Thank you, Madame Chair. Miss Brennan, Superintendent Hornbeck 360 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE said that there was a lot of inaccurate information in your letter. Would you comment on that?
I'm sorry, you're going to have to speak into the microphone.
Everything that was in the letter was accurate. And the letter was not just from me. It was from the Academy's program, other parents.
But if he could tell me exactly what is inaccurate, I would be glad to respond.
I believe the Superintendent is still in the room. And maybe you could have a little conversation with him a at side bar. 361 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Well, right now, we've had conversations with Superintendent Hornbeck for many years. We have a child here that has worked hard, has decided what he wants to do in life. But instead of giving him a chance to get into the high school of his choice, a computer decided that he couldn't do that. And I want to know what Members of City Council are willing and able to do to help him get into Saul High School, and other children like him.
Good afternoon. This is -- I am often called, as I'm sure many Members are, with regard to where students end up. And to Miss Brennan -- and is that Mr. Simon? I probably never had as public a transfer request as this one, or a location request. But let me assure you that I will work with you and work with the School District to see what we can do in this particular matter. I think to the young man, I want to 362 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE commend you for what you do and for what your interests are. This -- you'll have the pleasure of being an adult one day and you'll get to make decisions; some will be good and some will be bad. But we want to encourage you. You're in eight grade now? BRADLEY SIMON: Yes.
Okay. And, hopefully, by September of this year, maybe we will have a more positive resolution to your situation. What I can commit to you is that we'll work on it and do our best. You have demonstrated your interest, we have heard you very clearly. I think if you were here earlier, you may have heard some of the discussion about, I guess, your situation. I didn't know you were coming here this afternoon or what your particulars were, but you sound like a situation that I've heard about in the past. So you might not leave the table this afternoon with the absolute certainty that you would like, but you do have a commitment, as your District Councilman, to see how I can help you. And I'll try to help other young people who want 363 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE to do something with their lives. And you've done your part. It's up to us to try to do our part for you, okay? BRADLEY SIMON: (Nods.)
Our next witness is Jayne Davis. Following Miss Davis will be Veronica Joyner. (Jayne Davis comes forward.)
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon. My name is Jayne Davis. I'm a parent at Saul High School. This testimony was written by Suzanne Tracy and myself. High standards, no standards. Did you realize that the School District of Philadelphia has a two-tiered class system existing in their 364 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE high schools? , that have high standards that a student must meet in order to enter. And then there are other schools which also have outstanding records of achievement where a student's entry is based on a lottery. Yes, entrance to either Roxborough's Business Academy, where some of your highly qualified office personnel graduated from, and Saul with the 1997 FFA State Champions now of Landscaping Design is based on a lottery. Other neighboring states in recent years have raised their requirements for students to participate in vo-tech programs. Why is it that in Philadelphia we have eliminated standards? If admission criteria exists for some programs, then why not all programs? On Friday, you received a list of the high school programs in your district that do and do not require admission criteria. Can you see any difference? Why do students at GAMP and CAPA need good grades, attendance, and behavior and an 365 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE interest in music or the performing arts; yet students at Saul and Lincoln's Environmental Academy do not need good grades, attendance, behavior, and an interest in the program? Why is entrance criteria based on one, and the lottery based on the other? Motivational programs in the comprehensive high schools have criteria and offer students going on to higher education. In the academy programs and the full vo-tech programs, just as many students pursue further education. Why the difference in entrance requirements? Parents, students, teachers, concerned citizens, and the business community have requested the District to reinstate the criteria, yet School District officials continue to delay the implementation of high standards, stating it could be discriminatory. Why is it held discriminatory to use criteria in some programs and not in others? Does this make any sense to you? Should students with good attendance, behavior, and grades, and a demonstrated interest in a given field have the same chance in the 366 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE lottery as a student with poor grade, bad attendance and no interest in that field? Why would a student try to achieve good grades if the chance for entry is the same as the non-achiever? Would you bother to listen to your constituents, vote for legislation to improve the City of Philadelphia, or spend hours away from your families campaigning if your chance for reelection was based on a lottery? I doubt it. The Children Achieving Program is based on high standards and parental involvement. Here is a group of citizens -- parents, teachers, students, business persons, who are demanding high standards and trying to participate in the education of Philadelphia students, yet: Why is a School District refusing to cooperate with their requests? Why is the School District dismantling criteria in these historically proven successful programs? Why is interest in a program not considered necessary for participation? Where is the equity in a lottery system that permits students with little interest to 367 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE participate in a specific program while denying places to those who are sincerely interest? Why support programs in some schools and not all schools? If high-quality programs, with clear standards and goals are desired by the School District, and these academies and vo-tech programs had them, why are they not being reinstated? In the past few years, more students are entering programs unprepared and uninterested because of lack of criteria and the lottery system. Due to the lottery system, the overall quality of programs has diminished.
Is it fair for the other students for a teacher to spend so much time with students who don't want to be there? Interest should be the primary consideration for entrance to a program. The District should be challenging students to meet higher standards to make the students compete, as they will later in life, to enter these successful programs, not subjecting them to a lottery game. When is the last time you won the lottery? 368 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
All right, as I was saying to the gentleman to my right, I totally agree with you. Thank you. Thank you for coming in.
Veronica Joyner is next. Is Veronica Joyner here? (Veronica Joyner is not present.)
Joseph Boyle. And after Mr. Boyle will be Gail Tomlinson. (Joseph Boyle comes forward.)
Good afternoon, Councilwoman. My name is Joseph Boyle. I live in Northeast Philadelphia.
Mr. Boyle, please pull the microphone closer to you so that the stenographer can hear you.
Okay. I'd like to read a letter from The Philadelphia Inquirer by a friend of mine, Paul. M. Henkles (ph). School choice will help poor. The Inquirer reports that according to a census bureau 369 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE study, the nation's steady economic growth is not reaching America's poor, September 30th. How can it be otherwise when the poor are not able to advance themselves because of their lack of education? The problem is in the educational system, not the economic system. Poverty and crime are directly linked to poor education. Today's jobs and, increasingly, the jobs of the future require better education than we're giving the poor, particularly those in our inner cities. Better jobs mean less poverty. As for crime, Pennsylvania's prison population has more than quadrupled since 1980. Well over 75 percent of the inmates do not have a high school education. Yet, as a City and a State and a nation, we have tried every type of educational reform over the last 40 years except more use of our effective non-public schools. School choice will change that. Only after we are positively in that challenge will the poor participate in America's prosperity. Paul M. Henkles, Blue Bell. 370 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Paul M. Henkles is Chairman of the REACH Alliance, the group coordinating the school choice effort in Pennsylvania. Note, while we appreciate The Inquirer printing this letter, we are disappointed that they omitted the important closing sentence: How much longer dare we determinantly bar the poor and the near-poor from neighborhood non-public schools that work, yet cost much less? I have some of my own notes here to talk about. We are the only nation in the world whose citizens are predominantly Christians and whose citizens do not receive the benefits so that they may have their children educated in the school of their choice. Our Catholic schools in Philadelphia are very good schools, and they always have been. They help parents to make their children good citizens, to respect other people, and to answer the call of their country in time of war, which occurs frequently, as we all know. Mr. Hornbeck is very critical of competition. He says it is bad for public schools. We are taxpayers, and we are left out of 371 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE the benefits. Public schools spend $7,000 per child in Philadelphia. Thank you.
