Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools
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.
by Lynda Rubin
All Board members attended this special meeting, including the three recently inducted members. There were just five items on the agenda: to approve or deny new charter applications. In unanimously denying all five applications, the Board took seriously the concerns raised in both the evaluations of the Charter Schools Office (CSO) and the APPS reports that analyzed the applications and researched the applicant’s founders and investors.
Read more here.
At 5 p.m on March 4, the Board will hold a special hearing to vote to accept or reject applications for five new charter schools. APPS members, who have analyzed the applications and attended both rounds of hearings, call on the Board to deny all five. The Board has rejected, with good reason, all of the new charter applications before them since 2018. The Board has been presented with five clearly inadequate applications this year. Aspira has submitted two, despite their failure, every year, to meet standards in their Renaissance charters.
The Board will not have the Charter Schools Office make a presentation on their findings until minutes before they vote at the special hearing. The Board has abolished its committees. Thus, community members will have only two minutes to speak on the issue just minutes before the Board votes in February. Public speakers were given only two minutes each to be heard at the first hearing in December; no public testimony was heard at the second. In contrast, charter applicants have hours of time to sell their applications, not including private communications with the District. As in previous years, APPS had to file a formal Right to Know Request in order to see the attachments, which contains the budget, curriculum, and staffing information.
APPS’ analyses reveal serious deficiencies in all facets of the applications, many echoed by Charter Schools Office staff during the hearings. None of the applicants makes a strong case for approval. In addition, the shocking lack of preparation and knowledge about their own applications displayed in most of the hearings did little to instill confidence in their ability to operate schools and educate the children of Philadelphia.
The Board has raised the possibility of closing neighborhood schools and laying off teachers and support staff. The virus has devastated the local economy; tax revenues to the District will continue to decline. The District does not need any new charter schools. The District cannot afford any more charter schools. The Board must reject all of these charter applications.
These charters, if approved, would cost the District approximately $245, 259, 998 in direct allotments and approximately $73, 543, 345 in stranded costs.
Please let the Board know, in written testimony or in testimony at the Action Meeting, that they must vote to deny all of these applications.
ASPIRA Charter Schools by Lisa Haver and Lynda Rubin
Empowerment Charter School by Deborah Grill
Philadelphia Collegiate Charter School for Boys by Karel Kilimnik
Pride Academy Charter School by Diane Payne
by Lisa Haver
Three weeks from now, at its February 25 Action Meeting, the Board will vote to accept or reject applications for five new charter schools. APPS members, who have analyzed the applications and attended both rounds of hearings, call on the Board to deny all five.
The Board’s January Action Meeting did not include a presentation from the Charter Schools Office on the applications. The Board has abolished its committees. Thus, community members will have only two minutes to speak on the issue just minutes before the Board votes in February. Public speakers were given only two minutes each to be heard at the first hearing; no public testimony was heard at the second. In contrast, charter applicants have hours of time to sell their applications, not including private communications with the District. As in previous years, APPS had to file a formal Right to Know Request in order to see the attachments, which contains most of the budget, curriculum, and staffing information.
APPS’ analyses reveal serious deficiencies in all facets of the applications, many echoed by Charter Schools Office staff during the hearings. None of the applicants makes a strong case for approval. In addition, the surprising lack of preparation and knowledge about their own applications displayed in more than one of the hearings did little to instill confidence in their ability to operate schools and educate the children of Philadelphia.
by Lynda Rubin
As in any drama or comedy, the cast of characters hints at things to come.The 2020 presentation of new charter applications brought back the same privatizing cast, some with different names, who continue the weakening of Philadelphia public education for their own financial and political gain. This is the annual attempt to expand the companies’ existing charter companies with the funding and protection of non-profits. The organizations behind the new charters may be non-profit in tax terms, but they are backed by for-profit edu-investors whose goal is to take the public out of public education.
For years, Philadelphia has been a Ground Zero for carrying out the ideology of the wealthy proponents of school choice. Charter companies made many promises but produced few actual gains. Charter operators, with the collaboration of the SRC and the Board, have eluded meaningful oversight for over two decades.
Click here to continue reading about the new applications hearing.
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 