Category: Eyes and Ears on the SRC (archive)

Eyes on the SRC – Third Edition

 9-17-15 SRC

Welcome to the third edition of Eyes On The SRC.

According to the latest bombshell dropped by Dr. Hite 5,000 students will be impacted by his continued drive to create chaos and turmoil within the District instead of insuring that every school has the necessary resources. We are hoping that the next SRC meeting will be filled with public outrage over the impending changes.

The next SRC meeting is Thursday October 15th at 5:30. To register to speak you must call 215 400 4180 by 4:30 on Wednesday October 14th. It’s best to say that you’re a teacher, parent, or community member because only “one member of an organization can register to speak” (from the District website).

Want some help with your testimony? Contact us at philaapps@gmail.com

“You are not defeated until you give up the fight.” Jose (Pepe) Mujica, former President of Uruguay.

Resolutions
APPS Questions and Responses are in boldface.

Does this include all the new hires at 440? What are their salaries?

Human Resources

A-1
General/Categorical Funds: Approves Personnel, Terminations
RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission hereby ratifies the appointment of the following persons to the positions, on the effective dates through September 30, 2015 and at the salaries respectively noted, as recommended by the Superintendent, provided that: (a) continued employment of persons appointed to positions funded by categorical grants is contingent upon the availability of grant funds; and (b) persons appointed to positions funded by operating funds, shall report to either the Superintendent or the Deputy Superintendent or their designees, and shall serve at the pleasure of the School Reform Commission.

 

So many questions. Why Mastery Charter School District (let’s call it what it is)? Why not use teachers from Masterman or Central or McCall, (or other district schools?) Why aren’t District teachers going into Mastery schools to coach them? Isn’t this supposed to be a learn from each other situation? How is this different from Resolution A-4 passed in August? Too much is unclear –“ for teachers to participate in select professional development” who gets to select the ‘ select professional development’ – Mastery? What exactly is this special Mastery professional development? Mastery “will compile progress data and work with the School District team to access and analyze data from the District” – Why are employees of a private enterprise with little public oversight collecting and analyzing District data. If principals are made aware of which teachers are participating, can the program really be voluntary?

A-2

Donation: $45,080 Acceptance of Donation from Mastery Charter Schools Foundation – School-Base Coaching Program
RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to accept, with appreciation, the donation of $45,080, from Mastery Charter School as part of a grant from the William Penn Foundation, to pay for school-based peer coaching programs at Nebinger, McDaniel and Mayfair Elementary Schools, for the period commencing October 27, 2015 through June 30, 2016.

 Description: The School District, in partnership with Mastery and with support from the William Penn Foundation, is seeking to pilot a coaching program that targets a population of District teachers who are currently not served by existing District coaching programs and builds informal leadership capacity within schools to increase the opportunity for professional growth for all teachers. The ultimate goal is to build a program that yields significant gains in student growth and achievement through improved instructional practice, attained through peer coaching.

The purpose of this program is to support the creation of an effective, school-based peer-coaching model that leverages excellent teachers to coach other teachers who are either adequate or good at their craft and want to improve from adequate to good or from good to great.

Through this program, District master teachers will coach fellow District teachers who voluntarily participate in one of three coaching cycles per year. The program expects to impact 30 teachers with 1:1 coaching in each building and 90 teachers across three schools through comprehensive professional development opportunities. The participating schools are Nebinger, McDaniel, and Mayfair, each of which submitted an application of interest to participate in the program. Time for coaching will either be scheduled during release time or compensated prep payback time. Additionally, coaches will be compensated for time spent on the project outside of school hours.

The coaches and their principal will receive ongoing professional development from Mastery throughout the school year. Mastery will compile progress data and work with the School District team to access and analyze data available from the District at the teacher and school level to gauge impact of the program.

While the focus of the project is on creating a sustainable model inside participating schools for providing effective professional development through peer to peer coaching, the Mastery team with also work with the School District’s Office of Effectiveness to create central leadership for the program so that the District will be able to run the program internally without Mastery supports in the future.

The grant funds will pay for EC and release time for peer coaches to support teachers during the school day and after school; for teachers to participate in select professional development after school, and for substitutes when coaches or principals are attending professional development during the day.

These funds are directly connected to Resolution A-4, approved by the School Reform Commission on August 20, 2015.

 

Michelle Rhee created TNTP (The New Teacher Project). Why did the District hire a corporate education reform enterprise to screen public school district candidates? Their Board members include one person who is a partner at Bain & Co. and another is co-executive director of the Broad Foundation. They launched PhillyPlus, an alternative path for principals (partnered not only with the District but with PSP & the Great Schools Compact). For more info on this TFA & Michelle Rhee spawned entity read this

http://garyrubinstein.teachforus.org/2013/11/08/will-tntp-demand-accountibility-from-itself/

Why is there a need for “Candidate Phone Screening Services’? What do they do for $10,000? 

A-3 (Pending)

Operating Budget: $10,000 Contract Ratification with The New Teacher Project – Candidate Phone Screening Services 

 

Given Dr. Hite’s announcement about the upcoming turmoil for  5,000  students  we need to pay attention to the School Redesign Initiative and how it is being used.

At a recent SRC meeting the principal at a school in the first SRI cohort proudly stated that he now had a new faculty. Is SRI a mechanism for forcing teachers to reapply for their jobs?

A-7
Ratification of Amendment of Acceptance Period of Grants and Donations – Barra Foundation RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission hereby ratifies the amendment by The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to extend the acceptance period for grants and donations from the Barra Foundation, originally authorized by Resolution A-36, approved by the School Reform Commission on August 21, 2014, by extending the acceptance period from the original date of September 30, 2015, approved in Resolution A-36, to June 30, 2017.

