using school time wisely (april & may, 2014)

En español: Aprovechando el tiempo adicional, p.11

Also in this issue:

Another budget crunch

p. 4

Save the date: June 10

p. 30

A day at 5 high schools

16

Khyrie Brown wants more for his school: more art, more music, more books, more laptops, even more paper tow-

els in the bathrooms.And although staying longer each day at

Blaine Academics Plus, a K-8 school in Straw-berry Mansion, isn’t at the top of his agenda, Brown says that what educators call “extended time” can help.

“Last week was the first time I went to Sat-urday school,” Blaine’s optional PSSA prep classes, said the 14-year-old 8th grader.

“My friend was like, ‘Just come.’ I said, ‘School’s already five days a week, and now it’s six?’ But then I wound up going, and the college student I was with, we got a lot of work done.”

Brown in February gained public attention with an impas-sioned speech at Bill Green’s first School Reform Commis-sion meeting, inviting the new SRC chair to visit Blaine to witness its struggles.

At the time, there was no way Brown could know that Green would not only visit, but also would announce a big change that could allow Blaine to implement one of Green’s signature priorities: longer school days.

Next year, Blaine’s principal will be able to hire or keep only those teachers willing to implement the school’s new “trans-

formation” plan. Principal Gianeen Powell is developing that plan with a small team of her teachers, backed by a $1.5 million grant from the Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP).

Powell’s blueprint isn’t final, but “I hope she’s planning to put together a team that wants to spend that extra time,” said Green.

Not everyone at Blaine is thrilled with the requirement that as a “transformation school,” it must replace at least half of the current

teaching staff.There is another problem: Under the teachers’ current

contract, more time from them costs more money, and Green has said repeatedly that schools shouldn’t count on that.

The District’s budget crisis has led to the elimination of many afterschool activities (outside of high school sports) because schools no longer have money to pay teachers the hourly extracurricular rate called for in their contract. Some have cobbled together programs like Blaine’s seven-week Sat-urday school, which serves about 80 of its 400 students, by

FocuS onUsing school time wisely

Vol. 21 No. 5April-May 2014

www.thenotebook.org

SRC Chair Bill Green says schools need

extra time, and no extra money is forthcoming.

A question of time and moneyActivists, teachers, and District officials have differing ideas about lengthening the day.by Bill Hangley Jr.

Parents as reading coaches

24

Continued on page 18

Teachers need meeting time

22Charles Mostoller

Action United member Dawn Hawkins and her son, 8th grader Khyrie Brown, have been calling for improvements at Blaine, a K-8 school in Strawberry Mansion. They persuaded new School Reform Commission Chair Bill Green to visit the school but don’t see eye-to-eye with him about planned reforms, including longer hours.

Reader-supported

education news

since 1994

NEW

S WITH IMPACT

2 Philadelphia Public School Notebook Visit us online – www.thenotebook.org April-May 2014

FocuS on uSing School Time wiSelyA question of time and money

What the school day looks like in 5 high schools

From Chicago, a cautionary tale

KIPP: Making the most of extra time

The research on extending learning time

Educators: Meeting time is critical to classroom success

Parents learn how to turn kids into confident readers

Cash-strapped District nurtures outside partnerships

oTheR newS Another year scraping together bare essentials

News in brief: 3 new high schools – Ethics policies

DePARTmenTS

Our opinion

From our readers: A balanced life – A stand for libraries

Eye on special ed: Identifying dyslexia early

Activism around the city: Early ed funding – Youth summit

Español

School calendar

Member profile: Working to change perceptions of schools

School snapshot: Chester A. Arthur celebrates reading

Who ya gonna call?

Summer camp guide

From the Notebook blog: Universal enrollment plan

Notebook news: Save the date – June 10; reader survey

An independent, nonprofit news service and newspaper – a voice for parents, students, classroom teachers, and others who are working for quality and equality in Philadelphia public schools.

Board of directors: Christie Balka, Jolley Bruce Christman, Abigail Gray, Charlotte Hall, Harold Jordan (chair), Katey McGrath, Brandon Miller, Nina Moreno, Rochelle Nichols-Solomon, Maida Odom, Len Rieser, Brett Schaeffereditorial advisory board for this issue: Brian Armstead, Bill Hangley, Dan Hardy, Paul Jablow, Connie Langland, Debra Weiner editor/publisher: Paul Socolarmanaging editor: Wendy Harriscontributing editor: Dale Mezzacappaonline publishing manager: David LimmAssociate director for operations: Neeta PatelAdvertising sales/business manager: Shawn PhillipsDevelopment director: Timothy CravensDesign: Joseph KempPhotography: Harvey Finkle, Charles Mostollercopy editor: Juli Warrencartoonist: Eric JoselynSpanish translation: Mildred S. Martínezeditorial assistance: Len Rieserinterns: Dan Hampton, Aurora Jensen, Jeseamy Muentescirculation and distribution managed by: CCN Logistics, Circulation, Distribution & Mail 1-877-700-6245 / www.ccndelivery.comSpecial thanks to… Our members, advertisers, and volunteers who distribute the Notebook. Funding in part from the Barra Foundation, Communities for Public Education Reform, Douty Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Ford Foundation, Allen Hilles Fund, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, William Penn Foundation, The Philadelphia Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial, Wyncote Foundation, and from hundreds of individual members and donors.

tableofcontents ouropinion

One of the many casualties of the extreme budget cuts suffered by Phila-delphia schools in recent years is a drastic reduction in extended learning time offerings – afterschool and summer programs. We won’t shed tears for some of the “drill and kill” test prep activi-ties that bit the dust. But a good school system must provide access to supports like tutoring and academic enrichment activities af-ter hours and in the sum-mer. And those programs have been decimated.

Families are feeling the painful loss of extra-curricular offerings such as clubs, arts, and sports that are taken for granted in other school districts. While Superin-tendent William Hite intervened to save high school sports, few other activities were spared. The near-cancellation of the annual student musical production at High School for Creative and Performing Arts due to budget cuts was instructive – as an exception that proved the rule. Your cherished activity or performance can be resurrected, so long as your school is well-connected and can get the media to mo-bilize public generosity.

Extracurricular activities can add value to the traditional academic sub-jects, often providing motivation for students to attend school and keep their grades up. They can build valuable so-cial skills like leadership and teamwork. Activities bring together staff and fami-lies, creating cohesive school commu-nities. Restoring this vital piece should be a priority for the District.

However, the way to do so is not by re-quiring teachers to work longer hours at re-duced pay. There are many problems with this, the first being that it is unfair. Impos-

ing terms on a resistant union is likely to trigger a court challenge and exacerbate an already adversarial relationship with the District’s professional workforce. Teach-ers have been working under untenable conditions – without basics like adequate staffing, counseling, and nursing services – and morale is low. The proposal to impose

a longer work day, reduce pay while charging for benefits, and change rules around seniority amounts to a triple whammy for teachers who have been dealing with enormous challenges.

Extra time may not be worth much if teach-ers are doing it under duress. We hope that

new SRC Chair Bill Green rethinks his more-time-or-else position, paying attention to the cautionary tale from Chicago (p. 19): Lengthening the day, if not well planned, can be counterpro-ductive. And it seems the District is still far from clear on whether it can ensure that extra time is used wisely.

One potentially cost-effective ap-proach for expanding learning time is training and coaching parents to sup-port learning at home. The model devel-oped by Springboard Collaborative (p. 24), where parents become teachers of literacy skills, is an example that shows promising results. A focus on involving parents can translate into not just stu-dent achievement gains, but stronger bonds between families and schools. While no substitute for traditional orga-nized afterschool programs, investments in family literacy, math, and science ac-tivities should be explored districtwide. Families can help ensure that students are surrounded by supports from a broad community of learners.

Making up for lost time

Nightmare scenario

l2 l3 l3 l8 l10

l11

l12

l14

l14

l28

l29

l30

Families are feeling the painful loss

of extracurricular offerings that are taken for granted in more affluent school districts.

Spring has arrived – and with it the recurring nightmare: the School District again confronting a catastrophic budget situation. Superintendent William Hite said he needs $440 million in new rev-enue to operate schools at an adequate level next fall. The first $200 million of that figure will merely head off another round of cuts. That’s because the current budget was balanced using one-time funds and because costs for pensions, benefits, and charters climb each year.

So far, just a fraction of the money needed to avert more cuts is commit-ted. Gov. Corbett’s proposed budget increases education spending but steers much of the new money to less needy districts. His proposal disregards the dire plight of Philadelphia and other struggling systems. But it will be a heavy lift to get the legislature to alter that plan. Many advocates are turning their attention to electing a new gover-nor committed to addressing the state’s gross school funding inequities.

Given Harrisburg politics, city of-

ficials have an easy decision. Do they find $195 million in new funds that Hite has asked them for – or do they tell students, “Too bad, the state won’t fund us, so we can’t afford ‘extras’ like sports, music, and counselors”?

If City Council and the mayor agree that the money is needed, then they shouldn’t dither about delivering it. Council should immediately approve the 1 percent sales tax extension autho-rized by the legislature and secure $120 million for city schools – thus provid-ing most of what’s needed to avert an-other round of cuts. Council and the mayor want to use half those dollars for the city’s pension gap, but more time is available to deal with that looming crisis. We can’t endure another mad summer with the superintendent on the news saying public schools may not open their doors. More families will flee the city, more educators will seek jobs elsewhere, and the District’s downward spiral will accelerate. Message to city officials: Act now!

More online at www.thenotebook.org

l1 l16

l19

l20

l21

l22

l24

l26

l4 l7

April-May 2014 Visit us online – www.thenotebook.org Philadelphia Public School Notebook 3

fromourreaders

eyeonspecialeducation

The Philadelphia Public School Notebook is an independent news service whose mission is to promote informed public involvement in the Philadelphia public schools and to contribute to the development of a strong, collaborative movement for positive educational change in city schools and for schools that serve all children well. The Notebook has published a newspaper since 1994. Philadelphia Public School Notebook operates as a project of the Investigative News Network. Send inquiries to:

Philadelphia Public School Notebook • 699 Ranstead St., 3rd Floor • Philadelphia, PA 19106 Phone: 215-839-0082 • Fax: 215-238-2300 • Email: [email protected] • web: www.thenotebook.orgThe Notebook is a member of the Investigative News Network and the Sustainable Business Network.

aboutthenotebook

Camps help create a balanced lifeResponse to February-March 2014 article,

“Camp leaves lasting memories,” by Madelyn J. Silber.

Many people profess that we need a longer school year and school day in order to close the achievement gap (as measured by standardized tests, of course). I submit that what we need so much more are opportunities for alternative learning experiences, including summer camps.

One of the major inhibitors of wide-ranging achievement is a lack of a background of experi-ence. Summer camps enhance the total develop-ment of children and adolescents.

More time in classrooms, if we are doing the same old, same old, is counterproductive to authen-tic learning. There is no credible evidence that more time in school translates to authentic academic achievement or personal growth.

A balanced life of learning and time for children to just be children is a far better use of time. Nature has a way of growing children, and sometimes it is best for us to just get out of the way and let her do the teaching.

Rich Migliore The writer is a retired School District administrator, an

attorney, and author of “Whose School Is It? The Demo-cratic Imperative for Our Schools”.

Students take a stand for librariesResponse to Feb. 14 commentary post, “With-

out libraries, how will schools create avid readers?” by Eileen DiFranco.

The kind of impact that radical budget cuts have had on our students includes not only the day-to-day problems of the classroom (no supplies, crowded classrooms, etc.), but also the loss of all those other essentials that support student learning and achievement, like school libraries.

Libraries are so vital to a school that the stu-dents themselves are starting to take action to fix this problem. At our school, an academic magnet, the students started a drive to reopen the library space we have (though tiny in comparison to those of Masterman or Central) and restock it with good, contemporary books obtained through donations and funds raised on their own.

Our principal is in full support of this initiative and has done what is possible to support them ma-terially – by making sure the space had computer equipment and printers, for instance. I and several other teachers volunteer after school time (so as not to take away budget for other afterschool activities) to supervise the students when they open up in the afternoons. We haven’t been able to let them open during the school day because there’s no one avail-able to do that supervision with us all stretched to the limit on our classes. We’d love to make it hap-pen, but the resources just aren’t there.

These are amazing kids who know and value the resource that a library represents – as do their peers, who are flocking to the library during its brief hours. They borrow books, do research, consult with both the student librarians and teachers about sources and other library-related issues.

It’s both a beautiful and a sad sight to behold – students taking an active part in doing what our district should do for them, but won’t.

John PolitisThe writer is a retired librarian.

Dyslexia: Identify it early and become your child’s advocateby Nancy M. Scharff

Most people know the word dyslexia, but few un-derstand it. Diane Reott is one local parent who knows a great deal about it. She just wishes she had learned it earlier for the sake of her son.

People generally think dyslexia means switching letters or having difficulty learning to read. It is much more than that. Dyslexia is a genetic, language-based disability that affects not only reading, but also writ-ing, spelling, handwriting, and the ability to express oneself, even in speaking.

When Reott’s son, Matt, entered kindergarten, he was bright and happy, able to recite his alphabet, had a great vocabulary, and his parents read to him every day. But he could not identify any letters.

The school told Reott what parents frequently hear: “He’s a boy; he will catch up.” In fact, dyslexic students do not “catch up.” Without early interven-tion, they fall further behind, and their self-esteem plummets. Matt was on that trajectory.

By the second semester of kindergarten, Reott requested that her son be tested by the school. The diagnosis came back as attention deficit disorder, for which the school developed an Individualized Educa-tion Program (IEP). Reott attended the IEP meeting, not really understanding but trusting all would be fine.

For the next five months, she reviewed sight words with Matt every day, but he made no progress. Both mother and son were confused and frustrated. She began begging him to “pay attention!” One day Matt looked at his mother with big tears rolling down his face and said, “I am the stupidest kid in the class.”

This happy, bright little boy had given up. Reott realized that something was really different in the way her son’s brain was seeing and hearing the words.

Matt eventually had further testing and was di-agnosed with dyslexia. Today at age 17, while Matt’s

learning issues are profound, he understands that dys-lexics have other gifts and thinks of himself as intel-ligent and worthwhile.

If parents sense their child is struggling, they should familiarize themselves with the signs of dyslex-ia and act as their child’s advocate. As Reott learned, kids need early support for their learning challenges – by the end of kindergarten at the latest.

By preschool, the signs of dyslexia are clear. They include an inability to recognize letters and trouble learning common nursery rhymes. By kindergarten or first grade, signs include reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page (the child will say “puppy” when the written word is dog accompanied by a picture of a dog). Additional signs include an inability to read simple words such as “cat.” Even the ability to recall a new friend’s name is challenging.

If your child shows signs of dyslexia, especially if there is a family history of reading problems, here’s what you can do:

Take responsibility for your child’s education. Learn about dyslexia. Work with the school – but trust your own instincts.

Ask for regular meetings, about every two months, to review objective data on progress. If the instruction is ineffective, ask for changes in instruction.

Have a knowledgeable person accompany you to IEP meetings. Parents need to understand everything said in the meeting.

The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity offers a useful list of signs of dyslexia and other resources at http://bit.ly/1hsYCyh.

Nancy M. Scharff, M.Ed., Special Education is an active member of the Pennsylvania Dyslexia Legislative Coalition and Literate Nation. Diane Reott is also a member of these groups.

What’s YOUR opinion? We want to know.Go to thenotebook.org to comment on any Notebook article.

Or write us a letter or email and send it to the Notebook:Philadelphia Public School Notebook

699 Ranstead St., 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106 Fax: 215-238-2300

Email: [email protected] Web: www.thenotebook.org/contact


The District needs $200 million just to avoid a new round of cuts for 2014-15. It is unclear where the funds might be found.by Dale Mezzacappa

With the new budget season gearing up, the School District is facing another year of instability and scraping together bare essentials while city and state of-ficials argue over how – or , in the case of the state, whether – to provide stable, recurring funding sources.

“It’s dire, dire,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. “We have 116 nurs-es, 200 counselors, fewer than 400 art and music teachers [less than one of each per school] for a district with 130,000 kids. This is not an acceptable academic expe-rience.”

As of March, Chief Financial Offi-cer Matthew Stanski could point to only $66 million in additional city and state revenue for fiscal 2015. Officials say they need $200 million simply to maintain this year’s skeletal level of services. Su-perintendent William Hite would like $240 million beyond that for his reform agenda, but financial support of that magnitude seems improbable.

The District is counting on but hasn’t secured $120 million from an extension of a 1 percent sales tax surcharge authorized

by the state but not enacted by the city. Council President Dar-rell Clarke, with reluctant sup-port from Mayor Nutter, remains adamant that those proceeds be split between schools and city pension obligations.

Clarke and Nutter say they also hope to raise $83 million from a new cigarette tax approved by Council last spring. But that scenario requires action from Harrisburg. So does amending the sales tax authorization to redi-rect half the proceeds to pensions. Prospects for both are uncertain.

Even if both measures pass, the revenue would fall short of the amount the District asked for from the city.

Advocates, while agreeing with Clarke that the state is not meeting its constitutional responsibility to ad-equately fund schools, are pleading with Council to pass the sales tax extension without amendments. They say failure to do so gives the legislature ammuni-tion for its claim that city leaders are not doing their share. If Council doesn’t act, the authorization expires in June.

