Policy Committee Meeting: May 16, 2019

by Lisa Haver

In addition to the ongoing acoustic problems, the Policy Committee continues its practice of providing no copies of the policies under consideration to members of the public in attendance.  APPS members have told the Board, in both letters to them and in public testimony, that they cannot claim they practice “transparency” and “public engagement” when the public cannot see and participate fully in what they are doing.  There was one binder with all of the policies on the agenda—on a desk outside the Committee room.  When I testified, I asked the Committee what they meant when they announced at the outset of the meeting that the agenda materials were online—that we were supposed to memorize all of the policies and proposed changes before the meeting?  The SRC provided adequate copies of the public documents at every meeting. The Board has no excuse for not doing the same.

Present: Co-chairs Joyce Wilkerson and Maria McColgan, Members Lee Huang, Chris McGinley, and Julia Danzy.

Committee approved Minutes of previous meeting.

Naomi Wyatt, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Superintendent, gave a rapid presentation of 40 policies to be added, deleted or amended. The titles of the policies were projected on the wall, but not the text of the policies.

We suggest you watch the video and/or review the agenda for this meeting if you want to see the details of the changes recommended by the Committee at this meeting.

School Nurse Eileen Duffey came to the meeting on her lunch hour; the meeting is held at 1 PM. (Her school is not far away by public transportation.)  Duffey raised the same issue she has addressed at previous Action and Committee meetings: the District’s failure to comply with its own policies and the law in immunization matters.  She reiterated that this is an urgent matter, that students without necessary immunizations are being allowed to come to school, and that the decision not to exclude non-immunized students is being made by non-medical staff at 440. Recent records show that about 12,000 students lack those immunizations. Duffey suggested that the District place public service announcements (PSAs) on radio and TV over the summer in order to remind parents to take care of this before school starts; that would significantly decrease the number of students that would have to be excluded.

Parent Activist Cecelia Thompson also objected the lack of available public documents during Committee and Board meetings, reminding the Committee members that many families do not have internet access.

Parent Stephanie Kind addressed the issue of segregation in District schools. Her daughter attends Kearney Elementary in Northern Liberties. Kearney’s student body is 94% African-American; that does not reflect the demographics of the neighborhood. White parents are sending their children to schools outside the catchment area, and those schools have accommodated those parents. King wants the Committee to review any policy that allows this kind of segregation. Angela McIver thanked King for keeping this issue “front and center”.

Defenders of Public Educations Speak Before the BOE, April 25, 2019

BOE

This post includes the testimony of those that spoke at both the April 25th Budget Meeting and the Action Meetings as well as the testimony of those that were unable to speak at the March Action meeting.  Click on the name to read the transcripts of each individual’s testimonies.

Eileen Duffey

Deborah Grill

Lisa Haver

Kristin Luebbert

Coleman Poses

Ilene Poses

 Lynda Rubin

Ears on the Board of Education: April 25, 2019

by Diane Payne

Last month’s March 28th Action Meeting ended abruptly when the Board left the room after a hasty vote to recess.  Sponsors and students from the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) had disrupted the meeting after the Board voted to pass a policy that mandates metal detectors in all high schools.  PSU had testified at Action and Committee meetings over the past the past three months and had met with District administrators to discuss the issue. (See APPS March 28th Ears for that report.) The Board never returned; without notice, they reconvened in another room and voted on the remaining Items there.  Thus, many public speakers did not get to give their testimony. The Board had said that those people could go first at the April Meeting, but  APPS members asked that they get their three minutes from March in addition to their three in April. Board President Joyce Wilkerson agreed to our request.  A total of 78 speakers were listed.

Present

All members of the Board were present for this meeting.  Seven members of APPS attended; six testified in defense of public education.

Prior to the start of business, the Board read a tribute to longtime education activist Marciene Mattleman, one of the founders of the After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP), who passed away in March.  Students from the various clubs who have participated in local and national competitions came with their trophies. Tributes were read by Board member Angela McIver, the current ASAP director, and Mattleman’s daughters. The importance of these non-athletic activities was later the subject of testimony by those who came to advocate for funding for their various clubs, including Chess, Scrabble, and Debate.

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Eyes on the Board of Education: April 25, 2019

by Karel Kilimnik

Board Rolls Out Red Carpet to Charter Operators

Spring has arrived along with the annual crop of charter school amendments and renewals. Renewals come due when charters’  five-year terms are up. Amendments requests–for enrollment increases, name changes, relocation–can be submitted at any time, but often at the time of renewal.  Incredibly, charter schools who have refused to sign renewal agreements have still been granted amendment requests. First, let us deal with Renewals. Presently on the Charter School Office (CSO) website is the 2018/19 cohort of 12 schools–with no active link for any school, so no way to see the renewal evaluation report.

Of the 18 schools in the 2017/18 cohort, one link is not posted ( Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences Charter School). The April 25 Meeting Agenda lists two Charter Amendments under consideration. Laboratory Charter School is requesting a change of location (Item 3). Laboratory operates one school across three separate campuses in three different neighborhoods–a K-5, a 5-8 and a K-8.  Now Laboratory wants to consolidate all three into one location in East Falls at 3300 Henry Avenue. The District’s School Profiles page gives information on the Northern Liberties campus but not the other two; our written request for explanation has gone unanswered. The CSO Mid-Cycle Charter Amendment Evaluation Report specifically cites lack of community outreach about the relocation,  yet still recommends approval of their request.  The CSO page states that the Pennsylvania Charter School Law does not require districts to consider amendments: “The Pennsylvania Charter School Law does not provide for amendments to charters, and thus the Charter Schools Office (CSO) of the District is not required to review amendment requests from charter schools.”  This may provide a legal basis for denying this request. Why is the Board in such a rush to grant this charter school’s amendment?

The Board has made several pronouncements about making community engagement a key part of its mission. It has created a District Partnership & Community  Engagement Committee along with a Parent & Community Advisory Council. It is incomprehensible that they would consider approving this Action Item while excluding the community from the process.

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