Description: Resolution A-36 approved the acceptance of a grant from the Barra Foundation to support the School Redesign Initiative during the 2014-15 school year and summer. Although Resolution A-36 was intended to cover the time period from August 22, 2014 through September 30, 2015, additional funds remain for the grant due to the fact that the District selected fewer than the maximum number of schools in the first round. Therefore, funds remain to support additional redesign selected during the 2015-2016 school year to implement their redesigns during the 2016-2017 school year. The Barra Foundation has granted the district permission, pending SRC approval, to extend the grant for a second year. This resolution amends Resolution A-36 only by extending the end date to June 30, 2017, and makes no other changes to the previously approved resolution. This resolution is being submitted as a ratification now, as key staff were unaware the acceptance period was coming to a close at the end of September.

 

Thinking of all the wonderful artwork stripped from schools and in storage. At this point with all the turmoil you almost don’t want to see them returned to schools because what would happen to them? We need to remember that the Artwork is still with us.

pB-5 (Pending)

Operating Budget: $8,868.60 Ratification of Contract Amendment with Atelier Art Services – Storage of Artwork

 

 This is not a criticism of Playworks but does your school have a Home & School or Friends Of group that can raise $15,000? Once again these programs are available for middle class schools or schools with corporate connections. I guess this is the equity Dr. Hite keeps talking about. Equity for those who can afford it.

This Resolution is confusing. First they say they are going to pay for services at three schools, then they state they are accepting a donation of services at 12 schools including the three first mentioned. Which is it?

B-2
Operating Budget/Donations: $45,000 Contract with Playworks/$810,000 Acceptance of Gifts and Donations from Various Donors – Socialized Recess
RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee to execute, deliver and perform a contract with Playworks to pay the cost to implement the socialized recess program at Alexander McClure Elementary School, for an amount not to exceed $30,000 and at Robert Pollock Elementary School, for an amount not to exceed $15,000, for an aggregate amount not to exceed $45,000, for the period commencing October 16, 2015 through June 30, 2016; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee to accept the donation of services from Playworks, valued at a total of $810,000, provided at no cost to the District or its schools, to implement socialized recess programs at Arthur, Bache-Martin, Greenfield, Henry, Jackson, Kearny, Lea,McCall, McClure, McMichael, Pollock, and Powel Elementary schools, for the period commencing October 16, 2015 through June 30, 2016, and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to execute, deliver and perform a memorandum of understanding with Playworks for the provision of these programs at these schools, for the period commencing October 16, 2015 through June 30, 2016.

Description: For the last 20 years, Playworks has been positively impacting children’s health and well- being by harnessing the power of play during recess and throughout the school day and creating valuable opportunities for children to grow physically, emotionally, and socially. A first-of-its-kind nationwide Gallup Poll of school principals conducted in 2009 revealed that principals overwhelmingly believe recess has a positive impact on students’ social skills, as well as achievement and learning in the classroom. However, the poll also found that many schools cut recess to meet testing requirements, many schools continue to take recess away as a punishment for bad behavior, and due to the multiple challenges that recess presents, schools are looking for help. Furthermore, a study published by the Journal of School Health in 2011 by Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH Professor at the University of California, showed that students exposed to one year of Playworks programming showed statistically significant increases in the following four protective factors as compared to students with no exposure to Playworks: physical activity, problems solving skills, meaningful participation in school and goals and aspirations. The study noted that these factors are essential for maintaining a positive developmental trajectory despite adverse circumstances and are “associated with positive social and academic outcomes”. Playworks’ coaches are the key to the program’s success and the people who implement the five-component, youth development curriculum to build young people’s academic and life skills and provide them with meaningful role and leadership opportunities and foster supportive relationships with peers and adults. The program specifically works to engage kids who are not typically involved in play on the playground—those who do not feel safe, those who are intimidated or bullied, those who are overweight, and those who feel their skill level is not up to par. To the delight of the children, the coach plays, too, which provides an element of fun as well as the opportunity to model appropriate behavior.

Playworks has been supporting the implementation of socialized recess in Philadelphia public schools for the past several years. For the coming year in Philadelphia, Playworks has been working with several schools and the District’s Office of Health, Safety and Physical Education, as well as with multiple local funders and community groups to minimize the cost to schools for the programming. To begin the process, interested schools contact Playworks and local partners.

Arrangements have been made so that the programming will be implemented in 12 schools, with nearly all of the funding ($810,000 out of a total cost of $855,000) coming from external sources. Through its own internal fundraising efforts, Playworks itself is able to contribute $315,000 toward the total cost of the program. Other stakeholders that have stepped forward to contribute toward the cost of the programming and will be providing funding directly to Playworks so that the school will not have to pay include the following:

  • The Lenfest Foundation is providing Playworks $28,000 toward the cost of the program at Arthur Elementary;
    • Friends of Arthur School is providing Playworks $2,000 toward the cost of the program at Arthur Elementary;
    • Drexel University is providing Playworks $30,000 toward the cost of the program at McMichael Elementary and $15,000 toward the cost of the program at Powel Elementary;
    • Powel’s Home and School Association is providing Playworks $ $15,000 toward the cost of the program at Powel Elementary;
    • Berwind Corporation is providing Playworks $30,000 toward the cost of the program at Kearny Elementary;
    • The Netter Center at the University of Pennsylvania is providing Playworks $30,000 toward the cost of the program at Lea Elementary
    • Friends of Jackson School is providing Playworks $15,000 toward the cost of the program at Andrew Jackson Elementary;
    • The Home and School Associations at Bache-Martin, Henry and McCall Schools are each providing Playworks $30,000 ($90,000 total) toward the cost of the program at those three schools;
    • The Home and School Association at Greenfield Elementary is providing Playworks $60,000 toward the cost of the program at Albert M. Greenfield School; and
    • The City of Philadelphia is providing Playworks $180,000 toward the cost of the program at Sheppard School, William Cramp Elementary School and Disston Elementary School.

