by a grassroots lobbying effort by Phi ladel­phia students, teachers, and community groups.

1

This new-found uni ty was prompted by Governor Ridge's proposed state bud­get and its 2% increase in the basic sub­sidy to Philadelphia, which once again fa lls short of the rate of inflation. The overall state fund ing for the School District next year would actually drop by $7.2 million because of cuts in education­al funding elsewhere in the Ridge budget.

No new programs The School District, fac ing a massive

budget gap, opted to propose a "zero growth budget" of $1.46 billion for next year. The zero growth budget includes no new programs and no additional funds to address an anticipated increase in student enrollment next school year.

Even counting new fu nding from the City and further cuts

Photo: Fred Engst

Students, teachers and parents turned out last year at the State Office Building to press the state legislature to "deliver the dollars." Education advocates are again targeting Harrisburg as legislators debate this year's state budget.

dell and School District leaders expressed support for this lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania's school funding system. A

in its administrative staff and expenses, the District is only

ruling is expected by September.

Superintendent Hornbeck To rum uP'rhe

The Philadelphia Student Un ion held meetings with students across the city over the winter and has been developing a list of fu nding needs identified by stu­dents. The Student Un ion is now meeting with members of Ph iladelphia's state leg­islative delegation and is planning further action for the spring. able to bring the describes the following

pressure on Harrisburg, on February 24 the Mayor and Superin­tendent Hornbeck

coming year's budget into balance by year's budget as a "train

"There is a real strong interest among studen ts in going to Harrisburg this spring," commented Eric Braxton of the Student Union .

assuming that the state will ultimately wreck waiting to happen." announced that they

are fi ling two law­suits demanding more state funding. One, in federal court, charges that inadequate funding represents a denial of Philadelphia children 's civil rights. The other, in state court, asserts that the Commonwealth is failing to meet its obligation to provide a "thorough and efficient" education.

come up with the missing $52.8 million.

The need for addi tional state aid will be even more extreme in the fo llowing school year, 1998- 1999. Superintendent Hornbeck describes the following year 's budget as "a train wreck waiting to hap­pen. " Without additional income from somewhere, the budget gap that year will be so enormous that even elimination of the District 's entire administrative struc­ture would not be enough to close it.

Changed political climate A new factor in the budget equation

this year, however, is a changed political climate around school funding in Phila­delphia (see box) . Last year the School District faced harsh budget hearings in City eouncil and got few words of sup­port from Mayor Rendell. While students and community groups mobil ized and pried an additional $15 million from City Counci l. there were sti ll painful budget cuts throughout the system.

This year Mayor Rendell highlighted the need for school fu nding in his annual budget address. and City Counci l mem­bers expressed wi llingness to help the District with another $ 15 mi lli on grant and proceeds from the sale of tax liens.

The City and the School District also finally broke their si lence on the long running court action by Pennsylvania 's poor, rural school districts. Mayor Ren-

In addition, the School District has a stake in the upcoming ruling in a fourth

The local group Coalition to Close the Gap wi ll be sending buses to Harrisburg on May 6. according to Gail Tomlin'son of Citizens Committee on Public Education in Ph iladelphia. Tomli nson said the action is being coordinated with the Pittsburgh Council on Public ' Education and other groups around the state affil iated with the Pennsylvan ia School Reform Network.

The groups will ra lly at the capital and court battle: the

----------- - - meet with legisla-long-running desegregation case now before the State Supreme Court. The Court is

Th t l . . tors to push "for a

e S ate current y lS running secure and stable

h b d l funding base for

a uge u get surp us. public education,"

now reviewing the remedies ordered by Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith, who found that Pennsylvania should pay at least an extra $45 million to Philadelphia.

Pressure on the legislature Each of these legal actions cou ld drag

on for years with appeals, but they could also infl uence the legislative process. A number of groups are working hard this spring to make sure Pennsylvania's state legislature gets the message that it is pro­viding inadequate education funding for Philadelphia and other needy districts.

With the state currently running a huge budget surplus, advocates believe there is room to do more for public education.

Tomlinson said . The Philadelphia Federation of Teach­

ers wi ll also be organizing buses to lobby in Harrisburg on June JO. Accordi ng to John Fitzpatrick, legislative director of the statewide federation, the state 's cur­rent funding system is particularly unfair to those districts, like Phil adelphia. that are facing ri sing enrol lments.

For information on: • the May 6 trip to Harrisburg, call Gail Tomlinson at 545-5433 or Shelly Yanoff at 563-5848. • Philadelphia Student Union, call 751-9934. • Philadelphia Federation of Teachers lobbying activities, call 587-6738.

Weak link in funding chain

Why target Harris burg?

The School District has trad itionall y relied on three ways to close a large budget gap - cut spending , get increased funding from the city or get increased fundingfrom the state.

reasons that local officials and educa-tion advo-cares are say ing increased state fund ing for Philadelphia schools is the only way out of the current budget crisis.

• The District has made deep cuts over the past ti ve years, and further cuts would certainly hurt instruction.

Almost a quarter of the administra­tive jobs were el iminated during this period. The District is already imple­menting the cost-cutting strategies rec­ommended by the ·'Pri vate Sector Task Force on Management and Producti­vity." Hundreds of school-based posi­tions . including classroom assistants and librarians, have been eliminated in the past decade.

• T he City has taken steps to in­crease its contribution to the School District over the past two years.

Protests demanding more funding at City Hall last spring seem to have had an impact - the City came up with stopgap devices to increase funding. The District received a $15 mi ll ion gran t last spring that is likely to be awarded again this year. and the schools are the beneficiary of $32 mil­lion in anticipated proceeds from a City sale of property tax liens.

•Philadelphia 's already high tax burden limits further local tax increases.

The local tax burden fo r Philadel­phia residents is the hi ghest in the state, about twice as high as for res idents of the surrounding suburbs.

• Philadelph ia is receiving a steadily decreasing share of state education fu nding.

Over the past five years the state's per pupil subsidy to Philadelphia has not even kept pace with inflation. if over those five years the District had received the same average rate increase as a ll the other school d istricts in Pennsylvan ia, its state subsidy would have been $50 million more this year.

• Philadelphia schools are educat­ing a growing percentage of the state's low-income children.

Governor Ridge is fond of pointing out that while the School District has

I 12 percent of the state's public school students . its percentage share of state school spending is greater than that.

But Philadelphia's schools educate almost I 00,000 of the 224,000 Penn­sy lvania public school students who are poor enough to receive welfare. Philadelphia has the highest rates of f\IDS, homelessness, and child abuse of any county in the state.

PAGE6

Escuela 'Keystone': los puntos basicos

Viene de lap. 1 reconstituir a Audenried y a Olney.

Al designar a estas dos escuelas como escuelas Keystone, el disrri to dijo que sigui6 una prov isi6n acordada en el con­tra to de! 1994

• establecer un eq uipo de planrfi­caci6n compuesto por el principal, padres, ocho maestros de carrera avanza­da asignados por la PFT. y maestros que se queden en las escuela - eventual-

mente, todos

~~1~:c~1::~i~ El apoyo de los padres, estudian-tes, ~~:~~~~~;e y al menos algunos maestros del

Jos maestros que se unan como emplea­dos seran

Filadelfia (PFT).

Los acor-

parte de este proceso Keystone pareceria esencial. equipo cte

planificaci6n

dados pasos env ueltos en la reconstruc­ci6n de las escuelas incluyen:

• nombrar un nuevo principal • establecer nuevos criterios para

selecc ionar nuevos maestros, con 75% de los actuales maestros siendo transferidos fuera hacia otras posiciones en e l distrito

• desatTollo de un plan de renovaci6n educacional comprensivo

• asignaci6n de recursos adicionales requeridos por el plan de renovaci6n , ta! como decidido por un comite unido de! distrito y la PFT

El apoyo de los padres, estudiantes, y

al menos algunos maestros del proceso Keystone parecerfa esencial para que esta medida drastica fuese exitosa. Basado en esto, el modo de implementar de! distrito ha trabajado en su contra - tomando a todos por sorpresa, y dejando confusi6n e inseguridad detras - en la vista de muchos observadores.

PFT se opone al proceso Keystone Afiadiendole al rumulto luego de!

anuncio, la PFT habl6 fuertemente en contra de la medida. El presidente Ted Kirsch dijo que esta administraci6n ha

cuales escuelas serf an escuelas Keystone. Recientemente, Kirsch ha hecho men­

ci6n de que el criterio que se esta usando para retener empleados en las escuelas esta asignado en "mala fe" y constituye a otra violaci6n de! contrato.