“They’re playing a serious game of chicken,” said Susan Gobreski, executive director of Education Voters PA.

As for labor savings, the District reached an agreement with the principals’ union, with an 11 percent pay reduction

and three-year savings of about $20 million.Negotiations with the Philadelphia

Federation of Teachers, with the goal of getting much larger savings by overhaul-ing and reducing compensation, drag on.

There have been other proposals for raising money for schools but no indica-tion that Council is near action. Council member Maria Quiñones-Sanchez has introduced legislation to give the District a larger share of property tax revenues – 60 percent instead of 55 percent – which would deliver about $50 million.

She and Council member Curtis Jones predicted that Council would come through, but probably not until the last minute, after the political chess game has played out.

“We can’t leave Council on June 30 saying all the votes depend on the state,” Quiñones-Sanchez said.

Meanwhile, planning is dif-ficult, school budgets are in flux, and families caught in the uncer-tainty may turn to non-District options.

Jones, who co-sponsored Quiñones-Sanchez’s bill, noted that Council has given the Dis-trict more funds four years in a row. “But I don’t see the same te-nacity [from] a governor who has not done enough for education in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.”

Clarke was not available for an inter-view. But Jane Roh, his communications director, issued a statement that Coun-cil’s “primary fiduciary duty is to the City of Philadelphia” and that the mayor and Council are seeking “to more equitably split” the sales tax revenue.

Advocates like Cooper and Gobreski counter that the schools crisis is immedi-ate, while the pension problem is long-term. They argue for directing the sales tax proceeds to the schools, while continuing to advocate for a cigarette tax authoriza-tion to fund city pensions.

The larger goal of advocates is for a predictable, student-based education fund-ing formula, which Pennsylvania currently

Another year scraping together bare essentialsdistrictnews

(continued on page 5)

Harvey FinkleAt a February meeting, parents, teachers and students urged the School Reform Commission to lobby for more funding.

GRADUATE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCESAdvance your education or pursue a new career path with a graduate degree or certificate from Villanova University.

Visit gradartsci.villanova.edu or call 610-519-7090 to discover the program that is right for you.


lacks. Districts including Philadelphia saw their state and federal dollars diminish after 2008, with the end of federal stimulus funds.

Gov. Corbett has proposed $240 mil-lion in additional education aid through “Ready to Learn” block grants, which would yield $29 million for Philadelphia. But there is no increase in basic education, the main source of state money for school districts.

Stanski said that changes in other budget lines would net an additional $23 million for the District.

In addition, the District expects $14 million more in city taxes.

But $200 million in additional revenue is needed to maintain the status quo because about $120 million of its 2013-14 funding is non-recurring. And costs in areas like utili-ties, charter reimbursement, and benefits will rise by $80 million, Stanski said.

In Harrisburg, there is little appetite to send more funds to city schools, said Ron Cowell, a former Democratic legislator who now runs a statewide policy group.

He noted that per pupil, Philadelphia spends less than Pittsburgh and many oth-er big cities.

“What it spends is relatively modest,” he said. “The presumption that it is a hole people keep dumping money into is not accurate. But a lot of people in Harrisburg don’t understand that fact.”

Contact Notebook contributing editor Dale Mezzacappa at [email protected].

districtnewsBare essentials(continued from page 4)

Aston, Pennsylvania

www.neumann.edu

CUSTOMIZE YOUR ED.D.

Conduct Doctoral Research Right in Your School District

For more information:

[email protected]

or 610-361-5208

The new and innovative Neumann University Ed.D.

program is convenient and pragmatic. Complete

courses in class and online, and conduct research

in your school district. The curriculum is based

on a problem-solving approach to issues you

encounter every day.

There are three tracks:

• Principal Certification

• Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility

• Special Education Certification with

Autism Endorsement

Convenient, hybrid courses • Problem-solving approach

Neumann offers a competitive tuition and will

bring classes to your school district if 15 or more

enroll.

www.math-aids.com

STOP wasting time searching for quality worksheets to use in the classroom!Math-Aids.Com provides you with an UNLIMITED supply of FREE quality math worksheet for grades K through 12.

These worksheet

generators may be individually

configured to create material

to meet your needs and printed

immediately or saved in a PDF format for

later use.


Metropolitan Philadelphia

1-877-ARCADIA (1-877-272-2342) [email protected]

SCHOOL OFEDUCATIONGRADUATEOPEN HOUSE

REGISTER TODAY! WWW.ARCADIA.EDU/APRIL8

School of Education Graduate Open House

Meet with faculty and current students, take a tour of campus, learn about campus resources for graduate students, and even register for classes.

In addition, financial aid counselors and career education specialists will be available for questions. If you attend, your application fee will be waived. Refreshments will be served.

Arcadia offers innovative certificates that can be completed in a summer or in an academic year. They are available in more than a dozen different areas, including Secondary Transition, Urban Education, ESL, and Connected Learning.

Graduate and Doctoral Education Programs

• Doctor of Education• Master of Education• Master of Arts in Education• Certificates* of Advanced Study• Certification

* www.arcadia.edu/gainful

Graduate Open House

Tuesday, April 8 | 4 to 6 p.m.

Grey Towers Castle, Glenside, Pa.

You may pre-register for an individual appointment with an adviser. Bring your transcripts for a certification analysis.


District to open 3 innovative neighborhood high schools

Three new high schools will open in the fall in North Philadelphia.

All are planning to use an approach to learning that is based on projects and inquiry, building on students’ experi-ences and extending education outside the classroom. They will operate on a “competency” model, in which students progress at their own pace, moving ahead when they demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills.

The schools will not have admis-sion requirements. Students can apply until April 25. Half the seats will be for students from the 11 zip codes sur-rounding each school and the rest will be open citywide.

“These are small, highly personal-ized high schools,” said Grace Cannon, who heads the District’s Office for New School Development. “They are not small for small’s sake, but they can em-

bed deep youth development and use technology to enable personalization and mastery.”

A school called Project 21 is being co-designed by Laura Shubilla, former head of the Philadelphia Youth Net-work. The school will open with 150 9th graders and expand to 600.

The goal is to “customize learning for students, regardless of where they’re coming into the system,” Shubilla said. It will serve students from ages 14 to 24 who will exit after three to five years ready to step into a career or attend col-lege without needing remediation.

The two other schools, LINC (Learning in New Contexts) and the U School, are being planned with a $3 million, three-year grant from the Carnegie Foundation. Each will open with 100-115 students and add a grade each year.

Saliyah Cruz, the former West Philadelphia High School principal, who had been working in Delaware, is

designing the LINC, which will share a building with Roberto Clemente Mid-dle School in Hunting Park.

She came back because it is “excit-ing” that the District “is looking at ... creating good opportunities for kids not

able to access magnets or citywide ad-mission schools.”

The U School is being designed by Neil Geyette, who developed the proj-ect-based Urban Leadership Academy at West when Cruz was principal. He subsequently taught and was a principal intern at Franklin Learning Center.

As they design the schools, the leaders have been consulting students “to see what they want in a school,” Geyette said.

The U School will co-locate with Project 21 in the former Ferguson Ele-mentary School near Temple University.

-Dale Mezzacappa

District considers adding position to improve ethics

The School District is preparing to create a senior-level staff position – potentially modeled on the city’s chief integrity officer – to implement recom-mendations from an outside task force that found flaws with the District’s eth-ics practices.

In a report produced in December 2012 under the auspices of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and South-ern New Jersey, this task force strongly urged the District to hire a point person for ethics issues. Fourteen months later, the findings and recommendations were finally discussed by the School Reform Commission in February.

The task force, headed by Com-mon Pleas Court Judge Ida Chen, said the District does not do enough to train employees or clarify and enforce its eth-ics policies – and found “there is insuf-ficient emphasis on transparency.”

Former SRC Chair Pedro Ramos requested the review when he took of-fice in 2011, just after a city ethics re-port slammed improprieties by former SRC Chair Robert Archie and State Rep. Dwight Evans over a management contract for Martin Luther King High School.

The task force report cites “a tan-gled briar patch” of ethics rules, which “makes it difficult to obtain clarity about the ethical obligations of District personnel.”

The report also expresses concern that due to budget cuts, “auditing and compliance staff at all levels has been sharply reduced, even as the number of contracts has increased.” It says that amid fiscal austerity, “it is tempting to


Harvey FinkleThe former Ferguson Elementary School building will house two new high schools.

newsinbrief

GRADUATE TEACHER PROGRAMS

MEd in Educational Program Design

AND

4 Graduate Certificate Programs

A total of 30 credits, our unique Master of Education combines theory and practice. Complete five core courses, plus five courses in a concentration area of your choice:

• Educational Technology• Inclusion• Literacy• The Arts

Concentrations can be taken as a stand-alone graduate certificate for individuals not seeking a master’s degree.

Visit cs.uarts.edu/MEd for more information.

Ed Tech Week

Join us for our first Ed Tech Week June 23-27 at Unionville Elementary School in Kennett Square and at UArts in Philadelphia. Visit cs.uarts.edu/edtechweek for details. Also, new MEd in Educational Technology coming fall 2014!

ArtsWeek

ArtsWeek 2014 features keynote speaker Joe Fusaro, Senior Education Advisor at Art21. Join us at the Wayne Art Center June 23-27, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts July 7-11 or at UArts in Philadelphia Aug 4-8. Visit cs.uarts.edu/artsweek for details.

Education programs for teachers and students in grades K-12

Register now or learn more at cs.uarts.edu215.717.6006 | [email protected]


activismaroundthecity

Executive Program in SCHOOL & MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING

Two-year M.S.Ed. program designed for working professionals embarking on careers as school or mental health counselors

Organized around three distinct emphases: School Counseling Certification; Mental Health Counseling

Licensure, and School and Mental Health Counseling Certification plus Licensure Built on the faculty’s contention that school and mental health counseling need to be better integrated in

order to best serve children, youth, and their families Using executive-learning format, students earn their degree while maintaining their full-time employment Two years of monthly weekend classes and one week of intense study each of the two summers Two-semester field placement during each year provides opportunity to learn and practice counseling

skills in professional and supportive environment Textbooks, instructional materials, and meals during all classes are included in cost of tuition

For more information, please visit – https://www.gse.upenn.edu/smhc/

• Organized around three distinct emphases: School Counseling Certification; Mental Health Counseling Licensure, and School and Mental Health Counseling Certification plus Licensure

• Built on the faculty’s contention that school and mental health counseling need to be integrated in order to best serve children, youth, and their families

• Using executive-learning format, students earn their degree while maintaining their full-time employment• Two years of monthly weekend classes and one week of intense study each of the two summers• Two-semester field placement during each year provides opportunity to learn and practice counseling

skills in professional and supportive environment• Textbooks, instructional materials, and meals during all classes are included in cost of tuition• Stimulating, highly diverse mix of students, ranging from early- to mid-career professionals largely from

education, human services and related fields

Executive Program inSchool & Mental health counSeling

State groups make a push for early education funding

Ten advocacy groups across the state are making a push for more pre-K funding in Pennsylvania. This new coalition is seeking to use this year’s gubernatorial race as an opportunity to campaign for high-quality pre-K care for every family.

The coalition includes Public Citi-zens for Children and Youth (PCCY), the Economy League of Greater Phila-delphia (ELGP), Delaware Valley As-sociation for the Education of Young Children, and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

Shawn Towey, child care policy co-ordinator at PCCY, said polls they’ve conducted indicate bipartisan support for increased funding for higher qual-ity and more pre-K programs. She said investing in children early benefits ev-eryone.

“Kids who get high quality pre-K are more likely to do well in school, to graduate, they make more money after they graduate, [and] they’re less likely to get involved with the law.”

Studies indicate a return on invest-ment of up to $16 for every dollar spent on pre-K, Towey said. She added that less money has to be spent on early spe-cial education and criminal justice costs are lower.

Jon Herrmann, who directs the Pre-K for PA campaign in Southeast Penn-

sylvania, said in an email that the cam-paign has conducted public meetings around the Philadelphia area as well as secured television, radio, and print cov-erage statewide to support their efforts.

The coalition is slated to release a report in mid-April that will discuss models for pre-K funding from other states and propose ideas for a new pre-K funding plan.

The ELGP is currently looking at a model that prioritizes children who are at the greatest risk of failing, such as low-income students, students with delays and disabilities, or English lan-

guage learners. Under this model, fami-lies would pay for child care on a sliding scale based on their income. Another model being considered would give ev-ery child, regardless of circumstance, free pre-K care.

The coalition wants all pre-K pro-grams to be high-quality based on the Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s Keystone Stars system. Pro-grams receive a one- to four-star quality rating, with three and four stars mark-ing high-quality programs.

“We know that kids, families, schools and school districts do bet-

ter [with high quality pre-K]. And ul-timately the state does better,” Towey said. “It’s a win-win.” For more informa-tion, go to www.prekforpa.org.

-Dan Hampton

Youth organizing groups discuss school issues at citywide summit

Members of the Philadelphia Stu-dent Union (PSU) and Youth United for Change (YUC) got together in February to organize “Turn Up for the Movement!” – a citywide student as-sembly focused on educating students about the problems that have been plaguing the School District of Phila-delphia and mobilizing them to speak out about the issues.

More than 100 students, parents, and others attended this youth summit held at Edison High School and par-ticipated in three workshops: on budget cuts, the school-to-prison pipeline, and “The Young & the Restless.”

In the budget cuts workshop, par-ticipants examined the education cuts made over the past three years. The school-to-prison pipeline discussion addressed connections between the war on drugs, hip hop, and mass incar-ceration in the United States. The last workshop covered the role of young people in social movements.

PSU member and Benjamin Frank-lin senior Sharron Snyder helped lead the workshop on budget cuts. Snyder said she was involved because “I’m passion-

Philadelphia Student UnionA youth summit in February addressed the role of youth in social movements.



ate about my education and I want to see Philadelphia public schools do better,” but said, “it’s hard for us because they ex-pect us to do so much with so little.”

PSU and YUC members met twice a week, and every other Saturday for several months to plan and organize the event.

They handed out flyers on SEPTA platforms every Friday in the weeks

leading up to the summit and tried to recruit people, specifically students, to join their organizing efforts.

“You don’t have to be an adult or have to be in your 20s to make a change,” said Cierra Mallette, a YUC member and Edison senior.

“It’s all about fighting for what you believe in and finding a way to get to where you want to go.”

Youth advocates said they hope to draw more young people into organiz-ing on these issues. Although next steps on how to do this have not been solidi-fied, PSU and YUC members are talk-ing through possible plans. Staging sit-ins, walkouts, and blockades are among the ideas they are considering to make their voices heard.

-Jeseamy Muentes

• Online Education• K-12, Tuition Free• All Materials Provided• Certified Teachers• Dynamic Teacher Driven Curriculum• Onsite Opportunities

PA LEADERSHIP Charter School

Make Excellence Your GoalMake Excellence Your Goal

Find out what makesPALCS unique:

palcs.org610.701.3333

ADVANCED PLACEMENTS U M M E R I N S T I T U T E

Starting July 14, 2014

To register, call 215.881.7400 or visit abington.psu.edu/continuing-education/ap-institute.

AP Physics 1 & 2July 14 to 17

AP U.S. HistoryJuly 28 to 31

AP English LiteratureAugust 4 to 7

AP English Language and CompositionAugust 11 to 14

An intensive program designed to give AP teachers experience in developing and teaching AP courses.

Focus • Discipline • Concentration

1912 Welsh Road 7530 Frankford Ave.

30th Anniversary SpecialTaekwon-do SPeCIaL$99/2 MonTHSIncludes Uniform!

New members only. Exp. 5/31/14

Tues & Thurs. 7-8pm

CardioKick

Gift Certificates

215-969-9962www.red-tiger.com

ClassesMonday

thru Thursday

30th Anniversary Special

$25/MonTH(limited offer)

oR $5/CLaSS(limited offer)

New members only. Exp. 5/31/14

• Free in-gallery and outreach lessons are available for K-12 classes. Reservations required.

• All lessons are age-appropriate and are designed to complement Penn-sylvania State Academic Standards.

• Limited transportation funds are available.

For more information or to schedule a lesson for your class, call us at 215.991.3680 or visit our Web site www.lasalle.edu/museum.

News in brief(continued from page 7)

Activism(continued from page 8)

skimp on oversight. … But in reality, tough times require heightened dili-gence.”

The task force found “no evidence of widespread unethical behavior among District personnel.”

“The main point here is that eth-ics is not an afterthought,” said Ellen Mattleman Kaplan of the government watchdog group Committee of Seventy. “It can’t stand back and wait for other things to get resolved. ... Ethics has to be woven into everything you do because there are ethical issues that come up day after day after day.”

Kaplan said her organization is encouraged by Superintendent Wil-liam Hite’s commitment to implement-ing the recommendations. “We’re also pleased that the School District is tak-ing steps to hire a chief integrity officer to strengthen the administration and enforcement of ethics rules.”

-Dale Mezzacappa and Paul Socolar


enespañolPadres aprenden cómo hacer que sus hijos lean más Springboard es un esfuerzo que ofrece entrenamiento para que las familias puedan fomentar las destrezas de lectura de sus hijos en el hogar.por Connie Langland

En una tarde de marzo, el niño de 8 años Jakai Rhoades y su mamá Ebony Wilkie comenzaron a tra-

bajar en su tarea. “¿Cómo se ve esta palabra?” Wilkie

le preguntó a su hijo, estudiante de 3er grado en la Escuela Elemental Blaine. “Es una palabra compuesta — dos pa-labras juntas. ¿Lo ves?”