Below is a step-by-step description of the Playworks program at each school:
• First, Playworks’ coaches organize recess, by establishing specific areas on the playground for games, developing standard rules for behavior and teaching conflict resolution techniques, such as rock/paper/scissors so that students can resolve conflicts on their own.
• Second, coaches work with teachers to provide 45 minutes of game time specifically for their students during the week. This allows students to receive one-on-one attention, enables coaches to reinforce positive social and playground behaviors, and strengthens the student-teacher bond by enabling students to see their teacher in a new “playful” role.
• Third, coaches nurture a cadre of 4th and 5th grade students to serve as Junior Coaches. This peer leadership program has been successful in improving children’s self-esteem, social behaviors and desire to do better in school.
• Fourth, coaches provide high quality after-school programming for 4th and 5th graders, including homework assistance.
• Fifth, coaches run interscholastic sports leagues for 4th and 5th graders in a variety of sports, including co-ed volleyball and all girls’ basketball. These non-competitive teams are designed to build skills, provide children with a team experience and teach good sporting behavior.

In the 2015-2016 school year, Playworks will provide a program model called TeamUp. The purpose is to establish a framework for implementing a socialized recess program while also providing consultative trainings to school staff that will be primarily responsible for running this program at their school. The goal of the program is to establish a culture at recess where play is valued and can positively impact school climate, which is also run by the school staff with the best practices and consultative support of Playworks professionals.

ABC Code/Funding Source $45,000.00 1100-002-7380-1101-3291 ($30,000.00)
1100-002-8410-1101-3291 ($15,000.00)

Eyes on the SRC – Second Edition

SRC                         

Welcome to the second edition of Eyes on the SRC.

The next SRC Action Meeting is Thursday September 17 at 5:30, 440 North Broad Street. Call 215 400 4180 by 4:30 on Wednesday September 16 to sign up for your 3 minutes to speak on Thursday.

When you sign up, identify yourself as a community member, as only a certain number of persons from one organization are permitted to speak. We support each other so we are not alone when we speak. Please consider attending as every voice is needed in this struggle. If you want some help with your testimony, email us—we will be glad to help.

Included here are resolutions to be voted on by the SRC which we believe will have a serious and lasting impact on the academic and financial future of the district. If you have any questions about them or about the SRC in general, email us at philaapps@gmail.com.

Resolutions SRC 2, 3, 7

Last Spring only five new charters were permitted to open. Charters were granted to charter operators KIPP (KIPP DuBois High School); Mastery Charter School District (former Gillespie Middle School, now to be an elementary school to feed into Mastery Gratz); Independence Charter School (new elementary school in West Philadelphia); MaST Community Charter (additional campus in Lower Northeast); and Freire (new high school called Freire Tech). How can Belmont Charter, Boys Latin Charter, and Tacony Academy Charter “add facilities location” when their applications were not approved? Is this going to be the new charter school expansion policy –to simply request a new location?

SRC-2
Belmont Elementary Charter School – Amendment to Add Facilities Location

SRC-3
Boys Latin Charter School – Amendment to Add Facilities Location

SRC-7
Tacony Academy Charter School – Amendment to Add Facilities Location

Here they come! Rejected last spring? Try again with a new revised application for your charter school.

SRC-9 (Pending)
Proposed Action on Belmont Charter High School Revised Application

Resolution A-4

“Volunteer tutors will be integrated into the daily classroom instructional strategy.” Guess who is going to supervise these volunteers? Yup. Classroom teachers. Instead of smaller class size, Reading Specialists, Reading Recovery, and School Librarians classroom teachers will now have volunteers to supervise. Would this be acceptable in a private school or in the suburbs? Absolutely not! Volunteers should be supplemental not taking the place of experienced educators. Volunteers are well intentioned but do not have the educational background or experience. Volunteers are a mainstay of the Doomsday Budget mentality created by this administration. Our students deserve a full-time, every day professional staff.

A-4
Categorical/Grant Fund: $160,000 Acceptance of a Sub-Award Grant from AARP – Evaluation of K- 3 Literacy Project

“Description: This William Penn Foundation has provided AARP a grant to conduct a project to provide literacy support in K-3 classrooms with high poverty populations. Utilizing the AARP network, 56 additional volunteer teachers will be recruited, as well as 8 new Team Leaders. Schools will opt-in to this program in order to participate.

Volunteer tutors will be integrated into the daily classroom instructional strategy. Teachers will supervise the various literacy interventions, focusing on general classroom literacy support across the curriculum. Volunteers will utilize strategies including one on one tutoring, interactive technology-based cross curriculum literacy assistance, and guiding reading group sessions targeting specific literacy problems. Team Leaders will monitor implementation of blended tutoring through daily observations. Literacy Coaches will conduct weekly observations and real time one on one tutor couching at each site. There will also be written mid-year evaluations completed for all tutors.

The AARP is providing the School District $160,000 of this grant from William Penn in order to analyze the results of this project. The School district will perform a two year mixed method evaluation and analysis to determine viability of scaling up using full classroom level literacy assistance tutoring in combination with sustained tutoring. The District will also collect and analyze quantitative data for students and classrooms by tracking baseline and year-end reading skills using standardized Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) scores and teacher evaluations of students’ decoding skills, expression, fluency, reading, comprehension and overall reading/literacy performance. “

Another example of outsourcing services – aren’t custodial staff at 440 unionized ?

A-19

Operating Budget: $3,800,000 Contract with Elliott-Lewis Corporation – 440 North Broad Street Property Management Services – 3 years
“RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to execute, deliver and perform a contract with Elliott-Lewis Corporation, to provide property management services at the School District’s 440 N. Broad Street Education Center, for an amount not to exceed for $3,800,000, for the period commencing October 1, 2015 through June 30, 2018, with two one-year options to renew through June 30, 2020.

Description: The proposed award represents completion of the public solicitation under RFP-455: Property Management, issued to the public on July 1, 2015. The bid due date was July 28, 2015.

The vendor will be responsible for the cleaning management and operational maintenance of 440 N. Broad Street, an office building with a square footage of 740,000 square feet and usable square footage of 570,000 square feet with current occupancy of 600-700 employees.