"El distrito escolar obv iamente viol6 el acuerdo por escrito e hizo decisiones unilaterales" , coment6 Hal Moss de la PFT. "No nos dijeron cuales escuelas serfan convertidas en Keystone hasta veinte minutos antes de que el superin­tendente hiciera su anuncio."

La uni6n, en un tiempo, era mas posi­

tiva acerca adoptado una estrate­gia de "echale la culpa al maestro".

Ademas de denun-ciar la

El distrito escolar ve al procedimiento Keystone como parte del esfuerzo implementar su plan de responsabilidad a lo largo del distrito.

de las escuelas Keystone. El peri6dico de la PFf en sept1em­bre de! 1994,

La voz def ASP/RA Club de Olney

estrategia de Keystone a sus miembros, la PFT esta actualmente contendiendo las acciones de! superintendente en la corte, buscando una orden judicial para detener la reorga­nizaci6n. La union discute que la admin­istraci6n viol6 los requi sitos de! contrato de consul tar con ellos antes de decidir

Los j6venes hablan (,Que es una escuela "Keystone"? (,Se nos clasifi­

cara coma estudiantes. "brutes" o "tontos?" Muches de las estudiantes de la Escuela Superior

de Olney se hacen estas preguntas y creen que se les clasificara coma tontos, de clase baja, e irrespons­ables.

Reconocemos que la Escuela Superior de Olney necesita cambios pero no par causa de nosotros las -estudiantes.

Cuando el Superintendente del Distrito Escolar, David Hornbeck, anunci6 al concejo estudiantil que la escuela se iba a convert1r en una escuela Keystone, lo hizo sin explicar lo que esto significaba. Muches de las estudiantes no entendfan lo que era "keystoning" ni lo que iba a suceder.

Luego del anuncio del Sr. Hornbeck, las estudiantes decidieron salir de la escuela a manera de protesta. Asf lo hicieron par tres dfas consecutivos. Los estudi­antes suponfan que muches de las maestros que ellos veian coma modelos no iban a estar con ellos el pr6mixo af10.

En la primavera del 1996, las estudiantes de undecimo grade tomaron un examen al cual no le dieron la importancia debida. Ahora el Sr. Hornbeck y su personal estan utilizando estos resultados coma una excusa para convertir a Olney en una escuela Keystone.

Se esta culpando a las estudiantes cuando la culpa debe de caer sabre el principal del aiio pasado, la Oficina de Registradurfa, y las otros administradores de la escuela.

Los estudiantes demandan uniformes escolares, una mejor cafeteria, libros actualizados, computado­ras, que se refuerzen las reglas, y que se provean las curses vocacionales de nuevo. Muches de las estudi­antes piensan que si estos curses se volvieran a ofre­cer, estudiantes tendrfan mas exito en su trabajo esco­lar, en su asistencia, y el numero de "drop-out" se reducirfa.

Como estudiantes de Olney, no entendernos par que el Sr. Hornbeck no comenz6 con estos carnbios poco a poco, en vez de salir con este plan sin aviso prev10. (,Como pudo sugerir este plan sin proveerle a las estud1antes Y sus padres informaci6n sabre lo que estaba sucediendo y lo que debfan de hacer?

Nosotros, las estudiantes Y oficiales del Club de

Aspira de.Olney, con la ayuda del Concejal Municipal Angel Ortiz , y las consejeros de Aspira estarnos I ._ f1cando una reunion con el Sr. David H~rnbeck p ani

Ouerernos exponerles nuestras preguntas al s~ erin-tendente. Los estudiantes de la Esc I S . P Olney dernandan respuestas. ue a upenor de

Traduccipn par Iris Losada

d~fendi6 la secci6n de! contrato que autoriz6 esta medida: "El verdadero valor de las escuelas Keystone es que existira la oportunidad de probarle a los bur6cratas y aplastadores de maestros que si nos dan los recursos necesarios, los nifios de

"Escue/a Keystone" continua en lap. 7

Riegue las noticias Ayude a distribuir Philadelphia

Public School Notebook. Usted puede ser parte del equipo que distribuye School Notebook a traves de la ciudad. Copias estan di sponible para la dis­tribuci6n en su esc uela, lugar de traba­jo e iglesia. Estan disponible para un evento publico, una reuni6n en la escuela o en un centro comunal.

Favor de Barnar al School Notebook, 951 -0330, si esta interesado en fo1T11ar parte de! equipo.

Parente; Un ion'e;

Ree;ource Center welcomes parents to

visit our library

Come find out about your school

311 5. Juniper St. Rm.602

Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 546-1166

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SPRING 1997

Escuela Keystone Viene de la p. 6

esta ciudad pueden cumplir al mismo nivel que otros que ya tienen estos recur­sos (enfasis en original).

Conecci6n a otros programas Originalmente, el distrito habia plani­

ficado implementar el procedimiento Keystone en va.rias escuelas elementales comenzando en 1995. Negociaciones con la PFT durante el afio escolar 1994-95, por lo tanto, resultaron en la creaci6n de escuelas Quest en su lugar. Aquf la PFT fue dada la oportunidad de usar recursos adicionales para dar vuelta a estas escuelas de pobres logros bajo la direcci6n de la uni6n .

Este procedimiento se esia mantenien­do con el citado de la PFT, en que la falta de recursos es el elemento clave en las escuelas academicamente en desventaja. Ninguna evaluaci6n de la actuaci6n de las escuelas Quest aun se ha hecho publi-

Generalmente, el distrito escolar veal procedimiento Keystone como parte de! esfuerzo implementar su plan de respon­sabilidad a lo largo de! distrito. Pareado con "la zanahoria" de los incentivos monetarios para escuelas que obtienen buena marca en el indice de aprovecha­miento, reconstituci6n es el "palo" que se guarda en reserva para las escuelas que fracasan.

La medida Keystone tambien es parte de una iniciativa alrededor de las escue­las superiores anunciada en febrero con el citado de una Fuerza de Trabajo de Escuela Superior para "identificar los modelos mas prometedores, local y nacionalmente. para reformas de escue­las superiores."

lCual es su opinion? Las bienvenidas de! Public School

Notebook a su correspondencia, las crfticas, u oponiendo puntos de vista. Por favor envfelos al School Notebook, 3721 Midvale Ave. Phila. PA 19129.

JOIN BREAD AND ROSES COMMUNITY FUND

IN HONORING

KIYOSHI KUROMIYA ALLEGHENY WEST FOUNDATION

DISABLED IN ACTION, INC. YOUTH UNITED FOR CHANGE

JEFF MASKOVSKY SUZANNE LASHNER DAYANIM

FOR THEIR WORK ON BEHALF. OF DIVERSITY AND, SOCIAL CHANGE

THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1997 THE WARWICK

1 lTH AND LOCUST 5:30 TO 7:30PM

215-731 - 1107

PAGE7

Una vista a la educaci6n especial

EPSDT: Tratamiento diagn6stico temprano

por Barbara Gelman Joey, un nifio de ocho afios, no se

esta comportando bien en la escuela. Se levanta a menudo de su asiento, contesta fuera de turno y no cornpleta su trabajo . Su destreza de lectura es ba ja y tiene problemas identificando letras. La maestra se queja de que tra­bajar con Joey le esta tomando demasi­ado tiempo, y le dijo a la madre que es probable que no Jo pasen de grado. (,Que pueden hacer los padres en estas circun­stancias?

Tratamlento diagn6stico El estado de Pensilvania ha

asignado fondos para un progra­ma de asistencia mectica Jlama­do EPSDT (Tratarniento Diagn6stico de Intefvenci6n Temprana.) Este es un servi­cio completo, o wrap­around, el cual provee eval­uaci6n diagn6stica, conse­jerfa y modificaci6n de! compor­tamiento en el hogar del nifio o en la escuela. El prop6sito de este programa es proveer servicios individuales evi­tando asi el colocar al niiio en un pro­grama residencial mucho mas restricto.

El estado no pag6 por estos servi­cios a primera instancia. Una demanda fue entablada a no;nbre de los nifios afectados y en el 1992 el Tribunal Supremo de Pensilvania fall6 a favor de Jos padres.

Al principio de! prograrna. los medi­cos de Medicaid recibfan su paga directarnente del estado. Con los cam-bios recientes de

mo, ya que comenzando el dfa primero de julio todos estos servicios seran manejado por CBH, pueden ll amar para un referido directarnente a la lfnea de admisi6n al 4 13-3100.