“Spaceship (nave espacial)”, con-testó él correctamente.

“Rumble … rumble … ROOAAARRRR (brum ... brum ... BRUUUMMMM)”, leyó Jakai. “The rocket goes up into ... (el cohete sube hacia el...)” y se atascó en la próxima palabra. Pero su mamá estaba lista, apuntando hacia arriba una y otra vez y dándole una pista a Jakai.

Él trató nuevamente, y leyó “The rocket goes up into ... space! (el cohete sube hacia el ...¡espacio!”

¡Sí! Jakai estaba feliz, y Wilkie tam-bién.

En este hogar del área de Straw-berry Mansion, aprender a leer es una aventura conjunta.

Para Jakai, el esfuerzo significa que tiene que dedicar tiempo adicional leyen-do libros de cuentos – a veces tanto como una hora en las tardes después de la es-cuela y 15 minutos antes de irse a dormir.

Y Wilkie también se ha esforzado. El verano pasado y otra vez este invier-no, asistió a talleres para padres en la es-cuela Blaine para adquirir algunas de las mismas destrezas que los maestros usan en el salón de clases. Aprendió lo básico de cómo los niños aprenden a leer – y también qué cosas los atrasan.

“Algunos niños leen, pero no en-tienden lo que han leído. Por eso hemos trabajado en ayudarle a entender lo que está leyendo”, dijo Wilkie.

“Jakai no leía cuando empezamos y ahora lee a nivel de 2do grado. Ha pro-gresado muchísimo”, dijo su mamá.

Entrenamiento para los padresReclutar a los padres para ayudar

en la lectura es la innovación básica de una iniciativa para remediación de lectura llamada Springboard Collabora-tiva. La iniciativa Springboard, creada por Alejandro Gac-Artigas, ha llevado a cabo programas de lectura en escuelas chárter durante los últimos tres veranos y se expandió para incluir cuatro es-cuelas del Distrito este pasado verano.

“Los padres son el mayor recurso natural en la educación”, dijo Gac-Artigas, “y lo más increíble es que este recurso casi ni se aprovecha en las co-munidades de más alta pobreza”.

Este invierno, Springboard tuvo un programa piloto en la escuela Blaine desde febrero hasta abril a fin de entre-nar a los maestros para trabajar con las familias de los estudiantes que más difi-

cultad tengan para leer. Finalmente, el programa piloto incluyó cinco maestros, 35 estudiantes y sus familias.

En este programa piloto, los maestros prepararon un plan de acción para cada niño y repasaron el plan y las metas con los padres. Cada dos semanas, los maestros llevaron a cabo talleres de una hora con los padres. En la semana alterna, los maestros recibieron adiestramiento sobre cómo co-municarse y preparar a las familias. Al igual que en el programa de verano, Springboard les ofreció libros y materiales a las familias como incentivo.

La participación de los padres es sumamente bienvenida por los educa-dores, pero los padres rara vez son re-clutados para ayudar a enseñar lectura y escritura que vaya más allá del famoso consejo: Léale a sus hijos.

La iniciativa Springboard pide mucho más porque les enseña a los padres cómo fomentar las destrezas de lectura, vocabulario y comprensión de sus hijos fuera del día escolar tradicio-nal. El programa también responsabi-liza a los padres durante la duración del programa dándoles tareas para el hogar y estableciendo requisitos de asistencia. El verano pasado, los padres de cuatro escuelas del Di stri-to tuvieron una asisten cia promedio del 93% a los ta-lleres semanales.

Springboard de-clara drásticos ben-eficios en la lectura y tiene grandes ambi-ciones: reducir y hasta cerrar la brecha de desempeño para los niños provenientes de áreas desventajadas (visite springboard-collaborative.org/what-we-do/the-impact).

La investigación al respecto parece respaldar el enfoque de Springboard. Una revisión en el 2006 de la investig-ación hecha por el Instituto Nacional de Alfabetización se fijó en las inter-venciones de la familia desde Kinder hasta 3er grado y concluyó que cuando los padres enseñan destrezas específicas de alfabetismo, eso es dos veces más efi-caz que escuchar al niño mientras lee, y seis veces más eficaz que alentar a los padres a leerles a los niños.

Los esfuerzos rinden frutosWilkie está segura de que sus esfuer-

zos han tenido un gran impacto en las destrezas de lectura de Jakai. Los libros en la mesa de tarea eran de nivel de 2do y 3er grado – mucho más avanzados que los que podría leer hace un año. Y Jakai es alentado por su hermano mayor de 10 años Karim Pressley, que empezó a leer muy bien desde temprana edad.

La familia Wilkie ha estado leyen-do sin parar desde el verano pasado, incluyendo el tiempo después de que se acabó el programa de verano hasta antes de que comenzara el año escolar. Los amigos que tocaron a la puerta esta cálida tarde de marzo no pudieron más que la insistencia de la mamá de que la tarea es primero y el juego después.

Jakai no tenía uno sino cuatro li-bros de cuentos que leer esa tarde: Rock-

ets and Spaceships, de nivel 2.9 (es decir, final de 2do grado); Martin’s Big Words, de nivel 2.5; The Meanest Thing to Say por Bill Cosby, de nivel 2.2; y Jamaica’s Find, de nivel 3.2.

Esa combinación, que va de más fáciles a más difíciles, le parece lógica a la mamá de Jakai. Los libros más fáciles para leer refuerzan las destre-zas; los que tienen más palabras nuevas y desconocidas lo

desafían a descifrar el significado de la palabra de acuerdo con el contexto del cuento.

“Antes del programa, yo ayudaba a Jakai leyéndole libros que le gusta-ban. Pero él no podía pronunciar las pa labras. En Springboard lo ayudaron con la pronunciación, y yo también lo hice”, dijo Wilkie.

Ella también lo ayudó a aprender palabras que no sabía poniéndoselas en un contexto que fuera familiar para él, y nos dio este ejemplo: “La palabra dirty (sucio) – Yo le decía ve a limpiar tu cu-arto, que está... ____ y él lo entendió: tu cuarto que está sucio. Eso le funcionó.”

Este esfuerzo en el hogar ha tenido un fruto adicional.

“Valió la pena porque aprendí más sobre mi hijo. Y tuve oportunidad de interactuar con su maestra. Cualquier cosa que ayude a mi hijo a aprender, yo estoy de acuerdo”, dijo Wilkie.

Karen Shanowski, gerente de proyectos en el Center for Schools and Communities en Camp Hill, Pa., dijo que las escuelas cada vez están buscan-do más maneras de lograr que los padres participen en el aprendizaje de sus hi-jos. Lo que es claro, dijo ella, es que “la participación de la familia no es algo añadido; es parte integral del proceso de aprendizaje. Y estamos viendo que las escuelas están buscando maneras nue-vas para conectarse con las familias”.

Esas iniciativas, dijo ella, han surgi-do de haber reconocido que “los padres son los maestros de más influencia para sus hijos”.

Shileste Overton-Morris, gerente senior del centro, notó que las iniciati-vas fuera de la escuela pueden interac-tuar con los padres de maneras creativas más allá de “la conferencia de padres y maestros o la reunión del PTA” que son tan típicas en muchas escuelas. Lo clave, dijo Overton-Morris, es “comu-nicar ese mensaje – que los padres son maestros no importa dónde estén en el sistema, ya sea en el hogar, en una es-cuela chárter o en una escuela pública. Los padres son los maestros primarios... y es sumamente importante que las es-cuelas busquen cómo lograr que los pa-dres participen de manera significativa a fin de asegurar que el estudiante tenga éxito en la vida”.

Libros y más librosComo Wilkie, Enjoli Johnson asistió

a los talleres de Springboard en la escuela Blaine el verano pasado y luego durante el programa piloto a fin de apoyar la lec-tura de sus tres hijos, Anthony Cindell de 11 años y estudiante de 5to grado, Zahmaar Brown de 7 años y en 1er gra-do, y Joseph Brown, de 5 años en Kinder.

“Primeramente, cuando vienen donde mí con un libro nunca los re-chazo”, dijo Johnson.

Los maestros enviaron libros al hogar, y amistades vinieron con más li-bros. Johnson dijo que Joseph ha tenido más dificultad para aprender a leer que sus hermanos mayores, y lo que ella aprendió en los talleres le ha ayudado a trabajar con él. Además, “él se siente más motivado a aprender porque ve a sus hermanos mayores leyendo”.

Johnson recordó que ella creció leyendo con su mamá.

“Ella se dormía; yo no paraba de leer”, dijo Johnson riéndose. “Definiti-vamente soy fanática de la lectura. Soy buena para la matemática, pero famosa por leer”.

Para leer más sobre el método Springboard, visite el sitio Web www.springboardcollaborative.org.

Connie Langland es redactora independiente sobre asuntos de educación.Traducción por Mildred S. Martínez.

Springboard les enseña a los padres cómo fomentar las destrezas de lectura,

vocabulario y comprensión de sus hijos.

Harvey FinkleEbony Wilkie, izquierda, ha estado trabajando con su hijo Jakai Rhoades para mejorar la lec-tura. Ella ha recibido entrenamiento sobre cómo los niños aprenden a leer.


enespañolKIPP: Aprovechando el tiempo adicionalEs una de las pocas escuelas chárter en la ciudad con un día de clases y año escolar extendido para ayudar a los estudiantes a tener éxito.por Paul Jablow

Son las 3:00pm un lunes, y en toda la ciudad – y el país, realmente – los niños están saliendo de la escuela y

caminando hacia sus padres o un autobús.Sin embargo, no en la Escuela

Chárter KIPP West Philadelphia. Aquí, la maestra Josie Santiago camina por un salón que tiene una docena de estu-diantes de 7mo y 8vo grado, ayudán-dolos con sus tareas de las clases de español, historia, matemáticas y otras materias, o con la vida en general.

“Mírame a los ojos”, le dice a un estudiante como parte de una pequeña sesión de corrección por no hacer su trabajo.

En el salón de al lado, la maestra Amoreena Olaya discute Macbeth con estudiantes avanzados: “Realmente les estamos presentando un reto”, dice ella.

En el resto de la escuela, otros maestros se reúnen con un club de documentales, dan tutorías, preparan a los estudiantes para los próximos exámenes estandariza-dos del estado, practican con un equipo de marcha, y dirigen una sesión de estudio para estudiantes que se han estado por-tando mal y necesitan estar en un “lugar tranquilo”. Los estudiantes se quedan hasta las 4:45.

La KIPP es una de un pequeño pero creciente número de escuelas del país que están usando “un horario de apre-ndizaje extendido”, expandiendo tanto el día escolar regular como el calendario escolar más allá del plazo tradicional, el cual consiste de 180 días que comienzan entre las 8 y 9am y terminan entre 2:30 a 3:00pm.

El itinerario varía en las cuatro escuelas KIPP de Filadelfia – una ele-mental, dos intermedias y una superior. Pero en general, los estudiantes de las escuelas KIPP pasan nueve horas en la escuela cada día y comienzan las clases tres semanas más temprano de lo nor-mal (en comparación con un día de sie-te horas en las escuelas del Distrito). La escuela KIPP también ocasionalmente tiene clases los sábados.

“Nosotros lo vemos como una opor-tunidad para liberar presión”, dice Marc Mannella, CEO de KIPP Philadelphia Schools. “Nuestros estudiantes llegan bastante atrasados. Estamos tomando más tiempo para que recuperen en lec-tura y matemáticas sin sacrificar arte,

música, estudios sociales y educación física”.

Comenzar el año escolar más tem-prano se considera casi como el equiva-lente educativo del entrenamiento de primavera para béisbol, ya que ayuda a determinar las necesidades de los estu-diantes y orienta a los nuevos y a sus padres en lo que respecta a la cultura de la escuela.

Unas cuantas otras escuelas chárter, que incluyen las operadas por Scholar Academies, tam-bién tienen un día extendido. Las es-cuelas de Scholar Academies y Mastery Charter Schools tam-bién comienzan el año en agosto.

Un estudio en el 2013 hecho por Mathematica Policy Research en 43 escuelas intermedias KIPP del país encontró que los estu-diantes en las escuelas mejoraron con una rapidez mayor que un grupo compa-rable en escuelas tradicionales de distri-tos. El mismo concluyó que el factor que más probablemente explica esto es el día más largo.

Para Mannella y otros en KIPP, tener el tiempo adicional funciona sola-mente si se planifica bien y se enfoca en los estudiantes individuales.

“Queremos ver que estamos satisfa-ciendo una necesidad, no simplemente llenando el día”, dice Santiago, que está en su segundo año en KIPP. Ella fue maestra antes en la Escuela Superior Kensington.

“Cada año es un poco diferente”,

dice Mannella. “La mecánica cambia constantemente. Movimos las giras de la escuela superior a los sábados. Las es-cuelas intermedias antes salían a las 5, pero nos dimos cuenta de que no tenía nada de mágico”.

Mannella dice que la habilidad para experimentar con el tiempo adi-cional ha comprobado ser valiosa. Sin embargo, esa experimentación también puede ser difícil en escuelas públicas financieramente limitadas como las de

Filadelfia.“En mi observa-

ción, a las escuelas les toma un par de años determinar cómo usar el tiem-po adicional”, dice Elaine Simon, co-directora del pro-grama de Estudios Urbanos de la Uni-

versidad de Pensilvania que trabajó de cerca con la Escuela Superior Univer-sity City por varios años antes de que cerrara en junio.

La escuela había sido designada como Promise Academy – y por lo tanto tenía un día extendido y clases algunos sábados. Pero, dijo Simon, “No había muchos recursos ni guía sobre qué se su-pone que hicieran”.

“Fue cuestión de probar qué funcio-naba”, recuerda A. J. Schiera, que enseñó estudios sociales en University City los tres años que fue una Promise Academy. Para los estudiantes que aprovecharon el tiempo, “todo funcionó sumamente bien”, dijo él. “Había mucha oportuni-

dad para interacciones de uno a uno”. Pero para cuando la escuela comen-

zó a figurar qué funcionaba y qué no, el Distrito decidió cerrarla. Por lo tanto, aunque la escuela University City había comenzado a crear una cultura escolar que apoyaba el aspecto académico, y las notas de los estudiantes estaban mejo-rando, dice Schiera, “No podíamos con-struir sobre eso”.

Para uno de los padres de la KIPP, el día y calendario extendido son una bendición en todos los aspectos menos uno: la escuela a veces comienza en su cumpleaños en agosto.

“Inicialmente me parecía una locu-ra”, dice Annette Strickland, que tiene cinco hijos en escuelas KIPP. Como todavía estábamos en medio del ve-rano, “los niños preguntaban ‘¿por qué estamos en la escuela?’”

Pero a ella le gusta que comenzar temprano incluye programas que atraen a los padres a las escuelas y hacen que la familia se sienta como parte de la comu-nidad escolar.

Ella particularmente valora el día extendido durante el año. “Ha sido fan-tástico”, dice ella. “Les da el tiempo adi-cional necesario para aprender”.

Strickland, que está criando a sus hijos sola, trabaja como gerente de esta-cionamiento en el Hospital Delaware County Memorial en Upper Darby. Usualmente ella llega a su casa en el oeste de Filadelfia entre las 4:30 y las 5:00pm después de buscar a su hija menor Alyce, que está en Kinder en la escuela elemental KIPP en la Calle Westmoreland del norte de Filadelfia. Los otros llegan de la escuela inter-media o la superior más o menos a esa misma hora.

Aunque con gusto le gustaría ayu-dar con la tarea después de cocinar la cena, dice ella, los padres no son sub-stitutos del maestro. “La tarea es larga y detallada”, y ya hace muchos años que ella se graduó de la escuela.

“Yo no he sabido de álgebra y geometría en años”, dijo riéndose mien-tras esperaba por Alyce en el pasillo de la escuela. “Yo ahí sentada en la mesa con un montón de Xs y Ys? Por favor.

“Mientras menos preguntas tengan, mejor para los padres”, añadió. Con el tiempo adicional en la escuela, “Ellos les pueden explicar a los maestros qué necesitan”.

Paul Jablow es un redactor independiente que contribuye artículos para el Notebook.Traducción por Mildred S. Martínez.

Harvey Finkle“Queremos ver que estamos satisfaciendo una necesidad, no simplemente llenando el día”, dice Josie Santiago, maestra en su segundo año en KIPP.

LéaLo en La webwww.thenotebook.org

La KIPP es una de un pequeño pero creciente número de escuelas del país que están usando

“un horario de aprendizaje extendido”.

School cAlENdAR 2013-2014 cAlENdARio dE lA EScuElA

4/14 Spring recess – Schools closed Vacaciones de Primavera – Escuelas cerradas

4/18 Spring recess – Administrative Vacaciones de Primavera – Oficinas offices and schools closed administrativas/escuelas cerradas

5/6 Staff Only – Professional No hay clases – Día de desarrollo development day profesional para personal

5/26 Memorial Day – Schools/ Día de la Recordación – Escuelas/ administrative offices closed oficinas administrativas cerradas

6/19 Last day for pupils Último día de clases

6/20 Last day for staff – Organization day Último día de trabajo para los maestros – Día Organizacional


notebooknews

Strive for student achievement. Teach

with magis.

