COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - BUDGET SCHOOL DISTRICT - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, April 28, 2008 10:35 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN FRANK DiCICCO COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN BILL GREEN COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN MARIA QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO BILL 080158 - An ordinance amending Section 17 19-1801 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Authorization of Tax," to further authorize the Board of Education... BILL 080159 - An ordinance amending Chapter 19-1800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "School Tax Authorization"... - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good morning, everyone. This is a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole regarding Bill Nos. 080158 and 080159. I would ask Mr. McPherson to please read the title of the bills. MR. McPHERSON: Bill No. 9 080158, an ordinance amending Section 10 19-1801 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Authorization of Tax," to further authorize the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia to impose a tax on real estate within the City of Philadelphia, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 080159, an ordinance 18 amending Chapter 19-1800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "School Tax Authorization," by amending Section 21 19-1806, entitled "Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax," to further authorize the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia to impose a tax on the use or occupancy of real 3 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. estate within the School District of Philadelphia.
If we could have whoever is going to testify for the School District to come to the table, please. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Kindly identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Sandra Dungee Glenn, Chairwoman, School Reform Commission, School District of Philadelphia.
Good morning. My name is Tom Brady. I'm the Interim CEO of the School District of Philadelphia.
Madam President, I will speak first and then Mr. Brady will follow, and I believe we also have address by our --
Thank you. Good morning, Madam President, Madam Chair and members of the City Council. I am Sandra Dungee Glenn, Chairwoman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission. The School Reform Commission and the School District of Philadelphia team come before you today to present to Council the District's proposed Fiscal Year '09 operating budget. I am joined by my fellow Commissioners Mr. Martin Bednarek and Commissioner Denise 5 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. McGregor-Armbrister. Following my opening remarks, Interim CEO Tom Brady, joined by the District's Budget Director, Wayne Harris, will touch on the key elements of the proposed budget, and Mr. Brady, key staff members and I will be here throughout the day to answer your questions. I cannot but help reflect on how things have changed and changed in a positive way since we came before Council last year. On the academic side, through the hard and smart work of teachers, principals, regional superintendents and central staff, the involvement of our parents and the efforts of our students, the District has now achieved five consecutive years of increased scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSA test. We anticipate the results of this spring's testing cycle and hope to be able to say this summer that we have made it six straight years. 6 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. On the financial side, again, through the efforts of many, we have slashed what was a $181 million budget gap last spring to a projected Fiscal Year '08 year-end shortfall of $21 million. 4 million in real estate taxes to our schools and an additional $2 million over Council's customary annual contribution to the District of $35 million; the implementation of savings and efficiencies and new financial controls at the District; and the continued support of the Rendell administration in Harrisburg to begin a process to achieve equitable funding for public education here in Philadelphia and across the Commonwealth. We thank Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and other Councilmembers for your leadership in the City's 7 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. commitment to shift $8 million of School District contracts to the City. We give special thanks to Councilman Goode for successfully promulgating the shift in City real estate tax millage to the School District. We also had on our side Mayor John F. Street and our current Mayor, Michael A. Nutter, who is both a policymaker and a School District parent committed to quality public education. We readily acknowledge that since this time last year we not only have had to work hard to cut the budget gap, but also to win back your confidence. I hope that we have made significant strides to do so. Moreover, I can assure you that our efforts to be good stewards of the appropriations which we receive will be daily efforts, focused efforts and serious efforts. On our watch, I pledge never to come before you with financial surprises of the likes 8 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. which plagued us last spring. That having been said, I am pleased to place before you for your consideration a proposed operating budget that we believe will, number one, build on the successful school reforms initiated since the SRC was created in December 2001; two, reflects priorities which the SRC first promulgated publicly in October 2007; and, three, reaffirm our precept that our students are worth every dollar we are able to invest in them and their futures. This budget includes what we consider our first installment toward achieving priorities which we believe will make significant positive changes for our children. 5 million is invested in sustaining reform in the proposed Fiscal Year '09 budget. Fully $415 million of 9 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. these investments were not part of the District's budget at the time the SRC was established, with the remaining $219 million consisting of payments to charter schools that have been renewed by the SRC.
4 million has been earmarked for Fiscal Year '09 to underwrite our three most compelling priorities; namely, to reduce class size in grades kindergarten through three in our poorest performing schools, to ensure that every child in every school is exposed to music and the arts, and to expand library services. These priorities aren't sexy, but they are proven, fundamental building blocks for raising student achievement. We readily acknowledge that fully achieving class size reduction in all kindergarten through third grade classrooms district-wide will be a multi-year initiative. However, we must begin, and we are beginning here and we 10 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. are beginning this year. We also look forward to future operating budgets when we will be in a position to begin to fund our other SRC priorities; that is, to expand the number of counselors and school nurses. Another initiative about which you will be hearing more in the weeks and months ahead is the expansion of educational and career options for our high school students. We have embraced Mayor Nutter's call to reduce the dropout rate and have asked him to partner with us on this initiative. We all know that students are motivated to attend school when they see a direct pathway from school to either college or viable careers. It is the School District's responsibility to create those pathways for each and every high school student. The School District of Philadelphia and its partners already have implemented a number of initiatives 11 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that provide a solid platform on which to build. They include the Philadelphia Youth Network and Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce summer internship program; Philadelphia Academies' creative partnerships with local employers, such as the Academy of Process Technology at Bok High School, supported by Sunoco; and the SRC's Project Labor Apprenticeship Agreement with the Philadelphia Building Trades Council. I am hopeful that leaders from throughout our region, including Council, will be very receptive to joining the Mayor and the School Reform Commission as we launch a multi-tiered approach to secondary education and the transition to college and career for Philadelphia's young people that will both bolster graduation rates and ensure post-secondary opportunities for our young men and women. The SRC sees as the outcome of 12 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. this partnership the creation of a two-year individual opportunity plan for each high school junior and senior. These opportunities include dual enrollment while still in high school, with subsequent matriculation at two- or four-year college or university upon graduation from high school; completion of a school-to-career program that leads to the workplace or to technical school or college; or completion of a career or technical trade program that leads directly into the building trades, utilizing our Project Labor Agreement with the trade unions. One thing is clear to all of us: Philadelphia will never be the great city we know it can be until we can demonstrate to our students that successfully completing high school on time means that an exciting and successful future awaits them. While I believe it is important always to be forward-focused, I also feel 13 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. it is important to report to you on what return we have achieved on the City's investment in public education since December 2001, when the SRC was created as part of an unprecedented city-state partnership for public education. Where has this partnership taken us since 2001? The answer for us can best be found where innovation and best practices intersect to raise student achievement. At this intersection are four imperatives: innovation, choice, accountability and outcomes. Innovation and choice can be found in abundance among Philadelphia's 61 public charter schools serving over 31,000 students.
Among our innovative charter schools are KIPP Academy, where middle grade students are gaining national attention for their rising test scores; Mastery Charter, where 95 percent of its class of 2007 has gone on to two- and four-year colleges; Wissahickon and Green 14 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Woods Charters, which are breaking ground with their environmental-centered curriculums; the Laboratory School of Communication and Language, where 100 percent of the students are proficient in math. These indeed are innovations that are working. Please don't forget that another example of innovation, our partnership schools, with the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University and with for-profit and non-profit organizations. All are working with some of our lowest performing schools, and many are getting results. We have innovated by working with specialty schools for alternative education, which are returning to the educational process dropouts and overage students. This is another example of innovation and choice that gets results for children. We also have our restructured schools, which are using revamped class 15 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. schedules and intensive professional development to raise student achievement. Here again are proven practices at work. Many have expressed concern that we are moving away from our diverse provider model of charter, partnership, contract and direct-managed schools. We are not. We will continue to embrace choice, but whether schools are traditional, charter, partnership or restructured, they must all be held accountable to the same standard for providing students with a quality education in a clean, safe and nurturing environment. And we must expect academy achievement for students as the common outcome. The School District of Philadelphia has made significant strides in the six years since the School Reform Commission became the governing body for the School District of Philadelphia. We have experienced five consecutive years of rising test scores, with more than a 16 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. 