Evaluaci6n por un "proveedor" El primer paso despues de su con­

tacto es una evaluaci6n por un psic61o­go registrado o un psiquiatra, cono­

cido como proveedor. Este evaluara la salud mental del nifio en relaci6n a las necesidades sociales, educa­cionales, medicas. de

vivienda, y de recreaci6n. Una evaluaci6n de EPSDT

provee un diagn6stico y recomen­daciones para tratamiento. Esto puede ser en forma de terapia de farni lia en el hogar, el apoyo de un personal terapeu­tico, la intervenci6n de un espec ialista de comportamiento, un programa de recreaci6n. una escuela dlferente, o el seguin1iento de tratamiento medico.

Durante la evaluaci6n, a la madre de Joey le haran una serie de preguntas sobre su embarazo. A Joey le haran estudios medicos, incluyendo examen de visi6n para ver si su dificultad en la lectura proviene de un problema ffsico. Ademas, la posibilidad de Deficiencia de Atenci6n (ADD) sen\ evaluada mediante la observaci6n de! compor-

. tamiento de Joey en el hogar y en la escuela.

Los expedientes acactemicos seran evaluados para ver si hay problemas con su habilidad y estilo de aprendiza­je. Si esta mucho mas atrasado que sus

compafieros de Medicaid, la ciu­dad de Filadelfia ha creado su pro­pio "HMO" para asi tener mas control de los fondos estatales que has sido asignados a la

El padre o el.tutor esta en su clases. se le hara tambien un exa­men para evaluar su nivel de inteligencia y asf colocarlo en la escuela apropria­da.

derecho de escoger quienes tomaran parte en f ormular un plan de tratamiento.

cuidad para proveer servicios de salud mental.

CBH •• un HMO para la salud mental Aunque exjsre un total de cuatro

HMOs que cubren Los servicios de salud preventiva disponibles para los recipientes de Medicaid, s6lo hay uno - Community Behavioral Health (CBH)- bajo el cual operan los servi­cios de EPSDT. Este HMO es maneja­do por la ciudad de Filadelfia.

Al ser inscritos en uno-de los HMO de salud preventiva (Health Partners. HMA. Keystone/Mercy, o Oaktree/ Oxford), los ninos estan supuestos ser evaluados para ver si requieren servi­cios de EPSDT. Ya que estas evalua­ciones no se hacen en todos los casos, los padres deberfan de saber que otros niedios existen para conseguir estos servicios.

Una posibilidad es ir a una unidad de servicios basicos en la cual .se ofrez­ca EPSDT. Los padres pueden localizar una unidad de Servicios Jlamando a "Crisis Mental Health Line'' al 685-6440. Ademas pueden preguntar en la escuela sobre la disponibilidad de estos servicios, ya que algunas escuelas tienen contratos con varios provee­dores de servicios de EPSDT. Por ulti-

Un equipo de la agencia se reunira despues de la evaluaci6n para formular un plan de tratamiento. Este equipo incluye per­sonas que son claves en el desarrollo de! nifio.

El derecho de los padres de escoger El padre o el tutor esta en su derecho

de escoger qttienes tomaran parte en la reuni6n. Personas que ofrecen recur­sos . apoyo y que pueden abogar por los niiios pueden participar. Tarnbien. en muchos casos participan el proveedor, el trabajador social, y/o el maestro. Si el niiio esta bajo la protecci6n de! Deparramento de Servicios Humanos (DHS). el trabajador social de DHS esta obligado a participar eh esta reuni6n. El medico de cabecera del niiio tambien es invitado aunque rara­mente participa.

El nifio sera evaluado cuatro meses despues que el plan sea implementado. y los servicios se modificaran si es necesario. Matricular al niilo en la escuela apropriada y el recibir el apoyo en el hogar y la escuela, por lo general traen buenos resultados.

La meta final del EPSDT es permi­tirle al nii\o el desarrollarse por sf mismo.

Traducci6n por Iris Losada

A look at the District's Keystone policy

Drastic problems ... drastic action

by Chip Smith and Denise C. Jones "Academically distressed" is the phrase

used by the School District to describe coi1ditions that led to the February 13 des­ignation of Olney and Audemied High Schools as Keystone schools.

Both schools received additional resources starting in the fall of 1995 as part of six pilot cl usters singled out for full implementation of the Children Achieving reform program. But according to Superin­tendent Hornbeck, student performance at these schools had not improved and there was an

teachers who remain at the school -eventually, all teachers who join the staff will be part of this planning team

•development of a Comprehensive Educational Renewal Plan

• allocation of add itional resources required by the renewal plans, as decided by a Joint Committee of the District and the PFr

The support of parents, students and at least some teachers for the Keystone process would seem essential for this dras­tic measure to be successfu l. On this score,

the "inability of the school staff to work as a

The District views the Keystone approach as part of its push for accountability.

District 's top-down approach has worked

teani to tum the school(s) around." The superintendent identified these reasons as the basis for his move to reconstitute Olney and Audenried.

In designating these two schools as Keystone schools, the District said it fol­lowed a provision in the 1994 contract between the School District and the Phi la­delphia Federation of Teachers (PFr) .

The agreed-on steps involved in rebuilding the schools include:

• appointing a new principal • setting up criteria for selecting a new

teaching staff, with 75% of the current staff being transferred out to other posi­tions in the district

•establi shing a plann ing team made up of the principal , parents, eight senior career teachers appointed by the PFr, and

against its goals - catching everyone by surprise, and leaving a wake of confusion and uncertainty - in the view of many observers.

PFT opposes Keystone process Adding to the tumult fo llowing the

announcement, the PFr spoke out strongly against the measure. President Ted Kirsch stated that this administration has adopted a "blame-the-teacher strategy."

Besides denouncing the Keystone strat­egy to members, the PFr currently is chal­lenging the superintendent's actions in court, seeking an injunction to block reor­ganization. The union argues that the administration violated the contractual requirement to consult with them before

Can this work? Promise and pitfalls of 'keystoning' evident from San Francisco experience

Where else has "keystoning" or "reconstituting" of schools been tried? Has it worked?

San Francisco is the city with the most experience with reconstituting school s. In 1984, in response to a deseg­regation lawsuit, the entire staff at three elementary schools and two middle schools was dismissed. New principals were nanied and were allowed to recruit staff to implement innovative approach­es. Few of the former teachers were hired back at the school; most ended up at other schools in the district.

The schools were

and Latino students. ;rhe study conclud­ed that some schools may need the raru­cal shake-up of a whole new staff in order to move forward.

'Since 1994, ejght more San Francisco schools have been reconstituted. How­ever, there has been no immediate im­provement in test scores at these schools, and the su]ierintendent is facing widespread teacher outrage over the dis­ruption caused by shuffling so many staff.

Some observers say the second wave of reconstituted San Francisco schools

are not showjng the given extra funds, smaller class sizes, and several months of staff planning time to pre­pare for their "reopen­

I • h b . same improvements t lS not enoug to nng because they are fil led

• h • if.{. with younger, less in a new teac mg sta . experienced teachers.

ing." The belief that all children can succeed in school was emphasized.

Within a few years, all five schools showed real improvement in test scores. parental involvement and the overall school environment.

In 1991. a committee of education experts reviewed these successes and found that these reconstituted schools with new teac hing staffs were more suc­cessfu l than others that had received money to develop new educational approaches, but whose faculties were not replaced. Reconstitution was found to have led to significant improvement in the test scores of African American

Also these schools were given less time - only a summer - to prepare for their reopening.

One emerging conclusion is that for reconstitution to work, it is not enough to bring in a new teachlng staff. Recon­stitution must be accompan ied by addi­tional resources, careful and inc lusive planning, and the development of a shared educational vision.

Reconstitution has been implemented at a number of other schools around the country, including schools in Houston Texas, and in the state of Maryland. '

For more information on San Francisco's efforts, see Teacher Magazine. March 1997.

deciding which schools would be Key­stone schools.

More recently, Kirsch has pointed 10 the criteria being used to retain staff at the schools as being "issued in bad fai th," constituting another violation of the con­tract.

"The School District blatantly violated the written agreement and made unilateral decisions," commented Hal Moss of. the PFr, "We were not told which schools would be keystoned until twenty minutes before the superintendent made his announcement."

The union at one time was more upbeat about Keystone schools. The PFr newspa­per in September, 1994, defended the sec­tion of the contract that authorizes this measure: "The real val ue of Keystone schools is that there will be an opportunity to control and establish the system of edu­cational reform. PFr members gain the opportunity to prove to bureaucrats and teacher-bashers that if we are given the proper resources, the children of this city can achieve at the same level as. other children already having these resources (emphasis in original).

Links to other programs Originally, the School District had

planned to implement the Keystone approach in several elementary schools beginning in 1995. Negotiations with the PFr during the 1994-95 school year, how­ever, resulted in the creation of Quest schools instead. Here the PFr was given an opportuni ty to use additional resources to tum around these poorly performing schools under the union 's guidance.