College of Arts and SciencesGraduate Education Programs

Graduate Studies | College of Arts and Sciences | Saint Joseph’s University | 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131

Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

M.S. in Education with majors in:- Educational Leadership (online or on campus)- Special Education: Pre K-8 or 7-12- Teacher Education: Pre K-4, 4-8 or 7-12- Reading Specialist

Certificate and Endorsements- Autism Spectrum Disorder Endorsement- English as a Second Language Endorsement K-12 (online)- Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (online) NEW

M.S. in Math Education for certified teachers NEW

Administrative Certification Programs- Curriculum Supervisor- Principal Certification- Supervisor of Special Education- Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility Professional Development Courses- Instructional Technology: Digital Teacher Leader NEW

Saint Joseph’s University’s graduate education

programs proudly honor and serve the

needs of novice and seasoned teachers and

administrators. We are now accepting applications

for the summer or fall 2014 semester.

To learn more visit us at sju.edu/notebook.

Saint Joseph’s special education programs have been identified as one of only nine programs internationally to meet the rigorous standards of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).

GAS-5775-Philadelphia Notebook-March.indd 1 3/6/14 11:40 AM

Working to change perceptions of city schoolsKatey McGrath, Notebook memberby Dan Hampton

At 33, Katey McGrath is one of the youngest members of the Notebook’s board of directors.

From the way she plunged right in, you can tell she is a go-getter.

In the spring of 2012, she attended Young Involved Philadelphia’s Board Prep Program, which helps young adults find roles with nonprofit organizations. Though McGrath was not very familiar with the Notebook at the time, the pro-gram matched her with the nonprofit through a questionnaire designed to gauge how participants would like to serve as board members with an organization.

Her answers matched the crite-ria that the Notebook had set. So, after meeting some Notebook staff, she decid-ed to attend the Notebook’s annual Turn-ing the Page for Change event that June to find out more about the organization. There she became a Notebook member and just a few months later received a formal invitation to join its board.

“I wanted to be a member because I [didn’t] want to miss an issue and [want-ed to] get it as soon as it came out,” Mc-Grath said.

“But I also wanted to put my money where my mouth was and support non-profit journalism.”

McGrath, a Germantown native

and Masterman graduate, has two sons, one attending J.S. Jenks Elementary and the other planning to enter kin-dergarten there next year. She serves on the board of Friends of J.S. Jenks, an independent fundraising arm for the school.

After her own experience as a par-ent selecting an elementary school, McGrath said she hopes the Notebook is able to expand its reach to preschool parents.

“One of the most stressful things a family can do in Philadelphia is try and figure out where your kid’s going to go to school for kindergarten,” McGrath said.

“It’s a really obfuscated process. You don’t really know how to do it. You don’t really know what your options are.”

McGrath is now in her 13th year at Elfant Wissahickon Realty, where she is director of operations, handling an ar-ray of duties including IT, finance, mar-keting, human resources, facilities, and legal. McGrath said she wants to help change the perception of Philadelphia public schools. While ethics prevent her realtor colleagues from steering clients to particular educational options, she at least wants the agents to be informed and feel positive about public schools.

Real estate agents should serve as “community ambassadors,” she said, and that includes giving parents re-

sources like the Notebook.A volunteer at Jenks, McGrath sees

first-hand what’s happening in schools. But the Notebook also allows her to see the effects of policymakers’ decisions and participate in the education discus-sion in the city.

McGrath said that the Notebook is important because it gets to public edu-cation stakeholders and holds the Dis-trict accountable for its actions.

“Public education is everything. You can’t have a city renaissance with-

out public education,” she said. “You can’t have high property val-

ues without a good education system. You can’t have safe neighborhoods without a good education system. You can’t have any of the things you need in a vibrant city without a good education system.”

To join the Notebook, see the form on p. 31.

Dan Hampton is a senior at Temple University and a Notebook intern.

Harvey FinkleKatey McGrath, a public school grad and parent, is director of operations for a local realtor.


schoolsnapshot

Harvey FinkleIn celebration of Read Across America, a class at Chester A. Arthur Elementary School at 20th and Catharine Streets made themselves comfortable while hearing some read-aloud sto-ries from School District Chief Inspector Carl Holmes on March 7. One of the books Holmes read was Bad Kitty, a series by Nick Bruel about a housecat named Kitty, who often wreaks havoc in her owner’s home. Holmes was a guest reader during the daylong celebration at Arthur. Read Across America, sponsored by the National Education Association, is an annual awareness program that encourages children to celebrate reading. It also honors the birthday of Dr. Seuss, born March 2, 1904.

School District of PhiladelphiaWilliam Hite (Superintendent): 215-400-4100Paul Kihn (Deputy Superintendent): 215-400-4100Assistant superintendents(with approximate geographic areas)Dion Betts, Learning Network 1 (south): 215-400-4201Kenneth Cherry, LN7 (north): 215-400-4200Dennis Creedon, LN3 (central): 215-400-4190Donyall Dickey, LN2 (west): 215-400-4200Lissa Johnson, LN8 (northeast): 215-281-3623Karen Kolsky, LN6 (northwest): 215-400-4200Cheryl Logan, LN5 (central east): 215-400-4201Benjamin Wright, LN4 (central north): 267-292-6600Each school is assigned to one of 8 Learning NetworksSchool Reform commissionOffice number: 215-400-4010Bill Green, chair: 215-400-5106Feather Houstoun: 215-400-6269Farah Jimenez: 215-400-5088Wendell Pritchett: 215-400-6269Sylvia Simms: 215-400-6270

City of PhiladelphiaMayor Michael Nutter (D): 215-686-2181city council members-at-large (elected citywide)W. Wilson Goode Jr. (D): 215-686-3414Bill Green (D): 215-686-3420William K. Greenlee (D): 215-686-3446James F. Kenney (D): 215-686-3450Blondell Reynolds Brown (D): 215-686-3438David Oh (R): 215-686-3452Dennis O’Brien (R): 215-686-3440District city council membersDarrell L. Clarke, President (D): 215-686-3442Mark Squilla (D): 215-686-3458Kenyatta Johnson (D): 215-686-3412Jannie L. Blackwell (D): 215-686-3418Curtis Jones Jr. (D): 215-686-3416Bob Henon (D): 215-686-3444Maria Quiñones-Sanchez (D): 215-686-3448Cindy Bass (D): 215-686-3424Marian B. Tasco (D): 215-686-3454Brian J. O’Neill (R): 215-686-3422

Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaGov. Tom Corbett (R): 717-787-2500State senatorsLawrence M. Farnese Jr. (D): 215-560-1313Christine Tartaglione (D): 215-533-0440Shirley M. Kitchen (D): 215-227-6161Michael J. Stack III (D): 215-281-2539Vincent J. Hughes (D): 215-471-0490LeAnna Washington (D): 215-242-0472Anthony Hardy Williams (D): 215-492-2980State representativesLouise Williams Bishop (D): 215-879-6625Brendan F. Boyle (D): 215-676-0300Kevin J. Boyle (D) 215-331-2600Vanessa Lowery Brown (D): 215-879-6615Michelle F. Brownlee (D) 215-684-3738James W. Clay Jr. (D): 215-744-7901Mark B. Cohen (D): 215-924-0895Angel Cruz (D): 215-291-5643Pamela A. DeLissio (D): 215-482-8726Maria P. Donatucci (D): 215-468-1515 Dwight Evans (D): 215-549-0220William F. Keller (D): 215-271-9190Stephen Kinsey (D): 215-849-6592Steve McCarter (D): 215-572-5210Michael P. McGeehan (D): 215-333-9760Thomas P. Murt (R): 215-674-3755Michael H. O’Brien (D): 215-503-3245Cherelle L. Parker (D): 215-242-7300James R. Roebuck (D): 215-724-2227John P. Sabatina Jr. (D): 215-342-6204Brian Sims (D): 484-876-1820John J. Taylor (R): 215-425-0901W. Curtis Thomas (D): 215-232-1210Ronald G. Waters (D): 215-748-6712Rosita C. Youngblood (D): 215-849-6426u.S. congressSen. Patrick Toomey (R): 215-241-1090Sen. Robert Casey (D): 215-405-9660Rep. Chaka Fattah (D): 215-387-6404Rep. Robert Brady (D): 215-389-4627Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (D): 215-335-3355Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R): 215-579-8102

whoyagonnacall?

To find out which District City Council member, state senator, state representative, or member of Congress represents you, call The Committee of Seventy at 1-866-268-8603.

TEMPLE UNIVERSITYGRADUATE PROGRAMS

IN EDUCATION—

Our graduate programs are designed to enhance your specialization and advance your career in education. We are ranked among the nation’s Best Graduate Schools of Education by U.S. News & World Report.

Our graduate programs include:

`

For more information, please visit www.education.temple.edu or email us at [email protected]

• AppliedBehaviorAnalysis• AdultandOrganizationalDevelopment• Career&TechnicalEducation• CounselingPsychology• EducationalLeadership• EducationalPsychology• InstructionalLearningTechnology• MiddleGradesEducation• SchoolPsychology• SecondaryEducation• SpecialEducation• TESOL• UrbanEducation

Your ad CouLd be HereOver 60,000 copies are distributed six times a year.

Email the Notebook for ad rates:[email protected]


the greatest heroes in baseball did more

than just play the game. They changed it.

come learn their stories

oN VIEW THROUGH oCTOBER 26, 2014

for information about family visits and educational opportunities go to:

chasingdreams.nmajh.org/visit/

A Smithsonian Institution Affiliate

on independence mall in philadephia

Major support for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Major League Baseball, Steven A. Cohen, Judy and Fred Wilpon and the New York Mets, Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation and the Washington Nationals, the Marc and Diane Spliker Foundation, Leon Wagner, Harriet and Larry Weiss, and Sam Wisnia. Additional support is provided by Oakland Athletics, John Fisher and Lew Wolff, Clayman Family Foundation, Cozen O’connor, Gary Goldring, Steve and Myrna Greenberg, Macy’s, Michael G. Rubin, Susie and Robert Zeff, and other dedicated fans.

Major support for Chasing Dreams is prov ided by the Nat ional Endowment for the Humanit ies, Major League Basebal l, Steven A. Cohen, Judy and Fred Wilpon and the New York Mets, Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundat ion and the Washington Nat ionals, the Marc and Diane Spilker Foundat ion, Leon Wagner, Harr iet and Larry Weiss, Sam Wisnia, and other dedicated fans.

on independence mall in philadelphia

A Smithsonian Institution Affiliatenow open

chasingdreams.nmajh.org

come learn their stories.

A Smithsonian Institution Affiliate

NMAHJ-001399_ChasingDreams_NYT_Poster_Spy_FNL.indd 1 2/27/14 12:25 PM

It’s Not Too Early to Begin Your Post-Graduation Plans!You can earn an Associate in Specialized Business degree with Orleans Technical Institute’s technology career training program in Court Reporting and Captioning.

Learn More About Enrollingfor Our Fall Semester Call 215-728-4733 or visit us online for information about our High School Scholarship Award at:www.orleanstech.edu/court-reporting

Today’s Court Reporters are Technology ProfessionalsThey ful� ll roles beyond serving as courtroom stenographers. Using unique skills and “realtime” computer technologies, court reporters produce instant, accurate transcriptions and captioning that are now essential to businesses and customers, as well as television and online.

100% JOB PLACEMENT RATE for students who completed this program. 7/1/09–6/30/13

2770 Red Lion Road Northeast Phila., PA

Train in Court Reporting & Captioning TechnologiesLet Your Fingers Take a

Test Drive. Observe a Class!Wednesdays 9 am

or 6:15 pm

Courtrooms/JudicialReporting

RealtimeReporting/CART

Webcasting

Business MeetingTranscripts

Captioning Services for the Deaf &

Hard-of-Hearing

TV Broadcast & Video Captioning

Colleges/LectureCaptioning

Law Firms/Depositions

Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools & Colleges.

Pictured: Orleans GraduatesNational Court Reporters Association

Phila Sch Notebook CR-High Tech 10.25x6.875 ad.indd 1 2/28/14 4:03 PM

Go “Behind Our Apple” atwww.padistance.org 1-888-997-3352

We Connect. We Engage.

K�12 CYBER CHARTER SCHOOL

We Succeed!

Using school time wisely


Many people think of the school day as seven hours with a bell schedule that divides it up into eight or nine equal periods. But in

Philadelphia schools, what the school day looks like increasingly may vary from one school to the next.

To explore the variety in how the day is used, the

Notebook lined up the schedules of 10th graders at five different high schools – a neighborhood school, a spe-cial admissions school, a career and technical education school, a charter school, and a private school – to see what a typical day looks like at each school, both teacher time and student time. We surveyed school leaders about

Edison high School/Fareira Skills center students, dressed in green polo shirts and khaki pants, file off buses and into the building around 7:40 a.m.

A stern warning above the entrance states that any student coming in after 9:15 a.m. must have a written explanation or be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Edison, a neighborhood school in Hunting Park, is on a “block” schedule with 80-minute double periods and “A” days and “B” days that define which classes a student will have.

On “A” days, students could have graphic design, English, science, and a career and technical education class, while on a “B” day, they would have different courses, such as history, math, gym, and an elective.

First period starts at 8 a.m., when attendance is taken. At that time, 10th graders enrolled in a career and technical education path go to that program. These students have selected a trade and take classes centered on this area of study until graduation.

A bell rings, ending first period, and students have three minutes to stop at their lockers and then get to their next class. Lunch begins at 12:39 for 10th grad-ers – later than any other grade – and lasts 30 minutes. They only have one class after lunch before the day ends.

At 2:42, students are dismissed. There are after-school activities such as sports or clubs. Students may also participate in afterschool programs related to their CTE program. Additionally, Edison offers tutoring for students from 2:45 to 3:45.

-Dan Hampton

Science leadership Academy is a special ad-mission high school in Center City that takes a holistic approach to education.

That approach includes the school’s concept of advisory: 20 students stay with the same teacher all four years.

Students take courses in a cohort called a stream. Classes are built around essential questions and grade-wide themes. For example, if the theme is “identity,” students in that cohort consider how they define them-selves and how they interact with the world.

“Because the kids travel in a stream, you can do all sorts of interesting interdisciplinary moments where you can bring in speakers, have a performance, or the kids can do co-presentations or collaborate on a project together,” said founder and principal Chris Lehmann. Ninth graders have three of their six courses together, so they are primed for “exciting” collaborations, he said.

In addition to academics, there are 21 afterschool and extracurricular activities that include sports, poetry, and music.

The school provides a weeklong Summer Institute for incoming 9th graders so they can meet classmates and staff.

Overall, Lehmann thinks the school uses the day well.

“We try to honor each other’s time [and] make the day as meaningful and as powerful as possible. We try to do real work that matters,” he said.

Looking to the future, Lehmann said he hopes that students will have an opportunity for more distance-learning activities and to bring in course credits from other places. He sees school transformed into “a sort of aggregator of all that students do.”

-Jeseamy Muentes

Swenson Arts & Technology high School prin-cipal Colette Langston lives by the motto: “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If

you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” “What’s different about us is we’re giving kids a

trade,” Langston said. “They’re going to leave here with at least an inkling of what they’re good at.”

Swenson, in Northeast Philadelphia, is a career and technical education (CTE) school with 12 programs of study. Among the course paths are Baking & Culinary, Plumbing, Carpentry, Applied Electrical Science, Pre-Engineering, Automotive, and Allied Health.

Students have to complete 1,080 hours in their selected area in addition to core academic classes. There are no breaks during the day except for lunch, when students are permitted to go to an outdoor patio for football, basketball, or other physical activity.

Students start their program of study in the 10th grade. In addition to learning about their specialty, they are offered supplemental classes designed to work with their majors. For instance, students in the culinary or automotive track can also take an entrepreneurship class.

With students traveling long distances from all


Harvey FinkleEdison principal Awilda Ortiz talks with two students about college-going opportunities.

Edison Science Leadership Academy Swenson Mastery Lenfest Germantown Friends

When does the school day start? 8 a.m. 8:15 a.m. 7:50 a.m. 8:10 a.m. 8:10 a.m.

Are there activities before the day starts?

Yes. Some sports teams meet before school; classes like Algebra and English offer before-school tutoring.

Several sports teams practice before school; some teachers hold office hours in the morning.

No. Yes, before-school tutoring. No.

When does the day end? 2:42 p.m. (3:04 on Wed.) At 3:50 p.m. Mon. & Thurs.; at 3:05 Tues. & Fri. On Wed. traditional class schedule ends at 12:45, then students have experiential learning.

2:54 p.m. 3:16 p.m. 3:20 p.m. Sometimes athletes have early sports dismissal.

How many periods are there in a day? 9 periods, but most classes are 2 periods in length.

On advisory days, students have 5 classes, lunch, and advisory. On non-advisory days, students have 5 classes and lunch. On Wed., students have 4 classes and Individual Learning Plans or intern-ships.

9 periods. 6 traditional periods and one Mastery Class, which is a study hall.

9 periods.

What are the standard periods? Are they all the same length?

Periods are double-block (80 minutes). On Wed., there are class assemblies to discuss schoolwide activities.

Yes, all classes meet for 65 minutes. Advisory is 40 minutes twice a week.

Each block (period 1-2, 3-4, etc.) is 94 min-utes. Most classes are 94 minutes.