25 point gain in the percentage of students scoring advanced or proficient in math and a nearly 17 point gain in reading; expanded our early childhood program to give students a solid foundation by increasing the number of students attending preschool services from 4,800 to approximately 10,000 young people; put in place a highly acclaimed core curriculum in the basic subjects and have invested more than $79 million in new textbooks and other learning materials. We have reorganized the District on a K-to-8 and high school model to better support middle grade students, and we have launched a Principal Academy to train new school leaders. 5 billion in new schools and upgraded facilities, including science labs and cybraries, in many of our schools, while reaching a historic high rate of 35 percent participation by minority and 17 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. women-owned firms. We've generated a dramatic expansion of high school choice, including the stunning increase of District high schools from 38 to 60, with most of the new high schools having an average of 800 students or fewer. We've initiated quality, year-round professional development for our educators so that they may use the curriculum effectively. We also ratcheted up the recruitment of fully certified teachers for our classrooms so that for September 2007, 91 percent of new hires are fully certified, compared to 65 percent in September 2003. As of January 2008, 98 percent of our entire teaching staff was fully certified. We have introduced for the first time in the history of the District the concept of site selection for the hiring of teachers. Site selection ensures that the most experienced teachers are assigned throughout the 18 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. District and not concentrated in a select number of schools. Currently, there are 81 schools participating in site selection.
An unprecedented 50 percent of all teacher vacancies were filled using site selection since the 2005-2006 school year. In summary, the District has accomplished a great deal since December 2001. Now we find ourselves ready to build upon this solid foundation of success and growth. At this time, we must pause to consider what strategic investments are going to propel us to the next level. We believe that the Fiscal Year '09 budget before you today answers the questions of how we should go about continuing to invest in success and academic growth. Our response is that we do that by focusing funding for new key classroom priorities and for maintaining 19 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. our investment in education programs that have shown results. As we look back at what drove our recent achievements as a district and as a city, I can clearly say that it was our willingness to work together toward a common goal, defined as providing the best quality public education for all students. In the spirit of partnership and public service that binds us together, I invite you to help us deepen that collaboration for the benefit of our students. Our children merit the continued investment of our time, energy and, most importantly, new funding. My fellow Commissioners and I have personally committed to doing all that we can so that the District can realize the vision I have laid out here today. I look forward to working with our incoming CEO, Dr. Arlene Ackerman, whom I believe will work tirelessly to 20 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. make real that vision. I cannot help but imagine the differences we can make if collectively we continue to collaborate and to invest in our public schools. Before I turn the microphone over to Mr. Brady, I want to thank him for answering the call to service during a difficult time of transition and for shepherding through the budget he is about to present. I am confident that he is leaving us a financial roadmap for sustaining the vision that I encourage each of you to continue to support. I want to thank you for your support, for your time and for your attention. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Good morning, Council President Verna and members of the City Council. I am Tom 21 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Brady, the Interim CEO of the School District of Philadelphia. Thank you for the opportunity to come here today and testify. Firstly, on behalf of the School District, I would like to thank the members of the Council and the Mayor for your steadfast support of the children of Philadelphia. This time last year when the District came before the City Council, we faced a deficit of $181 million. With help from our partners at both the City and the State level, the deficit has been reduced to million for Fiscal Year 16 '08. In addition to the assistance the 17 District has received from our external 18 partners, we have put forth effort 19 internally to restore fiscal stability 20 and sustainability. We have introduced 21 increased accountability measures, searched for efficiencies, eliminated waste and increased transparency of our system. The District's ultimate goal is not to be in a deficit position and our 22 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Five-Year Plan shows this happening in Fiscal Year '10. While working to close the budget gap, the District students have continued to achieve and we also have made progress in improving internal operations. The Fiscal Year '09 budget and the Five-Year Financial Plan set forth a framework for building on our remarkable gains in student achievement and financial progress. 8 million deficit for Fiscal Year '09. 8 million in Fiscal Year '09, million is 17 a carryover from Fiscal Year '08. The 18 carryover portion of the deficit 19 resulted, in large part, from factors 20 outside the control of the District; 21 namely, increased energy costs, volatility of the financial markets and cyber charter student payments. Had the District not faced these unforeseen circumstances, the 23 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. deficit reduction plan adopted in May 2007 by the SRC would have produced a positive position and balance for Fiscal Year 2008. The key elements for the Fiscal Year '09 budget and Five-Year Financial Plan are sustained investment in academic achievement, progress towards deficit elimination and financial stability, increased support and strengthened partnership with the City and the Commonwealth, and increased District financial responsibility. This year we are anticipating the sixth consecutive year of rising PSSA scores. As the Chair mentioned, this is the hard work of the regional superintendents, principals and dedicated teachers. 6 percent of our students were proficient in reading. 5 percent in 2003. 6 percent in 2003. We've had more schools 24 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. making annual yearly progress and have been successful in many other academic improvements. We realize that a district serving nearly 170,000 students, that not all students learn at the same pace or have the same goals. Therefore, we are committed to expanding our career and technical education, or CTE programs. We currently operate CTE programs in ten schools with an enrollment of 14,000 students. In 2003, only three percent of our graduates from CTE schools had any type of certification. Today 83 percent of our graduates from these schools have industry-based certification, including certifications in auto safety; culinary and baking; OSHA standards for construction and manufacturing safety; in business education, Microsoft certification; in information technology, Cisco certification; graphic arts as print ed; health occupations are certified nursing assistant, first aid 25 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. and CPR; and cosmetology state licenses. Recently, the Auto Academy at West Philadelphia High School attained National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation certification. This status will be attained in Swenson in the fall of 2008. Students at West Philadelphia were also recently honored nationally for building a world-class hybrid automobile.
Additionally, the School District of Philadelphia has launched an Apprentice Partnership Labor Agreement. The partnership is designed to form strong ties with local unions in the City and prepare graduates to enter the building trades through an apprentice program. In addition to academic rigor, students also gain practical experience in their classes and paid summer internships. Upon graduation, students from these schools are armed not only with a diploma and industry certification to show our prospective employers, but 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. they are prepared to be productive workers and great citizens. Mayor Nutter has charged the School District of Philadelphia with reducing the dropout rate by 50 percent over the next five years. We already have many effective programs in place and are looking to expand them and go forward. The School District participates in Project U-Turn, which is a citywide effort aimed at building effective strategies for reducing the dropout rate. The District also administers several of its own programs aimed at preventing dropouts and retaining students who have dropped out. Programs such as accelerated high schools and twilight schools are geared for our overage underaccredited populations, a group of students at a high risk for dropping out. The District also operates Gateway to College, which is geared 27 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. towards the same population of students. This program is operated in conjunction with the Community College of Philadelphia and it is the only comprehensive dual enrollment program for dropouts in the state. It allows students to complete their high school degree while earning college credits. Next month the District will partner with the City to open a citywide reengagement center aimed at transitioning students who have dropped out back into the District at the appropriate setting. So far this academic year, the District has recovered approximately 2,000 students who have previously dropped out. 8 million in grants from the Department of Labor for the expansion of our dropout prevention programs, many programs remain overburdened and maintain long waiting lists. Overall, we have about 3,300 slots for these programs, and we estimate 28 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. the need, however, to be about 5,000 slots. 5 million for ongoing programs. 1 million for modernizing school facilities, creating small high schools and expanding kindergarten through eight schools. This budget also reflects the priorities of the School Reform Commission. Next year there will be arts and music in all schools, and additional funds will be used for targeted class size reduction in kindergarten through three in Corrective Action II schools, which are those schools that are designated under the No Child Left Behind federal legislation which have not made adequate yearly progress for five years. Every child deserves a safe 29 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. place to learn. This year the District implemented a "Single School Culture" in our most dangerous schools, those classified as persistently dangerous or at risk of becoming persistently dangerous. The "Single School Culture" is a philosophy that sets out explicit expectations in the areas of academics, behavior and school climate. The philosophy is based on establishing shared norms, beliefs, values and goals. The expected outcome is a set of agreed-upon processes and procedures that produce consistency in practices for both adults and students. We have seen success in this approach and are looking to expand it further. 8 percent. The budget we are presenting to you is a reflection of the tremendous assistance and support we have received 30 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. from the City. 69 mills from the City to the District, generating $18 million more in Fiscal Year '08 revenue for the District.