. More generally, the School District views the Keystone approach as part of the push for accountability across the D1str1ct. Paired with the "carrot" of mone­tary mcentives for schools that score well on the new performance index, reconstitu­tion is the "stick" that is held in reserve for fai ling schools.

. The Keystone measure is also part of an imt1attve around the high schools an­:~unced in February with the appointment

a High Schoo.I Task Force to " identify the. most prom1smg models, iocally and nanonally, for high school reform."

Fo'. in the High "J{ey'

, deban

sion could in rec

"I• out," reach rnake

Stu tell in) ers he stress

Paren Wa

the an way· rnysel

B when basic basic to be

A~ , paren

were happe ho we• by Jui trans£

Wa

Olney 'keyst Continued (romp. 1 was e

Whi le test performance and attendance Thi can be easily measured, the staff 's will- chang ingness to work to improve the school ure oJ cannot. Hornbeck has asserted there is an ligenc

. "inability of (the) school staff to work as said ti a team" to improve Olney. Keyst

Publ ic statements by the superinten- "fai lu dent, and quotes in the press by Principal and t Renee Yamp olsky to this effect left many B teachers angry and feeling their profession­alism had been ques­tioned.

Conditions at Olney were j

"failures of the (Central) J and the administration at i

In many ways, Olney's

-Superi

fai lings are not fundamentally different from many othe.r schools. Its poor test scores and low attendance rates are matched or exceeded by other compre­

hensive high schools. Making drastic moves at Olney and

Audenried has been seen as an unfalf attack by some. But it has been interpret­ed by others as a statement by the super­intendent that the new assessment and

accountabili ty programs are indeed!{~~ real - that school performance WI

closely monitored.

Explosive Response . the For three straig ht days followrng

announcement, Olney students staged · 0

walk-outs durino the school day, cloggino the streets aro u:d the school to protest

what they took as an affront. , theY "W hen people call us 'Keys;o:i~~' and

are say ing that we are stupid 0 artrnan, a we 're not" declared Keysha H 9th grade 'O lney student. "The students

here don't like it at all." t rotests. Commenting on the .srudena!es Jones

Home and School President J t because satd, "The students walked o:nd nothing they were mis led, confused,

reads, on the the aci we ha other

"Tl Olney ofOlt shouJ1 grace!

Other Thi

organ Walk­an inj (see~

Wi repreE decla1

stay a group reino1 . On

spreac have J

I<eysn PUnisJ tent is

~ooK •

At Audenned, change leaves anger mixed with hope PAGE9

Fred Engs1

by Pedro Rodriguez . come was that the school was in turmoil, Student Union blamed much of the confu- that to be a Keystone school meant that for LaTonya Watson, a parent invo lved with students reportedly leaving school , sion not only on Hombeck's cl umsy way Audenried will become a disciplinary

in the changes occumng at Aude,nned walki ng around the hallways, and need ing of announcing the policy, but also on mis- school, or that studen ts there will forever }!igh School, news of the school s _ . to be chased down to come into class- information given to students, mostly by be labeled 'stupid,'" said Braxton. "J{eystone" status was not an mvitationw rooms. teachers. "Nobody likes the way thi s was done,"

, debate the merits of the policy. The d.eci- Eric Braxton of the Philadelphia "We received ca ll s from students saying commented Braxton. "Things needed to be sion 11ad been made. Rather, she felt it shaken up. But when you do something could provide ~n opportumty to take part this rad ical, it's important to have people

in reconstitutmg the troubled. school. T,WO SC h 00 Is at a g I an ce on board. Now it's hard to separate the "I didn't encourage the children to walk I ' idea from the way it was done."

out," said Ms. Watson. "I. saw a chance to teach them to use the poht1cal network to

rnake changes." . Students were asked to wnte ktters

telling school officials and poht1cal lead­ers how they fel t about the school. .The stress was on doing someth ing pos1t1ve.

Parents caught unawares Watson and other pa.rents were stung by

the announcement and annoyed by the way it was done. " I was upset. I asked rnyself, 'Are the students stuck, now?'"

But parents understand that in a school where none of the students performed at basic math levels and 94% were below basic in reading, something drastic needed

to be done. After a stormy meeting with Hornbeck,

. parents, students and staff at Audenri ed . were still at a loss to understand what will happen next. Two things became clear, however: a new princi pal will be in place by June, and most of the staff will be transferred ou t.

Watson said that one im mediate out-

Olney High School Mascher and Duneannon Sts.

•Students enrolled: 2,776

• Percent of students who missed 45 days or more: 47%

•Number of professional staff: 150

• Percent of staff absent 14 days or more: 33%

• Percent of entering ninth graders that graduate after 4 years: 32%.

• Racial breakdown of students:

African American - 51% Asian American -11% Latino-34% White-4%

• • Percent of students scoring 'basic' or better on the 1996 SAT-9 exam:

math-1 .5% reading - 4.8o/o science - 0%

• Team name: Trojans

Audenried High School 33rd St. and Tasker Ave.

•Students enrolled: 675

• Percent of students who missed 45 days or more: 62%

• Number of professional staff: 55

• Percent of staff absent 14 days or more: 34%

• Percent of entering ninth graders that graduate after 4 ' years: 22%.

• Racial .breakdown of students:

African American - 98% Asian American - 1 % Latino - less than 1 % White - less than 1 %

• Percent of students scoring 'basic' or better on the 1996 SAT-9 exam:

math- 0% reading - 2.2% science-0%

• Team name: Warriors

Parents hopeful despite difficulties There are many difficulties ahead .

According to several parents. the Keystone designation has made parents reluctant to send thei r children to the school.

··so. it's difficult to get a lot of parents involved here," said Watson. "We have a fo ur-person committee to work with the new adm inistration ."

"First, order has to be restored at the school. Then there need to be changes," said Watson . "The cuJTent staff is burned out, and there is a lack of respect from some on the staff towards parents and stu­dents. The new principal needs to spend a lot of time building morale."

Watson still believes there is hope if the new administration sticks to promises made to parents so far. "We met with Dr. [Shirley] Farmer, the new principal, and she intends to have an open door policy. That might be helpful. What we liked about her is that she is positive, wi lling to work, and she looks Like she has the ere-dentials."

keystoning' prompts resistance, active support :ten dance 's will­:chool 1ere is an work as

rmten ­Principal eftmany

was explained properly to them." The superintendent stressed that

change signifies a recognition of the fai l­ure of the system, not the students' intel­ligence. In addressing Olney parents he said the conditions that led to the Keystone decision were caused by the "failures of the (Central) Administration and the administration at the school."

But many students continue to take the des igna-

t Olney were caused by the he (Central) Administration ~nistration at the school."

tion as an insult.

Officers of the Olney A SPIRA Club draft­ed a state-- Superintendent Hornbeck

ferent Jf test ire 1mpre-

y and nfair nterpret­e super-1t and ed for

ill be

.ng the :aged clogging

1rotest

ne,' theY ;loW, and unan , a udents

·orests. •s Jones ecause r othing

men! that reads, "At thi s moment al l the blame is on the students . The blame should be on the administration - th e principal that we had last year, the Roster Office , and other adm inistrators in the bu ilding.""

"The need for change is great at Olney," added Qunizell Brown, member of Olney's student council "but this should have been done in ~ way more graceful and respectfu l to our teachers."

Other opposition to the change The keystoning of Olney has run into

organ ized opposition beyond the student

~a:k~outs .. The PFT leadership is seek ing niunctJon to block implementation

(seep. 8, top).

Withi n the building, the PFT building representative has circ ulated a statement ~~c laring that any teacher who seeks to

Y at the school is a "scab." Another group co llected names call ing for removal of the principal.

s One form opposition has 1aken is the hpread of misinfo rmation . Administrators Kave had to counter pervasive rumors that

p~,;i~~ne status would stigmatize and tent is tthe students. Particularly persis-

he rumor that keystoning means

Olney students have returned to class, but the debate over the school's future continues.

no Olney graduate will be accepted for

college. -Efforts to obstruct the policy have

moved beyond just words. The school has experienced a series of incidents

since the dec ision have done so in anger, but it has been directed at many targets.

Parental concerns Sonne parents criticize the lack of

individual teachers they say have served their children wel l.

Yet there also have been voices of gen-uine excitement, people who say they are "thrilled" at the change.

where persons with access --------------------Among those looking for­

ward to the "new" Olney High are commun ity mem­bers who worked with Olney

sea led off fire doors during "When peoiple call us 'Keystone,' they are say­rhe school day, causing dis-

ruption. Theft of files relating ing We are stupid, and we're not." to the reorganization process has also been reported.