The vendor is responsible for the management of all building operations. Work includes the direction of a staff engaged in the operation, maintenance, and cleaning of building(s) and in the maintenance of the building envelope and roof, equipment and care of the grounds. The vendor is also responsible for the management of 19 full-time School District of Philadelphia cleaning and maintenance employees, according to their union contract. The vendor approves purchases, initiates requisitions and assumes responsibility for the receipt and distribution of supplies, equipment and materials for the operation and maintenance of the building(s). Work also involves periodic inspections of building(s) and grounds for cleanliness, proper maintenance and safety.

The District has restructured the contract to include a base contract for personnel and basic services, and to require all other expenditures, including subcontractors and ancillary services, to be approved in advance. This gives the District greater control over spending on this contract. The personnel costs are lower in the awarded vendor’s proposal than they were in the previous contract.

The proposed contract award is needed in order to:

  • Increase efficiency and savings at our flagship 440 N. Broad Street location
  •  Continue existing District initiatives to provide building and repair services in a more cost-effective manner to maximize financial resources that can be committed to educational resources and ensure a safe, productive, and equitable environment for all students and employees; and
  • Permit the District to take financial advantage by reducing the scope, staffing levels, and annual cost of third-party building services provided at our headquarters location. “

Resolution A-20

Instead of having a full time counselor and nurse in every building, the District is now offering to send teachers from up to 3 schools to this training. Every school needs a stable staff that includes a counselor, full-time nurse, and support staff to meet the needs of our students.

Student Support Services

A-20
“Categorical Grant Fund: $25,000 Grant Acceptance from the Van Ameringen Foundation – School Climate and Safety
RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission hereby ratifies the acceptance by the School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent, of services valued at $25,000 from the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, made possible by a grant from the Van Ameringen Foundation to be used to improve school climate and safety and address students’ mental health needs, for the period commencing August 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016.

This is presented as a partial ratification because the funds were received by the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia but the program has not been implemented.

Description: With the funding received, the District will choose up to three schools to participate in an 8 hour course called Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA). One elementary school will be selected based on the percentage of children who are reading below grade level and one high school will be selected that is not receiving any other climate program and was at one time designated as a Persistently Dangerous School.

YMHFA is designed to be disseminated widely throughout the community at all levels of the populace. The program empowers individuals from all personal and professional backgrounds to recognize the signs and symptoms of adverse behavioral health conditions and respond to mental health crises, directing those in need to appropriate supports, including professional- and self-help services. The District is an important partner to the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) in training in YMHFA and its efforts to train its staff will help DBHIDS reach that goal.

Because YMHFA is an eight hour course, few teachers have been trained. The funding will provide a stipend to District teachers for attending the course on a Saturday or other non-school day. In addition, the funding will provide a $500 incentive to those schools that have over 60% attendance at a training.

The District will work with each principal to establish the dates to train the staff. The trainings can be spread throughout the year and allows for a majority of the staff in the schools.

To track the number of individuals who have received training in YMHFA, trainings will be scheduled through the District’s professional development system, and individuals will be required to register in advance of the training. Participants will sign in upon arrival to the training and sign-out at the conclusion of the training. This method ensures that participants have received the prescribed full amount of training.

The District estimates that on average (accounting for size of school), 60 staff members at each school will be trained. This will add a significant number of MHFA “aiders” to the District, having the maximum impact at the selected schools by training a significant number of the assigned staff members.”

ABC Code/Funding Source $25,000.00

Resolution A-25

How much are these leases ? Who are these companies the District rents from? If Source 4 Teachers pays $11,500 per year ($16.50 per sq. foot)to rent at 440 (Resolution A-24, August SRC Action meeting) then what is the rate for these two properties?

Operations
A-25 (Pending)
Renewal of Lease Agreement with 2130 Arch Street Associates, L.P. – Science Leadership Academy

A-26 (Pending)
Renewal of Lease Agreement with 18 South Seventh Street Associates, L.P. – Constitution High School

 Please take a minute to look these over. We need more eyes on the SRC. We need to make sure that our children benefit when the SRC spends money—not a charter investor or edu-entrepreneur.

Email us at philaapps@gmail.com . Check out our Facebook page and our APPS website.

See you on the 17th!

August 20th School Reform Commission Resolutions and APPS Comments

 SRC

 Welcome to the first edition of Eyes on the SRC.

APPS has been attending SRC meetings for years. We consistently raise questions and rarely get answers. The SRC has been in existence since 2001 and their lack of transparency and accountability has mushroomed. We are hoping that these postings will draw more people out to ask questions and demand answers from this politically appointed entity. Feel free to share this posting. The next SRC Action meeting is Thursday August 20th. It starts at 5:30. We hope to see you there.

Register to speak by calling 215 400 4180 by 4:30 the day before the meeting. If you do not wish to speak then consider coming to support speakers.  It’s important to realize that speaking at a SRC meeting goes way beyond the five commissioners. The session is live streamed plus Kristin Graham (Inquirer), Solomon Leach (Daily News), and Dale Mezzacappa (Public School Notebook) are tweeting as well as writing articles detailing some of the issues raised during the meeting. SRC Action Meetings present an opportunity to raise issues with the public.

When signing up to speak I state that I am a community member because their rules state that “no more than one representative of an organization can register to speak at a single meeting”.

 Karel Kilimnik

August 2015 Resolutions

APPS Comment on Resolution A-4:

Two years ago, the SRC passed a resolution which accepted a grant from the Gates Foundation to pay for Mastery employees to go in to district schools for the purpose of coaching teachers.  I asked then-Deputy Superintendent Paul Kihn why the district would bring in teachers from another school to coach district teachers. He told me that since Mastery had such good “outcomes” it was incumbent upon the district to bring in their teachers and show how it is done. He also told me that since it was “voluntary”, there was no problem.  It was billed as a “pilot program” and started in four schools.  Last year it expanded to eight.  The resolution on the August 2015 list accepts money from the William Penn Foundation for further expansion of the program.  The William Penn Foundation has been a major proponent of corporate reform of the Philadelphia public school system.

