A grass-roots organization of parents, community members, and school staff, fighting to defend public education. We work together to provide analysis and demand accountability from the School District of Philadelphia to provide students with a high-quality education.
Ilene Poses testifies at March Board of Education Meeting (Photo: Lisa Haver)
As far as the Board of Education is concerned, there is no “good trouble”. In fact, anything that makes them… uncomfortable…seems to be bad trouble. Just standing in the aisle to show solidarity with public speakers–as people have done at board meetings for years–is verboten. Board President Reginald Streater repeated his erroneous statement that people standing in the aisle violate the fire code. Actually, it is the board’s making the aisle narrower, and its blocking one of the two fire exits, that compromise the safety of the people in the auditorium. APPS members distributed flyers reminding people of their first amendment rights: you don’t have to wear a badge to enter a public meeting and you can stand with signs. We showed people that when we fight we win: APPS members stood in the aisle in solidarity with students, educators, parents and community members who came to defend public education. We will stand at every board meeting.
Continue reading about March 27, 2025 action meeting here.
Board of Education Action Meeting: January 30, 2025
by Lisa Haver
Photo: Lisa Haver
Members of the Board of Education, at their January action meeting, spent more time congratulating themselves and the administration than they did deliberating on action items or responding to public speakers. Board members offered no questions or comments on any of the 27 action items before passing them unanimously. Several board members praised Superintendent Tony Watlington for his data-centered report on the state of the district, but none inquired as to the inconsistencies in that data. Not one board member answered questions from any of the 38 students, parents, educators, or community members about what the board intends to do about bringing back school librarians, protecting students from ICE raids, repairing dangerous facilities at a district high school, or voting on two new charter applications. Every year, they bask in self-congratulation just for showing up. Have they lowered class size? Brought back school librarians? Taken steps to rein in rampant charter corruption?
Continue reading full APPS report of Board of Education January meeting.
Board of Education Action Meeting: December 5, 2024
by Lisa Haver
Do Not Obey in Advance. Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny
Which side are you on? Pete Seeger
Several APPS members, in their testimony, asked the members of the Board of Education, in essence: Which side are you on? They pointed out that the board sided with billionaire developers in October when they voted to extend their Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) tax abatements and again in November when they approved tax breaks for developers that paved the way for building an arena on Chinatown’s doorstep. Almost every month the board sides with charter investors and their highly paid CEOs when, in secret voting, and with no public hearing, they vote for 5-year extensions for substandard charter schools. Many Philadelpians are expressing real fears that under the next president, they and their loved ones may be deported, unfairly prosecuted, or targeted and profiled–some possibly removed from public schools by law enforcement and ICE. They have already asked Mayor Cherelle Parker to strengthen Philadelphia’s sanctuary city status. The next action will be held in the first month of the next Trump administration. What will the Board of Education do to protect students, families and educators?
The board gave its answer: they called in police to threaten silent protesters with arrest.
CASA President Dr. Robin Cooper testifies in defense of Philadelphia’s public schools. (Photo: Lisa Haver)
It was freezing in the auditorium during the September action meeting, so cold that they actually brought blankets out for board members. Was it an air conditioning malfunction–or the icy breath of the SRC past?
Board Begins Process of Closing Neighborhood Schools Following the legacy of the School Reform Commission, the Board of Education appointed by Mayor Cherelle Parker will be closing more neighborhood schools. No clear reasons were given by Superintendent Tony Watlington, Board President Reginald Streater, or any of the other board members, most of whom remained mute as they do in most meetings. Streater announced the board’s intention to close schools in an Inquirer story published the day before the meeting, but he avoided saying that directly in his remarks. He used the euphemism “co-location” at one point, but people know that if you “combine” two schools that means you closed one of them. We heard–from the president of the board that has enacted speaker suppression policies that keep people off of the speaker list and out of the auditorium–promises of meaningful community engagement. Streater said more than once that the board did not want to rely on outside consultants–just before passing a $4.5 million item to hire a consulting firm to begin the process. We heard assurances that the board will be carrying on robust discussions about the Facilities Plan. Yet eight members had no questions for Watlington after his facilities plan presentation. Only one board member, ChouWing Lam, questioned the price tag of the $4.5 billion consulting contract (Lam later voted for the contract). Any plan to close schools is a betrayal of the people of Philadelphia. The parents, students, educators, and community members who fought to end the rule of the state-controlled SRC believed that bringing back local control would change the spending priorities of the district and make education better for the city’s children. What we got is a board that protects the financial interests of charter investors and administrators, and now says we can’t afford to keep neighborhood schools open.
Continue reading about September 19, 2024 board action meeting here.
