Category: Press Releases

APPS press releases about various causes we engage in.

APPS Calls on the SRC to Rescind Its Illegal Vote

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February 1, 2016                                                              For Immediate Release

Members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools have called on School Reform Commission Chair Marjorie Neff to nullify the vote taken at its January 21 meeting on the fate of Wister Elementary School in Germantown. In a letter sent Monday (click here to read the letter) APPS co-founders Lisa Haver and Karel Kilimnik list a number of reasons why the resolution introduced from the floor by Commissioner Sylvia Simms, and approved just minutes later by the SRC, is not valid.

Commissioner Simms, in an unprecedented move, introduced a resolution from the floor asking the SRC to proceed with pairing Wister with Mastery Charter Schools, thus overruling Superintendent William Hite’s decision to remove Wister from its Renaissance Program.   “Ms. Simms said she heard from parents on both sides, but she didn’t attend any of the meetings held by parents at Wister to keep the school public,” said Kilimnik.

APPS claims that “deliberate deception” was used by “district officials at all levels” to keep Wister parents from attending the January SRC meeting. Resolutions were posted to approve two other schools’ placement into the Renaissance program, but none was posted for Wister. District officials had already begun to hold meetings at Wister to develop an alternative program.

“The message from the district and the SRC was clear: we are taking no action on Wister,” said Kenya Nation, a Wister parent. “The Wister parents have been meeting every week over the past three months and came to the last three SRC meetings. I would have come to the January meeting if I had known the SRC was going to take a vote on the future of our school,” she said.

The letter also points out that no resolution was ever presented to the public at that meeting.   “Neither Commissioner Simms in her speech, nor Head of Counsel Michael Davis before he called the roll, gave anything other than an interpretation of what the resolution was supposed to be about,” said Haver. “That alone means that the action is not valid and must be rescinded.”

The letter also states that Neff’s refusal to allow the public to speak before the vote was taken is a violation of the state’s Sunshine Act. APPS filed suit against the SRC and the district in November 2014 on similar grounds after its vote to cancel the PFT contract the previous month.

Also see:

The Battle for Wister Elementary School
The Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools – January 20, 2016

‘Sunshine’ questions loom over SRC’s surprise resolution
The Philadelphia Public School Notebook – February 8, 2016

Plan to privatize 3 schools is inconsistent and a gross overreach
The Philadelphia Public School Notebook – February 10, 2016
Nine Philadelphia academics use the SRC’s much touted data to show their is not basis for privatizing Wister Elementary.

Kenny asked to investigate why Wister went charter
February 10, 2016

The Unelected, Unaccountable SRC Tells the People of Philadelphia: “Just Trust Us”

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The hallmark of the School Reform Commission , since its inception, has been its contempt for the stakeholders of the district.  For years, the SRC held public meetings on weekday afternoons,  a time when most of the public was unable to attend.  They abolished their Planning Meetings, when actual deliberation took place, and went to one meeting a month.  At the same time, much of the real decision-making shifted to private venues including the boards of the Philadelphia School Partnership, the William Penn Foundation, and the Great Schools Compact Committee. That Committee was formed for the purpose of enacting the mandates of the Gates Compact, enacted by the SRC without any public vote or discussion.
 
This year, with no announcement or explanation, the SRC stopped holding its monthly Strategic Policy and Planning Meetings.
 
The rules, such as they are, for listing speakers for each meeting, have always been nebulous and secretive.  No matter when you called, or what your topic was, there was no way to know where you would appear on the list until you arrived.  Many times our members, who called well in advance, would end up at the bottom of the list.  Questions to SRC were routinely ignored; the only answer being: we do it how we do it and you have nothing to say about it. The most egregious example of this abuse of power was APPS member Lisa Haver placed at the bottom of the list–# 65—at last month’s meeting, even though she had called weeks before to register. 
 
