Parents to PPA: Where's the dough?
As the District's budget crunch loomed over schools this fall, a group of Philadelphia parent activists took action by asking questions about $20 million in anticipated revenues that the Philadelphia...
View ArticleAdvice for new mayor
With Michael Nutter taking office as mayor of Philadelphia, the Notebook invited comments from advocates for disability rights and behavioral health services on the question, “What can the new mayor do...
View ArticleGive Philadelphians hope
To the editors:All of us know the current situation in Philadelphia. The murder rate is skyrocketing. Everyone is asking what is the cause and what is the solution.It's not about putting more cops on...
View ArticleListen to the music
To the editors:Over the past 25 years, a growing body of research has shown that music and arts study has a positive impact on general learning.Especially for children with learning delays, music,...
View ArticleSupport teacher-resource catalog
To the editors:We are in danger of losing a vital institution in the social justice education movement. The Teaching for Change catalog – the most comprehensive resource focusing exclusively on...
View ArticleRethink school funding
“Leave no child behind” should mean guaranteeing every student access to small classes taught by highly skilled educators, to a skilled nurse and counselor, and to top-notch libraries, labs, and...
View ArticleAt the SRC . . .
At December’s School Reform Commission meetings, the SRC approved the following:-A revised “Charter School Policy” and establishment of a “Charter School Task Force.”read more
View ArticleSeeking a down-payment on PA school funding reform
A broad coalition of advocates is pressing for Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders to start the process of comprehensive school funding reform in Pennsylvania’s 2008-09 budget by distributing any new...
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Cree Henson
Sub Title: “People think because I’m 16 and have a baby that I don’t have a future.” In August, 2005, Cree Henson, now 16, was about to enter ninth grade at a Center City charter high school when she...
View ArticleKendra Evans
Sub Title: “I was in a relationship that was no good for me.” Kendra Evans, 19, dropped out of George Washington HS when she was a 16-year-old 10th grade. She is now taking classes at Center For...
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Rymeir Mortimore
Sub Title: “I had to give it up – being 18 in the 10th grade” Rymeir Mortimore dropped out of Dobbins Vo-Tech as an 18-year-old tenth grader. His checkered school career included three years at...
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Melissa James
Sub Title: “I wasn’t dumb. I just chose not to do it.” Melissa James, now 19, left Olney High School as a freshman and made some progress at Gratz Twilight. But then she went back to Olney and her...
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Fresh (Douglas McLean)
Sub Title: School is “basically like the streets, just indoors.” Douglas McLean, otherwise known as “Fresh,” is featured in First Person, a documentary film that unfolds through the eyes of...
View ArticleAdam
Sub Title: “To be honest, it wasn’t pretty much the school – it was me.” Adam (not his real name), says he was put out of Gratz High School a year ago January for bad behavior, just after he turned 17....
View ArticleShortchanged ... on school funding
Philadelphia, with an enrollment that is mostly low-income and Black and Latino, spends $2,100 less per pupil than the median amount spent in surrounding suburban districts, even though its students...
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