Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools

APPS member Karel Kilimnik testimony before Philadelphia City Council hearings on Universal Preschool – September 30, 2015

Good afternoon everyone. I am Karel Kilimnik, lifelong Early Childhood Educator, retired kindergarten teacher, member of the PFT, and co-founder of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools(APPS). I attended Philadelphia School District schools from kindergarten through 12^th grade. I received an excellent education and work diligently to insure that every child in this district can do the same.

First, I want to thank City Council for not only providing funds for the district but insisting that some money will be withheld until the district stops outsourcing services. Members of our organization (APPS) attend every SRC meeting and let me say that it is about time the district is held accountable for how they choose to spend money.

There should have been universal prekindergarten years ago. Presently monies are flowing from the federal government and hopefully soon from the state. It is this flood of money and how it will be used that concerns me. Let me start with an example of the outsourcing of early childhood programs from the district. In 2013 Dr. Hite proclaimed that the district would be outsourcing 2,000 Head Start slots. This announcement came on the heels of his plan to shutter over 20 schools and was buried. Some valiant parents and Head Start staff appeared at SRC meetings to plead for their centers but were unsuccessful.

http://thenotebook.org/blog/135781/district-outlines-plan-to-outsource-more-head-start-seats

The reasoning given for this privatization is cost…certified teachers cost too much. District Head Start teachers are certified, members of the PFT who receive benefits and participated (when it existed) in the steps system negotiated in the union contract. Certified teachers possess at least a bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education, many have Master’s degrees. There is stability within their ranks. Stability allows for the development of relationships between staff, students, and families. Stable relationships help young children flourish.

The requirements for receiving these outsourced slots is for a program to hold either a 3 or 4 Keystone Star rating. When these slots were outsourced some receiving centers were rated a 1 or 2. Aspira, who owes the district over $3 million dollars, wound up with 200 more slots as did a private chain of daycare centers. I want to know who is providing the oversight for the monitoring of these 2,000 slots. We already know that the district is having enormous problems with charter school oversight so who is ensuring that these young children are in developmentally appropriate settings with certified teachers?

Out of 17 people on this Universal Pre K commission I see no Early Childhood teachers. Their voices need to be heard. I sincerely hope that the 17 commissioners are aware that many will want a part of the money flowing into the city for Universal Pre K; many will have their hands out to grab a handful of coins.

Please be aware of the disaster created by the district in outsourcing substitute teacher services to a private agency with no practical knowledge of the situation. Where are the Early Childhood voices that have the educational background as well as the years of experience to understand the complexities and nuances of caring for and educating our youngest children? Where are the voices that will push for developmentally appropriate practice? Where are the voices to hold the monitors accountable for doing their job? I ask that you think about these questions and act to ensure all Universal Pre K programs are programs you would want your young child attending.

One more question –5 people were appointed by City Council and 5 by the Mayor – who appointed the other 7 to this commission?

Peek Inside A Classroom: José

by Philadelphia teacher and APPS supporter Daun Kaufman.

Jose was one of the calmest, quietest, most peaceful boys in the classroom. The kind of boy everybody loves.

Jose had thick, coal-black hair and matching black-marble eyes. He was always in an immaculate, crisp school uniform, often with a warm sweater around his sturdy frame. Jose’s family never adjusted to the cool northeastern temperatures in winter. They were from a small town in Panama, emigrated here shortly before Jose’s birth and now live in a quiet, clean, working class neighborhood

Jose lived with two cousins, an uncle, an aunt, Mom, baby brother and sometimes Dad. He had been an only child until October of second grade, when his brother was born.

Jose is very proud of “his country”, Panama. His passion is soccer. He loved everything about soccer. If there was a televised soccer game involving Panama, Jose knew all about it.

Jose’s strong academic performance had begun in first grade. His reading level in September, at the start of second grade, was about half-year ahead, in the top 10% of the class and his math results were in the top quarter of the class.

Looks great so far, right ?

.WHEN YOU LOOK INSIDE A CLASSROOM THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN NOT SEE

A few weeks into the new school year Jose’s reserved social traits began to intensify. He was always polite and respectful, but at that point he became unusually silent, a moody silent: frowning. He began ‘forgetting’ his glasses about half the time. He stopped participating in class. When called on to answer a question, Jose often hadn’t heard the question. Inattentive and forgetful, he sometimes completely checked-out with his head in his arms, down on the desk. He was unresponsive and avoidant with classmates. At first, I thought sleep-deprived, which usually resolves itself after adjusting to new school year routines. Now that the calendar reached into October I began to suspect something more.