The disruption has lowered the morale of many students.

Principal Renee Yampolsky when she headed up Central

- Keysha Hartman, 9th grade East Middle School. just a

information before the decision was "A lot of people just want to be trans-ferred," reported Joh n Moses, Olney 10th rnade. Others are angry about the nega­

tive cond itions in the school that keyston­ing is designed to address. Others defend grader.

Many of the parents who spoke out

few blocks away. ' 'I've heard teachers say these kids

can' t or won't learn, but look at the posi­. rive things we've seen at our [rnidd:ej

See "Olney keystoning" on p. 10

PAGE LO

SStatistically O/_ PEAKING-/0

Facts and figures that take a closer look at our schools and society • The number of states with less disparii.y in

per-pupil spending across their school dis­tricts than Pennsylvania's : 41

• Increase in the percentage of African American women in prison between 1986 and 1994: 828% ·'

•Percentage of the U.S. population that is African American: 12%

• Percentage of illegal drug users that are African American: 13%

• Percentage of those arrested on drug charges that are African American: 35%

• Percentage of those convicted on drug charges that are African American: 55%

• Percentage of those sentenced to prison for drug offenses that are African American: 74%

•Number of serious crimes prevented by every $1 million spent incarcerating repeat felons, according to a RAND study: 61

•Number prevented by every $1 million spent on high school graduation incen­tives: 258

•Out of 51,000 federal criminal indict­ments in 1994, the number that involved violations of the nation 's environmental, occupational safety and health, and con­sumer product safety laws: 250

•Pennsylvania's rank among the states with the most rural residents: 1

• The number of years in a row that legal immigration to the U.S. has declined: 4

• Estimated number of hours a minimum­wage worker needs to work to pay trans­portation costs for their high school stu­dent to commute to school for a year: 80

• Percent of total federal government out­lays since 1964 spent on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC): 1.5%

• Percentage increase since 1989 in the number of children living in poverty who have at least one working parent: 35%

Citywide Student Forum: DEMANDING THE

EDUCATION WE DESERVE

Saturday, May 10 Friends' Center

15th and Cherry Sts.

Issues to be discussed: • Problems in our schools • How we want our schools to be • What we can do to improve our schools • Plans to get more money for our.schools

Don't miss this chance to express your opinions

For more information: Call the Philadelphia Student Union, (215) 241-7133

SPRING1997 SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

Olney keystoning "I was ve1y impressed," said Vicki Good, secretary of

Olney Home and School Association. "It was safe and the program was impressive." ·

Continued from p. 9 school. I know things'll improve now at the high school,' ' said June Cohen, mother of an eighth grader at Central East.

Many in Olney are now asking if reorganization can lead to a closer relationship between the school and the community. One step in this direction might be the cre­ation of a "planning sub-comminee" for parents and community members. A series of meetings this spring will allow for input to Olney's School Renewal Plan

Committee.

A starement supporting major reorganization - but critical of the process - has been circulated at public meetings in the area. It is signed by Olney alumni, members of United Neighbors of ------------- For building a positive rela-Feltonville, Home and School b h . tionship between a school and Association, ASPIRA and PFT "Parents need tO Stick Y t etr community, co!Jlmunication is

, key. But the confusion created members, local clergy as well as Olney students .. children during this change.' by the way the decision was

made has clearly increased many parents' and students' anxieties.

"Major change at Olney is a good thing," it reads. "It's time to rebuild Olney pride."

"Parents need to stick by their children and love them during this change," cautioned Good. "Now we need to make sure that Hornbeck does what he says he is going to do to really change the school."

One model for improvement at Olney High promoted by the principal is Patterson High School in Baltimore. Many parents and staff members have traveled to study what this school has to offer.

Advertisement

The PFT wants what parents want and students need.

• Smaller Class Size

• Safety & Di'scipline

• Early Childhood Programs

• Books, Materials & Supplies

• H~gh Standards & a· Clear Curriculum

• Full Fu.nding for Public Schools

• Support Services

Ted Kirsch, President Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

The Schoo~ Distr.ict of Phi~~delphia unveiled an accountability pro­gram last fa ll , wzth a new pe1jormance mdo" as its centerpiece.

• What's the point of having a "performance index?"

Increasing the accoun tability of schools is a growing concern across the country. School systems are developmg accountability programs that involve setting measur­able goals for schools and then evaluating schools on how well they meet those goals.

Starting with the 1995-96 school year, each public school in Phi ladelphia earns a numerical grade or rating every year based on a number of performance measure­ments.

A score based on data fro m 1995-1996 is called the school 's "baseline", or starting point. The school community and the District are expected to monitor this score from year to year and insure that it goes up.

Each school has a two-year performqnce target. The targets are set with the aim of rrett.ing all schools up to a score of 95 within 12 years . Schools are not judged in com-~arison with other schools - only with the school's own past performance and tar- · gets ..

The District has promised fi nancial rewards for schools that exceed their two-year targets. Those that do poorly will be closely scrutinized and in some cas:s reorganized.

A How is my school's score on the 9 performance index determined?

A school's numerical score is the average of the following fi ve specific performance measurements:

• The school 's readi ng test scores, as measured by the Stanford 9 examination given each spring

• Math test scores on the Stanford 9 exam • Science test scores on the Stanford 9 exam • The percentage of students promoted to the next grade, or for high schools, the

percentage of students who graduate with in four years. • A score for attendance that combines both student and staff attendance. On each of these' measurements, scores can range from 0 to 120, but all schools are

to strive for an average or overall score of 95 . Only Masterman Middle School , a spe­cial admission school, earned that score in 1995-96.

Most elementary schools' overall scores are clustered in the range from 60 to 70. Whi'le attendance and promotion scores are in the 90s for many of these s_chool s, low test scores consistently drag the overall performance index down. Most high schools scored below 40.

Test scores are the biggest factor in the index, with resul ts on the math, reading, and science Stanford 9 tests each accounting for 20% of the school's overall score. A school's scores in each of these areas are essentially averages of the scores of all the students who were scheduled to take the test (see box). Students who don 't take the

test receive a score' of zero .

PAGE 11

uovt Rating ci the schools

•

Is it true that a school's score will go up just by getting more students to take the test?

Yes , many schools' scores can easily be raised, because students get a zero if they don't take the test and are guaranteed no lower than a 20 if they take the test and do bad ly. At some high schools, three-quarters of the students didn't take the Stanford 9 test last spring and got zeroes . If most show up for testing this year, high school scores will certainl y go up.

Critics claim this is a rigged system designed to make the District's leadership look good by sho wing quick and dramatic improvemen t.

While some schools may be able to boost scores dramatica lly th is year by making sure more students are tested, doing so will be a useful breakthro ugh. If we want the District to measure what students are learn ing, students do need to be at school and participate in the testing program.

Over the long term, a school cannot achieve a high score on the perform ance index unless students have been at school and have learned enough math , reading and sci ­ence to do well on the Stanford 9 exam.

A What other criticisms do people V have of the performance index?

Many people are concerned that the District is setting goa ls that are unreali stic and unfair - unless teachers and schools are given the reso urces to do the job. Budget cuts and Philadelphia's economic decline mean that schools face enormous educational challenges without adequate resources - with less money to spend per student than any of the surrounding suburban school districts.

The District counters that to gain the increased funding that is needed, Philadelphia must show lawmakers that its school s are accountable and producing good resu lts for the dollars they now receive. Even with ex isting resources, they say, there is room for improvement.

The teachers' union also has pointed out that both studen ts and staff were unfamiliar with the new Stanford 9 test - the standard curriculum did not prepare students for the test. ln their view, the baseline scores for schools are seriously flawed ..

Concerns have also been raised that the pressure to get high performance ratings may encourage schools to be lax abou t marking students as absent, or lax about fai ling and retaining students who haven' t mastered thei r course work.

• How can th~ performance index be useful to parents?

Schools will be developing plans to improve student perforniance in reading, math, and science, to increase attendance, and to boost promotion and graduation rates.