This is a crucial issue for PFT members as it clearly says that district teachers are inferior, and that Mastery schools, without question, are better than district schools.  It gives Mastery credit for higher test scores (in some of their schools) without considering how they got them:  barriers to enrollment, counseling out of students, their inflated budgets top-heavy with administrators, their regimented curriculum and climate.  If PFT members do not speak out against this resolution, they send the message that they accept all of these implications.

Lisa Haver 

Resolution A-4
Donation: $300,000 Acceptance from Mastery Charter School – School-Based Coaching Program

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to accept, with appreciation, the donation of school-based coaching services valued at approximately $300,000.00, from Mastery Charter School, for the period commencing August 21, 2015 through June 30, 2016.

Description: The School District, in partnership with Mastery and with support from the William Penn Foundation, is seeking to pilot a coaching program that targets an unserved population of District teachers and builds informal leadership capacity within schools to increase the opportunity for professional growth for all teachers. The ultimate goal is to build a program that yields significant gains in student growth and achievement through improved instructional practice.

The purpose of this program is to support the creation of an effective, school-based coaching model that leverages excellent teachers to coach other teachers who are either adequate or good at their craft and can be moved from adequate to good or from good to great.

Through this program, District master teachers will coach fellow teachers during four coaching cycles per year. The program expects to impact 72 teachers across three schools. Time for coaching will either be scheduled release time or compensated prep payback time. Additionally, coaches will be compensated for time spent on the project outside of school hours.

The coaches and their principal will receive ongoing professional development from Mastery throughout the school year. Mastery will compile all progress data and work with the School District team to access and analyze data available from the District at the teacher and school level to gauge impact of the program.

While the focus of the project is on creating a sustainable model inside participating schools for providing effective professional development through peer to peer coaching, the Mastery team will also work with the School District’s Office of Teacher Effectiveness to create central leadership for the program so that the District will be able to run the program internally without external supports in the future.

APPS Comment on Resolution A-24: First the district claims they can’t find enough substitutes so they outsource the jobs. Now they are leasing space to Source 4 Teachers at 440 for $11,500 a year. Is this really what center city offices cost? Source 4 Teachers cut substitute pay and now they are renting from the district? Show us the savings.

Resolution A-24
Authorization of License Agreement with Source 4 Teachers – Use of portion of Education Center 440 North Broad Street

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to execute, deliver and perform a license agreement with the Source 4 Teachers for approximately 700 square feet of space on the third floor of the Administration Building, 440 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, in “as is” condition to be used for office space for staff members to perform a contract with the School District authorized by SRC Resolution A-24, approved by the School Reform Commission on June 18, 2015 (the “Contract”), to provide substitute teacher staffing. Source 4 Teachers will pay license fees to the School District in the amount of $11,550.00 annually ($16.50 per square foot), payable on a monthly basis, which license fees includes the School District’s operating costs associated with the premises, including all utilities, building engineer, maintenance, security and trash removal, for the period commencing September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016, with an automatic renewal for one year, commencing September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017, with a 2% increase in the license fees, unless terminated by either party with no fewer than 60 days written notice to the other party, provided that the Contract is still in effect and Source 4 Teachers is not in default beyond all applicable grace periods thereunder. Under no circumstances will the license agreement continue beyond the term of the Contract. The School District will supply all cleaning, maintenance and utilities for the premises. The other terms of the license agreement must be acceptable to the School District’s

Office of Real Property Management, Office of General Counsel and the Office of Risk Management.

Description: On June 18, 2015, the School Reform Commission approved SRC Resolution A-24, “Contract with Source 4 Teachers-Substitute Staffing and Management”. Source 4 Teachers has 15 years of experience with placing substitutes at higher rates than school districts are able to achieve internally. The Contract with Source 4 Teachers eliminates the daily administrative tasks of hiring, credentialing, training, managing, evaluating and retaining skilled substitute teachers. Providing space in the Administration Building for Source 4 Teachers to perform their Contract will provide a more efficient delivery of their services to the schools, improve communication, accessibility and accountability and utilize vacant space in the delivery of needed services to the School District.

APPS Comment: If PSP’s mission is “Our vision is that every child in every neighborhood has access to a great school and graduates from high school prepared for college or career training.” then why do they only fund select schools…what about every child in every neighborhood having access to a great school?

A- 25
Categorical Grant Fund/Donation: $56,392 Grant Acceptance from the Friends of G. W. Carver High School; $107,304 Acceptance of Donation from the Friends of G. W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science – Professional Development, Instructional Materials and Supports

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee: (i) to accept with appreciation a grant from the Friends of G.W. Carver High School, through a donation from the Philadelphia School Partnership, of an amount up to $56,392 to fund certain technology and related supports, for the period September 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016; and (ii) to execute, deliver and perform a grant agreement with the Friends of G.W. Carver High School and such other documents necessary to further the intent of this Resolution; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee: (i) to accept with appreciation the generous donation from the Friends of G.W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science, through a donation from the Philadelphia School Partnership, of professional development and training, instructional materials, curricular materials, leadership development consulting, and other supports at the G.W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science, with an approximate value of $107,304, for the time period from September 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016; (ii) to execute, deliver and perform such documents necessary to further the intent of this Resolution.

Description: The School District of Philadelphia has been working to expand high-performing School District schools, including the G. W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science (“Carver”). As part of this broader effort, Carver is adding a 7th and 8th grade to the school as of September 2015. Last year, The Philadelphia School Partnership generously agreed to provide grants from its Great Schools Fund to support the strategic planning process for this expansion.

The grant funds to be accepted through this resolution will support the purchase of technology to benefit students and teachers in the new grades, including Chromebooks for all students. Additionally, this resolution authorizes the acceptance of a donation from the Friends of G.W. Carver High School of Engineering and Science that will support ongoing professional development and training, collaboration time, and school visits to explore best practices at other premier STEM schools, for Caver staff. The donation also includes instructional materials, curricular materials, leadership development consulting, and other supports for the school.