Gail Tomlinson. And if Sandra White and Alexis Morris are here, maybe they could sit up at the front row while Miss Tomlinson is testifying. Pedro Perez, is he here? Maybe you could also sit up in the front row. (Gail Tomlinson comes forward.)
Good afternoon. I'm sorry Mr. DiCicco isn't here because my intro is for him, that I'm a former student of Lingelbach, Houston, Philadelphia High School for Girls, and Temple University, and a resident of the 8th Councilmatic District. And I just want to say that because that's not just an important question to be asking 372 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE the School District people; that all of our track records in a way, in supporting public education, are very important. But today I'm here to speak on behalf of the Board and members of Citizens Committee on Public Education in Philadelphia (CCPEP). For 118, CCPEP has advocated for public education and monitored how the School District of Philadelphia has provided for it. Originally, we were concerned with child labor laws and whether young women should be permitted to attend high school. Today our issues are how a high-quality education can be provided in the absence of adequate resources and whether the education provided under such conditions provides any child to become a fully participating member of society. One of the way CCPEP currently demonstrates its support for public education is our participation in several lawsuits to hold the Commonwealth leadership responsible to their constitutional duty to "provide and maintain a thorough and efficient system of education" for the children of our city. 373 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE We brought a coalition of interveners together in a 25-year-old desegregation case to return the question of quality of education to the table. On behalf of our membership, which includes public school parents, grandparents, and home and school associations, we have become party to the federal law suit filed yesterday with the City and School District, charging the State with knowingly being discriminatory in their education funding allocations. Another part of our job, though, is to ask questions so that we can better understand how education is being provided to the children in our public schools. We can then recommend other things that might be done. We ask questions because we must have sufficient information to persuade others that public education is worthy of their support. We ask questions so that we can adequately respond to the critics of public education. We fail in our job as public education advocates if we cannot address directly the questions the opponents raise. We believe that if we cannot honestly critique public education in 374 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE our City, we leave ours schools and their graduates subject to the unfair criticism of others. The radical nature of creating a budget that guarantees the closing of an entire school system if additional funds are not forthcoming should also guarantee that the budget created is above reproach, that the people you desire to support your actions or those from whom you are expecting additional funds can, without entering into the level of micro management, support the policy decisions for the allocation of funds. These hearings allow the questioning of those policy decisions, and we must be as rigorous in our questioning as those who will oppose any additional funding are sure to be. So CCPEP brings to City Council some of the questions that have been brought to us regarding the 1998-'99 School District budget. Among those questions are: There's an elimination of 142 school-level positions noted in Schedule A-5. Are these positions teachers? If so, couldn't they be maintained and then used to help reduce class size 375 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE for instruction in reading and math in one or two of our most needy schools? How do the approximately new administrative positions assure the improved performance of students in the classroom? 5 million is allotted for payments to schools that have met their performance goals.
We recognize that schools were promised these awards; however, we're also telling the Commonwealth we can't provide adequate resources for all of our children. Is the District committing itself to the unequal distribution of the limited resources available? In addition to the funds that go directly to the Charter Schools, the District is also creating 46 new positions in this area. What do these positions represent? What is their role? Whom do they serve? But perhaps most important -- the most important questions to ask are what are the most important elements to student achievement and learning in a classroom? And where specifically are those elements in the '98-'99 budget to? So, if this a 376 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE budget to get the School District back on track, where is the return of direct service to students, librarians, nurses, and reading teachers, for example? Where are the plans to reduce class size? As valuable or necessary as all of the above elements may be, should they be in this "line-in-the-sand" budget instead of items that might have more direct impact on students in the classroom? Would the budget itself be an easier sell if more direct service elements were included instead of more of the system-support elements indicated? Or, as Mr. Kirsch indicated earlier this morning, is it simply that there needs to be a more articulate argument for this particular combination of elements. There is no doubt that the Commonwealth has avoided its funding responsibilities to this School District for the last six years. The facts and figures you have heard often over the last few days cannot be disputed. But the real question is, what to we do next? As parents always seek to do more for 377 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE their Children, we in the City of Philadelphia must seek ways to do more for our children. We set the lawsuits in process. We've shaken our fists at the State. There is a danger if we now sit and wait for others to decide the fate of Philadelphia's children. City Council and the Mayor have gone a long way in the last few years to guarantee an increase in the local share of support for public education. You are to be commended. Now you may need to be more creative, and certainly you must make sure that every argument that could be surfaced regarding the inadequacy of the local share of support for public education is also addressed. Availability of funds from a City surplus, for example, is sure to be compared to the Commonwealth surplus. Citizens and City Council Members must also press our local delegation station to Harrisburg on their plans to guarantee the financial support of public education, their outreach to similarly impoverished school districts across the State, and their plans to introduce legislation to improve the quality of 378 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE education for all of our children. They are not helpless, nor can they be held harmless if they do not provide adequately children of our City and State. Ultimately, we all sit here today, having gotten our education. The real question is, What else must we do to guarantee that this current generation gets theirs? That's our real challenge. Thank you.
Again I would call Malachi Robinson, Sandra White, Alexis Morris, and Pedro Perez. (Pedro Perez comes forward.)
I'm Pedro Perez, Executive Director of Parents Union for Public Schools. I'm 379 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE going to keep my remarks general rather than specific. Let me first thank and commend those Members of Council that are present and those who are absent on your commitment to good education in Philadelphia. This commitment has been made real by your financial support of the School District, particularly this decision that you are contemplating a resolution to award the School District $15 million. Good schools are an important part of all the issues over which City Council and the Mayor are struggling with at the present. It's going to make economic ability the social fabric of the City and the quality of life for its citizens. This City cannot address the above issues if our schools are not able to provide an adequate education to its children. And the School District cannot provide that education without adequate financial resources. It must be adequately funded in order to continue the dynamic evolution started by Mr. Hornbeck four years ago. We in the Parents Union support his 380 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE educational reforms and his demands for increased funds. All that is being asked is that the School District be funded at a level roughly equal to the funding to the other 62 surrounding school districts in Pennsylvania. This is approximately $8,500 per child in public schools. This is what was asked of the Commonwealth Court, this is what we're asking of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth, and this is what we are asking the federal courts to remedy. The gap between what we spend in the surrounding 62 school districts is real. It is a funding gap, but it is also an educational gap. Lack of money leads to lower educational standards. We spend in Philadelphia approximately $6,500 per pupil. That is equivalent to an average expenditure of $36 a day. That is equivalent to an average expenditure of $36 a day. A modest increase of $10 a day would make it possible for our children to achieve and for the School District to deliver the promised reforms and innovative programs outlined by Mr. 381 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Hornbeck and the District's staff in their testimony. That additional $10 per day would increase the per-pupil spending to approximately $8,300 a year per pupil. That's $46 a day to secure a better education for Philadelphia children, $46. That seems to be a bargain to me. Yet the State of Pennsylvania shortchanges our children by over $300 million and has caused a history of debt for the past 6 years. Parents Union supports all strategies that seek to retrieve those monies they have been denying the children of Philadelphia. At previous public hearings on the School District budget, parents and citizens have given testimony in this very room on the devastating effects budget cuts have on the schools and on their educational programs. This time around, Mr. Hornbeck refuses to trim those programs, even if it means running out of funds by May of 1999. He is right. Initiatives such as School-to-Careers, early literacy, and graduation and promotion requirements are an open door to the future. This 382 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE door must not be closed. Philadelphia's children must not be denied a complete educational service. They must not lose one single solitary service this time around. They must not fall by the wayside. When our children fall, we will all fall. We are pleased with and support the stance that the School District has taken. Children will not be shortchanged. The School District must provide educational services at the highest level, and the funding is not provided if we cannot provide $46 a day for each child in the School District of Philadelphia.