How to read test performance data for your school* As a parent or guardian, yo u can ask

the staff how your child 's school p lans to improve its score. Yo u should also have an opportun ity to present your opi ni ons. A good school improvement plan must go beyond emphasizing the quick and easy ways to get the scores up (like get­ting more students to take the test) to address real strategies fo r improving instruction. A good plan must have a

I Each performance I level is given a value or weight I

Score = Value rimes !he% Studen ts at I !ha! level. In this example, the score for Advanced is 1.2 X 6.4% = 7. 7

/ SAT ~ 9 ~ Readina /tv'lathematics % Stu~~~t~ceScore

Pertormance Level Value % Stu~ents Ser; <"lo S~d:nts sc;r~ 0 . 0 0 . 0

Prof1c1ent :_ 1 · 0 8 • 9 1 5 ·. 1 1 6 •. 1 1 2 .. 9 2 0 . 7 1 6. 6 Basic 0 · 8 1 · 1 4 2 31 4 18 . 8 21 . 0 1 2. 6

Below Basic 111 0 · 6 2 ~ · ~ 8 5 1 2 . 5 5 o 2 0 . 1 8 . 0 Below Basic II 0 .4 2

2· 2 18 8 3.2 1 7 .8 3.6

Below Basic I 0 · 2 1 O · 9 0

· 0 9 6 o. O 1 4 . 8 O. 0 Not Tested 0 .0 1 O 1 · 100 0 55.4 100 . 0 46.4

TotalScores 100 .0 56 ·4 · / -------

· role for parents. It remains to be seen how much can

be understood about schoo l performance when you have combined all the perfor­mance fac tors into one number. But the School Di strict is prov iding a ll the sup­porting data as we! I as the performance index. This information has not always been easy to get, especiall y fo r parents.

Total Score is the sum of the scores al each Performance Levels _ For each rest, a student's result fall s iri perfo11Tiance level. For example. the 101al

/

Advanced 1 . 2 ~: 7 8 _7 9 .8 9 . 8 5 . 6 5.6

Ask your principal tor the "report card" data showing how your school performed. See how it fits in with your ideas about how the school is do ing. Join with others to discuss this in forrnati on and monitor what happens fro m year to

year.

one of !hese categories: d ds Adva nced - Superior perfo11Tiance on world-class sian ar Proficient - Solid perfonnance on world-class standards Basic - Partial mastery on world-c lass srandards Below Basic III - Inadequate mastery Below Basic II - Little mastery Below Basic I - Very little mastery

~Not tested - Students not hav ing a va li~ rest score

* the data for each school are available from the school's principal

score of 56.4 fo r Reading is obtained by adding the seven scores in the Score column.

The three test scores are averaged with the attendance score and graduation or persistence rate to arrive at the schoo l's overall rating.

At the·school level, the performance index gives parents a new tool to identi­fy a school 's strengths and weaknesses and to push fo r improvement.

PAGE 12 SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

School libraries key to reading ability

Support for libraries long overdue by Chip Smith and Karel Kilimnik

Imagine passing up recess or even a pizza party to stay in the library. Librarian Debra Gn iewek tells of an experience last year at Spruance Elementary School when she was reading St. Patrick's Day stories with a small group of children and then rete lling the stories wi th fi nger pup­pets.

When the hour was up and the class was called to a pizza party, one child said , "l want to stay here. I like this better than a pizza party."

For the past two years, Spruance and 29 other elementary school s and middle schools have used a $ 1.2 million Library Power grant from DeWitt Wallace/ Readers ' Digest to run their libraries in up-to-date fashion. Children can check out books without adult assistance. The librarian is able to work with teachers to buy books that support what they are teaching. A~d flexible scheduling allows individuals, groups or whole classrooms . to use the library in a way that connects best with what's being taught in the class­room.

Libraries key to reading ability This set-up is how it should be if the

school library is to be the main ingredient in the mix that produces book-loving kids. The key to improved reading and lan­guage arts performance is "free , voluntary read ing," says researcher Stephen D. Krashen. Young people need access to books that are interesting. They have to know the books are there and how to get to them. And there has to be a quiet, com­fortable place to read.

In California, research shows a strong correlation between books per student in the school library and the school 's fourth­grade reading scores. Other studies link

the qual ity of school libraries to readi ng scores both across schools and across countries.

The tie-in to overall achievement has also been demonstrnted. Research fi nd­ings show library expenditures ro be a better predictor of children's achievement than spending on facilities, teachers. guid­ance services, and other school-based fac­tors. And better stocked high school librmi es tend to be reflected in higher SAT scores.

Now the bad news Unfortunately, Philadelphia spends

almost nothing on its school libraries. In 1993, the last year for which data are available, Philadelphia spent $3.31 per pupil while the national average was $26.25 , and Pennsylvania 's, $12.00. Since 1993, Philadelphia's amount has probably decreased even fur-

full-time librarian . Four of these schools have no library at all , and 27 are closed one to four clays per week. Volunteers

staff 28. And all the non-Library Power elemen­

tary schools - 92% of the elementary schools in the District- have librarians spending 12 to 20 periods per week cov­ering for teachers' prep time. Here. thirty­plus chi ldren are read to, told to look through books on their table, or asked to find something to bring.to the librarian to check out. The emphasis is often on class control,.and there is no connection to the curricul~m being taught elsewhere in the sc hool.

Situation getting worse Conditions have been deteriorating

since 1991. At that time the District still was carrying out its commitment dating

from the 1980s to

ther due to the extensive cuts of recent years.

"Philadelphia school libraries replace al l LIMAs (Library Instruc­tional Materials Assistants) upon retirement with

"Philadelphia's school libraries are

are in a deplorable state." in a deplorable state," commented Gniewek, cuITently serving as librarian on special assignment out of the District 's Office of Information and Technology.

"Things have been getting worse for about six years now. It 's true that Children Achieving is committed to fully staffed, up-to-date school libraries - but the pace of change is so slow. Budget decisions made in each school by the principal , and overal l by the Finance Office, keep forc­ing cutbacks because of the lack of fund­ing from the City and state. At this point, it's not clear where it will all end."

Data from a recent survey and reports by principals show that 92 of the Dis­trict's 177 -elementary schools have no

full-time librarians. Then the budget cuts began. Under

pressure, school principals turned to the libraries as one place where they cou ld "save" money. The promise of fu lly staffed libraries gave way to the gTim pic­ture we see today, with no clear turn­around in sight.

Powerful results Once the Library Power grant runs out

in June, the downward trend may well continue. The school libraries now need the commitment and funds to continue practices that have proved so successful in the 30 pilot schools - as well as in other districts around the country.

Nearly a thousand Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PIT) members, parents, students and supporters rallied out­side City Hall on March 6 to demand increased support for sc hool s , including funding. The rally coincided with Ph iladelphia City Council's hearings on the District's 1997-98 budget.

Photo: Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

between the union and administration over a wide range of reform issues. Particular concerns included the new account­ability plan and the designation of Olney and Audenried as Keystone schools.

"People are bere today because they feel a need to support the union 's pos ition that yes, changes are needed, but there has to be dialogue with everyone about how to make those changes." said Sara Ortiz. a PIT executive board member.

At the ral ly PIT president Ted Kirsch announced that hi s union will join a laws uit initi ated ea rl y in March by the District. the City of Ph iladelphia and two community groups against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania demanding a substan tial increase in school funding. School offi cial s and c ity political leaders are looking to the state to bridge a pro­jected $57 mil lion de ficit for the next fisca l year

Protesters also aired disagreements w ith Sc hool Superintendent David Hornbeck, reflecting ongoing tension

Noting the presence of a large contingent of Latino par­ents and students at the rall y, Wilfredo Rojas of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights said education activi sm is mov.ing to the top of the agenda for hi s community.

" Signs earned .~;, the tea.chers ' rally included "Solidarity," We Need Help, Educati on 1s a Right," and "Proud to Be a

Teacher."

Pho10: Cindy Engs1

An evaluation of the Library Power program by the Philadelphia Education Fund found that "compared to other school reform efforts . . this initiative appears to have taken hold in the schools with greater speed and depth and with greater direct impact on children."

One notable outcome is the changed attitude that teachers in the schools have developed toward collaborating with the librarian and making use of the library's e;hanced resources. At Spruance, teach­ers in each grade sit down with the librar­ian once a month to plan their joint activi-ties.

Parents have also been brought into the picture. The Library Power grant has gen­erated other grants, like those that allow paid Community Scholars to work in the library. Teachers can then send small groups of children to work with these trained parents.

More generally, the libraries .have become welcome places for children and parents to visit. One librarian comment­ed: "Children follow me in here early in the morning and follow me out long after school has been dismissed. I don't think I fu lly realized how many of these stu­dents, espec ially the 'bad ' students, really do love books and want the opportunity to just sit around and read them in a relaxed atmosphere."

Reading just the start Conditions in the job market now

require people to change jobs several times in the course of a lifetime. In this scenario, memorizing facts is no longer the key to success. Being able to access inforn1ation - by computer and the Internet as well as through more tradi­tional print media - has become a new survival skill. A wel l-equipped library closely tied to what's occurring in the classroom is a key element in preparing students to cope with life in the real. world.