Traditional periods are 54 minutes, the Mastery Class is 45 minutes, and lunch is 30 minutes.

Standard periods are 45 minutes or 1 hour. Each class is held once a week for 1 hour and 3 times for 45 minutes.

Are some classes double-periods? Yes, regular classes are 2 periods. No. Yes, Culinary and Baking are double periods that meet every other day for 188 minutes.

No. Only science classes are double periods to allow for labs.

Does a bell or buzzer go off at the end of each period?

Yes. No. Yes. Yes. No.

How much time do students have between classes?

3 minutes. 5 minutes. 3 minutes. 3 minutes. No time.

What kinds of breaks do students receive (including lunch)?

Lunch (30 minutes) is the only non-academic time.

Students receive a 65-minute lunch. Lunch (30 minutes) is the only non-academic time.

Lunch is the only non-academic time. Lunch (45 minutes) is sometimes used for club meetings. Some students have free periods.

Is there a homeroom or advisory pe-riod? How is it used?

There is no advisory period. Advisory is one teacher and 20 students; they stay together all 4 years. Parent and parent-student-advisor conferences are held. It is also used for community building, goal-setting, and soft-skill building.

There is an 8-minute advisory period daily. Once a week, there is a 30-minute advisory/Town Meeting for certain grades for sharing information, discussing school-related activi-ties, and distributing TransPasses.

There is a 10-minute homeroom. Homeroom is used for attendance, announce-ments, socializing, and making sure a teacher is touching base with each student every day.

How is common planning time built into teachers’ schedule?

There is a block of time after school when teach-ers can get together and share what’s going on.

Teachers meet every Wednesday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Most departments also have common plan-ning time for an hour every week.

There is a daily 45-minute interdisciplinary common planning time; teachers collaborate on improving instruction, data analysis, and student support.

On Wed., teachers meet from 1:30 to 4 for col-laboration. Students are dismissed at 1:30.Teachers have grade- or content-team meetings or professional development.

Teachers meet by grade level either every week or every other week, and by department every week.

Where do activities fit into the schedule? After school, students can participate in clubs or sports.

The building is open until 5:30 p.m. There are many afterschool activities, including debate, cheerlead-ing, and engineering and science clubs.

Student Government meets during extended advisory. Some workshops and industry activi-ties take place during the school day. Clubs, sports, and tutoring take place after school.

Students can join clubs or play sports. Extracur-riculars begin at 3:30 or 4. Start times depend on how often the activity meets and on advisor work with students during office hours (3:20-4 p.m.).

Clubs are held during lunch or sometimes outside school hours. Athletics and drama rehearsals are usually after school. Sports run from 3:45 or 4 p.m. until 5:30 or 5:45.

Typically, what percent of students stay after school for activities?

45-50% 30-40% Less than 10% 30% About half

Harvey FinkleScience Leadership Academy principal Chris Lehmann (center) said he sees school transformed into “a sort of aggregator of all that students do.”


using school time wisely

the structure of the day and about their perspectives on how time is used.

What we found: District high schools don’t all follow the traditional norm of a day divided neatly into 45-min-ute periods.

Block scheduling with double-periods is not unusual

– it fits well for career and technical education, where in some subjects a class may be as long as three hours. And schools are adapting their schedules to provide regular meeting time for their staff. The level of afterschool activ-ity varies widely – not surprisingly, the private school in our study had the most robust extracurricular program.

Germantown Friends School is a K-12 private school that educates students in traditional humanistic studies in light of the Quaker

tradition. Class sizes are small, usually less than 20 students. Students usually take five major courses of their choice each year, and anywhere from two to four minor courses (similar to electives). The schedule al-lows students to balance their academic priorities with other interests.

The school day operates like a well-oiled ma-chine. The short morning homeroom is reserved for announcements, socializing, and most important, checking in with a single teacher daily. There are nine periods of either 45 minutes or an hour. When a class is finished, students are expected to head directly to their next class; there is no passing period.

Once a week, science classes are held back-to-back to allow for labs. Each class has approximately three hours and 15 minutes of scheduled time weekly. Students have a daily lunch break, during which many clubs meet. After school, about half of the students stay for athletics or rehearsals.

Students’ schedules are different each day, and some students might have free periods interspersed, depending on how many classes they elected to take that term.

According to scheduling director Carl Tannen-baum, the current schedule meets the needs of students, teachers, parents, and staff and has worked well for the past eight to 10 years.

“I think we do the best we can at GFS within the constraints of time,” Tannenbaum said.

-Aurora Jensen

over the city, most hop right on the bus after school.Langston said one wise use of time during the

day is the 94-minute double-periods that students have in all the shops. The time allows students to earn certification from the National Center for Construction Education and Research or cor-responding organizations in the automotive and culinary areas.

-Jeseamy Muentes

Mastery charter Schools, lenfest campus is one of seven Mastery campuses in Philadelphia. Students dressed in black or blue slacks with

gray polo shirts arrive by 8:10 – or earlier for socializing or tutoring.

Students file into the cafeteria before the first bell. Once the day begins, students work at their desks

with a book or white board in hand. Classrooms are vis-ible to people walking by on Fourth Street near Market. One classroom is surrounded by windows.

Between classes, teachers stand in the hallways ushering students along. Tardiness is not tolerated. Stu-dents wear lanyards with cards recording their demerits, including those for lateness. Too many demerits result in a one-hour detention after school.

Besides six traditional periods, students also have “Mastery Class” which is a study hall, with teachers available for coaching, though principal Steven Kollar doesn’t like calling it that because of the perception of traditional study halls.

Sometimes classes are combined to provide targeted support for students who need it, Kollar said. “The com-bination typically comes from having 7th and 8th grad-ers in the same class, 9th and 10th in the same class and 11th and 12th in the same class.” These classes include Guided Reading, Social Skills, and Book Club.

Tenth graders compete for outside internships after learning interviewing techniques. Once they land a posi-tion, they spend Wednesday afternoons at their place-ment. Sites include attorneys’ offices, veterinary hospi-tals, and police stations.

After school, students stay until 4 to participate in activities like varsity sports or clubs.

Overall, Kollar said, “Time is used productively, but that’s the struggle – getting everything they need into that school day.”

-Dan Hampton


Harvey FinkleGermantown Friends students talk outside between classes.

Edison Science Leadership Academy Swenson Mastery Lenfest Germantown Friends

When does the school day start? 8 a.m. 8:15 a.m. 7:50 a.m. 8:10 a.m. 8:10 a.m.

Are there activities before the day starts?

Yes. Some sports teams meet before school; classes like Algebra and English offer before-school tutoring.

Several sports teams practice before school; some teachers hold office hours in the morning.

No. Yes, before-school tutoring. No.

When does the day end? 2:42 p.m. (3:04 on Wed.) At 3:50 p.m. Mon. & Thurs.; at 3:05 Tues. & Fri. On Wed. traditional class schedule ends at 12:45, then students have experiential learning.

2:54 p.m. 3:16 p.m. 3:20 p.m. Sometimes athletes have early sports dismissal.

How many periods are there in a day? 9 periods, but most classes are 2 periods in length.

On advisory days, students have 5 classes, lunch, and advisory. On non-advisory days, students have 5 classes and lunch. On Wed., students have 4 classes and Individual Learning Plans or intern-ships.

9 periods. 6 traditional periods and one Mastery Class, which is a study hall.

9 periods.

What are the standard periods? Are they all the same length?

Periods are double-block (80 minutes). On Wed., there are class assemblies to discuss schoolwide activities.

Yes, all classes meet for 65 minutes. Advisory is 40 minutes twice a week.

Each block (period 1-2, 3-4, etc.) is 94 min-utes. Most classes are 94 minutes.

Traditional periods are 54 minutes, the Mastery Class is 45 minutes, and lunch is 30 minutes.

Standard periods are 45 minutes or 1 hour. Each class is held once a week for 1 hour and 3 times for 45 minutes.

Are some classes double-periods? Yes, regular classes are 2 periods. No. Yes, Culinary and Baking are double periods that meet every other day for 188 minutes.

No. Only science classes are double periods to allow for labs.

Does a bell or buzzer go off at the end of each period?

Yes. No. Yes. Yes. No.

How much time do students have between classes?

3 minutes. 5 minutes. 3 minutes. 3 minutes. No time.

What kinds of breaks do students receive (including lunch)?

Lunch (30 minutes) is the only non-academic time.

Students receive a 65-minute lunch. Lunch (30 minutes) is the only non-academic time.

Lunch is the only non-academic time. Lunch (45 minutes) is sometimes used for club meetings. Some students have free periods.

Is there a homeroom or advisory pe-riod? How is it used?

There is no advisory period. Advisory is one teacher and 20 students; they stay together all 4 years. Parent and parent-student-advisor conferences are held. It is also used for community building, goal-setting, and soft-skill building.

There is an 8-minute advisory period daily. Once a week, there is a 30-minute advisory/Town Meeting for certain grades for sharing information, discussing school-related activi-ties, and distributing TransPasses.

There is a 10-minute homeroom. Homeroom is used for attendance, announce-ments, socializing, and making sure a teacher is touching base with each student every day.

How is common planning time built into teachers’ schedule?

There is a block of time after school when teach-ers can get together and share what’s going on.

Teachers meet every Wednesday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Most departments also have common plan-ning time for an hour every week.

There is a daily 45-minute interdisciplinary common planning time; teachers collaborate on improving instruction, data analysis, and student support.

On Wed., teachers meet from 1:30 to 4 for col-laboration. Students are dismissed at 1:30.Teachers have grade- or content-team meetings or professional development.

Teachers meet by grade level either every week or every other week, and by department every week.

Where do activities fit into the schedule? After school, students can participate in clubs or sports.

The building is open until 5:30 p.m. There are many afterschool activities, including debate, cheerlead-ing, and engineering and science clubs.

Student Government meets during extended advisory. Some workshops and industry activi-ties take place during the school day. Clubs, sports, and tutoring take place after school.

Students can join clubs or play sports. Extracur-riculars begin at 3:30 or 4. Start times depend on how often the activity meets and on advisor work with students during office hours (3:20-4 p.m.).

Clubs are held during lunch or sometimes outside school hours. Athletics and drama rehearsals are usually after school. Sports run from 3:45 or 4 p.m. until 5:30 or 5:45.

Typically, what percent of students stay after school for activities?

45-50% 30-40% Less than 10% 30% About half

Dan HamptonSwenson principal Colette Langston observes a Baking & Culinary student.

Charles MostollerStudents are hard at work hard during a Mastery geometry class.



using volunteers and community part-ners. And a number of teachers have continued to lead clubs or coach sports teams without compensation.

But how can the District offer all of the students in a school like Blaine the kind of focused, academic instructional time Green has cited as most useful, without spending more money?

“Everything right now is a setup for the teachers’ contract,” said James “Torch” Lytle, a former Philadelphia ad-ministrator and Trenton superintendent now at Penn’s Graduate School of Edu-cation. “[Green] could tell the teachers, ‘We’re going to open schools earlier, keep them open later, and that’s going to be one of the terms of employment.”

More can be betterSince his days on City Council,

Green, like many education reformers, has argued that longer days could boost academic outcomes – particularly if stu-dents spend more time studying core sub-jects like reading, math, and science.

“Every student, regardless of his or her academic performance, would benefit from additional time in the classroom,” he wrote in a 2010 policy paper. Upon tak-ing the helm of the SRC, he said, “There have to be longer school days, longer school years.”

Green cites extended-day charters like KIPP and Young Scholars as models

for the District. He’s been influenced by the work of filmmaker M. Night Shyama-lan, who spent five years studying Ameri-can schools and has said that the single best way to improve them would be “ex-tended time, any way you can do it.”

At Blaine, few would disagree that al-most any kind of expanded time would be an improvement for a school that last year offered no afterschool activities at all.

“A longer day is not necessarily a bet-ter day,” cautioned Jerry Jordan, head of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. But done right, he said, the kinds of ac-tivities that often come with longer days can be a “simple way” of keeping students engaged.

Jordan knows this firsthand. “I was a talker in school,” he recalled.

“I can remember going to my afterschool yearbook club, and my teacher saying, ‘Ms. Brown told me you talked all period in geometry. If you continue doing that, you’re not going to be part of this club.’

“And that was all that had to be said.” Powell told the same kind of story. “I

was a big athlete in school,” she said. “I did well [in class] because the coach was getting on me!”

So when Blaine was awarded its PSP “transformation” grant, Powell surveyed parents about the kind of extended time they favored.

The results showed strong support for traditional afterschool activities like art,

music and sports. Parents were less inter-ested in the kind of structured academic programming Green has cited, Powell said, not just because they want their chil-dren to have fun, but because they know that sports, clubs, and other extracur-riculars help keep students on track in the classroom.

Parents also want their children safe and supervised, which is why Powell doesn’t ever want to see a repeat of last year, when the school offered nothing af-ter 3:09 p.m.

“That was the first year Blaine ever experienced something like that,” she said. “My children weren’t in homework help. They weren’t in art or basketball or

softball. They were out in the street.”That’s the most dangerous place for

students to be – especially, as studies have shown, between the end of school and dinnertime.

Khyrie Brown’s mother, Dawn Hawkins, said that when her son leaves school, he must be home or at a trusted friend’s house. “If he’s not there, he gets punished,” Hawkins said. “I don’t play. This is a very dangerous neighborhood.”

Charter schools know about these fears, said Lytle, and longer days are often part of those schools’ appeal.

“Right from the outset, I think the District made a bad mistake in not learn-

“

NINTH WARD

“…beautifully written.” —R S

C S K H B

A T S A’ B C K

P C F G A

…one brave child humanizes the historic [Hurricane Katrina] tragedy.”

—B

SUGAR “…an untold story of Reconstruction.”

—R S

S K’ I N L S –

Inspired Recommendationsfor Kids from Indie Booksellers

A J L G S

“�is beautiful novel instantly grips readers’ attention and emotions, holding them until the last word.”

—S L J

Jewell Parker Rhodes

Little Brown Books for Young Readers | www.jewellparkerrhodes.com/children

Best Children's Books of 2013 – Kirkus Reviews

2013 International Reading Association's List of Top Chapter Books


Harvey FinkleBill Green (second from left) presided over his first SRC meeting in February – alongside Super-intendent William Hite (left) and Commissioners Wendell Pritchett and Sylvia Simms.

Time and money(continued from page 1)



ing from the charter schools,” said Lytle. “The District is simply not competitive right now, and Bill Green knows that.”

That tide can be reversed, Lytle said. As Trenton superintendent in the

late 1990s, he found that his schools were losing students to charters. Using federal breakfast funds and philanthropic support, Trenton’s schools were soon opening at 7:30 and closing at 5.

“Within two years we had recaptured 60 percent of the charter enrollment,” Lytle said.

Such expansion “is not nearly as expensive as people might think,” Lytle said, especially if the extended time isn’t required for every student and is staffed by paraprofessionals.

District officials say that individual schools like Blaine can always be given “incremental” funds to pilot extended-day initiatives.

But to offer extra hours of academic time to large numbers of students distric-twide without spending more money, the District would have to rework the teach-ers’ contract to get more hours without paying more wages, Lytle said.

A contract in questionThat idea doesn’t sit well with Jordan,

whose teachers are already being asked to accept cuts in pay and benefits.

“My team will not agree to that,” Jor-dan said.

And if Green and the SRC move to impose new work rules that make longer days a requirement? “They’ll do whatever they do, and we will respond,” said Jordan flatly.

District officials say they are not com-mitted to extending days in all schools.

Deputy Superintendent Paul Kihn said that the District does not have a sin-gle plan it wants to impose on all schools, but he sees two kinds of extended time as particularly valuable – increased academic classroom time for students and increased

collaboration time for teachers. What the District is certain of, Kihn

said, is that all principals should have what Powell has now: the ability to set their own schedules and hire teachers willing to work extended hours. And while ex-tended time now “comes at a price” – the cost of overtime – whether that will be true next year depends on the teachers’ contract, Kihn said.

Kihn knows it’s tough for teachers to imagine being asked to work more hours for the same or less pay.

But he also notes that many do it al-ready. “There are doz-ens of schools where teachers stay beyond ... the contract, to work with each other

and the students,” Kihn said. “People think it’s the right thing to do.”

At Blaine, Powell and her team hope to lengthen the day for all students with a mix of traditional afterschool activities, like sports and the arts, and academic sup-port, like literacy programs and homework help. She’d also like more collaboration time for her teachers.

For now, she’s planning to fill any extra time with programs run by volun-teers or funded by outside partners. She’s not counting on getting more hours from teachers.

But if the contract changes, she ac-knowledged, so will her options.

Same budget problemsKhyrie Brown likes the idea of more

extracurricular activities and more aca-demic help.

But Blaine suffers from shortages that longer days won’t fix, he said: “Broken chairs, messed-up lights. We have books, but they’re old. Not enough laptops. Stuff like that.”

His mother, a volunteer with the pro-union community group Action United who opposes any mandatory changes in the teaching staff at Blaine, said that asking “overwhelmed” teachers for more hours would be “ridiculous.”

The PFT’s Jordan says the same thing:

in under-resourced schools, “a longer day doesn’t make any sense.”

But whenever the question of re-sources comes up, Green has offered the same response: No new money is forth-coming. If anything, budgets are getting leaner. Just weeks after Powell was granted her new authority, her union reluctantly agreed to trim principals’ work year from 12 to 10 months, resulting in about an 11 percent pay cut.