This project aligns with The School District of Philadelphia’s Declaration of Education by providing an active partnership among the School District, foundations, community organizations, local universities and colleges, community groups and others to create educationally and socially vibrant programs at schools throughout the School District.

APPS Comment: Why are schools being forced into competing for funding? The School Redesign Initiative has school communities competing against each other for meager dollars.

Resolution A-26
Categorical Grant Fund: $50,000 Grant Acceptance from the Lindback Foundation – Support the School Redesign Initiative

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to accept, if awarded, a grant from the Lindback Foundation, through the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, for an amount up to $50,000, to support the School Redesign Initiative, by designing a school transformation process as described in Action Plan 3.0, by supporting mini-grants to selected schools, for the period commencing August 21, 2015 through June 30, 2017.

Description: The SRI will provide schools’ stakeholders with the time, resources, and support needed to develop and implement research-based school redesigns that will accelerate student learning. SRI awardees will have access to:

  • A design grant to support knowledge-building and capacity-building through site visits, technical assistance, and engagements with experts in the field
  • A design year based on the principles of design thinking to support the redesign process
  • A network of educational leaders that offer expertise and advisory support
  • A facilitated process to ensure successful execution of their plans

Applicants to the School Redesign Initiative will be asked to develop their plans in accordance with a set of design principles adapted from the Carnegie Corporation’s Integrated Principles to Meet the Demands of the Common Core. A core set of these principles, applied extensively across hundreds of transformation schools in New York City, was shown through evaluation and research to be a key pillar of driving gains in student achievement. Eligible applicants include current school leadership teams; teacher led teams; collaborations between school families, community organizations and/or universities in partnership with school communities and other groups with an interest in school reform. Successful applicants will be awarded a grant of approximately $30,000 that will fund a year of planning for the design process described above. At the conclusion of the process, if successful, school communities will be awarded the opportunity to implement the proposed design in FY 17. Final school design implementation will be based on the availability of funding.

 APPS Comment on Resolution A-29: We need school counselors, school librarians & school libraries, smaller class size, classroom assistants, noon time aides not “school-based services. We need professionals educated and trained to work with students. $5,000,000 for more outsourcing, no thank you.

Resolution A-29

Various Funds: $5,000,000 Contract with EducationWorks, Inc., Delta-T Group, Inc., and Catapult Learning, LLC – School Based Services
RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to execute, deliver and perform contracts, separately with EducationWorks, Inc, Delta-T Group, Inc and Catapult Learning, LLC, to perform certain school-based services including socialized recess, in-school suspension programs, math tutoring, reading and language arts tutoring, library support, accommodation room support and attendance support, for an aggregate amount not to exceed $5,000,000, for the period commencing September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2018.

Description: From time to time, individual schools, using funds from their respective school budgets, seek assistance from outside agencies and organizations experienced in providing qualified and cost- effective personnel and programs to accomplish specific goals and objectives over the course of the school year. In order to ensure that individual schools are purchasing services from reputable and responsible agencies through a process that is equitable and competitive, the District issued a Request for Proposal (RFQ 463) issued on May 12, 2015 seeking qualifications of vendors interested in providing certain school-based services such as but not limited socialized recess, in-school suspension programs, math tutoring, reading and language arts tutoring, library support, accommodation room support, and attendance support according to agreements with each school. The specific services provided in each school will be determined by each school’s leadership team in conjunction with the vendor. Schools who elect to purchase these services will do so with their own school-based funds and make school-based agreements outlining the scope of work including number of staff, hours per day, days per week, weeks per year.

APPS Comment on Resolution A-30: Again, we need experienced principals who are educational leaders, not more private companies like Growth River (“Inspiring Business Leaders to Lead Change”). Why use a leadership training company that has no experience in education? Education is not a business.

 Resolution A-30
Categorical Grant Fund: $100,000 Acceptance of Management Support Services from Growth River

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to accept with appreciation management support services valued at $100,000, from Growth River, made possible by The Lenfest Foundation through The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia.

Description: The School District of Philadelphia as an institution, is experiencing many challenges. Action Plan 3.0, as did 1.0 and 2.0 before, outlines a clear vision for change and corresponding anchor goals. Growth River will bring an evidence-based approach to the leadership team supporting the development of an even higher-performing executive team that will be fully accountable for achieving the District’s strategic vision as stated in Action Plan 3.0. Growth River has experience working within a wide range of industries assisting teams at various organizational growth stages and growth in many different cultural contexts. Growth River will provide intensive coaching, capability analysis, and relevant strategies for the District’s team to adopt.

Resolution A-31
Categorical Grant Fund: $70,000 Acceptance from the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey – Volunteer Coordinator

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to accept with appreciation, a grant from the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, for an amount of up to $70,000, to pay partial salary and benefits for a full-time Volunteer Coordinator position within the Office of Strategic Partnerships, for the period commencing August 21, 2015 through July 31, 2016.

Description: The School District of Philadelphia has traditionally worked with several external organizations who have supported volunteer projects within our system of schools. The purpose of this funding is to establish a service delivery process that will facilitate the identification of schools interested in designing volunteer projects and matching external organizations to targeted schools. Successful volunteer projects require coordination across departments, school staff and the sponsoring organization.

This grant will allow School District of Philadelphia to continue to build the capacity to successfully manage small to large scale volunteer projects.

The Volunteer and Partnerships Coordinator is a project management position that reports directly to the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the School District of Philadelphia. This position will leverage the United Way’s volunteer management insights and infrastructure to build a comprehensive volunteer management system to allow the School District of Philadelphia to tap into vast professional volunteer resource networks.

Additionally, s/he will support the ongoing work of the Office of Strategic Partnerships by helping to better align volunteer projects and partnerships with the anchor goals outlined in Action Plan 3.0, serving as a key point of contact and access for external organizations and individuals offering in-kind gifts, grants, donations, services, and programs to the School District of Philadelphia.