The Children Achieving plan states that the District is committed to new tech­nology in the libraries. Currently all mid- · die and high schools have at least one computer that can connect to the Internet. Larger schools, including some elemen­tary schools, have two. A pe1formance goal for the District is that all elementary schools have at least one such computer by Apri l 16.

Computerizing the libraries themselves - the catalogs of books , check-in and check-out - is farther off. Currently only a half-dozen elementary schoo ls are so equipped. While more middle and high schoo ls J re computeri1.ecl. 1hcrc is not yet J standardi zed software package for schools !O use.

One bright spm is that negotiations are currently underway with the Free Library of Ph iladelphia to give the schools com­puter access to the public library's .:o llec­tion for interlibrary loans. F urther pro­gress on th is front depends on additional funds being contributed for the project.

SPRING 1997

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

Gag rule on gay issues adopted by area school board PAGE 13

Walkouts, protests greet 'intolerant' policy by Rita Adessa

Just what is a family? Last September

the school board in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania , decided to answer that

very question. What they came up with was a so­

ca!led "pro-family" resolution that rec­

and loud. Over 100 middle and hioh school students walked out in pro~sl.. When the board threatened the young people with suspensions for leaving

school, they were joined the next day by parents and other community supporters.

Jn the days and weeks that followed. ognizes as va hd only the " tradi­

tional nuclear

family"­meaning Dad, Mom and their biological chil­

dren. Excluded by this definition

are families headed by a sin-

gle parent, households where ch ildren Jive with rela­

tives or other guardians, and families with gay

or lesbian par­

ents . In their state­

ment the board also attacked the National Educa­

Excerpts from the l;lizabethtown petition "We support equal opportunity for all

students and an educational experience that is free from bias and discrimination and that reflects and supports the gender, racial, and cultural diversity present in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We sup­port the full human growth and develop­ment of all students regardless of race, cultural heritage, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

"In support of the need for academic exce/lence and educational equity, we are making it known that the Elizabethtown Area School Board's intolerance will not be tolerated. The misnamed pro-family resolution must be rescinded and the dis­criminatory instructional policy regarding sexual orientation must be withdrawn."

views.

it became

increasingly clear that large

numbers of resi-dents in this

small community near Lancaster found the new policy naITow and intolerant.

In October, more than 1200 Elizabethtown residents attend-ed a regularly scheduled board meeting to protest the board's resolu-tion.

Nonetheless, the board moved ahead on a policy to enforce their

tion Association (NEA) for its commit­ment to pluralism and diversity, and

voted to prohi bit publ ic discow-se about lesbian and gay issues in the Elizabethtown publi c schools.

Student and community protests Response to the resolution was swift

AdvcrtisCtnenr

During December and January con­cerned residents formed a new organiza­tion , Common Sense, to fight the policy. A petition was circulated that demands academic excellence and equity for all children (see box). Two candlelight press conferences were held, and the

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Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Task Force was invited to participate in the support actions.

Board unmoved On February 18, the issue came to a

head with a formal vote of the board on the new policy. Seven hundred pro­diversity supporters packed the Elizabethtown High School auditori um.

Over 50 parents, students and citizens spoke eloquent ly against the divisive resol ution and the proposed policy. The president of the local teachers' union

Advenisement

also spoke out, backed by more than 100 members present in the room.

Despite the opposition, the board voted 9 to 0 to adopt its discriminatory instructional policy . In a twist of logic, the board also held that every student is entitled to an "equal educational oppor­tun ity.' ·

Concerned community members are now moving ahead with efforts to elect new members to the board this spring. The petition drive continues, and the possibility of cow-t action to reverse the board's policy is being assessed.

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Beverly Braxton and Ma ri pat Bartow-Layne are experienced' teachers and parent activists. They teach with Partners in Education (PIE), an alt~mative public elementary school program m Warwick, NY PlE emphasizes parent in.volvement.' coop~ralive child-centered learmng, literature­based reading, integrated themauc cumculum, and rnulu-graded classrooms

Space is limi1ed. Teams of parent/community activists and school staff are.encourag~d. Registra­tion fees are on a sliding scale from $50 to $200. Costs for food and housmg are bemg kept low

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'Clean and Safe Campaign:' Starting point for organizing

Southwark parents' group aims to make kids feel secure

by Pedro Rodriguez Outside, the wind was pushing 50

miles an hour on the evening of March 6, doing a job sweeping loose trash from the sidewalks. But inside Southwark School in South Philadelphia, parents were blowing some change of their own.

It was the first public meeting of Concerned Parents of South Philadelphia at the K-8 school and the start of their "Clean and Safe Campaign." Southwark parents had been working together towards this meeti ng since last Septem­ber. when newly-appointed principal Allan Keller arrived at the school.

"Parents are concerned about what happens in the schools," sa id group member Geraldine Legget-Ralph . "But often parents don 't know they have the right to be part of the schools. Here we have a partnership with the principal. "

The partnership's current aim is to improve door monitors, bathrooms and

Punishment: less school Dealing effectively with disruptive

students is a real issue in many schools. Pennsylvania lawmakers are currently

safety in and around the school. To help build the Clean and Safe Campaign, par­ents are going out to recru it community organizations to join the effort.

Towanda Thompson, a leader in the parents ' group, expressed a feeling shared by most of those in attendance. "We don 't have a choice. Everything else at the school starts with our kids being safe."

Caro l Cooper, another Concerned Parents member, said the group is pre­paring to move from safety to instruc­tional issues. Attention will focus on ways to improve reading levels, increase respect for parents and teachers, and bet­ter the total education of the children.

"We want the 8th graders to walk out of here prepared for high school," Cooper commented.

Mindful of the hard task ahead, anoth­er parent quickly added, "We are here for the Jong haul. "

Fieo at the Education Law Center, (215 ) 238-6970.

Charter grants awarded moving to adopt legislation that critics Charter schools, public school s that fear is a shortcut that wi ll short change operate free from many state regulati ons, troubled students. have been widely debated in Pennsyl-

The state House Education Committee vania and other states. A plan with provi-recently passed the Alternative Educa- sions backed by Governor Ridge was Lion Program Act (House Bill 8), which defeated in Harrisburg last fa ll. Once now awaits action by the full House. If again this year, legi slation authorizing

p.assed as expected, the bill • their creation is before the will then be taken up by the a state House and Senate. Senate later in the spring. Although enabling legis-House Bill 8 wou ld allow lation has not yet been school districts to establish a passed, the state govern-separate programs strictly I ment in January awarded for disruptive youth. various organizations and

These plans cou ld condemn youths individuals planning grants of $15,000 with significant needs to an inferior edu- each to develop charter school proposals. cation with little hope of improving their Here are. the 16 from Philadelphia: performance or behavior. Under this leg- The Delaware Valley All iance of Black islation, school districts could assign sru- School Educators, Communi ty High School, dents involuntarily to programs that pro- Hunting Park Youth Lead Charter, Youth vide far less than the full number of Build, Philadelphia College of Textiles and instructional hours required by the Science, John Skief, Drexel University School Code. Truncated programs pro- Family School Project, Philadelphia Housing vide little opportunity for students to Authority's Leaming City Charter, JNA become productive, literate adults. Marketing, the School District for the

Contact your state legi slators (phone Longstreth Montessori and Tilden Internet nos. on p. 2) and share your thinki ng on Charters, ASPIRA, Mark Basnage's violating the minimum 990 hours of Uni versi ty Charter, Temple University 's instruction per year specified by the Math/Science Community.Charter, West School Code. Philadelphia Partnership, and the

For more information, call Alyssa Foundations Academy fo r Science.

SPRINGJ997

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PFT: Standards, curriculum ' SAT~9 test don't measure up

by Rosalind Johnson The Philadelphia Federation of

Teachers (PFT) has provided consistent feedback to the School District on the District's new startdards . We have com­pared the Philadelphia standards to some of the best standards in the nation and found many serious problems.

Much work must be done before the District's standards are strong enough to lead to a common core curriculum for all students. This failure reduces the useful­ness of what has beeu d_one by the

District up to now. Furthermore, we are concerned that

there is no curriculum currently in place to help students meet the new standards, and that the Stanford 9 test is an unfair way to assess children 's progress in rela­

tion to the standards.

Curriculum undeveloped Philadelphia has not completed the

hard work of revi sing the curriculum. Presently, there are only the standards

approved in

been the responsibility of certified per­sonnel at the District level. Many parents, teachers and pnnc1pals are just becoming aware that under Hombeck's Children Achieving, responsibility rests with small learning communities and schools.

Parents and teachers must emand that curriculum is developed before the stu­dents are tested.

Teaching to the test Without an updated curriculum linked

to standards, teachers may be forced to narrow the teaching to what is on the Stanford 9 standardized test. Schools have been encouraged to use test prepara­tion programs. teach test-taking skills, and provide practice on skills matched to the test.

