The School Reform Commission announced yesterday that 70 of Philadelphia's schools will undergo substantial changes before their doors open again in September.
The announcement has many wondering, though, if the Commission's decision will really help to improve the city's failing schools.
External management groups will take over 42 of the schools, and these schools will be run in a partnership with community organizations. The largest of the groups is the controversial, for-profit Edison Schools, Inc. which received 20 schools.
Opponents to Edison's involvement have questioned both its financial viability and its academic success in other school districts.
Henry Levin, director of Columbia University's National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, believes that these arguments are not entirely true. Financially, he expects the company to survive for at least three to five years, noting that, despite losses, it has been able to market stock.
"Even though they've lost a lot on money, they will be viable for the foreseeable future," he said.
While Levin advises that Philadelphia will not see drastic changes in any of the schools, including those not run by Edison, he does expect some improvement.
"The chance of revolutionary change is very, very remote," he said. "But some modest positive change is reasonable in some of these schools. Almost anything you do to make [the schools] more orderly, reduce teacher turnover and make the curriculum more consistent will have some positive effect."
The Commission's announcement was met with a wide range of responses from parents, public officials and the organizations that had been awarded contracts.
The Commission's decision was a narrow one. The two members appointed by Mayor John Street supported a more modest plan than the one passed by the majority -- the three members appointed by Gov. Mark Schweiker.
Schweiker, while pleased with the commission's announcement, hopes to see even more significant changes in the future. He would like to see at least 60, rather than 42, partnership schools.
"Yesterday was a good start, but there is a lot more that can be done," State Education Department spokeswoman Gretchen Toner said. "There needs to be much more dramatic steps taken to improve education."
Street, however, called not for more changes, but for less dramatic steps. While he did concede that changes were necessary, he warned that the Commission's plan created much too great a risk for Philadelphia's schools. Street has voiced opposition to a state takeover since the possibility was first put on the table last August.
"Because the education of thousands of students is at stake, we would like to see a more careful and cautious approach before privatizing such a large number of schools," Street spokeswoman Christine Ottow said.
Levin does not see the current plan as risky for the district, especially in regards to Edison's involvement.
"If things don't work out, you're talking about one-tenth of the school system," he said. "The school system can easily move back into those schools if Edison decides to pull out or can't meet contractual obligations."
Penn will also serve as one of the external management groups for three schools -- William C. Bryant, Henry Charles Lea and Alexander Wilson elementaries, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer -- in partnership with community and parent groups.
"We were a little surprised to see in [the newspapers] that we were running schools as that was not what we proposed," said Tom Kecskemethy, assistant dean of the Graduate School of Education. "We see parents and parent involvement as central to any school improvement."
Penn submitted a proposal to assist in school management, but plans to work with non-profit organizations in doing so.
Many local parent groups remained opposed to the state takeover and the Commission's most recent decision.
"We remain in opposition because parents were left out of the process," said Sarah Gilliam, executive director of the Parents Union for Public Schools in Philadelphia. "We were not very thrilled with the selection [of educational management groups]. We feel there was not enough information that supports that practice."
Michael Masch, a Street appointee to the Commission and Penn vice president for budget and analysis, was an advocate of the smaller plan which would have involved fewer schools.
"We're already at the end of April and for schools to operate effectively they need to be ready with programs and teachers in place in August," Masch said. "Sandra Dungee Glenn [Street's other appointee] and I... put forward what we thought was the most ambitious plan that might have a chance at being successfully implemented for this fall."
Additionally, Masch noted, the school district still faces financial problems, the Commission's mandate to reduce the central management staff by 325 workers and the absence of a chief executive officer.
"Certainly [the Commission's plan] can be done, but nothing says it can be done successfully," he said. "I would be happy if I was wrong because if the majority of the School Reform Commission is wrong, it is the parents and the children of Philadelphia who will suffer for it."