We will welcome the 21st century with an educational crisis that is like an iceberg that lays submerged in an ocean of public apathy and indecision by our courts and institutional discrimination inherent in the unfair funding formula the State is presently using. We must not allow that to happen. We must not allow that to continue. The State and the City must make public education a priority that is translated into long-term financial commitment to Philadelphia's children. 383 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE The School District has submitted and is implementing an ambitious plan that will significantly improve public education in Philadelphia, now and for future generations. To make this plan work, new sources of revenue must be found by the City, and the State must provide the funds it owes, and it must change its funding formula. Now, we are not suggesting unconditional funding to the School District. Parents Union support encourages oversight of any additional funds being provided to the School District. Now, an accountability system must be in place that provides you and the rest of us with assurances that the funds are being spent judiciously. Several proposals have been presented, one of which is the dismantling of the School District. It's ill-fated, it will be costly, it doesn't seem to be able to get off the ground. The cost alone will make it an ill-fated idea. However, we believe that since this City Council must bear the primary responsibility for helping to ensure a quality education for our 384 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE children, the School District should be directly accountable to the City Administration and the City Council. The current situation in which the City is responsible for levying taxes but has no say in how the funds are spent makes little, if any, sense. Making the School District accountable to the City would make the schools an ongoing policy priority and not a once-in-a year game of ring-around-the-rosey. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions of the members? (No questions.)
Dana Cirino, and Randi Congleton will be next. (Dana Cirino comes forward.)
Good afternoon. MISS CIRINO: Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Members of the City Council. B. Saul High School, studying horticulture. My brother also attended Saul and sister is now in Saul, and she is a freshman. Saul has had a tradition of high standards, and I would like to see it continue that way, for my sister's sake, as well as the other students that will remain there in the fall. I am proud to say that I am a member of the Class of 1998, one of the biggest and best classes to go through Saul in a number of years. " In 1997, Saul had two State Championship FFA Teams; one in landscape horticulture, and the other in Meat Science. Out of seven members, six were from the class of 1998. The class of 1998 also performed very well on the SAT-9's and the SAT's. As you can see from just some of the examples I've listed, the Class of 1998 is a different class, a motivated and intelligent force, and all accepted under the EH-38, the last real class. During the freshman year of the Class of 1998, 25 students made honor roll the first and 386 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE second reports. That was in '94 and '95. There is a steady decline in the years that follow. In '95 and '86, only freshmen from the class of 5 '99 made honor roll first report, and 11 the 6 second report. 7 For the freshmen last year, the Class 8 of 2000, 9 made it the first report, and only 8 9 the second report. For the freshman this year, 10 the Class of 2001, 6 made honor roll for the first 11 report, and only 1 made it for the second report. 12 This is very troubling to me because it 13 looks as if the students aren't working hard enough. Now, you can say, Maybe it's not the students. Okay, but if the staff is the same, the school has not changed, and the curriculum hasn't been adjusted, then something has to be different. Now let's look at the other side of the coin. What has the EH-36 done? It led to homework checks, and 129 freshmen this year are on the ineligible list. Population has also increased, and we've lost the most students during last year's summer session, 40 in all. The lottery that comes with the EH-36 also taught some students that hard work and good 387 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE grades doesn't pay off. One friend in school has twin siblings that applied for entrance next year. They both have good grades, perfect attendance, and each really wanted to go to Saul. The boy got in and the girl didn't. She was crushed. What would you tell her, that she was not one of the lucky lottery winners but to still make sure she gets good grades to get into college? That doesn't make sense. She has good grades and couldn't get into the high school she wanted, but good grades will get her into the college that she wants? That creates a mixed message, doesn't it? Why are standards being lowered to accommodate students that aren't even trying? Saul prepares students for the real world with such responsibilities as running and repairing tractors and caring for animals and working with plants. These activities create a sense of responsibility and maturity for the real world. The only part of Saul that is not part of preparation is the lottery to get in. There is 388 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE no lottery for college acceptance. And to get a job, you must fit their qualification guidelines. What does it take to be Mayor or Superintendent or even a Councilman? It takes hard work and a lot of luck. I don't think luck has much to do with it. Names aren't drawn out of a hat, so why create this fantasy? Why convince students that if you're lucky, you get what you want in life? Life isn't luck. Life is what we want to make out of it. It's about hard work, not only grades. For my class, Saul didn't just accept straight-A students; then I wouldn't have gotten in. Saul accepted students, based on grades attendance, and interest. They didn't accept just anyone. That's what makes the school so great.
Why, all of a sudden, change something that's been running so smoothly for at least the last 50 years? I invite anyone in this room to come to Saul and see the responsibilities some of our students face on any given day. Good guidelines are very important because they make for quality 389 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE students, which makes for a safe, reliable, and special school. From our Longwood Gardens internship to the FMC internship -- both of which I was a part of -- to the FFA, they challenged the students to work harder. Longwood Gardens and FMC wants qualified students, students that have worked and will work hard, qualities we are not seeing in the younger students. I am 8th in my class and was accepted to Temple University and Penn State University and have my Keystone degree, the highest FFA degree a high school student can earn. I am still a Girl Scout and am on the varsity softball team and am a co-editor of our year book. I plan to go to college, receive a degree in landscape architecture, and eventually have my own business. How will I achieve or have achieved these things? With luck? No, with a lot of hard work. I know I have to work hard to go anywhere in life because I worked hard to get into Saul. What are you teaching the students with the EH-38's and the lottery? The bottom line is, 390 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE to get ahead in life, hard work is required. No 3 one draws our names out of hat and says, You'll be a doctor. Or he's a lawyer. High standards an excellence have been in effect even before the school was called Saul. "Tell Them We Are Rising" is on the banner behind me. If we are rising with excellence and high standards, why have Saul standards fallen and are now nonexistent? Thank you.