At the December 2015 meeting, Chairwoman Marjorie Neff announced that rules for speakers would be changed. The SRC wanted to give priority to those who had not spoken before.  The new rules,  posted on the district website, stated that speakers would be grouped by topic and that topics would be listed “in the  order in which they were registered.”  Those who had not spoken at the previous meeting would be given priority “within each topic area.” But when our members asked where there topic was on the list when they registered to speak, the SRC staff refused to divulge that information.  In other words, you’ll just have to trust us.  Even worse, some members found that their names were not on the list at all. 
 
After a series of fruitless emails, phone calls, and in-person visits with SRC staff, APPS co-founder Lisa Haver sent the following letter to Chairwoman Neff on Wednesday, January 13, 2016:

An Open Letter to SRC Chairwoman Neff about the extension of the contract of Superintendent Hite

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Dear Chairwoman Neff:

The members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools call on you and the members of the SRC to table your plans to renew the contract of Superintendent William Hite. There is no need to take this action at this time. Superintendents’ terms last five years; the time to assess the performance of the superintendent is at the end of those five years. The SRC should not be locking the district and its stakeholders into a seven-year contract.

The timing and speed of the proposed contract extension appears to be another attempt by the SRC to prevent the people of the city an opportunity to be heard on the policies and the direction of its public schools.

The people of Philadelphia have clearly expressed their views on education at the ballot box in the recent mayoral and gubernatorial elections.  The voters rejected the mayoral candidate whose platform called for more privatization, more charters and more school closures.  They voted out a governor whose education policies inflicted harm on our public schools.  It is wrong, therefore, to have the SRC members appointed by the former governor and the outgoing mayor act in opposition to those wishes.

In addition, because the SRC is an appointed body and not an elected one, you and the other commissioners should make every effort to make sure the public has ample opportunity to be heard on such an important decision.  The SRC’s announcement, which comes just six days before it intends to vote on the resolution to extend, does not give the public ample opportunity to consider the merits or to be involved in this vital public policy.  And unlike all other Pennsylvanians, Philadelphians do not have the ability to vote out of office the SRC members who appear to be attempting to undermine the democratic process.

Before Dr. Hite’s contract was approved three years ago, the SRC held public hearings.  While we believe it is inappropriate, at this time, to consider a contract extension for Dr. Hite, the very least the SRC should do is to hold public hearings to allow Philadelphians to participate in this critical decision.

Sincerely,

Lisa Haver, Co-founder

Karel Kilimnik, Co-founder

Update

Hite deserves extension
Philadelphia Inquirer – December 14, 2015
SRC Chairwoman Neff doubles-down on her support of Hite. (Scroll down to  the last letter. Read the comments.)

 

APPS Donates Settlement Money to Student Programs

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Advocacy Organization Donates Settlement Money to Student Programs

August 10, 2015

Members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools have begun to donate the funds received from a settlement reached last month with the SRC, the School District of Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia. Three APPS members–Ilene, Poses, Barbara Dowdall, and Lisa Haver, all retired teachers–filed suit in federal court after school district security and Philadelphia police confiscated their signs at the February 2015 SRC meeting. Ms. Poses incurred minor injuries when she was dragged from school district headquarters by Philadelphia police officers because she refused to remove the sign she was wearing.

All of the plaintiffs have agreed to donate the settlement money, approximately $21, 000, to student programs and to continue the advocacy work of the Alliance. None will benefit personally from the settlement, which was paid completely from the city’s litigation fund.

The three APPS members have donated  a total of $6500.00 to support student programs at Philadelphia Young Playwrights, History Hunters, the Arden Theater, the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP), Kelly Green (a student-run vegetable garden at John B. Kelly School), the Arden Theater, and the Wissahickon Boys and Girls Club.

A $1000.00 donation was also made to the Philadelphia Student Union, whose video of the assault was instrumental in reaching the settlement. Hiram River, PSU Executive Director, said, “We are very grateful to APPS for this generous donation and for their ongoing advocacy on behalf of the students of Philadelphia.”

Donations will be given to additional student programs and organizations in the coming months.