Conference analyzes U.'s assisted school

Educators from universities, public school districts and educational foundations from around the country gathered together at the Inn at Penn to discuss the phenomenon of university-assisted schools last Thursday and Friday.

The 200 conference attendants spent two days listening to speeches, participating in panels and group discussions, eating, socializing and even touring the Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander-University of Pennsylvania Partnership School.

According to event organizer Nancy Streim, the conference was so successful that there have already been requests to make the conference an annual event.

"People were grateful to have this first-ever opportunity to have a conference on this topic," Streim said.

The school, known to the public as the Penn Alexander School and to its students as the Sadie School, was developed by Penn and is the nation's first university-assisted public school.

The conference focused on the Penn Alexander School as a way to "bring together people from around the country involved in university partnership schools, so that we can learn from each other and share ideas with school districts and universities who are looking to enter similar partnerships," said Streim, associate dean for Graduate and Professional Education at the Graduate School of Education, which sponsored the events.

University President Judith Rodin, the keynote speaker of the conference, addressed the individual problems she and the University faced while developing the school. She noted that many educational options, such as a charter school and a magnet school, were considered before the administration decided to pursue a university-assisted public school.

Rodin described the development of the Penn Alexander School as a "moral challenge to the University," that she, as a Philadelphia public school graduate, was determined to overcome.

She emphasized that the development of the school was one "part of a strategy to increase the neighborhood's social capacity," which also included creating shops, restaurants, cultural venues and a supermarket, in which the school was the "most critical part."

Furthermore, she said the process was complex and political.

I "received many calls applauding me for my bravado," Rodin said. "And offering support for when I failed."

Despite these dismal predictions, Rodin said that "we decided to reach for the brass ring... only a school of this type would capture the neighborhood's imagination."

By partnering with community residents and businesses, the School District of Philadelphia and the city's teachers union, Rodin said that the coalition allowed for University transparency and neighborhood inclusion, while creating a "solid foundation for the best urban public school in America."

The school opened successfully in the fall of 2001, and since then, the Penn Alexander faculty have noticed a marked improvement in their students' academic performance.

Rodin said that she is most proud of "the enthusiasm and pride that our faculty has in the development in West Philadelphia."

Streim said that the attendees were "really pleased [Rodin] came and gave such an informative speech," adding that people were "wowed by Penn's institutional commitment."

After Rodin spoke, conference delegates attended a panel focused on the national implications of university-assisted schools that included representatives from the University of Chicago and the University of California, San Diego, as well as Philadelphia School District Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas.

The attendees then spent the afternoon touring the Penn Alexander School.

Streim said that they were particularly impressed by "the physical space, and how the physical environment is conducive for learning."

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