APPS Calls on Mayor, Governor to Investigate SRC Actions on Renaissance Renewals

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Honorable James Kenney, Mayor
City of Philadelphia
Philadelphia PA   19107

Honorable Thomas Wolf, Governor
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA   17120

June 8, 2016

Dear Mayor Kenney and Governor Wolf:

On behalf of the members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, we request that you conduct an investigation into the actions of the School Reform Commission during its current renewal procedure of the charters for Aspira Stetson School and Aspira Olney School. We have attended all of the SRC meetings in April and May when these resolutions were considered, and we have serious concerns that the public has been denied the right to a fair and impartial process in these matters.

Aspira Inc. was granted a charter to manage John B. Stetson Middle in April 2010 and one to manage Olney High School in April 2011, after the district deemed each “low-performing” and placed them in its Renaissance program. The purpose of that program, according to the district’s website, is to “dramatically improve the learning environment in underperforming school district schools and to create highly effective schools that provide exceptional opportunities for student achievement and preparedness for success in college and the workforce.” The SRC’s Charter Schools Office (CSO) has cited several reasons—academic, financial, and managerial—which confirm that Aspira has failed to provide its students with a high-quality education and has failed to meet basic standards for proper school management. In addition, Aspira representatives admitted to financial irregularities enumerated in the CSO report.

Reasons cited by the CSO for non-renewal of Stetson include:

Click here to read the entire letter.

APPS members testimony to the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – May 26, 2016

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The Philadelphia School Reform Commission (Commissioner Green participated by phone conference)

On May 26, 2016 the Philadelphia School Reform Commission’s met to decide on non-renewal of four charters and to vote on the School District Budget for Fiscal Year 2016-2017.

This is the testimony of five members of the Philadelphia Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools to the Commission.

All five videos can be viewed here.

Click each picture below to view single videos. Speakers are in order of appearance at the meeting.

Lynda Rubin SRC pic

Video of APPS member Lynda Rubin testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission hearing – May 26, 2016.

The transcript of Lynda’s testimony.

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Video of APPS member Coleman Poses testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission hearing – May 26, 2016.

The transcript of Coleman’s testimony  with a spreadsheet of relevant charter information.

Rich Liuzzi SRC 5-27-16

Video of APPS member Rich Liuzzi testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission hearing – May 26, 2016.

The transcript of Rich’s testimony.

Diane Payne SRC 5-27-16

Video of APPS member Diane Payne testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission hearing – May 26, 2016. Be sure to listen to the audio of the debate with Commissioner Jimenez at the end of Diane’s testimony.

The transcript of Diane’s testimony.

Lisa Haver SRC 5-27-16 pic

Video of APPS member Lisa Haver testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission hearing – May 26, 2016.

The transcript of Lisa’s testimony. The last few sentences were not in her testimony because of the three minute time limit.

 

Eyes on the SRC – May 26, 2016

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by Lisa Haver
May 25, 2016

Each month, APPS publishes our “Eyes on the SRC” in which we select some of the resolutions to be voted on at the next meeting for perusal and analysis. As of this writing on Wednesday evening, less than 24 hours before the meeting, the SRC has yet to post its Resolution Summary.

This shows once again that the SRC has only contempt for the public it is supposed to serve. To add insult to injury, the deadline for signing up to speak was 4:30 PM Wednesday. How can people speak on the business of the SRC when they SRC won’t tell us what it is? APPS has been trying for 18 months to settle our Sunshine Act complaint, filed in November 2014, to bring the SRC into compliance. What are they trying to hide?

Please come to the meeting Thursday, May 26th at 5:30 and demand transparency and fairness from the SRC! If you cannot attend, SRC meetings are broadcast beginning at 5:30 Thursday on Comcast Channel 52; Verizon Channel 20; and online at PSTV Live.

The only thing posted is the Resolution List below. A couple of things that should be noted:

Click here to read the rest of the post.

Ears on the SRC – May 19, 2016

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By Diane Payne

May 23, 2016

 APPS Presence

APPS members continue to bear witness to the actions of the state-imposed School Reform Commission.  Whether the meeting is crowded or sparsely attended, we testify every month on crucial issues, not the least of which is the SRC’s lack of transparency and public accountability. APPS members were present to call “shame” on the SRC when it convened its stealth meeting to cancel the PFT contract. This month APPS members Karel Kilimnik, Diane Payne and Robin Lowry spoke on a number of issues. To view their testimony, go to APPSphilly.net.

Among the public speakers was a dedicated group of Penrose School parents from Southwest Philadelphia. They voiced their anger and frustrations at both the district administration and the Penrose school administration’s failure to support their hard work toward redesign.  There is never a penalty for district’s failures but schools are labeled and then closed, turned over to charters, and subjected to the chaos and churn of the turn-around model.

SRC Rejects Charter Office Report, Changes Procedure to Hold Up Non-Renewal of Renaissance Schools

Click here to read the rest of the post.