Powell declined to comment on the

principals’ contract, saying only that she’d work as much as was needed. “I’m working Saturday, I’m working Sunday, and I don’t get paid for it,” she said.

And while Jordan is adamant that teachers won’t agree to work more hours for less pay, Lytle says the deck may be stacked against them. Even if the teachers can successfully resist imposed work rules (an unresolved legal question), Lytle said, the SRC can always replace more District schools with charters.

With that kind of leverage, he said, extended instructional days could become much more common, even if the budget doesn’t grow by a dime.

“If the teachers were offered more or less the same benefits, and a slightly re-duced salary, in exchange for having to be on-site more hours,” Lytle said, “that might be a deal you couldn’t refuse.”

Bill Hangley Jr. is a freelance contributor to the Notebook.

Time and money(continued from page 18) From Chicago, a cautionary tale

Two years ago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel got the longer school day that SRC Chair Bill Green wants. And al-though Chicago officials say their “Full School Day” has helped boost gradua-tion rates and test scores, critics point to a growing list of unintended and po-tentially damaging consequences.

On the campaign trail, Emanuel blamed Chicago’s short days for “stag-nant academic growth.” An indepen-dent survey of public school parents showed that most supported a longer day (as well as higher pay for teachers). After a seven-day teachers’ strike in 2012, Emanuel won an extra 75 min-utes for elementary schools (for a total of 7 hours) and 30 extra minutes for high schools (for a total of 7.5 hours). Teachers won small raises and a prom-ise to hire more staff.

Officials remain bullish on their new policy, but an investigation by the Hechinger Report – funded by the Ford Foundation – found that the longer hours (along with a pension-driven bud-get crisis) have created new problems:

• Lost collaboration time. Teachers no longer must arrive 30 minutes before students do, so they struggle to find time to meet with colleagues. “There is no common meeting time, none,” said one principal.

• Overworked students. Some teach-ers say the longer school day is less en-gaging for students. “It’s double-period English and double-period math,” said one English teacher. “How are they go-

ing to be interested in school?”• Lost extracurriculars. To parents’

dismay, the longer day has led some students to opt out of traditional after-school activities. “I stopped [sports] last year as soon as the whole extended day started,” said one high schooler.

• Uncertain value. One principal filled out the new schedule by adding five minutes to every period. A teacher responded: “I haven’t been able to get further ahead in the curriculum. There’s no way anyone can tell me kids are learning more.”

• Overworked staff. After hiring hun-dreds of new teachers in the extended day’s first year, Chicago laid off almost 1,500 (along with almost 2,000 sup-port staff) in the second year, due to the budget crunch. That’s left some teachers feeling more stressed than ever – and, according to Hechinger Report, less like-ly to take on extracurricular activities like coaching or drama even when extra pay is available.

Chicago officials remain committed to the Full Day policy, and some teach-ers say they’ll do whatever it takes. But Shael Polakow-Suransky, chief academ-ic officer of New York City’s schools, told a recent Ford Foundation confer-ence that to be successful, extended time should be backed by a broad set of reforms and supports. “If you have bad instruction happening in the first six hours,” he said, “you’re not going to get great instruction in the next few hours.”

-Bill Hangley Jr.

District officials say they want principals to have the ability to set their

own schools’ schedules.

About this editionMajor funding for Notebook cov-

erage of expanded learning time was provided by the Ford Foundation, as part of a foundation initiative to support “more and better learning time” in underserved communities.

Ford is providing support for independent reporting on expanded learning time issues to local and re-gional education news organizations covering urban schools, including the Notebook, Catalyst-Chicago, Ed-Source, and Chalkbeat.



KIPP: Making the most of extra timeIt is one of a handful of city charter operators that use a longer school day and year.by Paul Jablow

It’s 3 p.m. on a Monday, and all around the city – or the country for that matter – kids are filing out of school,

headed for waiting parents or the bus.Not, however, at the KIPP West

Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School. Here, teacher Josie Santiago walks about a room with a dozen 7th and 8th graders, helping them with homework in Spanish, history, math, or other subjects, or with life in general.

“Make eye contact with me,” she tells one student as part of a mini-lec-ture on slacking off.

A room away, teacher Amoreena Olaya talks with advanced students about Macbeth. “We’re really challeng-ing them,” she says.

Elsewhere, other teachers convene a documentary film club, tutor math, prepare students for the upcoming state standardized tests, drill the step team, and preside over a study hall for stu-dents who have been acting out and need a “quiet space.” The students will stay until about 4:45.

KIPP West Philadelphia is one of a small but growing number of schools around the country to use “extended learning time,” expanding both the reg-

ular school day and the school calendar beyond the traditional framework of 180 days that start between 8 and 9 a.m. and end around 2:30 or 3 p.m.

The schedule varies at KIPP’s four schools in Philadelphia – an elemen-tary, two middle schools and a high school. But in general, KIPP students spend nine hours in school each day and start school three weeks earlier than the norm. That compares to a seven-hour day in District schools. KIPP also has occasional Saturday sessions.

“We look at it as a pressure release,” says Marc Mannella, CEO of KIPP Philadelphia Schools. “Our students come to us largely behind. We’re taking more time to catch our kids up in read-ing and math without sacrificing art, music, social studies, and PE.”

Starting the school year earlier is seen as almost the educational equiva-lent of spring training in baseball, help-ing to assess student needs and orient-ing new students and parents to the school culture.

A few other charter schools, in-cluding those run by Scholar Acade-mies, also have an extended day. Schol-ar Academies and Mastery Charter Schools also start their year in August.

A 2013 study by Mathematica Pol-icy Research of 43 KIPP middle schools across the country found that students in the schools improved at a faster rate

than a comparable group in traditional district schools. It concluded that the longer day was a likely factor.

For Mannella and others at KIPP, having the extra time works only if it is well-planned and geared to individual students.

“We want to see that we’re filling a need, not just filling the day,” says San-tiago, who is in her second year at KIPP. She previously taught at Kensington High School.

“Every year it looks a little differ-ent,” Mannella says. “The mechanics change constantly. We moved middle school field trips to Saturdays. The mid-dle schools used to dismiss at 5, but we found there was nothing magical about that.”

Mannella says that the ability to experiment with the extra time has proven invaluable. But such experi-mentation can also be difficult in finan-


Harvey FinkleKIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School teacher Josie Santiago helps 8th graders Julian Starcha (left) and Myles Harley with their homework. Students spend nine hours in school each day.

NOW ENROLLING GRADES 6 - 8

Open enrollment is extended.For more information visit

http://www.neacademy.net/admissions_admissions.html



cially strapped public schools like those in Philadelphia.

“In my observation, it takes schools a couple of years to find out how to use the extra time,” says Elaine Simon, co-director of the University of Penn-sylvania’s Urban Studies program, who worked closely with University City High School for several years before it closed in June.

The school had been designated a Promise Academy – giving it a longer day and school on some Saturdays. But, Simon said, “There weren’t a lot of re-sources and guidance about what they were supposed to do.”

“It was trial and error,” recalls A.J. Schiera, who taught social studies at University City for the three years it was a Promise Academy. For students who took advantage of the time, “it worked really well,” he said. “There was

a lot of opportunity for one-on-one in-teractions.”

But by the time the school began

to figure out what worked and what didn’t, the District pulled the plug. So although University City had started to create a school culture that supported academics and student grades were improving, Schiera says, “We couldn’t build on that.”

For one KIPP parent, the extended day and calendar are a blessing in every way but one: School sometimes starts on her birthday – in August.

“In the beginning, it seemed crazy,” says Annette Strickland, who has five children in KIPP schools. Since it was still midsummer, “the kids were asking ‘Why are we in school?’”

But she likes that the earlier start in-cludes programs that bring parents into the buildings and make family members feel like part of a school community.

And she particularly values the ex-tended day during the year. “It’s been fantastic,” she says. “It gives them the extra time to learn.”

Strickland, a single parent, works as a parking garage manager at Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Upper Darby. She usually gets to her home in West Philadelphia between 4:30 and 5 p.m. after picking up her youngest child, Alyce, in kindergarten at the KIPP ele-mentary school on Westmoreland Street in North Philadelphia. The others arrive from middle school or high school about that time.

While she would gladly help with homework after fixing dinner, she says, a parent is no substitute for a teacher: “Their homework is long and detailed,” and her own school years are well be-hind her, she said.

“I haven’t had algebra and geom-etry in years,” she said, laughing, as she waited in the hall for Alyce at school. “I’m sitting at the table, and all these Xs and Ys? Please.

“The less questions they have, the better for the parents,” she adds. With the extra time at school, she says, “They can explain to teachers what they need.”

Paul Jablow is a regular freelance contributor to the Notebook.

Charles MostollerSingle parent Annette Strickland has five children in KIPP schools. Here she picks up (from left) Alyce, Chasiti, and Anthony from the KIPP elementary school in North Philadelphia.

Be sure to visit RFA’s website, where you’ll find our latest research

and analysis on cyber charter schools, charter school authorization, and more.

Do you want to learn more about the

latest education policy developments and

how they might affect Philadelphia?

http://www.researchforaction.org/featured-pages-buckets/policy-corner/

The research on extending learning timeJennifer Davis was in 3rd grade

in her home town of Haverhill, Mass., when she was diagnosed as dyslexic.

But her family was solidly middle-class – her father was a realtor – and soon she had tutors and the extra help she needed to catch up.

“I was lucky enough to have a fam-ily with resources,” says Davis, who now heads the Boston-based National Cen-ter on Time and Learning. “What we’re trying to do is create those support sys-tems for all children.”

Since she co-founded it in 2007, the center has worked to help schools and school districts deal with two sea changes in the American economy: the change from a farm-and-factory econo-my to a knowledge economy and grow-ing inequality in which some families can afford the supports Davis had, but more and more cannot.

The center pushes for policy chang-es on the federal and state level that help schools break out of what it calls the “antiquated” mold of 180 days that start between 8 and 9 a.m. and end around 3 p.m. Its mission also includes helping school districts use extra time wisely and disseminating research showing the ben-efits of extended learning time.

The center and its research direc-tor, David Farbman, point to a landmark 1994 report by another group, the Na-tional Education Commission on Time and Learning. It states that for many students, getting them to achieve mas-tery over larger quantities of difficult material in the same amount of time as others was “self-deception.”

Farbman cites:• An examination of New York City

charter schools by Harvard economist Roland Fryer indicating that “instruc-tional time of at least 300 more hours and high-dosage tutoring were two of the strongest predictors of higher achievement.”

• A study of three years of test data from Illinois schools showing that the more time individual students spent in reading and math class, the higher their scores in those subjects.

• Research based on a large data set of California classrooms indicating a strong correlation between “engaged learning time” and student outcomes in the elementary grades.

Davis says there has been “real mo-mentum” for extended learning time in recent years, including the Obama ad-ministration’s Race to the Top initiative and waivers of the No Child Left Behind law. According to the center’s recent re-search, 12 states have passed laws or policies allowing for greater flexibility in the school calendar.

The list includes:• Massachusetts, which established

a competitive grant program for schools adding 300 hours to the school year.

• The state of Washington, which in 2009 passed a law increasing the mini-mum instructional time in K-12. The requirement for kindergarten more than doubled, from 450 hours to 1,000.

• Maryland, where the legislature instructed the state board of education to explore innovative strategies for low-performing schools that included more instructional time.

• Pennsylvania was not highlighted in the center’s research.

Davis, who previously served as a deputy U.S. secretary of education, says that much of the growth in extended learning time has taken place among charter schools for two reasons: They are starting from scratch with consider-able autonomy, and they generally have students that need the extra help.

But she says the organization has also started working more with tradi-tional districts in recent years, in some cases trying to help them reach contract agreements with teacher unions that can accommodate a longer day or ex-tended school calendar.

Even with increased flexibility and extra resources, though, Davis says “ed-ucators still need support in understand-ing how they can use these resources, how to staff a school differently. There’s a real information gap for many districts and school leaders.”

-Paul Jablow

KIPP(continued from page 20)



Educators: Meeting time is critical to classroom successBuilding teacher collaboration into the schedule is not always easy. But many say it’s a valu-able chance to help students. by Dale Mezzacappa

A longer school day is most often justified as a way for students to spend more time with teachers,

work on core subjects, or engage in ex-tracurricular activities.

But another good reason for extra time is to give teachers more time to col-laborate.

In fact, some educators argue that teacher meeting time is the glue that holds schools together.

Regular Wednesday afternoon meet-ings are “what allow us to take apart the school every week and put it back togeth-er,” said principal Chris Lehmann of Sci-ence Leadership Academy. “This is where we evaluate what we do, what we believe, and how we make these things work.”

Schools like SLA that have drawn attention for their innovative practices invariably build into their schedules reg-ular sessions for teachers to meet. Teach-ers use this time to evaluate their prac-tice, discuss the needs of and progress of individual students, go over data, and as-sess the school’s direction. Some schools also find it crucial for teachers to spend time in each other’s classrooms.

But finding time for teacher meet-ings and collaboration in Philadelphia is

not easy. Neither the teachers’ contract nor the regular schedule recognizes joint meeting time for teachers as central to a school’s operation. At most, they allow for occasional faculty meetings.

“In a traditional school calendar, there is so much emphasis on the day-to-day, we get caught up in the weeds,” said Brad Latimer, the math department chair and head of the academic stan-dards committee at SLA.

Historically the contract has looked at the workday as the time that teachers

are required to spend in the classroom, and negotiations have revolved around when teachers must arrive and when they may leave. Daily preparation times are mandated, but not always treated as work; in the past, teachers in middle schools, which ended later than high schools, were compensated by being giv-en extra prep periods.

Requiring teachers to meet jointly during any contractually mandated preparation periods takes a special fac-ulty vote. Schools that want to regularly build common time into the day have to “buy” additional preps, usually by hiring additional teachers to free up those in the same grades or subjects at the same time.

To assure regular teacher collabo-ration time, “we have to manipulate things,” said one longtime principal who now heads a K-6 elementary school and preferred not to be named. While he considers regular teacher meeting time “paramount” to keep up with changing standards and teaching strategies, “it’s not an easy thing.”

Roxborough High School principal Dana Jenkins agreed. “The system does not facilitate it,” she said.

Roxborough has received extra sup-port to split the school into four separate “academies” and run a block schedule that allows for more teacher meeting

time. This schedule is expensive – it requires more teachers in the building – but with the block schedule, there are four 90-minute periods in the day in-stead of eight that last 45 minutes.

Students take four courses each se-mester instead of the traditional seven yearlong courses. Teachers are in class for three double-periods a day instead of teaching seven shorter classes.

With 90 minutes open each day, teachers spend half that time on their individual preparation and half meet-ing jointly. On alternating days, teachers either meet with others who teach the same subject or across disciplines with those in their academy.

In both settings, they often discuss students. “Particularly in the academy meetings, we deal with interventions for individual students,” said Jenkins. “We are all teaching the same children, and we are all able to contribute to what it takes to make that child successful.”

Occasionally, they will call a student in.

“At first the students panicked,” said science teacher and coach Erika McFad-den. But ultimately, they are grateful.

“I think it benefits the students knowing that instead of one teacher who really cares, they have a whole team working to help them.”

The teachers also discuss lesson plans and teaching strategies, and, in the academy meetings, how teachers of dif-ferent subjects can reinforce each other.

“I previously thought teaching was such an isolated profession,” said Drexel student teacher Kristen Mintzer, who is placed this semester at Roxborough. “I was surprised at how much time teach-ers actually spent working together. It’s really helpful for me.”

SLA has also rebuilt its schedule. Not every day is 7 hours and 4 minutes (see p. 16). On Wednesdays, classes are held from 8:15 to 12:45; students go to internships while teachers meet for two hours.

Collaboration, said Lehmann, is a “core value” of the school – collabora-tion among students, between students and teachers, and among teachers. “Having those two hours a week to work together has been an important ingredi-

Harvey FinkleRoxborough science teacher and coach Erika McFadden (center, rear) leads a regular meeting of the school’s science teachers. The school has built this meeting time into its schedule.

www.tip.sas.upenn.edu

The Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP)A partnership of the University of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia

free curriculum units and lesson plansfree professional development seminars

• Academic topics • Led by Penn scholars • Act-48 Credits • • Curriculum Units Now Online •

for information: 215-746-6176 [email protected]

Become a Member today!

For more information, visit www.thenotebook.org/membership

Join Us!

Membership entitles you to a copy of each edition delivered by first-class mail!

Keep the Notebook strong, independent, and free!

Connect with a community of 500+ membersworking for quality public education,

get event notices, discounts, and more!

A voice for quality and equality in public schools

Your Name Here2014 Member

An independent news service

To join, please fill out the form on page 31.




ent in our success,” he said. Latimer, the SLA math department

chair, said he has taught at and heard about schools – including private and charter – that follow the common model of monthly fac-ulty meetings in which many teachers are grad-ing papers or otherwise checking out. The same thing often happens dur-ing required professional development, which fre-quently involves listening to a presenta-tion rather than observing peers or deep discussion of practice.

Valuing regular collaboration, espe-cially across academic disciplines, grows out of defining education as being holis-tic and integrated, he said, and “moving away from the idea that school is made up of people all in their separate wheel-houses.”