Thank you very much. Your testimony was really very sincere, and I want to thank you for your patience of sitting here waiting and giving us the opportunity to hear what you had to say. Thank you very much. MISS CIRINO: Thank you. - - -
Randi Congleton. And Tiana Singletary will be next. If she's in the room, I would suggest she sit up by the front row. (Randi Congleton comes forward.)
Good afternoon. MISS CONGLETON: Good afternoon. My 391 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE name is Randi Congleton, and I'm also a senior at W.B. Saul High School. I am in the Ag. Business class at W.B. Saul High School. In the middle school, I didn't hear of W.B. Saul until eighth grade.
Excuse me, dear, would you mind pulling the microphone closer. Thank you. MISS CONGLETON: You're welcome. B. Saul until the eighth grade, but I wanted to go to Central and I had to keep my grades up. My mom told me and everyone told me, This is the most important year, seventh grade is important. They're going to look at your grades, and you have to get all A's and B's in order to get in. Well, when I hear of Saul, I had to write a essay stating what I wanted to be when I got older. I told 'em I wanted to a veterinarian, and I wrote this essay on how I wanted to go to Africa and work with the endangered species in Africa. 392 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE And my counselor suggested that I apply for Saul. Saul at the time had the criteria that you had to have A's and B's and perfect attendance and that you would, like, have an interest in animals. So I went, and I went through the interview and all the criteria and I got in. What Saul has done for me, right now I have gotten accepted to Penn State University, Rutgers University, Tennessee State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Florida A&M. Through Saul, I have been in the minority student apprenticeships in agriculture, which was at Penn State University this summer. I had a chance to work with Dr. Stanley Curtis. Some people may not know who he, but he is a professor of animal behavior at Penn State University and is now working on a research project with pigs and joy-sticks-simulated video games. How many kids do you know that get to do that? B. Saul High School. I also was an FMC intern and I got to 393 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE go to Arkansas and look at different plants. And I also am 15th in my class, and I am an Alpha Phi Officer. I live in Southwest Philadelphia. And a lot of people say, Well, why do you go to a school in Roxborough? Determination. This is what I want to do in life. I will go from Southwest Philadelphia all the way to Roxborough because I know Saul is what I want to do. Now, being an FFA Officer, we are required to all of the award assemblies. I had the privilege -- well, I wouldn't exactly call it "a privilege" -- to be at the freshmen awards assembly. When our principal, Mr. Scott, announced that there was one freshman on the honor roll, every freshman booed, okay, because that person was on the honor roll. Do you think students are going to want to achieve, seeing that their peers are going to boo them? No, I don't think so. Because if that was me, that would bring me down. If people that were supposed to be my friends booed because I was on the honor roll. 394 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Through the EH-38, Saul brings in quality students, students that want to achieve, students that want to learn because they know they need the criteria to get in. And, also, Saul is much more than animals. Saul has horticulture, business. Saul recently added Ag. Communications which is using audiovisual equipment and technology through agriculture. And also, if Saul cannot provide good-quality students, then people such as the University of Pennsylvania, which we have a chance to have a partnership with them, will draw back. Because if we can't provide them with quality-students, they're not going to want to come to Saul. And also different area people that hire Saul students to maybe do landscape contracting for them or work with their animals, they're not going to be able to do. B. Saul High School for a whole year. Through this small animal class, you can come out of high school and 395 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE become a laboratory technician. That's how extensive this is. If students don't work hard at Saul, do you think a company like SmithKline Beechum or University of Pennsylvania are going to want to hire these kids? I don't think so.
And also, I would like to just add that at CAPA, where they still have the EH-38, you maybe can sing, but when you come out of CAPA, that's not going to hold you for the rest of your life. You're not going to just walk out of CAPA and get a record contract right there. B. Saul High School, you can come of that school and go get a good-paying job, coming right out of high school. And you can also go right into a college where -- agriculture is our future -- and come out of that college with a good-paying salary. Like FMC, after four years of ag. business, sales reps starts you out at $40,000. Tell me you could come out of CAPA singing, right out of high school, going to college and start with FMC. I don't think so. So that's what I would like to tell you 396 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE all today, to just open your minds, kind of step out of your box and open your minds to other opinions. Because Saul really enriched my life. If I didn't ever hear of Saul, I would have never had all of these wonderful opportunities. And we are much more than a cow. I just wanted to tell you all that because I heard the statement many times, "What if the child doesn't like cows? We have much more than that; business, retail florists, like I said before, landscaping, small engines, veterinarian animal science, sheep science, aquaculture. People that want to be a marine biologist can come to Saul because we have lots of fish and turtles and other aquatic animals. So that's my statement.
And we certainly want to wish you the very best. Thank you. - - - 397 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Tiana Singletary. (Tiana Singletary comes forward.) MISS SINGLETARY: Good afternoon.
Good afternoon. MISS SINGLETARY: My name is Tiana Singletary, and I'm currently a senior at the Walter Biddle Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences. I am here this afternoon to speak about something that I feel very deeply about, and that is future of my school. And right now, it does not seem too of positive. You see, back in 1994, when I first applied for admittance into Saul, all students were put through a rigorous selection process in which they all had to apply through the EH-38 form, as well as attend an interview. This gave the school a chance to --
Excuse me, Tiana, could you pull the microphone just a little closer to you. MISS SINGLETARY: Sure.
Thank you. MISS SINGLETARY: This gave the school 398 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE a chance to look at your grades, as well as your attendance and out-of-school activities, but we were the last class to go through this process. Every class after that has been through the lottery system, which it doesn't even give you a full account of what everybody's potential is, or what they've done in their past years or what they've achieved. For the past three years, all incoming freshmen were selected through this lottery process, and believe me, it does show. In the past three years, the number of students on the honor roll has been on a very rapid decline, going from a very commendable in 15 the first quarter in 1994, to an embarrassing 6 16 that came through during the beginning of this 17 year. 18 And not just the grades suffering; 19 school spirit and morale are way down, possibly 20 because incoming students use Saul as not -- as 21 their only alternative to attending their 22 neighborhood high school, but that's not how it 23 should be. 24 Saul High School is a treasure, which 25 needs to be preserved, not destroyed. It is a 399 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE well known fact that Saul is one of the few ag. high schools in the U.S.. And with it being here in Philadelphia, it makes it extremely unique. Saul should be reserved for a select amount of students who will actually bring something into the school and not take from it. Just to give you an example of the severity of this situation, for the past three summers, I have participated in the 1995 Food and Agricultural Science Workshop at Penn State, the 1996 Pennsylvania Governor's School of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Penns Summer Research Internship, and the FMC Summer Experience Program, where I was flown to Idaho to learn about their programs in process and what they do. Now, a number of these corporations which do currently have partnerships with Saul have made it clear that if we cannot produce satisfactory students for their programs, they will terminate the partnerships. Now, is this fair to really deny other students these opportunities because of the lottery system? I really don't think so. 400 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE This can all be traced back to who is accepted into Saul. Now, I ask you, is it fair to deny many qualified and dedicated students of these opportunities just because you're basically putting all their names into hat and pulling them out at random? Why should their education be subjected to such a chance process where they're not given the opportunity to prove themselves before they are rejected because they weren't lucky enough? Is this the message that you want to send to them that their whole lives will be based on a lottery? I do not think so. So, in conclusion, I would just like to say if everyone is so worried about increasing the standards of our schools in Philadelphia, then why continue to lower our standards? Thank you.
