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.
A chronological listing of APPS post descending from the newest to the oldest.
Transcripts of some of the speakers at the August 16th meeting:
Supporters of Strawberry Mansion
Catherine Blunt’s testimony transcript
(photo not available)
Karel Kilimnik’s testimony transcript
APPS and Community Members
Lisa Haver’s testimony transcript
Diane Payne’s testimony transcript
Ilene Poses’ testimony transcript
by Diane Payne
All nine members of the newly appointed Board of Education were present for this meeting, as were many elected officials and union representatives who took the opportunity to both welcome the new board and to thank for taking on this difficult public service: Mayor James Kenney, Council President Darrell Clarke, Councilmembers Maria Quinones-Sanchez, Helen Gym, Jannie Blackwell, Derek Green, and CASA President Dr. Robin Cooper.
Seven of the nine APPS members in attendance spoke to welcome the board and to advise them that APPS’ mission of defending public education will continue. To see their testimonies, go to APPSPhilly.net.
The nine new board members are: Julia Danzy, Leticia Egea-Hinton, Mallory Fix Lopez, Lee Huang, Maria McColgan, Christopher McGinley, Angela McIver, Wayne Walker, and Joyce Wilkerson.
In its first order of business, the board nominated and elected Chris McGinley to serve as president pro-tempore to manage the meeting until elections for president and vice president could be completed. McGinley chaired the meeting through the public speakers and subsequent elections. The single nomination for President was Joyce Wilkerson; the subsequent vote was a unanimous “yes.” There were two nominations for Vice-president: Wayne Walker and Julia Danzy. It was refreshing to see a public deliberation about each candidate prior to the vote. Walker was elected by a 5 to 4 vote. Joyce Wilkerson chaired the remainder of the meeting.
All of the board members took a turn at presenting their first public remarks about their duty to govern the School District of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, this was the first opportunity the public had to hear the views of their new representatives. The remarks all incorporated hope and optimism but were also embedded with the realism of the tough job ahead. Chris McGinley’s emotional presentation included quotes from Tennyson. The audience responded to Angela McIver’s reminder of the importance of public schools in supporting democracy and embracing all of its sometimes loud and messy components.
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Defenders of public education speak before the School Board July 9, 2018
Click the picture.
Transcripts of some of the speakers at the School Board meeting:
Supporters of Strawberry Mansion High School
Catherine Blunt’s testimony transcript
Sherri Brown’s testimony transcript
Supporters of Mayfair Elementary School
Maria Barowski’s testimony transcript
East Mt Airy Community Members
Beth Young’s testimony transcript
APPS and Community Members
Rich Migliore’s testimony transcript
Krisin Luebbert’s testimony transcript
Barbara Dowdall’s testimony transcript
Karel Kilimnik’s testimony transcript
Lisa Haver’s testimony transcript
Heather Marcus’s testimony transcript
Lynda Rubin’s testimony transcript
Deborah Grill’s testimony transcript
Tonya Bah’s testimony transcript
Robin Robert’s testimony transcript
by Diane Payne
1:00 PM Action Meeting: Charters
Present for Final SRC Meeting
How fitting that the SRC ended on the Summer Solstice, which many cultures celebrate with festivals and rituals. Philadelphians now celebrate the sunset of the SRC. This state-imposed governance operated outside the democratic system with little interference from elected officials or objections from the media. But we as Philadelphians must insure that the incoming appointed school board remains transparent and accountable to the public. Full democratic voice will not be restored until disenfranchisement ends and Philadelphians vote for its school board–just as all other 499 school districts in Pennsylvania do.
A special meeting of the SRC was held at 1:00 p.m. to consider and vote on charter school issues and the regular Action Meeting was held at the normal time of 4:30 p.m. All four SRC Commissioners were present for both meetings. Seven members of APPS were present; four members testified on behalf of public education at the 1:00 p.m. meeting. Nine members of APPS were present and five APPS members spoke in defense of public education at the 4:30 p.m. meeting. (The SRC will reconvene next Thursday, June 28th, only to approve the minutes for the official record.)
There was a large and vocal group of parents from Mayfair Elementary demanding safe conditions for their kindergarten and first grade students, along with another vocal and persistent contingent from Strawberry Mansion High School (SMHS) fighting for their school’s survival. (Details about both struggles follow.)
Charter School Onslaught
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Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools 