Category: In The News: APPs media

Parker’s Choice of Education Advisors Raises Questions

January 2, 2024

The following commentary was written by APPS co-founder Lisa Haver and published in The Philadelphia Hall Monitor on January 2, 2024

The most striking feature of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Sub-Committee on Education is its dearth of educators. Her selections raise questions about who will have more influence on education spending and policies in her administration. The list contains just one public teacher and one principal, and no one is identified as a parent or student. There are numerous representatives from businesses and nonprofits but none from grass-roots community groups. In contrast, there are several charter administrators and investors. One of the four vice chairs, Dawn Chavous, is a charter school lobbyist and consultant. Some representation from the charter sector is expected, but Parker’s selection of those whose schools have performed so poorly that they face non-renewal is puzzling, especially those cited for questionable financial practices and sexual harassment.

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Philadelphia’s school board must take charter school standards seriously — and act when they’re not met | Opinion

Some charter operators continue to rake in six-figure salaries — higher than the district superintendent — despite documented failures.

The following commentary was written by APPS co-founder Lisa Haver and published in  Billy Penn on August 16, 2023

The playground at Universal Daroff Charter School, which closed just before the 2022-23 academic year began. (Aubri Juhasz/WHYY)

At its action meeting this Thursday, the Philadelphia Board of Education will vote on whether to approve 5-year renewals for up to 19 charter schools. 

Unlike other local districts, Philly’s school board holds no public hearing to review the performance of charters before deciding whether it’s beneficial to students and the community to fund them for another five years. Rarely does the board vote for non-renewal. 

The projected cost of renewing all 19 schools up for a vote, based on the district’s 2022 budget, is more than $470 million over the next five years. Of the 14 charters the board has already indicated it will renew, eight failed to meet academic standards. Instead, their rating falls in the Charter Schools Office’s middle category, “approaches standards,” which allows schools that score above 45% to squeak by.

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APPS Letter to the Board: No More Barring Community from Public Meetings

June 27, 2023

Dear President Streater and Members of the Board,

We write to ask that the board end its practice of barring members of the public from attending action meetings.  

In a May 10, 2023 email, we asked why the board, at your April 20 action meeting, had set up only 82 seats in an auditorium with a 240-person capacity.  Members of the public, including APPS member Ilene Poses, were told by security that they could not enter the auditorium because they were not on the speaker list. Security then directed them to seats in the atrium. If people wanted just to watch the meeting, they could have stayed home and watched their own television. They came to attend in person and in many cases to support members of their own organizations who were allowed to speak.

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Cherelle Parker can restore hope for Philadelphians with real educational reforms | Opinion

The following commentary was written by APPS co-founder Lisa Haver, and published in  Billy Penn on May 25, 2023

Students at McCall School in Center City in 2022. (Nathan Morris for Billy Penn)

What does Cherelle Parker’s nomination for mayor, and likely election in November, mean for the future of public education in Philadelphia? At this point, it’s hard to say.  

During the many quick-fire forums and debates leading up to the primary,  Parker’s responses on public school questions were similar to other candidates, with promises to fill the Board of Education with people who share her vision. 

As the details of her vision come into focus between now and the general election, Parker should make clear her commitment to hearing from the public — in particular, district stakeholders. 

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