Good afternoon. 401 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MISS FARRINGTON: Good afternoon. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences. I attended Lingelbach Elementary School, AMY 6 Middle School, and now I'm at Saul. And while I was at Lingelbach and AMY 6, I was told that I had to do my best. My mom is a teacher, and she's always been telling me I have to do my best, perfect attendance, good grades, and know what I want for my future. And I found, through Saul, that I could do this. With a good evaluation and report card and my extra curricular activities, I got into Saul because of my activities and the things I've done. I wasn't picked out of a so-called hat; I had a fair chance, a fair opportunity with the Saul's interests test, and I went through the interview process, why I chose to go to Saul, and my future goals. And even though I went to Saul, knowing I was going to be a marine biologist, I'm coming out now, knowing that I want to go into international food marketing. And I could do this because I got into Saul. That was the first 402 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE thing. And then Saul gave me the opportunity through various agricultural classes to know that I can change my mind. But as long as I am in the school, that I have the opportunity to kind of decipher what I would like to do. At Saul, it's a small community, you develop friendships with people around a city of different backgrounds. Because I think at Saul, we come together as one. We know what we want to do in our future. The things that we have in common is one, that would be that we like agriculture culture. We have something in common there. We also know what we want to do in the future. It may not be agriculture, but we know that we have some type of goal, something to look forward to. And I think with the EH-36, that a student is not being pushed -- not forced, but being pushed to say, Well, this is what I want to do. With the EH-36, it's, Well, if I'm lucky, I get in. And then when you get there, you really don't have to do anything because you're there. 403 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE As long as don't break some really big rules, you're in there already. The interest and communication with teachers. Teachers have to trust us because we deal with animals; we do large animals, small animals, we deal with flowers. And also, I was part of the meat- cutting team and the meat class. And if my teacher didn't trust us, we could pick up these knives, take them, do whatever we wanted that was improper. And, I mean, this EH-36 really goes -- it's really -- I think it's bad because teachers can't trust us. I think that whole process doesn't have people opening their minds, their future and the type of community they're in. Because of Saul and because of my achievements at Saul, as being a small community and having that background of being successful, I was part of the Penn State Competition Meat Judging Team where we won gold as a team. And then during the summer, I went to the FMC experience. I went to Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas, and I got to 404 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE learn about agriculture in different parts of the country. Now, if I wasn't at Saul, this experience wouldn't have been open to me. And if I wasn't hard-working, this experience wouldn't have been open to me. Just like one of my fellow classmates just said, that FMC, Longwood Gardens, and these other organization are willing to cut off their communications with Saul because of the students that are being allowed into Saul. And Saul is a good school, but we're not a miracle school where we can produce the student that doesn't have good attendance that has a C average, we can't make them into an A student, we can't make them into a hard-working student all the time. Therefore, why allow these people in already and bring the school down?
In a few weeks, people on the honor roll are going to have the opportunity to go to New York as, I guess, a gift because we did the right thing. Now with one student on the honor roll from the freshman class, I mean, that -- I don't think that's a really good display for other students to look up to, just one freshman on the 405 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE honor role. Now, because of my hard work at Saul, I got accepted to the University of Delaware, which I plan to attend, I got accepted to St. Joe's University, I got accepted to Johnson & Wells University, and a couple other schools. I plan to major in international food marketing and agricultural business. And this is primarily because of Saul. I knew what I wanted to do, I came in, and I did what I had to do. So I think with the students coming in under EH-36, I don't see a desire to learn about agriculture. I see distrust from the teachers. They don't have the trust that they had when people were admitted under EH-38. The students have no goals. Why should they, when they come in by luck? They don't need to have set out goals because it's already -- you get in and you kind of do whatever. And I just think that the message of EH-36 is that you're going to slide through if you get lucky. Now, when it's time for them to go to college and apply to colleges, when they slid through high school, they're going to be faced and 406 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE hit with reality really hard to know that they have to do something, that they have to have an incentive to do something. With the EH-36, I don't think that's being done.
To your knowledge, when did the lottery system begin at Saul? MISS FARRINGTON: This began about two years, isn't it? Or '95. I know that '98 was the last class for the EH-38. I mean, I'm leaving. But listening to the boy, I think his name is Bradley. I mean, that really hurt me. Even though I'm leaving, to see a boy like that not be able to get in even if he was doing the things that he needed to do and not get in because he wasn't lucky. I mean, that really hurts. As somebody who came in, and just because I'm in and I'm leaving, that doesn't mean that I don't care. And I think that's why me and my three classmates are here to say that even though we're leaving, we really do care about our school. And that when we come back --
You may be getting students going there that really don't want to be 407 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE there. MISS FARRINGTON: Yes. And that's a problem. I mean, that's bad for the people who are still there. I mean, we're not allowed to do certain things that we were before because the teachers can't trust A and B students because of how they are. And I'm not saying that EH-38 people are great people, but we -- I think we just have a better background and because of our previous experiences at schools. So I just really hope that the EH-36 process is taken into consideration from Saul. I know that CAPA and some other schools -- I got accepted to Girls' High, but I chose to come to Saul. And I think that CAPA and other schools are specialized, but so is Saul. Only 3 percent of Americans are involved in agriculture. I mean, when you -- we need top people in this industry. And when you let anybody in, I mean, I just think it -- it doesn't send a really good message at all to people.
I credit you and 408 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE your friends for coming in to testify, I really do. MISS FARRINGTON: Thank you.
I think it's wonderful, and I certainly want to thank you for coming in, and I want to wish you all well. Thank you very much. MISS FARRINGTON: Thank you. - - -
Gloria Hailey. Following Miss Hailey will be Thomas Doyle. (Gloria Hailey comes forward.)
Good afternoon. I know the parents of those students should be very proud.
Okay. As a parent of a student who, fortunately, is enrolled in an academy of his choice, at Ben Franklin, I would like to bring to the City Council's attention the issue of the policy of eliminating the use of high standards set by admission criteria in many 409 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE schools and programs across the City. Criteria being steady attendance, good behavior, academic performance; and, most important, interest in the program of which the student chooses. Unfortunately, this is not taking place. What is happening, a potential academy student name is placed in a lottery for random selection. The School District tells parents that the State regulation and court decisions require their actions. Yet, these policies are unevenly enforced across the District. By doing this, children who have worked hard to meet the entrance criteria are not guaranteed placement in the small learning community of their choice. What parents are asking here today is for the City Council to help us resolve this issue with the School District of Philadelphia, that we, the parents, have been pursuing for the last four years. That's short but that's exactly how I feel as a parent.
Thank you very 410 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE much.
I also would like to commend the four young ladies that are leaving now in the defense of their high school and their education. It was very commendable on their part. Good afternoon to all Members of City Council. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the public school children of the City of Philadelphia. My name is Thomas Doyle, and I am the newly-elected President of Local 1201. We are the employees that transport the students, most precious cargo in the world, from home to school, and home again, safely every day. We heat the buildings and clean the classrooms and bathrooms so the children can have a safe and healthy environment in order to receive a quality education. We maintain, repair, and replace 411 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE whatever is needed in the physical plant of over 260 locations, to keep the system up and running instances. And yet our bargaining unit usually suffers greatly when there is a budget crisis such as this crisis we are currently under, through cuts and the elimination of our jobs. But I'm not here today on behalf of Local 1201. I'm here today for the students, the future of our great City and nation. These young people face many challenges today, challenges they cannot confront without: A quality education; an education they cannot receive without sufficient funding from Harrisburg; An education that is impossible when the disparity of dollars spent per student is $2,000 less for the children of Philadelphia compared to the rest of the State's surrounding counties; An education that should have computers in every classroom; an education that requires a more intimate learning environment through smaller class size; an education that needs to have 412 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE updated and current books and materials; An education that needs more participation from the parents of our students; an education that requires them to work in the schools and the classrooms to see for themselves what is really going on day in and day out; An education that gives them an opportunity to pursue what we all strive for, a chance to achieve our dreams, our hopes, and our aspirations. Those dreams cannot be achieved from underfunding from the state of Pennsylvania. They most certainly won't be achieved if this system is broken up into separate, but very unequal 16 districts. 17 We have all read or heard from the 18 so-called legislative experts who have recommended 19 the division of the District, but none of them 20 mention the fact that this same type of division 21 was attempted in Chicago and New York and failed 22 miserably. They offer precious little else but criticism with no remedy. But there is a ray of hope in their critical letters. State representative George 413 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Kenny says, as a result, parents and taxpayers are frequently frustrated and justifiably angry. State Senator Fumo says parents, students, and teachers must feel they have an honest stake in local education. " As a 25-year employee of the School District of Philadelphia, I can easily say I've been in every school in the system many times over because of the nature of the jobs that I have had. I can also say that there is a tremendous difference in a child's ability and willingness to learn their when parents or parent is involved; whether it's in reviewing homework, or especially when participating at the school location. We also need those parents to apply pressure where it really needs to be applied. That is, with all of the State legislators and especially the Governor. We ask that they write letters and make phone calls to these elected officials; not once, not twice, but many times until Governor Ridge and his Secretary of Education decide to get off that huge surplus of $400 million and fund this system fairly and 414 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE equitably.
We must fight for this money because it is not a personal savings account for the Governor. It is our tax money that we must demand be spent on the education of our children, not only here in Philadelphia, but Statewide. Demand that the Governor worry about Pennsylvania's children today, not his political aspirations of the future. Demand of your elected representatives to spend for education, education, and more education. For there is no greater investment than in our children, for they are our future, and we are their past. Don't let them be a part of a past that they will regret. On behalf of the good members of Local 1201, of which I am proud and honored to serve, I want to again thank the President of Council and Council Members here today for this less than eloquent attempt to speak on behalf of the students of the public school system of Philadelphia. Thank you very much.
Thank you very 415 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE much, Mr. Doyle. - - -
Our next witness is Cassandra Morris. Is Cassandra Morris here? (Cassandra Morris is not present.)
Kenneth Greene? Kenneth Greene? (Kenneth Greene is not present.)
Good afternoon. My name is Denise MacIntosh. And here with me I have my sister, Mrs. Renee Hollman.
Miss MacIntosh, pull the microphone just a little closer to you, please, the whole microphone.
Okay. Before funding is provided to the School District, they must establish a department office where parents can get errors and problems created by the school resolved. The mechanism, i.e., cluster office, Board of Education in place for this reason, I am now advised was not established for the purpose 416 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE I'll briefly outline. My son attends Beaver Middle School. Once a week I physically go to the school to obtain a verbal report on his academic status. I was advised each week for the full report period, and two weeks prior to release of report card, by his English and math teachers, Miss Burkhardt and Mr. Cole, respectfully, Steven had a C average in their class. When I received Steven's report card, he had an F in each class. I had a meeting with the vice principal and the two teachers. Accordingly, I have spoken with the principal numerous times. Both teachers have acknowledged to all advising me each week of Steven's C average. They acknowledged their error but refused to make any corrections. Neither teacher provided me with an interim report, which is School District policy. Miss Burkhart rudely advised, I am extending you a courtesy, Mrs. MacIntosh, by meeting with you. It should be appreciated. The principal, Mrs. Valentine, requested time to work the situation out. It has been two weeks. 417 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Yesterday, I went to the School District and spoke with Miss Chivas at the Board of Education. She called the cluster office and spoke with Mrs. Bemberry. Miss Bemberry was obnoxiously rude. She advised both Mrs. Chivas and myself she was not transferring us to Mrs. Sims, the cluster leader. And she would not schedule any appointments. Mrs. Chivas terminated the call and advised there was nothing more she could do to resolve this problem. Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Valentine, the principal of Beaver, advised she spoke with Mrs. Sims, and they would not make the necessary corrections. I phoned Mrs. Sims again and was transferred to Mrs. Bemberry. Mrs. Bemberry refused to transfer me to Mrs. Sims again. I inquired how Mrs. Valentine could speak with Mrs. Sims, and not a parent. Mrs. Bemberry advised, cluster leaders are not in their positions to handle parents' complaints, nor do they meet with parents. She hung up the phone. Mrs. Burkhart and Mr. Cole did not meet the opportunity to provide academic support to my 418 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE child, which would have prevented my child from receiving an F. My weekly presence at the school did not motivate the teachers to work in partnership with me, to educate my child. My only resource as to Steven's academic progress are his teachers. I cannot provide Steven with academic if teachers do not provide me with accurate information, or provide interim reports advising he is failing. Their error should not be Steven's and I refuse to have him penalized because of their errors. I am amazed constantly at the rudeness exhibited by the School District employees. Mrs. Bemberry's and Mrs. Burkhardt's rudeness would not have been tolerated in a private sector; they would be fired. The arrogance, the rudeness of each of these individuals. In fairness, the rudeness is not an admiration (sic), but the rule. The District must address these individuals and their rudeness, and if they're not willing to confirm (sic) to courteously professionalism fire them. And I would just like to add, I had also changed my schedule to take my son to school 419 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE and from school, and also to accommodate him academically. A place must be established where parents can go find support before funding is approved. Thank you.
I'd just like to interject a few points that may not have been clear.
Excuse me, excuse me. You'll have to identify yourself for the record.
