Philadelphia Education: Problems and Solutions

Philadelphia Magazine’s latest issue highlights the school district’s struggles and ways to fix it.  An article by Patrick Kerkstra highlights 8 steps of action that can be taken now and hopefully turn Philadelphia urban education around, towards the light.

Some noteworthy quotes from the article include:  

“Education remains the single best lever the city has to break the back of generational poverty, just as it has always been. “

“the district is in the digital dark ages, forcing principals and other officials to squander precious hours on paperwork.”

“In December, the latest national assessment found that just 14 percent of Philadelphia fourth-graders were proficient or better at reading, compared to 26 percent in other big cities and 34 percent nationally. Of the 25 largest U.S. cities, Philadelphia ranks 22nd in college degree attainment. Graduates of the School District of Philadelphia are particularly bad off; only about 10 percent of district alums go on to get degrees.”

(After mentioning the failure of Arlene Ackerman’s Promise Academy Model, which forced teachers and administrators to follow district created curriculum)  “What does work are individual schools—or small networks of schools, like Mastery’s—with distinctive cultures and approaches of their own.”

“The School Reform Commission should immediately impose a new teacher contract.”

“What is needed is a fresh approach to charters that gives district schools a fighting chance to compete while simultaneously enabling the charter movement to replenish its creative ranks and rediscover its original purpose: experimentation and innovation.”

“But I also learned that city schools are indisputably capable not just of improvement, but of excellence. The proof is all around us.”

If you missed the link earlier, you can read the full article here.