Educators who are designing two new non-selective neighborhood high schools (see p. 7) also regard the need for regular meetings as crucial. These schools are trying to completely reframe the student experience, incorporating internships and community-based proj-

ects to extend their education beyond the classroom walls.

“Teacher collabora-tion is a foundational building block to any successful school,” said Neil Geyette, a former teacher at West Phila-

delphia High and Franklin Learning Cen-ter who is designing the new U School.

Saliyah Cruz, a former West princi-pal who is designing the LINC School, agreed. “Teachers need time to work together,” she said. “The nature of our [new] schools is to have a curriculum that’s integrated and allows kids to see the relationship of what they’re learning to the real world.”

Making that happen is impossible unless staff are constantly reevaluating what they are doing and how things are working, she said.

Some charter schools also build in teacher meeting time. Like SLA, KIPP’s high school in the city dismisses students early on Wednesday and sets aside the time for teacher meetings.

But Marc Mannella, head of KIPP Philadelphia, warns that although meet-ing time is critical, it is also necessary to create a schedule that is sustainable for teachers. The national KIPP network, which started as exclusively middle schools, became known for overwork-ing teachers and high turnover. This became a critique of the entire charter enterprise in low-income areas, built on the idea that poverty is not an “excuse” for low student achievement. Mannella said that his schools in Philadelphia have worked to counteract this, adjust-ing schedules over the years.

KIPP used to keep students until 5 and “then we’d meet until 6 or 6:30,” he said. Teachers felt fried. “We don’t do that anymore,” he said.

Instead, “we focus on trying to make sure that teachers don’t feel like they have to be in the buildings” after a cer-tain hour.

The schedule has been altered so that some teachers can arrive later, around 9:30, on selected days. In ad-dition, once a month on the short Wednesdays, a major subject – English, science, social studies or math – is pulled out of the schedule entirely. On those days, teachers in the designated disci-pline can observe a master teacher in another school, analyze student data, or otherwise catch up.

Most of the educators interviewed agreed that more time by itself isn’t the answer unless it is well used, whether for instruction or for collaboration – and deciding how to use time requires con-tinual discussion. The focus, they said, should not be tinkering with schedules and counting minutes, but figuring out what the school should be.

“We need to take a look at the way we teach and learn,” said SLA’s Lehm-ann. “All across the country and in this city are good people of honest intent trying to make schools powerful places, but structurally the way we set up school now is making them less than the sum of their parts.”

Contact Notebook contributing editor Dale Mezzacappa at [email protected].

Meeting time(continued from page 22)

Harvey FinkleSLA principal Chris Lehmann speaks to the importance of the school’s Wednesday meetings: “This is where we evaluate what we do, what we believe, and how we make these things work.”

800-999-6998 • admissions.pcom.edu • 215-871-67004 1 7 0 C I T Y A V E N U E • P H I L A D E L P H I A • P A 1 9 1 3 1

PCOM leads the way in educating individuals for a career in this growing profession. Our nationally-renowned faculty collaborates with students to help them evolve from students to successful school psychologists.

PCOM OFFERS INNOVATIVE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMS INCLUDING:• Master of Science in School Psychology (MS)

• Educational Specialist Degree in School Psychology (EdS)

• Doctor of Psychology in School Psychology (PsyD)All PCOM’s school psychology programs have full NASP approval. PCOM’s Master of Science in School Psychology is approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

Our classes are offered in the evenings and on weekends. PCOM is conveniently located on City Avenue, just minutes from the city and suburbs.

THE NEED FOR CERTIFIED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER.

PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE

PCOM-notebook-3-2014.indd 1 3/12/14 4:29 PM

Deciding how to best use time requires

continual discussion, educators said.



Parents learn how to turn kids into confident readers Springboard is one effort to provide training so families can build children’s literacy skills at home.by Connie Langland

On a March afternoon, 8-year-old Jakai Rhoades and his mother, Ebony Wilkie, began tackling

his homework. “What does this word look like?”

Wilkie asked her son, a 3rd grader at nearby Blaine Elementary School. “It’s a compound word – two words together. Do you see?”

“Spaceship,” he answered, correctly.“Rumble … rumble …

ROOAAARRRR,” read Jakai. “The rocket goes up into …” He stumbled on the next word. But his mom was at the ready, pointing upwards again and again, offering Jakai a really big hint.

He tried again, reading, “The rock-et goes up into … space!”

Yes! Jakai was pleased, and so was Wilkie.

In this household in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, learning to read is a joint venture.

For Jakai, the effort means extra time spent delving into storybooks – as much as an hour in the afternoon after school and 15 minutes at bedtime.

And Wilkie has put in extra ef-fort too. Last summer and again this winter, she attended parent workshops

at Blaine to acquire some of the same skills that teachers use in the classroom. She learned the basics of how children learn to read – as well as some of the stumbling blocks.

“Some kids read, but they don’t un-derstand what they’ve read. So we’ve worked on helping him comprehend what he’s reading,” Wilkie said.

“Jakai went from not reading to now reading on a 2nd-grade level. He’s made great progress.”

Training the trainersEnlisting parents as reading coaches

is the linchpin innovation of a remedial reading initiative called the Spring-board Collaborative. Springboard, cre-ated by Alejandro Gac-Artigas, has run summer reading programs in charter schools the past three years and ex-panded to include four District schools last summer.

“Parents are the greatest natural re-source in education,” Gac-Artigas said, “and what’s crazy is that this resource is almost entirely untapped in high-pov-erty communities.”

This winter, Springboard ran a pilot program at Blaine from February into April to train teachers to work with the families of struggling readers. In all, the pilot involved five teachers, 35 students and their families.

In the pilot, teachers wrote up an action plan for each child and reviewed

the plan and goals with the parent. Ev-ery second week, the teachers led hour-long workshops for the parents. In the alternate week, teachers got training in communicating and coaching the fami-lies. As in the summer program, Spring-

board offered books and supplies to the families as incentives.

Parental involvement is wholly embraced by educators, but parents are seldom enlisted in the task of teaching

NEW Instructional Coach Endorsement Program

Be among the first in the Philadelphia region to obtain an Instructional Coach Endorsement at La Salle University. Successful completion of the program leads to a Pennsylvania Department of Education Endorsement as an Instructional Coach (similar to certification).

PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR CERTIFIED TEACHERS:

• Seeking leadership roles within their schools/districts

• Desiring to learn more about becoming a master teacher

• Interested in knowing more about current research on teacher growth and change and applying those practices in their schools

Special Offer for Philadelphia School District Teaching

and Support Staff: Begin the Instructional Coach Endorsement program this fall and proceed as a cohort through the four courses of the endorsement (12 credits) with a tuition rate of $500 per credit (normally $650). Those choosing to pursue a master’s degree after completing the endorsement courses will continue to receive a 25 percent discount on the prevailing tuition rate.

Never stop exploring

APPLY NOW!

For more information, contact: Greer Richardson, Ph.D. Director, Graduate Programs in Education La Salle University 1900 West Olney Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19141 215.951.1593 [email protected]

Choose La Salle University

Harvey FinkleEbony Wilkie, left, helps her son Jakai Rhoades read a book about spaceships while his brother Karim Pressley looks on. Wilkie has received training on how children learn to read.




literacy beyond the time-honored ad-age: Read to your kids.

Springboard asks much more by teaching parents how to build the read-ing, vocabulary, and comprehension skills of their children outside of the traditional school day. The program also holds parents accountable dur-ing the duration of the program with at-home assignments and attendance

requirements. Last summer, parents at four District schools averaged 93 per-cent attendance at Springboard’s week-ly workshops.

Springboard boasts of dramatic reading gains and big ambitions: to nar-row and even close the achievement gap for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (see springboardcollabora-tive.org/what-we-do/the-impact).

Research on the subject would ap-pear to bolster Springboard’s approach. A 2006 review of the research by the

National Institute for Literacy looked at family literacy interventions from kin-dergarten to 3rd grade and concluded that having parents teach specific liter-acy skills was two times more effective than listening to the child read, and six times more effective than encouraging parents to read to their children.

Efforts pay offWilkie is certain her efforts have had

a big impact on Jakai’s reading skills. The books on the home-work table were at the 2nd- and 3rd-grade level – far beyond what he could handle a year ago. And Jakai gets encouragement from his older brother, Karim Pressley, 10, a strong reader from an early age.

The Wilkie family has been read-ing nonstop since last summer, includ-ing the stretch after the summer pro-gram ended and before this school year started. Friends of the boys knocking at the door on this warm March afternoon were no match for their mom’s insis-tence that homework come first and leisure time later.

Jakai had not one but four story-books to read that afternoon: Rockets and Spaceships, rated at a 2.9 level (or end of 2nd grade); Martin’s Big Words, rated 2.5; The Meanest Thing to Say by Bill Cosby, rated 2.2; and Jamaica’s Find, with a 3.2 rating.

That kind of mix, running easier to harder, makes sense to Jakai’s mother. Books that are easier to read reinforce skills; ones with more new, unknown words challenge him to figure out the word from the context of the story.

“Before the program, I was helping Jakai by reading books he enjoyed. But he couldn’t pronounce the words. With Springboard, they helped him with pro-nunciation, and so did I,” Wilkie said.

She also helped him learn words he didn’t know by putting them in a con-text he was familiar with, offering this

example: “The word dirty – I would say go clean your ‘blank’ room, and he got it – your dirty room. That worked for him.”

This at-home effort has had an ex-tra payoff.

“It was also worth my while because I got to learn more about my child. And I had a chance to interact with his teacher. Anything that helps my child learn, I’m all for it,” Wilkie said.

Karen Shanowski, a project man-ager with the Center for Schools and Com-munities in Camp Hill, Pa., said schools increasingly are look-ing at ways to engage families in their chil-dren’s learning. What is clear, she said, is that “family engage-ment is not an add-

on; it’s an integral part of the learning process. And we’re seeing schools look-ing at new ways to connect with fami-lies.”

Such initiatives, she said, have evolved out of recognition that “par-ents are their children’s most influential teachers.”

Shileste Overton-Morris, a senior manager at the center, noted that out-of-school initiatives can engage parents in creative ways beyond “the parent-teacher conference or the PTA meet-ing” that is typical of many schools. What’s key, said Overton-Morris, is “communicating that message – that parents are teachers no matter where they are in the system, whether it’s home-school, charter or public. Par-ents are the primary teachers … and it’s very important that schools should be looking to engage parents in meaning-ful ways to ensure that the student suc-ceeds in life.”

Books and more booksLike Wilkie, Enjoli Johnson attend-

ed Springboard workshops at Blaine last summer and again during the pilot to support the reading efforts of her three sons, Anthony Cindell, 11, in 5th grade; Zahmaar Brown, 7, in 1st grade; and Jo-seph Brown, 5, in kindergarten.

“First off, when they come to me with a book, I never turn them down,” said Johnson.

Teachers send home books, and friends stop by with more books. John-son said that Joseph has had a harder time learning to read than his older brothers, and what she learned in the workshops has helped her work with her son. Plus, “he’s more encouraged to learn because he sees his older brothers reading.”

Johnson recalled that she grew up reading with her mother.

“She would fall asleep; I wouldn’t stop reading,” Johnson laughed. “I’m definitely a cheerleader for reading. I’m good in math, but I’m famous for read-ing.”

To read more about the Spring-board approach, visit the website, www.springboardcollaborative.org

Connie Langland is a freelance writer on education issues.

Parents(continued from page 24)

Springboard teaches parents how to build the reading, vocabulary, and comprehension skills of

their children.

6-Month, Hands-On Training Programs

Build Your Futurein the Trades

Carpentry • Building MaintenanceAir Conditioning, Refrigeration & Heating

Residential & Commercial ElectricityPlumbing & Heating

Earn a Career Diploma!

Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges; Licensed by the PA StateBoard of Private Licensed Schools. For program disclosure information, please go to www.orleanstech.edu

215-728-47002770 Red Lion RoadPhiladelphia, PAAccessible by bus #1 & 14Applicants must have a high school diploma or GEDFinancial aid available for those who qualifyJob search assistance

Where Are You Going After Graduation? Get Started on YourPost-Graduation Plans Now!

Make a Virtual Visit to Our School!

www.OrleansTech.edu/online-tour

• Take an interactive walk throughOrleans Tech’s facility

• See 360o panoramas of our training shopsand classrooms

• Learn about what Orleans has to offer youthrough a guided audio tour

• Check out our students in action, learninghands-on skills for the working world

Check Out Our Program Videos & New TV Commercial on YouTube!

notebook_jan_2014_7.625 x 4.5 bw_Layout 1 1/10/14 11:24 AM Page 1



Cash-strapped District nurtures outside partnershipsThe leader of a new office is building relationships and seeking to remove any red tape that interferes.by Dan Hardy

Beset by massive budget cuts and with more deficits looming in fu-ture years, Philadelphia School

District Superintendent William Hite has been reaching out to area business-es, nonprofits, and foundations to make up the losses in money and programs.

Last year, he created the Office of Strategic Partnerships to find new allies that would augment the District’s pro-grams and finances, while cementing and enhancing relations with old ones.

Maximizing outside partnerships is a good strategy in any case, but is cru-cial when a cash-starved district is try-ing to provide enough quality learning time for students.

“Philadelphia schools are surround-ed by a rich array of resources that sup-port the development and learning of students,” the superintendent’s latest action plan says. “These resources are currently underutilized.”

Those resources include the city’s recreation department, which operates a wide range of afterschool and week-end programs for school-age children.

In the new, stripped-down central office, the formidable task of facilitating these partnerships largely falls to one

person: Stacy Holland, former head of the Philadelphia Youth Network.

Holland is uniquely qualified for the job, which she officially began last fall after being on loan to the District for the previous six months. PYN links schools, employers and nonprofits to provide in-ternships, training programs, and career pathways for the city’s youth, so she has extensive contacts in the business, academic, and charitable worlds.

At the District, “we’re trying to build an infrastructure that says `partnerships matter,’” Holland said in a recent interview. The District has to “be able to honor [partner] organizations, make sure young people are matched properly with them and remove any bu-reaucratic red tape so they can connect seamlessly.”

That hasn’t always been the case. “I spent a lot of the first few months rebuilding relationships” with outside partners, she said.

Nancy Streim, associate vice presi-dent for school and community part-nerships at Teachers College, Columbia University, who has studied school-community partnership efforts, cheered the attempt at “opening up what some-times seems like the closed doors of

the District” by involving community-based organizations. “I applaud the ef-fort,” Streim said.

No one can say exactly what dollar amount the current partnerships bring to the District; part of Holland’s job is to inventory the scope of outside involve-ment. But the scale is massive – tens of millions of dollars of services each year.

For example, the city’s out-of-school-time sys-tem, which is mainly funded by the Depart-ment of Human Services, provides $21 million in afterschool activities for close to 7,900 children.

Holland said that the people and organi-zations running after-school programs and related services “have been tremendously help-ful and collaborative

with the District.”The District has kept its buildings

open after hours to approved outside programs at no charge, despite the deep cutbacks – till as late as the mainte-nance staff is there. That means all buildings are open for activities until at least 6:30 p.m., with some accessible until 8 p.m.

Holland’s office is seeking to expand afterschool and out-of-school opportu-nities by better coordinating activities

with the city’s recreation department. “The possibilities are endless,” she said. “We both have lots of kids in lots of fa-cilities; right now, we are learning about their priorities and finding out intersec-tions between us; our hope is to develop more joint programming. ... So much of this is about asking what is possible and working through the details.”

As for restoring more District sum-mer programs, which have been severe-ly cut back, or easing the imposition of fees on outside organizations using school facilities on evenings and week-ends, finding funding to address those situations will be difficult, she said.

But more money isn’t always what is needed to expand District offerings, she added. “Sometimes the barrier might be a policy or procedure.”

Holland has already launched or co-ordinated several initiatives. In March, for example, she worked with restaurateur Stephen Starr to kick off a month-long Support Our Schools campaign that so-licited donations in his 21 restaurants to fund multimedia labs, elementary school playgrounds, and six-week summer in-ternships. His goal was to raise $100,000, plus a $25,000 donation from him.

The District is also planning to help teachers solicit funds for a variety of needs by promoting awareness of DonorsChoose.org, an online charity through which they can appeal for money to fund a variety of

APRIL 1620146-7:30 PM


Stacy Holland directs the new Office of Strategic Partnerships.

School District of P

hiladelphia



classroom projects. A publicity push is slated for April and May.

Holland helped usher in a new men-toring initiative, College Possible, that guides high school juniors and seniors toward college, then helps them tran-sition to the postsecondary world and work toward a degree. This fall, College Possible, headquartered in Minnesota and now in four cities, will begin work-ing intensively with a total of about 150 students in four Philadelphia-area high schools. They include George Wash-ington and Parkway Center City, said Michelle Torgerson, director of new site development for College Possible.

Torgerson said that Philadelphia had been under consideration for a while, but Holland played a key role in quickly sealing the deal. “She had a very clear vision for the District’s youth and the way nonprofits could fit in with that,” Torgerson said.

Still, no one should expect to see Holland’s office come close to filling in the huge gaps left by years of erosion of

District classroom offerings.While the office aims to bring in

at least $39 million in new money over the next year, Holland said she is put-ting the bulk of her energy into creat-ing a long-term structure for building durable partnerships.

That involves unglamorous but im-portant steps like shoring up the Phila-delphia’s Children First Fund (PCFF), the District’s official nonprofit arm, set up to receive tax-exempt donations.