My name is Renee Hollman. I'm -- this is my sister. I'd like to clarify a few points that may not have been clear when she read the response that she just gave. Her changing of the schedule actually was done prior to this whole problem- resolving in respect to misinformation from the teachers. When the child moved to the middle school, she was concerned about peer pressure, and she felt that her primary obligation was to be there for Steven. Therefore, she changed her work schedule to be able to take him to stool and pick 420 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE him up. And that also availed her of the opportunity to speak with the teachers weekly to get an academic progress report on how well he was doing. I'm just simply asking for -- and I should say "we" -- we're simply asking for teachers to disseminate to parents accurate information. If we had had the opportunity when she asked the full report period, which is approximately eight weeks, in order to get this child academically prepared, we would have done that. Both teachers advised that he was at a C average we did not feel that he was doing that badly. We were amazed when he came home with an F. The school has apologized for this error. But, quite frankly, that's not enough. These F's are going to be maintained on his record for the rest of this was life. And we don't feel that that's something he should bear the burden of. Teachers have a responsibility to disseminate accurate information to parents. Cluster leaders have a responsibility not only to 421 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE provide academic support to the teachers, but also be there to resolve problems with the parents. And we'd like to have this matter resolved. I know that there are some people from the Board of Education here today. I heard Councilman Nutter has stated that he would also get involved in resolving this problem, but I'd like to call on the School District individuals that are here today to actually get involved to resolve the issue of getting teachers to give parents accurate information. Thank you.
Excuse me, I'm sorry. Before closing, I would also like to make a statement that due to this situation, I did put my son on a weekly report. This is the same student that received a F on a weekly report is receiving A's and B's in subject and behavior, and I have the reports here. Thank you. 422 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Thank you, Madame Chair. Miss MacIntosh, just, if you could stay at the chair for a couple seconds. Do I understand from your testimony that some time during the course of this academic year but prior to this situation with a failing grade in -- is it one subject or two?
Okay. Prior to that time, you changed your work schedule in order to both take your son to school, pick him up, and I guess -- is it in the picking up in the, maybe, I guess in the afternoon, is that when you availed yourself of the opportunity to talk to his teachers?
Yes. And it also -- during the morning, I would speak with them.
And how often did you consult with these teachers on how well he was doing?
And in those weekly 423 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE visits or consultations, you were being told that he was functioning at about a C level in these two subject areas?
And when did you find out that he was getting an F in those two subjects?
On the first report card period, Steven had received a C. He has these two teachers and two main subjects. He had Miss Burkhardt in English and he also has her for science. He has Mr. Cole for math and he also has him for history. And in these two subjects, Steven received a C, and he also conceived a C in Mr. Cole's class.
And it's in the second report card period going from a first report card that had a C? 424 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
And it's your further testimony that since whenever the second report card came out, that since that time and since you're addressing this issue, you are now getting weekly reports --
Yes. I had put him on -- I felt as though that after I had changed my schedule and after dialoguing with them and having conversation, I decided to put Steven on weekly reports because of the mistakes that they had made, the miscommunication on a daily basis.
Well, how is this weekly report different from the weekly report that you were getting before? Is this something that's written? 425 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Well, you were -- he's asking what the difference is between what you got previously and now.
Previously, she was getting verbal responses weekly from the teacher.
So you get something in writing from the teachers now?
Okay. From your perspective, as Steven's mother, I mean, has there been any dramatic change in Steven from the fall to now, into the winter? Or did something -- did he have a miraculous epiphany over the Christmas holidays? Or what is the difference here?
You said you'd like to see this get resolved at the District. Who apologized for this?
Mrs. Valentine had stated to me after she had a meeting with Mrs. Burkhart and Mr. Cole that she extended her apology. And to me, that was just not enough.
Yes. They both admitted to telling me that Steven had a C average, and she extended her apologize.
Well, what's the explanation for the failures then? How do we --
There was none. 427 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
So you want to see this clarified and his record either repaired or restored or the F's either removed or rehabilitated in some way, shape, or form; that's what you're seeking?
Okay. Madame Chair, I have no further questions for Miss MacIntosh, but I think it more than appropriate to try to get a little better understanding if at all possible from the School District as to how something like this could happen. And, secondly, what's the solution to getting it resolved? SUPT. HORNBECK: If I may (inaudible/off mike). . .
Excuse me, Dr. Hornbeck, you're going to have to take the microphone.
Actually, I'll relinquish my seat. 428 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
And before Dr. Hornbeck tries to provide an answer, there was one other thing you mentioned. Did you say or did you your sister say that you were told that the cluster office has no 7 responsibility to deal with parents or resolve parents' issues or -- I don't know -- hold your hand or comfort you? I mean --
Actually, Denise and I did a conference call yesterday to the cluster office. Once we had spoken with the principal and she advised that she had spoken with Miss Sims about this particular issue, I was a little concerned, quite frankly, that the principal could readily get access to the cluster leader and not parents. I was very specific in quoting and writing down, once I spoke with Miss Bemberry, what her response was. I questioned her specifically in respect to the obligation that cluster leaders have not only to principals, but to parents. 429 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Her response was, quote, cluster leaders are not in their positions to handle parental complaints, nor do they meet with parents, unquote.
Okay. Dr. Hornbeck? SUPT. HORNBECK: I just wanted to say that we will be glad to look into this. And I want to talk to Miss Chivas whom I think is the person that you talked with yesterday.
Yes. SUPT. HORNBECK: And to trace this back and resolve some of these issues. There are just lots of things that have been raised that need a lot of clarity in my mind. And I'll be glad to inform Council of the findings that we arrive at.
Well, thank you, Dr. Hornbeck, for that. And I'm sure that you will. I would like to ask you, I guess, about some of the generalities of this. I understand you have to go back and do some research on some of the specifics. 430 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE I mean, I have to say that everything I know about this, I learned about a half hour ago. So, I mean -- SUPT. HORNBECK: So did I.
We all have the same information and level of knowledge. But I'm -- "intrigued" would be too light. I'm concerned, I guess, that a parent could do all that which Miss MacIntosh has laid on the record that she has done, including getting the weekly verbal reports and somehow be told one thing up to a certain point and then, apparently, by surprise, we find out that it's not a C; that it's an F. I mean, I don't know how that can happen. I mean -- SUPT. HORNBECK: Neither do I.
If I were a child or if she were relying just on -- and I'm not saying anything bad about Steven, but, I mean, it would not be beyond a student -- I mean, I've told my parents on more than one occasion that everything was great in school. And well, you can check the record. It 431 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE may not have been. But it was a good story at the time. But to get that information from a District person, and for it to be tremendous at odds. I mean, there's a fairly significant difference between a C and an F. And since that time, he has, you know, again, apparently, miraculously recovered from whatever was going on in the second marking period. I mean, is there recourse here? I mean, if everything that we know today is 100 percent accurate and true and it's found to be the case by all parties involved, how do we reconcile this particular matter? SUPT. HORNBECK: I -- I just don't know, Mr. Nutter. I -- clearly, if everything is exactly as it is before us right now, without any further investigation, then there would need to be some changes in the way that people respond to parents and the way kids' performances are monitored. I mean, I think that's obvious.
