New Charter Application from American Paradigm: Tacony Academy Charter at St. Vincent

by Diane Payne

Tacony Academy Charter School at St. Vincent
7201 Milner Street         19136
Area: Tacony
Management Company:  American Paradigm Schools
Proposed enrollment: 900 students at scale
Proposed cost to SDP for 5-year term:   $39,837,160.

APPS members have attended all hearings and  reviewed all applications and attachments on this year’s new charter applications, as we have done in years past. APPS is a member of the Our City Our Schools Coalition (OCOS). Both APPS and OCOS are advocating for a moratorium on the creation of new charters and the expanding of existing ones. The District cannot afford and does not need any more charters.  Charter Schools represent the largest single item in the District’s budget–⅓ of the budget goes to fund charters. This causes direct harm to public school students as fewer resources are available to fix toxic buildings and hire more support staff. The Board has read and heard the legal opinions of several local attorneys, including Susan DeJarnett from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University, on the expense of charters, the many problems with the PA Charter Law, and the responsibility of the District to weight the financial health of the District when making decisions on charter expansion.  APPS members have cited the opinion of David Lapp, who represented the Education Law Center and is now with Research for Action, in his testimonies; links to the opinions of both attorneys have been made available to the Board.

This report is on one of the three applications submitted this year:  Tacony Academy Charter School at St. Vincent. There are several reasons the Board should reject this application, most importantly: negative financial impact on existing public school students, poor academic success over time in existing American Paradigm schools, and pressing financial questions and concerns that affect District stakeholders and all taxpayers.

American Paradigm Schools (APS) operates 4 charters in Philadelphia:  First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter (K-12) in Bridesburg, Tacony Academy Charter in the lower Northeast (K-12), Memphis Street Academy at Jones in Kensington (5-8), and Lindley Academy Charter in Logan (K-8).

To read the rest of the report click here.

Policy Committee Meeting: January 10, 2019

by Diane Payne

Co-chairs Maria McColgan and Joyce Wilkerson were present,  along with committee members Julia Danzy, Lee Huang, and Chris McGinley.  Board member Wayne Walker was in attendance as well. Three APPS members attended this meeting; two spoke in defense of public education.  APPS reports on all BOE meetings can be viewed at APPSPhilly.net.

(Videos of all Board meetings can be viewed on the Board of Education page on the SDP website. Meeting materials, including agendas and powerpoint presentations, can be found on the Board of Education website.   All of the materials of the January 10 meeting are not yet posted, but you can view the online agenda with links to each policy under review here.)

The Committee approved Minutes of its October 11, 2018 meeting.

District Chief of Staff Naomi Wyatt served as Dr. Hite’s designee at this meeting. She introduced both the policies to be reviewed and the other staff members who provided the information on each policy.

 

To read the proposed policy changes and speakers’ testimony click here.

 

Finance and Facilities Committee Meeting: January 10, 2019

by Karel Kilimnik

Co-chairs Leticia Egea-Hinton and Lee Huang were present along with Committee members Wayne Walker and Joyce Wilkerson. Board member Chris McGinley attended; Board member Angela McIver left early and Julia Danzy came in after the meeting started. Two APPS members attended this meeting and spoke in defense of public education. City Director of Finance Rob Dubow attended part of the meeting as well. The Committee approved Minutes of its  December 6 2018 meeting. Egea-Hinton announced a schedule change for this Committee’s meetings due to objections from the community about its 10 AM start time. February, April, and June meetings are scheduled for 4 PM, just after school hours. They expressed hope that this will encourage more parent participation. Two staff presentations followed: Understanding the Budget Process by Chief Financial Officer Uri Monson and Chief Operating Officer Danielle Floyd’s updates on Facilities Renovations and Remediations. (The Agenda, Power-Point presentations, and Minutes are available on the Board website under Meeting Materials.)

Continue reading here.

Student Achievement and Support Committee: January 10, 2019

by Ilene Poses and Lynda Rubin

Co-chair Dr. Angela McIver called the meeting to order and chaired the proceedings. All Committee members were present: Co-chair Dr. Chris McGinley, Julia Danzy, Mallory Fix- Lopez, and Dr. Maria McColgan. Also present were Board Members Leticia Egea-Hilton, Wayne Walker, Board President Joyce Wilkerson, and Student Representatives Julia Frank and Alfredo Pratico.

Continue reading here.