As the year continued on into late October/November, Jose’s academic pattern emerged to be wildly inconsistent. A student’s literacy results are usually in a narrow range. There aren’t usually wild swings between ‘A/B’ and ‘D/F’, week by week, which was Jose’s pattern.

Jose’s behaviors were more than ‘daydreaming’: he was detached, forgetful, ‘stunned’ even, with muted responses, low energy, easily fatigued and more – all in context of fluctuating academics.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Also see the companion article:

Peek Inside A Classroom: Jasmine

Corp ed fails the test – Lisa Haver @ Philadelphia Daily News

How long do you keep a failed experiment going before you pull the plug – especially when you are using children as its subjects?

About 20 years ago, the seed of corporate education reform – the idea that education should no longer be a cooperative endeavor governed by school district residents, but an experiment in free-market economics overseen by millionaires and billionaires from afar – was planted.

Investors and lobbyists spun the narrative that schools were failing and that teachers and their unions were to blame. Budgets were slashed while standardized testing was ramped up; test results were used to justify handing over neighborhood schools to charters or closing them permanently. The untested Common Core standards were adopted in every state. And in cities including Philadelphia, local school boards were replaced by state appointees. Lasting decisions on the mission and direction of entire districts were being made in the corporate boardrooms of reform heavy-hitters, including The Bill and Melinda Gates and Walton foundations. Their grants came only with mandates to “turn around” schools – by forcing out faculty, converting to charter or closing permanently.

But after all of the billions spent and all of the laws passed to institute these reforms in every major city in the country, those vastly improved school systems, meeting the needs of children and communities, have yet to appear on the horizon.

Yet disasters like New Orleans are still held up by reformers as models for other cities. Before the flood waters had receded 10 years ago, with many thousands of residents still displaced, the New Orleans public school system was dismantled and replaced by a web of privately managed charter schools. The firing of more than 7,500 unionized teachers contributed to the further destruction of the city’s black middle-class. And because there is no longer one district office, thousands of young people who should be enrolled in school are still unaccounted for.

But it seems now that the bloom is of the rose of corporate education reform.

The findings of the 47th annual PDK-Gallup Poll show that a cross-section of Americans and parents believe that the biggest problem in education today is not teacher quality or unions, but underfunding. Only 14 percent of public school parents rated standardized testing as “very important”; in fact, 47 percent believe they should have the right to opt-out their children from standardized tests. The majority of Americans reject the need for national standards or the idea that it is crucial to use tests aligned to those standards to compare test results across states. Most want an end to more federal control in general, having seen the failures of both the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind and President Obama’s Race to the Top.

What has education reform done for us? Philadelphians have lost over 30 neighborhood schools, and ongoing charter expansion threatens the future of those remaining. Imposition of the Common Core standards and the accompanying test-prep curriculum has sucked the joy and creativity out of teaching and learning. And we are stuck with a School Reform Commission which seems to have better things to do than explain its decisions to the public. Could anyone make the case that this experiment in corporate reform has delivered a more thriving public school system?

What would real reform look like in Philadelphia? Every school with a librarian, music and art teacher; aides in all kindergarten and special education classes; lower class size; full-time nurses and counselors; proven reading programs taught by reading specialists; sufficient security to keep schools a safe haven for all children.

The corporate model creates winners and losers. It diverts public resources to create profits for private entities. It has not worked in education and it never will. Time to pull the plug and give our schools back to the people.

Lisa Haver is a retired teacher and co-founder of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools.

The Op Ed is posted at:

Corp ed fails the test

Philadelphia Daily News – September 18, 2015

APPS Testimony at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015

In order of appearance.

Click the picture to view the video.

This video is of APPS member Karel Kilimnik testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Karel’s testimony.

This video is of APPS member Diane Payne testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Diane’s testimony.

This video is of APPS member Lisa Haver testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Lisa’s testimony.

This video is of APPS member Eileen Duffey-Burnt testifying at the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Eileen’s testimony.

This video is of the testimony of APPS member Peg Devine testifying before the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Peg’s testimony.

This video is the testimony of APPS member Carol Heinsdorf testifying before the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Carol’s testimony.

This video is the testimony of APPS member Deborah Grill testifying before the Philadelphia School Reform Commission – September 17, 2015.

The written transcript of Debbie’s testimony.

For the results of the SRC vote on September 17, 2015 see Eyes on the SRC – September 17, 2015.

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