The Administration has also pledged a $2 million increase in the City's cash contribution to the District to $37 million annually, and assumption of $8 million in social services contracts formerly in the District's budget. Additionally, the liquor-by-the-drink tax established in 1995 is projected to generate $41 million for the District in Fiscal Year '08. In Fiscal Year '08, the City also assumed $8 million worth of District contracts. Overall, City support for the District has grown at a rate of five percent annually over the last four fiscal years. The support received by the City has helped the District on the path 31 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. to long-term financial stability and to sustain successful programs which help Philadelphia's students achieve. The City of Philadelphia has been a strong partner in the past, and we are confident that with Mayor Nutter will continue the steadfast support, and the Council. We have already pledged to reduce the dropout rate, and made very clear in his commitment to improving education in Philadelphia. With the support and commitment shown to the children of Philadelphia from Mayor Nutter and the City Council, we have a unique opportunity to work together to increase efficiencies and performance through shared services. The District is currently working with representatives from the City to establish a shared services task force. The task force will be comprised of executive-level representatives from both the City and the District. The task force will identify areas where a 32 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. City-District partnership could increase efficiency by realizing economies of scale or eliminating duplicative services. The success of this task force will aid the District greatly in allowing to focus more intently on our core mission of educating Philadelphia's children. Examples of the type of areas that the shared services task force will look at will include after-school programs, health and social services, energy management, fleet management, real estate management, capital programs, safety and climate, legal, HR, employment benefits, procurement, risk management, and information and communications technology. Last year, the State Legislature funded an independent assessment of Pennsylvania's current education funding. It set out to determine if Pennsylvania is spending enough to meet its 100 percent 33 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. proficiency in reading and math and other academic standards set forward by the State. The report known as the "costing out study" showed that Pennsylvania's schools are currently underfunded by about $2 billion annually. Philadelphia alone is underfunded by nearly $1 billion annually, according to the study. To look at that on a per pupil basis, Philadelphia currently spends $9,947 on each student. The costing out study, however, tells us we need to be spending $14,131 to meet the academic goals set by the State. Governor Rendell's current budget takes remarkable strides towards closing that gap. 6 billion increase in state education funding, and over the six-year plan, the investment would increase incrementally to meet the funding levels prescribed by the costing out study and close the achievement gap. I believe the School District 34 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. of Philadelphia has a very unique opportunity at this moment to take our proven reforms to the next level. Mayor Nutter has not only committed to reducing the dropout rate, but also pledged strong support for the School District. At the state level, we have a Governor who realized that meaningful and successful reform cannot be achieved without increased funding. Governor Rendell has proposed a budget that substantially increases the State investment in the education of its children. The School District continues to make progress, both in implementing successful academic reforms as well as becoming a better steward of its own finances.
I am confident that under the leadership of Dr. Arlene Ackerman and with the continued support of the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that the District will continue to improve and our students will continue to achieve. 35 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Thank you for the time to testify today, and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you or the Councilmembers may have.
Thank you, Mr. Brady. On of the Five-Year Plan, you mention that in the first year of the plan $634.5 million is budgeted for ongoing reform programs. Of this amount, $317 million is for charter school options and $163.4 million for reforms in traditional schools. Why is there such a large disparity between the two? What is the number of charter schools compared to the overall size of the School District?
Yes, ma'am. We have 61 approved charters and two in Fiscal Year '09 budget, for a total of 63 approved charter schools, with a population of 30,142, I believe at last count, which equals the second largest school district in the State of 36 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Pennsylvania, our charters schools in Philadelphia. That is the size of the charter schools. The reimbursing -- I'm sorry, ma'am. You looked like you were going to ask a question.
No. 9 I was just asking why is there such a large disparity between the two as far as funding.
If you'll refer to of the Five-Year Plan, I believe it's the third paragraph.
We're going to have our Budget Director come and speak with you, answer that question, Council President.
