Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools

Remarks to Philadelphia Board of Education and
Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools (APPS)
Grand and God Parent of Students in Philadelphia public schools,
grades 3, 5 and 8.
Kindergartner starts in the fall

by Barbara McDowell Dowdall

We learn every day that no one is safe in our gun mad United States,
including Philadelphia — both inside and outside our schools. APPS
member families and their students have been no exception to these
tragedies.
It is understandable that the Board this evening is considering taking
action in a variety of areas: Active Shooter Training (sounds horrifying)
that will include “age appropriate books and activities for elementary
aged students related to active shooter and emergency response
preparation,” additional funds to the Philadelphia Police Department, and…

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School District of Philadelphia Board of Education Action Meeting Testimony

January 26, 2023

by Cynthia Wright

Good evening, Superintendent Watlington and School Board Members. My
name is Cynthia Wright, and I am the Youth Leadership Development Manager
for the Salvation Army of Philadelphia Kroc Center. I had the opportunity to
attend the back-to-school night at the John B. Kelly Elementary school in
Germantown in the fall. It was at this event that I learned about the school’s Library Volunteers Program.

I decided immediately that I wanted to be a part of this very important
program.

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School District of Philadelphia Board of Education Action Meeting Testimony

January 26, 2023

by Lynda Rubin

My topic is Student Social/Emotional Needs after Covid and I will speak to that. However, I must address the Speaker Notification problem. I was notified on Tuesday that I could not speak but would be notified by 4:00 – 4:30 pm on Wednesday if that changed — and I wasn’t. I received an email this morning sent at 7:15 am, that I could speak but which I didn’t see until later and could have missed it. This only highlights the failures of the Speaker Notification Policy.

Now – Trauma and Violence post Covid.
I was moved to speak today by Tuesday’s Inquirer article about increased stress and violence in schools after Covid. School Safety Chief Keven Bethel stated, “It’s happening on a regular basis, and we’re worried.” The look in his eyes in the photo was telling.

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School District of Philadelphia Board of Education Action Meeting Testimony

January 26, 2023

by Lisa Haver

The Board will be voting on 4 new charter applications next month. The board’s speaker suppression policies say that if you spoke at one meeting, you might be barred from speaking at the next. So rather than wait minutes before the vote next month, after the board’s internal discussions about it, I am urging the board tonight to vote to deny all 4 new charter applications at its February meeting.All 4 applicants—Aspira, Perseverance, and Global Leadership Academy—are already operating charters in the district. All 4 have taken over neighborhood schools with the promise of “effecting dramatic change” in those schools. None of them has fulfilled that promise.

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