Working with the Office of Strategic Partnerships team the Coordinator will assist the District with the tactical deployment of volunteer and partner resources to areas of greatest need and oversee the development and implementation of a new online relationships management interface for internal and external users designed to streamline the process of registering partner and volunteer resources and pairing them with school needs.

The following tasks will be included in the day-to-day function of the role: identify volunteer and partnerships coordination personnel and/or appropriate points of contact within 217 neighborhood schools; connect with existing and emerging organizations and initiatives to source professional

volunteers and identify potential District partners; devise a user-friendly online system for screening (registration, interviews, required background checks, appropriate insurances, etc.) and matching volunteers and partners to schools based on shared mission and mutual goals and benefits; clarify appropriate policies/procedures and ensuring 100% compliance among volunteer and partner organizations.

APPS Comment on Resolution A-33: Chris Lehman, newly appointed Innovations Network superintendent as well as co-principal of SLA, is also listed as Chair of the Board and Superintendent of Inquiry Schools. PSP provides the funds.

Resolution A-33

Donation: $128,697 Ratification of Acceptance from Inquiry Schools; $72,303 Acceptance of Donation from Inquiry Schools

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission hereby ratifies the acceptance with appreciation by the School District of Philadelphia, by and through the Superintendent or his designee, of a generous donation from Inquiry Schools, through a donation from the Philadelphia School Partnership, to fund salary and benefits for a certain staff position with a total value of approximately $128,697 related to the proposed Science Leadership Academy Middle School (“SLA-MS”), and the execution, delivery, and performance of a memorandum of understanding with Inquiry Schools and such other documents necessary to further the intent of this Resolution; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes the School District of Philadelphia, by and through the Superintendent or his designee (i) to accept with appreciation the generous donation from Inquiry Schools, through a donation from the Philadelphia School Partnership, of professional development, consulting services, and related supports with a total value of up to approximately $72,303 for the SLA-MS school design process; and (ii) to execute, deliver and perform a memorandum of understanding with Inquiry Schools and such other documents necessary to further the intent of this Resolution.

Description: The School District is exploring the possibility of opening a new, non-selective-admission Science Leadership Academy Middle School (SLA-MS) in Powelton. This new school would be part of a proposed K-8 school facility at the site of the former University City High School that would also house an expanded Samuel Powel Elementary School.

This proposal is the result of a multi-year community planning process that included a wide range of stakeholders. Representatives from Powelton Village, West Powelton, Saunders Park and other local civic associations; parents, teachers, and school leadership from Powel Elementary School and Science Leadership Academy; the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers; Drexel University faculty; local elected officials; the People’s Emergency Center; the Philadelphia School Partnership; and others have taken part thus far in the planning process.

The grant funds, the acceptance of which are being ratified through this resolution, will support the salary and benefits for a design leader who will drive the planning for the new SLA-MS. The resolution also authorizes the acceptance of a donation from Inquiry Schools of professional development, consulting services, and related supports for the school design and planning process.

The Philadelphia School Partnership previously provided grant funds to Drexel University from its Great Schools Fund to support the strategic planning process for this initiative, and is continuing to provide certain funding to support the next stage in the planning process.

This project aligns with The School District of Philadelphia’s Declaration of Education by providing an active partnership among the School District, foundations, community organizations, local universities and colleges, community groups and others to create educationally and socially vibrant programs at schools throughout the School District.

The grant supporting the donation from Inquiry Schools was approved by the board of the Philadelphia School Partnership on July 10, 2015. In order to complete the school planning process, the selected design leader needs to begin his work in early August 2015, requiring the expenditure of grant funds prior to the next School Reform Commission meeting, which is scheduled for August 20, 2015. As a result, the donation acceptance is a proposed ratification.

APPS Comment on Resolution B-18: Beware the proposed outsourcing of nursing services as we look at this Resolution. While this is a student preparation program similar to student teaching, keep in mind that the District continues with its mission of outsourcing school nurses and bringing in agencies for “ nursing services”. Just because they are not issuing any Resolutions does not mean their planning is not continuing. There needs to be constant pressure on them not to outsource our valued school nurses.

Resolution B-18

No Cost Contracts with Universities and Hospitals – Student Nursing, Health, Speech and Related Services; Professional Placements and Internships


RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission authorizes, The School District of Philadelphia through the Superintendent or his designee, to execute, deliver and perform contracts with the following schools and hospitals: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Philadelphia University, Tenet Healthsystem St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Eastern University, LaSalle University, Temple University, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Thomas Jefferson University, Salus University PA College of Optometry, Harcum College, Aria Health Frankford School of Nursing, Kutztown University; University of Pittsburg; University of Massachusetts- Boston; Dominican College; Hunter College of the City College of NY; Teachers College, Columbia University; Ohio State University, Gallaudet University; McDaniel College; The College of New Jersey; Canisius College; Hunter College, CUNY; National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID); Barton College; Lenoir-Rhyne University; University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Kent State University; Saint Joseph’s University; Radford University, George Washington University, Howard University, University of the District of Columbia, Loyola University Maryland, Towson University, University of Maryland (College Park), Boston University, Emerson College, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Worcester State University, Kean University of New Jersey, Montclair State University, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Seton Hall University, William Paterson University of New Jersey, Adelphi University, Buffalo State College, College of Saint Rose, CUNY, Brooklyn College, CUNY, Lehman College, CUNY, Queens College, Hofstra University, Ithaca College, LIU Brooklyn, LIU Post, Mercy College, Molloy College, Nazareth College of Rochester, New York Medical College,

New York University, St. John’s University, SUNY at Buffalo, SUNY at Cortland, SUNY at Fredonia, SUNY at New Paltz, SUNY at Plattsburgh, Syracuse University, Teachers College, Columbia University, Touro College, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Duquesne University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Marywood University, Misericordia University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pittsburgh, West Chester University, and other qualifying medical schools, colleges and universities to permit students of nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, hearing therapy, vision therapy, speech/language therapy, and qualifying students enrolled in hospitals and schools of public health, hearing therapy, vision therapy, and speech language to be assigned to various District schools and central administration offices under the supervision of District personnel for the purposes of assisting school nurses and therapists with school health and therapeutic programs that support teaching and learning, providing assistance to health education instructors in the delivery of health education curriculum, and introducing and exposing students to careers and studies in allied health professions that they may enter after having graduating from high school, at no cost to the School District for the period commencing August 21, 2015 through August 20, 2016.