Because this test is "high stakes" - a test that labels students - teachers are being pressured to spend a disproportion­ate amount of time in test preparation activities. These procedures tend to limit the validity of the test by increasing test

scores without December 1996. Standards are not curriculum. While the

Millions of dollars are being spent increasing learning.

Our position is thata test · should not

on an unfair assessment system. District has published curriculum resource guides, these resource materials also are not the curriculum for math , English. science, or other subject areas.

Children Achieving delegates the development of cun-iculum to schools and small learning communities. Curri­culum development is an extremely com­plex activity. We believe the responsibili­ty should not be delegated to those who lack the appropriate ti me, ~kills and certi­fication to handle this important responsi­bility.

In the past, and presently in most di s­tricts, development of curriculum has

dri ve instruction. Hornbeck said stan­dards would drive instruction. A ques­tionable test, published in 1996, is dri­ving instruction. The use of the Stanford 9 and its dismal results lead to a false perception that our students cannot learn and our teachers are not teaching.

Limited basis for accountability We knew the District needed time to

develop standards and curriculum materi­als. We asked the District to take advan­tage of the opportunity provided by the test publisher to remove items from the test that were not aligned with our cur-

READERS RESPOND Test questions achieve in school. I know my daughter

has different problems, but it makes me wonder what encouragement other stu-

To the editors: dents are getting for these scores to go

Reading the Winter 1997 issue of the down as the students get older. No1ebook, I was very interested in the Maybe the test is at fault , too. Do all math and reading scores on the Stanford standardized tests show similar perfor-9 test. · mance as the students continue in the

I was very disappointed to see reading schools? scores "plummet in hi gh school" and ls there anything that shows students math scores , nationally or never improve. locally improv-

First I What encouragement are students ing or at least thought thi s maintaining

shows how getting in school for their scores good under-very poor our standing of

Schools in to go down as they get older? reading and Philadelphia math?

are at preparing our students for standard Please let me know that there is some

t~sts like this one. Then I had a second hope somewhere! t iought. I compared the national scores Leonora Carr, parenl

wthiatth the Philadelphia score_s and realized d ma b Editors' note: Hope for our slu e111s

pre ar Y e_our schools nationall y don ' t l"OJJ befioiiii'i in successful urban schools . P e ou1 chi ldren for thi s test espe- '

cial ly in math. ' OJound the co1111t1 y I sli P/11/adel11l11a pm en ls affilwted wllh

WI . owed these scores to my daughter, p101

ecl me row Pr:~ is a high school .student at the Allwnce 01g~1~;;:i:o1s in New Y01k the kford High School. She fee ls that lllg s11ch mode/Cl ago and p/11 /adel-tea~~~~ a " lack_ of encourage~nt" by . Cit\', Bafltm~;:boo~cw;l/ ,epoit 1nf11t111e She s to achieve in scJ1ool_. She says ph;q The

1 paients discove1

Personally feels "disco.imioed" to 1ss11es on what 1 iese _ ----- _ -----·---~----------"~--- .. ---------.--------·

Photo: Ci ndy Engst

Philadelphia students are getting their first exposure to the District's academic standards.

riculum, while leaving core national items in the test. Philadelphia also had the option to add items that pertained to our curriculum. We asked the District to

take advantage of this opportunity. The District refused.

It is unfair to classify schools based on the results of the Stanford 9. Teachers must be given time to learn about and develop experience with the new stan­dards.

Children Achieving states that a per­formance-based assessment would include exhibitions and portfolios. Our students haven't had an opportunity to apply what they learned in school on this' test. They have not had the opportunity to be eva luated by using work in portfo­lios, exhibits, research projects and extended tasks. nor by using any of the grades they earned.

We agree with Walter Haney, Pro­fessor of Education, Center for the Study of Testing. Evaluation, and Educational Pol icy at Boston College: "Districts should disentangle the too many purpos­es that are loaded onto the same assess­ment. You can't use the same test for evaluating kids" learn ing. evaluating teachers, evaluating programs, and evalu-

ating school s without distort ing the infor­mation that is derived for the assessment and even more im portantly, without badly distorting what goes on in the name of education (Harvard Rev iew, 1966)." The accountabi lity purposes have run roughshod over the pedagogical purposes.

Millions of dollars are being spent on an unfair assessment system. We need to rethink what testing is all about. Since Philadelphia has not completed the hard work of revising curriculum and inst:ruc­tional pract-ice, and has not developed a reliable assessment system, the District should use diagnostic tests given early in the school year to improve student achievement. This approach would help schools determine th!'! instructional needs of the students while the work of revising curriculum and in;tructional practice is in progress.

Our positions on these issues are dra­matically different from the Hornbeck admin istration ·s. The PFT is willing to assist in helping the District: but for that to happen , the District must be willing to communicate. That's where we stand.

Rosalind Johnson is Chair of1he PFT Educa1ional Issues Commillee

In loving memory of our sister Habibah Abdus-Shahid

Words of tribute from a close friend, Helena Ellis-Speller

Affectionately called Sister Habibah by her friends and colleagues, our departed friend was someone who demonstrated her spiri t through love and respect for a l I mankind , by working for the betterment of education, and by teaching ch ildren to become law-abiding citi zens and leaders in the community.

Sister Habibah also motivated parents and community leader to join the strugg le for a better school env ironment and for all-around social and cultural awareness.

Sister Habibah's untiring family and community services included being active around her children 's education at Heston, Shoemaker Middle, and Overbrook Hi gh Sc hool s; being co-founder of the Com1111111ity Overbrook Cluster; and working with the Parents Un ion and the West Philadelphia Empowermen t Zone. Health and Human Developmem Issues Group and Education Committee. She spoke out before City Council and the Philadelphia School Board and lobbied on behalf of children ~ both in Harrisburg and in the offices of the School District of Philadelphia. f

We have lost a great warrior. But we have gained a greater measure of knowledge from Sister Habibah 's existence. Therefore we thank God for her creation. Peace! i

~·.

PAGE 16

Science: It'

Pictured here are win­ners of the 18th Annual George Washington Carver Science Fair from Philadelphia public ele­mentary and neighbor­hood-based middle schools.

Students from grades 4 - 6 submitted science projects that were judged in an exhibition held in March at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

Pictured next to display presentations describing the details of their projects are 4th graders Lindsay Raymond and Colin Jordan, from Ziegler and Penrose Elementary Schools respectively. Other winners included Ashley Cohen (4th grade, Anne Frank), Kevin Gorbsky (5th grade, Anne Frank), Anthony Hertzler and Keith Justice (5th grade, Henry), Eric Hilkowitz (5th grade, Henry), Scott King (5th grade, Forrest), and Stacy Silver (6th grade, Baldi Middle).

Community speakout:

Is the Keystone school plan a good idea?

Janice Riggs, parent, Mastbaum High School: Elementary schools are the most important because that is where chi ldren learn the basics. The Keystone plan is a good idea, but they should have started wi th the elementary and middle schools. By the time students get to high school , if they have not had good teach­ing, it is almost impossible for them to catch up.

In ·some of these schools, people have gotten too comfortable not doing their job, and it is easier to blame the children for not being able to learn.

Olivia Widgins, parent, Cooke Middle School and Olney High School: I think the Keystone plan is good, especially at Olney High School. For too long this school has had a repu­tation for being corrupt. Many of the teachers do not pay any attention to the children. Most of the teachers say there

Photos: Myrtle L. Naylor

is no discipline in the school. This plan will bring teachers, parents, and students together to find out what is really going on and to work together on improving the school.

I understand Mr. Hornbeck wants to bring in other teachers, but he should make sure they don 't get just any teach­ers. He must make sure they are teachers who are properly trained and are really able to reach and teach the children.

We have to have a vision because we can ' t keep doing things the same way just because that is the way it has alw.ays been done. Olney High can be equiva­lent to the best schools in the United States.

The only problem I have is that the plan was not communicated properly. Mr. Hornbeck should have talked first with the parents and students before he decided to name Olney a Keystone school. He might have had more positive support.

SPRING1997

Pam Jackson, parent, Leeds Middle School: All I know about Keystone Schools is from the newspaper and the televis ion news. It seems the School District should have told people what they w~re going to do ahead of time because they seemed to have caused a lot of resentment.

We moved this year from Denver, and the school my daughter attended there was much different. Parents always knew everything that was going on in the school, and students were expected to do well. I have not experienced any of that here.

I do think the idea is great. I wish they had done it when I was in school at Martin Luther King. Too many teachers do not know what it takes to educate children. I never realized how inade­quate my education was until I got out into the real world.

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