The potential for PCFF to boost aid to schools was vividly demonstrat-ed when there was a surge of interest last year in Strawberry Mansion High School after an ABC TV special high-lighted the school. As a result, PCFF has received over $275,000 in dona-tions, Holland said.

Holland said she also wants to set up a menu of customizable partnership options for potential donors so that businesses, nonprofits, or foundations can easily do anything from funding a classroom technology package or a playground at a school to entering into a full-fledged whole-building alliance. “My job is to tap that energy and then

facilitate the process, make sure it hap-pens and then report back ... so they feel really good about it.”

In the works too are plans to pres-ent area colleges and universities with a variety of school partnership options.

Beyond bringing in new resources, Holland said she wants to make sure they are spread out more equitably.

“Some schools have a tremendous amount [of outside resources] because they have connections” to nonprofits, businesses, and foundations, she said. “But what happens to those schools that never had those connections to begin with? ... As new resources come in, we can get them there.”

Streim, of Teachers College, thinks the new office can make a difference. “If they can leverage those partnerships, they can give their kids a much better chance.”

Still, she cautioned that “piece-meal” aid has less chance of making a big difference at a school than a com-prehensive, building-wide approach. Also, Streim warned, outside aid tends to ebb and flow.

“If something is dependent on ex-ternal dollars,” she said, “it’s always at the mercy of the economy and chang-ing times.”

Dan Hardy is a freelance reporter who writes about education issues in the region.

Charles MostollerDistrict programming is enriched by outside programs like the Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League, sponsored by After School Activities Partnerships.

Partnerships(continued from page 26)


SUMMER CAMP SUMMER CAMP GUIDEFun is right around the corner

So, your child is ready for camp, but you’re not sure she is prepared for over-nights away from home. Or there’s a won-derful day camp that your son’s school friends have been enjoying for years, and it’s in a park near your home. Or maybe your mother is staying with you this sum-mer, and you don’t want the grandchildren to miss an important chance to visit.

If you have experienced any of these scenarios, then a day camp is the perfect fit for you. There are many benefits of day camps. Your child will make new friends, learn a new skill, grow spiritually, enjoy positive role models, and help others. So, choosing the right one for your child is im-portant.

Here are some questions to ask when doing your research:

1) Is the camp accredited by the American Camp Association?

2) What training does the staff receive? 3) Is transportation available? 4) What about extended care before and

after camp? 5) Will the camp provide lunch? 6) Are campers grouped by age, activity,

or both? 7) Does the price include the full range of

activities? 8) Are parent visits encouraged?

For more information about summer camps, visit www.campparents.org.

Adapted from an article published on www.ACAcamps.org. Used by permission of the American Camp Association. ©2014, American Camping Association, Inc.

319S. P’ S st-peters-school.org

Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 215.925.3963Contact Jen Reistle at [email protected]

A H-D F-DTen weekly sessions June 16-August 22, 2014 Register by week. Early Arrival and After-Care available. Also on our Campus this summer...•

(phillystudentstage.com)• Maxwell’s Sports Camp • Young Rembrandts

’

Summer Enrichment.

Sports

French

Science

Art • Music

Drama

Outdoors

Cooking

Computers

Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School Of Music

1628-30 W. Allegheny Ave. • Philadelphia, PA. 19132-1745Call Mrs. Drayton for fees and scholarship info: 215.430.0435 • gegisom.org

Summer Music & Performing Arts CampJune 23 - August 1, 2014 (6 weeks)

Youth ages 6-13 years. $110 week. Registration $25 per family.Subsidies may be available; request application.

Includes: Keyboard Lab, Percussion, Voice, Dance, Chess, Scrabble, Arts & Crafts, Karate

A five-week summer day program for students entering 6th through 12th grades featuring one-on-one instruction in reading and writing, and an introduction to assistive technologies.

610.640.4150 • dvfs.org/summer • Paoli, PA

June 30 to August 1 • 8:30 am – 12:15 pm

Summer Day Program

OSTC SChOlArShip FundS AvAilAble FOr regulAr SChOOl yeAr 2014-15

YMCA CAMP toCkwoghwhere MeMories Are MAde

overnight camp on the Chesapeake Bayon 309 well-preserved acres spread over a mile & a half of Chesapeake Bay shoreline.

•Traditional,Coed,OvernightSummerCampServingAges5-16 •RetreatsandConferenceGroups •WinterBreakCamp •Year-RoundTeenLeadershipPrograms tockwogh.org

Stay Sharp This Summer with Lessons, Classes and Camps

Chamber Music Camp - Ages 8-18 • Strings & woodwinds

Jazz Ensemble Camp - Ages 12-18 • Brass, woodwinds, percussion, guitar & bass

Summer Jam Camp - Ages 12-18 • Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards & voice

String Camp - Ages 7-14 • All string instruments

Introduction to Musical Theatre - Ages 12-15

Plus Individual Instruction for all instruments

Find the branch nearest you:215.320.2600 • www.smsmusic.org

Attention Camp Directors:Advertise your camp in the next issue of the Notebook.

reach parents of school age children throughout Philadelphia.

Call Shawn today at 215-839-0082 ext. 105 or email [email protected] for details.

Ask about online advertising options!


fromthenotebookblog

Blindsided by universal enrollment plan by Christine Carlson

It came in like a wrecking ball.I’ve been subjected to hearing my

10-year-old daughter play Miley Cyrus’ song “Wrecking Ball” many times. Some parents hear this song and envision the pro-vocative music video. I’ve come to relate it to the universal en-rollment plan being proposed for Phila-delphia’s schools. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and I was blindsided.

I consider myself a fairly informed public school parent. I attend School Re-form Commission meetings, participate in various workgroups, and faithfully read this publication’s morning news roundup. So when the Great Schools Compact, a local education-reform initiative that seeks to replace poor-performing seats with high-quality alternatives, was launched at the end of 2011, I didn’t recall any red flags about universal enrollment as a plan to privatize the School District’s placement office and assign students to one school.

About a year later, I attended a meet-ing where Compact members presented an update on their activities. They were excited at the time because the Compact had just been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation to pursue three of its initiatives: creating an urban leadership academy, sharing best practices for teacher effectiveness, and producing

benchmark tests to align with the new Common Core standards. There was no mention of universal enrollment as some-thing actively being pursued.

So how did we get to the point where the Compact has presented a detailed timeline to City

Council outlining their plans for a third-party, fee-driven, single-choice algorith-mic system for assigning students?

It came in like a wrecking ball, and I wondered how I could have possibly missed it. When I looked back, I found that universal enrollment, as originally presented in the Great Schools Compact, is not what is being proposed now.

The Compact document, dated Dec. 20, 2011, does include universal enroll-ment as one of its commitments to action:

“We will pursue a system of ‘universal enrollment’ – i.e., aligning schools’ appli-cation procedures, from public announce-ments to application materials to lottery dates and other timing, as uniformly as possible. Expanding the number of high performing schools will only truly serve parents and students if they are more read-ily able to assess, understand and apply for the options available to them.”

As written, the Compact actually pro-motes a plan for universal application, a process where all schools would have one common application and one timeline for

application and acceptance. The new Compact-driven website,

PhillySchoolApp.org, seems to support this as well. Although it does not have a com-mon application for all schools, it does pro-vide users with a link to all of the applica-tions that have been made available to it.

So why has the Com-pact taken this so far be-yond its original mission? One could say it is “mission creep,” but I can’t help feel-ing that we are the victims of a classic bait-and-switch.

At the SRC’s public meeting to discuss the pros and cons of universal en-rollment, held this January, “universal application” and “universal enrollment” were used inter-changeably by the roundtable participants. The word enrollment was used when the groups were following the written instruc-tions distributed by the SRC, and the word application was used when describing valid problems with the current system.

Universal application (and univer-sal enrollment as originally defined by the Great Schools Compact) could ben-efit parents and students throughout the city. Given that every charter school has its own application and set timeline for application and acceptance, this process

would go a long way to help parents nav-igate the application process and make the best decision from the available choices for their students.

The most recent proposal for uni-versal enrollment should really be called

“contracted enrollment,” because it essentially priva-tizes the District’s applica-tion and enrollment process. This won’t benefit District parents and students, but rather operators and ad-ministrators of non-District-run schools. By allowing the public school system to promote seats and place students in non-District schools, the District would lose even more students and

funding, much to its detriment.If we are going to discuss this issues,

let’s make sure we are all using the right vocabulary. Whether it is universal enroll-ment, universal application, or contracted enrollment, let’s make sure we are all talking about the same thing. If not, that wrecking ball is poised to do considerable damage to our public schools and our city.

Christine Carlson, a public school parent, is founder of the Greater Center City Neigh-borhood Schools Coalition. This commentary appeared at thenotebook.org on Jan. 29.

Christine Carlson

c o m m E n tA ry

ENROLLING NOWf o r 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5

We are a FREE, public cyber charter school serving Pennsylvania students in grades 7-12. Visit one of our Resource Centers in the

Philadelphia area, call, or visit us online!

1-877-570-1657 • • www.achievementcharter.com

At Achievement House you can

imagine your future

DO YOU HAVE WHAT I T TAKES…DO YOU HAVE WHAT I T TAKES…

Universal Family of Schools is recruiting talented educators for 2014-2015

215-732-6518 extension [email protected]

www.universalcompanies.org

TO TURNAROUND SCHOOLS?TO IMPROVE COMMUNITIES?TO CHANGE LIVES?

ContactUs

Today

JOB OpeningsSankofa Freedom Academy Charter School is a college preparatory K-12 freedom school, which utilizes African

Centered pedagogical practices to empower and impassion students and staff to be lifelong teachers, learners, activists,

servant leaders, and global change agents.

Can you “C” yourself at Sankofa?Caring, Called, Competent, Convinced, Conscious, Creative, Character Rich, Culturally Responsive, Community Minded----

Certified teachers needed in the following areas: elementary and special education Teachers

physical education, Music, and Dance Teachers secondary Content teachers including Math, science, english, social studies

secondary principal or Associate principal

Openings for September 2014 Salary and Benefits Comparable to the School District of Philadelphia

Communal Work Environment

For more information, call Ms. Kim Hopson at 215-288-2001 or email registration to [email protected]


notebooknews Work with us this summer! Summer Opportunities

Available with EducationWorks!

Who We Need Teachers; School Employees; Daycare Workers; Education Students Those with education or childcare experience Those with college credits or degrees in education or human services

Bene�its Competitive hourly rates Valuable experience Work with K-12th grade

students

Accepting Applications Now!

Or call our Recruitment Department to learn more about our programs.

215-221-6913

WORKAT MASTERY

in our turnarounds after 4 years

POINTS 40

INCREASED

Test scores 80

in violence

DECREASE

5TH YEARIN A ROW

H One-Team Approach

H Growth & LeadershipOpportunities

H Rewards for Success

H Culture of High Expectationsfor Students & Staff

H Intensive Support &Professional Development

RESULTS AFTER MASTERY TURNAROUND:

MAXIMIZE YOUR IMPACT.

JOIN OUR MOVEMENT.

Visit our website for more information and to apply.www.masterycharter.org

The Philadelphia Public School Notebook’s first video production

Goodbye to City SchoolsA documentary by Amy Yeboah, Ph.D.

Now available on DVD

The documentary focuses on four of the 24 Philadelphia public schools closed in June of 2013: Germantown High School, Bok Techni-cal High School, Fairhill Elementary School and University City High School. Dr. Yeboah, who holds a doctoral degree in African American studies, filmed day-to-day life in the schools’ last weeks, interviewing principals, families, staff, and community members on the impact of their schools’ closing. The film’s narrative focuses on the hardship of students and their families. 30 minutes.

To purchase your copy, please email Tim at [email protected] or call Tim at 215-839-0082 ext. 106.

$12.00 including shipping/handling

Please note that Dr. Yeboah is accepting invitations from organizations to screen Goodbye to City Schools.

Email Tim at [email protected] for more information.

June 10 is a date to save; look for our reader survey

This year the Notebook is celebrat-ing 20 years of publishing. The orga-nization will mark this milestone with the annual Turning the Page for Change event on Tuesday, June 10, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., at the University of the Arts, 320 S. Broad St.

Save the date. Attendees will en-joy student journalism awards, excit-ing prizes, student musicians, fantastic food, and conversation with some of the city’s most knowledgeable people in public education. This year’s event will also include a look back at highlights of the past 20 years.

Admission is $75. The Notebook is currently seeking individuals to join its Host Committee; hosts donate $300 or more and receive two admissions to the event. Organizations and businesses are invited to sponsor the event. Sponsor-ships start at $600. If you would like to become a host or sponsor – or volunteer to help plan the celebration, contact Tim Cravens, development director, at [email protected], or go to www.the-notebook.org/june-event-2014.

Building membership Last year, the Notebook reached its

highest membership tally to date, with 563 dues-paying members. We are count-

ing on increasing that number in 2014. Have you renewed your membership?

The nonprofit needs to grow its member ranks to sustain its work. Members also shape the products and services the Note-book offers. Become a member today for $40 or more by filling out the member-ship form on page 31 – or join online at www.thenotebook.org/membership.

You can also support the Notebook through house parties. The Notebook began holding parties at the homes of supporters in 2012 to increase its mem-bership, build connections among read-ers, and introduce the organization to new readers. Since then, there have been six house parties, raising more than $21,000 and bringing in many new friends and supporters.

If you are interested in co-hosting a house party or want to attend one, con-tact Tim Cravens at [email protected].

Sharpening our skillsThe Notebook is gearing up to in-

crease the use of multimedia in its cover-age. Staff and freelancer writers recently participated in a two-day course on basic field production at Philadelphia Com-munity Access Media (PhillyCAM), Philadelphia’s public access television



notebooknews

Practical SkillsYear-round Professional

Development Events and

Graduate Courses you can

use immediately in your work.

Flexible Certificate & Master’s Degree Create a program that’s right

for you with online and hybrid

courses and independent study.

Visit us at: iirp.edu or 610-807-9221

”IIRP classes helped me get to the heart of what kids need: building relationships, repairing harm, how restoration can happen.”

— Stacy Phillips, Philadelphia teacher, IIRP graduate, 2012

Financial assistance available.

Mail to Philadelphia Public School Notebook699 Ranstead St., 3rd Floor, Phila., PA 19106

WWW.THENOTEBOOK.ORG/MEMBERSHIP

Become a member!We depend on your financial support!

Basic membership benefits include: Subscription to the Notebook by first-class mail,

unlimited online access, notices and discountsto special events, and much more!

Yes, I’d like to become a member of the Notebook for 2014.

Please select the annual membership level you would like:

Basic – $40

I would like to make a tax-deductible contribution of $____________

I am a parent or student and would like a subscription only – $15

Check Enclosed Credit Card PaymentCard Number__________________________Expiration Date (mo/yr)________

Name

Address

Phone E-mail

Organization

City/State/Zip

MastercardCard Type (Check One): Discover Visa _____Security Code

Associate/Organization – $75 Promoting – $150Editors’ Circle – $500 Publisher’s Circle – $1,000Sponsoring – $300

Keep my gift anonymous

studio, just downstairs from the Note-book. Staff learned video camera use and sound and lighting techniques to help produce online news packages.

This is a part of the Notebook’s ef-forts to revamp its publishing and imple-ment new digital strategies for reaching parents and other core audiences. The Notebook has a two-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Founda-tion to build its audience by producing more multimedia content, expand its use of social media, and make its con-tent more accessible via mobile devices.

Readership surveyTo support and guide the work to

revamp its publishing, the organiza-tion is working with researcher Eva Gold at Pathway Strategies and me-dia consultants Coats2Coats to con-duct a readership evaluation to gain insight about the changing media habits of its audience, the features readers find most useful, and what directions the nonprofit should grow in the future.

A survey will be coming soon. We ask for your participation.

Contact Notebook managing editor Wendy Harris at [email protected].

Roundup(continued from page 30)

www.thenotebook.orgCheck out our site for daily updates

Your online spot to learn and talk about Philly schools

-Breaking news-Interactive content-Blog posts from parents, teachers, activists, and journalists-Comments on articles and blogs-Archives of all Notebook stories since 2002


SponSorS (list in formation)

Turning the page for Change

Celebrating 20 years of publishingHonoring student journalists

reServe your spotTodayTuesday, June 10, 2014, 4:30-7 pm

University of the Arts • 320 S. Broad St.

Contact us today:• To purchase admission – $75, Under 25 – $25

Visit thenotebook.org/june-event-2014• To sign up as a sponsoring organization

Sponsorships start at just $600• To join our event Host Committee

Individuals who contribute $300 or more• To purchase ad space in our program book and online

Learn more about these opportunities:Call 215-839-0082, x106

Write [email protected] thenotebook.org/june-event-2014

awardsfood & friends

SignUp

now!

NEW

S WITH IMPACT

Conversation

Sustaining Sponsor

Partnership SponsorArcadia University

Contributing SponsorsPhiladelphia

Education Fund

University of the Arts

musiC

inspiration

Ally SponsorsCommunities in Schools

of Philadelphia, Inc.La Salle University

Philadelphia Youth NetworkSchool of Media and Communication,

Temple University

using school time wisely (april & may, 2014)

Documents

urday school

transformation school

longer school days

focus onusing school

extra time

high school sports

extended time

teachers current contract