Description: The Office of Specialized Services (OSS) will partner with local colleges and universities that offer educational programs for nursing, therapeutic, clinical and public health students to provide student placements as part of the trainings and educational programs for these individuals at no cost to the District. University health students who are placed in schools are able to learn about the roles and responsibilities of school nurses, physical therapists and occupational therapists, school administrators and health educators, as well acquire an understanding for how these instructional and non-instructional services support teaching and learning and improve academic achievement.

The university health student’s placement is approved by school principals or the principal’s appointed designee. The location or placement of the university health student is determined by OSS, in collaboration with the Student Placement Coordinator of each college or university. OSS will place students in elementary, middle and high schools that are under performing academically, and are in need of additional supportive services in order to improve academic achievement through these professional placements. District students will be introduced to a variety of careers in allied health such as nursing, occupational and physical therapy careers in public health.

School District clinical personnel will provide instruction to the university health students and ensure that they are completing their course work, while the university health students are providing assistance to school nurses and therapists, by increasing productivity in school health mandated programs. University health students will provide support to school nurses to complete mandated State screenings and to conduct educational programs for students about the importance of having a medical facility where they can receive services in various areas of vision, oral health, and primary medical services.

University health students will also provide assistance to health education instructors by supporting the health education curriculum in the classroom and teaching District students how to take ownership of their health and become good consumers of healthcare services, as well as the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. University health students placed in high schools will specifically concentrate in the area of sexual education. The District currently collaborates with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) to conduct STD screening for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia in high schools students. Out of 40% of District students who participate in the program, approximately 7% test positive for sexually transmitted diseases in initial screening, less than half of these students participate in the voluntary rescreening process; and between 14% and 30% of these students become re-infected. University health students will work with health educators, school nurses and PDPH to increase educational awareness about re-infection

of sexually transmitted diseases, increase the rescreening rate, and to reduce the rate of re-infection in high school students. Placement of the university health students in District schools also increases students’ awareness of careers in allied health professions that provide non-instructional supports to school students while they are in an educational institution.

The participating colleges, universities, hospitals and schools of nursing have current or previous relationships with the District and are located within or near the Philadelphia area. The student placement coordinators of each college or university will work with the participating District schools to place 50 university health students in 25 elementary, middle and high schools throughout the city that are under performing academically. The student placement coordinators of each college or university will ensure that students have taken the appropriate prerequisites and follow District policies and regulations, and possess the necessary clearances before participating in a clinical rotation within District schools.

The District will ensure that participating universities maintain appropriate liability insurance that is approved by the District’s Office of Risk Management. In order to monitor the relationship between the School District and the educational institutions, the school principal and OSS will receive the following information from each educational institution: course outline, the name of the educational institution’s instructor, the names of all students placed in the schools, placement dates, and executed confirmation that students have all the necessary background clearances (Child Abuse Clearance, Criminal Background Check, FBI Clearance), and health certification including results of tuberculin testing.

Resolution B-22
Categorical Grant Fund: $838,000 Ratification of Contract Amendment with Children’s Literacy Initiative – Early Literacy Specialists

RESOLVED, that the School Reform Commission hereby ratifies the execution, delivery, and performance by The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent, of an amendment of Contract No. 332/F15, originally entered into with Children’s Literacy Initiative, pursuant to Resolution B-9, approved by the School Reform Commission on October 16, 2014, by increasing the amount of the contract by an additional $838,000 from the $7,000,000 approved by Resolution B-9, to an amount not to exceed $7,838,000, to provide eight additional Early Literacy Specialists for eligible elementary schools that participated in the Early Literacy Summer Workshop Series in July 2015.

Description: The purpose of this resolution is to seek a ratification to amend an existing contract with Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, to identify and recruit an additional 8 Early Literacy Specialists who will have the responsibility of working directly with the school leader, prek-3 teachers, and school-based teacher leaders/interventionists in prek-3 classrooms in designated schools to improve the efficacy of early literacy, instructional planning, delivery of instruction and assessment data collection/analysis.

A ratification is being requested because formal notification of funding was not provided until after the deadline for submitting June resolutions had passed, and the work had to begin immediately in order to ensure schools could reap the benefit for the 2015-16 school year. Grant funding was used to expand an initiative that had already begun and funded with District-allocated resources so that additional needy schools could be served. This additional funding enables us to serve an additional eight schools.

In October 2014, the SRC approved a resolution to provide Early Literacy Specialists to target assistance to schools with K-3 classrooms in the District’s 40 Pennsylvania State-Designated Priority Schools as well as select schools with K-3 classrooms in the 67 Pennsylvania State-Designated Focus Schools, totaling 44 schools. In May 2015, the William Penn Foundation provided additional grant funding to the District to increase support for early literacy, enabling the District to, among other supports, provide Early Literacy Specialists to additional schools that successfully completed the Early Literacy Summer Workshop Series in July 2015. These additional Early Literacy Specialists will have all of the same responsibilities and duties as described in Resolution B-9 approved by the School Reform Commission on October 16, 2014.

In order to participate in the Early Literacy Summer Workshop Series in July 2015, schools had to apply and commit to ensuring that the school principals and at least 65% of their K-3 teachers would attend the entire workshop series. Overall, 77 elementary schools submitted applications. Of these 77, 40 schools were selected for participation in this first year, with priority given to the schools with large proportions of third graders scoring below grade level in reading on the PSSA. It is the intent of the District, with funding support from the William Penn and Lenfest Foundations, to ensure that over 110 of the District’s elementary schools are able participate in the summer workshop series over the next three years, so schools that were not selected to participate this year will have the opportunity to participate in July 2016 or July 2017.