Well, I would absolutely agree but -- SUPT. HORNBECK: One of the things we 432 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE need to do is to have a look at it.
But in the most narrow of issues, an F is an F is an F; and not one of them, but two of them. So in terms of policies and procedures, I know that you will figure out and backtrack, and if something is not right, it will be corrected. Or if policywise, people need different information, I fully believe that that will be done. What I'm interested in, though, is at the end of the day, if everything is the way that it's been presented, how do you get the two F's off the record and make this child whole? I mean that's -- that is for me the number one issue. All the other stuff really involves adult business. We've got a kid piece of business that needs to be taken care of. 433 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SUPT. HORNBECK: Getting the F's off is easy. We can expunge it, so we would expunge it, no problem.
I wish you had been in charge when I was back in school. SUPT. HORNBECK: Going back and making the child whole is a different kind of issue that has to do with the individual child. It's not something that -- I mean, dealing with hurt to a child is not subject to the Superintendent writing, you know, a directive or a letter or saying, "You are now whole." So that also is something that would require the kind of looking into this, to which I've been referring during the last several minutes.
Right. And lastly, not to get into any of the personalities, but at a larger level. I thought that when the cluster concept was introduced, even back with the first six and then the next year or so, the eventual expansion to the other 16, I thought that in one of the charts, I remember seeing something about a Family Resource Network or a Family Resource 434 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Office or a Family Resource Person or somebody like that that deals with people and families. Isn't that the case? SUPT. HORNBECK: Yes.
What's the title of that? I mean -- SUPT. HORNBECK: Well, what you're referring to is the Family Resource Network.
Is there a contact person at the Family Resource Network that we can contact if there are any further problems other than this issue? SUPT. HORNBECK: Actually, I think at this point, I ought to be your contact person and Miss Braman, because we can have those conversations. And this has -- what I'm trying to say is it sounds to me like there are a variety of people involved. You've got the teacher involved, you've got the principal involved, you've got the cluster leader involved, you've got Miss Bemberry involved, you've got Chivas involved, and now you've got me involved, and I'm about to involve 435 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Miss Braman in this. And we need to put those several pieces together in order to get underneath all of it.
Just a moment, please. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Superintendent Hornbeck, could you further comment -- and I think it needs to be made clear, 'cause I think there's the impression left that the cluster leader acted inappropriately by not meeting with the family. I assume that a cluster leader -- it was an appropriate response to leave it at the principal's level. Could you comment on that, please? SUPT. HORNBECK: I -- it is not unusual to leave the decision at the principal's level; but neither is it unusual for a cluster leader to 436 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE meet with parents. I mean, it happens very frequently, and it is in the circumstances of the particular case that that decision gets made. And without more, I can't comment on whether it was appropriate or inappropriate in this instance.
Forget this instance. If a parent in the City of Philadelphia wants to talk to a cluster leader, that's an appropriate request? SUPT. HORNBECK: Sure, sure. And they do at times.
But the testimony in this specific case -- and we'll go back to this specific case -- was that a cluster leader doesn't talk to a parent. Apparently, that decision, then, was made on this specific instance, not just a fact that cluster leaders don't meet with parents. SUPT. HORNBECK: That is correct, because cluster leaders do meet with parents every day.
Well, we got the impression here today that -- 437 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SUPT. HORNBECK: I'm glad that you helped clarify that. That's very helpful.
Thank you, Superintendent Hornbeck. Thank you, Madame Chair.
I think we have called everyone on the witness list that was scheduled for the period of 1 to 5 o'clock. Is there anyone here whose name was not called? Does anybody wants to testify? (Unidentified man, later identified as Eugene Bivins, raises his hand.)
Okay, Do you want to approach the table, please? We will be back here at 6 o'clock, so if you -- do you want to testify now or wait until 6? It's entirely up to you. Oh, are you scheduled for 6 o'clock?
I'm sorry, what is 438 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE your name?
I'm sorry. The stenographer would like you to spell your name.
I'm sorry. Eugene Bivins, B-I-V-I-N-S. And the reason why we didn't sign up was because we went away for three months, and we didn't know anything about the hearings. But there are some things that --
Thank you. If my wife would join me up here, I would appreciate it. (Mrs. Bivins joins Mr. Bivins at witness table.)
This is Dr. Karen Bivins. We are both retired from the School District. My 439 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE wife is a retired principal, I'm a retired teacher. I had a principal's certificate but never got to use it. I am concerned on several fronts. First of all, we've never had an answer from the School District as to whether or not certain inequities have been corrected as far as disciplining of staff is concerned. There seems to be an unequal amount of punishing or disciplining of African-American employees, especially teachers. And where they both came under the same laws, that principals who are Caucasian -- For instance, at West Philadelphia High School, we had a principal who, at Move-Up Day, had a staff, and she herself personally threw water balloons down on the children from the balcony. And we have signed statements from parents from earlier times when she was in other schools as a principal, where she committed corporal punishment. And we wanted to know if anything had happened to correct this situation, has this woman been disciplined. Because we've had other 440 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE teachers African-American teachers who were fired for corporal punishment and then reinstated by the arbitration process, proving that the School District's case was merely something that was very weak on paper, as we find many of them are. But the School District takes the point of view that the Administration's pretty much right all the time, and the Union's pretty much wrong, or the teacher's pretty much wrong. We would like to know what has happened to the principal at West Philadelphia High School for these acts of --
The Superintendent's in the room, and I'm sure that he would be very happy to discuss with issue with you. I really don't know what happened. And I don't whether he knows off the top of his head what happened. You don't? I'm sure that if you discuss the issue with the Superintendent, he'd be more than happy to look into the status of this case.
This is just -- this is just one issue that -- 441 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
It was the end of last term, June, June. We're also concerned about whether or not the School District has taken any note of the research we have sent them while we were away, that we found at other educational seminars in Palm Beach County. And if they are going to look into the research that's being done at Yale University on the use of phonics in the reading programs. We have just had the impression that the School District wanted to ignore all of the relevant research that is coming out on the use of phonics because we find, not only in the Catholic schools here have stated to us, but other school districts have stated that the use of phonics has been that part of the reading program that has been most instrumental in having kids learn to read. And the research from Yale shows that 442 PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE certain parts of the brain -- and they now use MRIs and things like that in order to show when a child's brain is being used and has been trained properly. And at the right ages, the early ages is where children need it. You don't learn to read later on in life. That's why it's so difficult for adults who have gone to prison to rehabilitate themselves, because they don't have the ability without a tremendous amount of effort in order to again gain what they're trying to do; learn to read and get their self-esteem back. So we're interested in some of these things, and we're not going to take up a lot of your time, but the School District knows what we're after. And, hopefully, they will respond to us.
I'm sure they will. Before leaving the room, I would suggest, as I said, that you see either Dr. Hornbeck or a member of his staff, and I'm certain that they will be very happen to respond to you.