Because I think what we have done is, we pulled out the portion of dollars for our regular schools that go into specific reforms, 37 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. but that does not reflect the total spending, obviously, in our traditional schools. But I will have Mr. Harris speak again with more detail.
Mr. Harris, why don't you just pull a chair up to the side of the table and you could use the microphone. (Witness approached witness table.)
I now have nothing to say, because the Chairwoman was exactly right; that is, the $317 million is the total amount required under state law to be sent to the charter schools, and that amount runs the entire charter school, every cost, from utility to teachers to principals; whereas, the reform amount for the schools refers only to non-mandated reforms above and beyond what we must provide. So it does not include any of the costs of the basic classroom teachers, the principals, the utilities, all those things. 38 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you. Again, on -- Mr. Harris, you may want to stay up there. On of, again, the Five-Year Plan, you mention the creation of a new shared services task force to review opportunities for consolidation and coordination of support functions and services. Can you tell us who will serve on this task force?
Yes, ma'am. It will be the executive levels. We are communicating with Dr. Shorr, who is spearheading the effort as the initial effort with the City. We anticipate at the school level, at the chief operating officer level and the senior vice-presidents. And I don't know the exact -- who will represent the City, but I would think that it would start with the Managing Director and at the equivalent level at the District at the City, so that we can look at mutual 39 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. opportunities for efficiencies and elimination of redundancies.
Can you tell us what functions and services will be reviewed?
Yes, ma'am. In fact, the details are in the Five-Year Plan, but it would include starting with such things as after-school programs, where can we properly place them, how can we combine both in coverage for personnel and security, but also operating hours and operating costs; health and social welfare services, which would work with the City to provide better services; fleet management. We have over 625 vehicles other than school buses. The City has a large number as well. Perhaps we could look at opportunities to combine. Energy management. We are both huge users of utilities. Perhaps there's some opportunities for bulk buying and distribution efficiencies. It can range 40 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. from landscaping and pest control, where we have two separate units that are doing that. Real property management, where we have individuals who are tasked to do that as well as the City. Safety/climate, we can look -- and we do have a great working relationship with the Police Department, but also look for opportunities to see if we can be more efficient and effective combining our resources. Legal, we have 33 attorneys. You have on the City, there's 182 attorneys. Although there are some unique policy requirements for a school attorney for the support of the SRC and the District, obviously claims may have some efficiencies where we could combine the services. Sanitation services, at one time the City picked up the refuse from the schools. This would be a great opportunity to have that happen again, 41 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. and that would be a $3 million savings to us. Capital projects improvement. You have capital projects, as do we. Perhaps there's some commonality in contracting that could be to our benefit. Other facilities management opportunities, where the staffs could look at more efficiency. Procurement, we have full-time personnel working on 12 procurement. The City has 62. Perhaps 13 we could combine and look for more 14 consolidated purchasing power if we 15 combine both the City and the State -- I 16 mean, the City and the School District. 17 My apologies. 18 Risk management. Again, it's a 19 commonality and both entities do it, what 20 can we do smarter. Other financial 21 activities, and the employee benefits, 22 HR. Of course, there are unique things to a school district in terms of HR for hiring highly qualified teachers and checking certification, but there are 42 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. other hirings that could be a commonality. And information and communications technology. Again, there may be opportunities for shared databases and -- so this is not to say that it's going to happen overnight, but I think it's a very significant effort that we are getting together to, within six months, to prepare a report for the SRC as well as the City to show where there may be opportunities to go forward. And I think the bigger issue is -- or the bigger good best news is that we are cooperating together to make that happen, and I'm convinced that there will be economies and efficiencies that will result from this goodwill effort on both sides.
Thank you. What is the likelihood that this review will be completed before the SRC approves the 2008-2009 budget? 43 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
We're looking for the efficiencies for this to be reflected in next year's budget cycle. It would be too premature and I think it would be --
It would be too soon and it would be simply making promises we can't keep for incorporation. As we go through the year, however, if there are opportunities, we would. But I think just not to over-promise and under-deliver, this appears to be part of the five-year efficiency program.
I would agree. Can you tell us for the record what is the current dropout rate for the Philadelphia School District?
That sounds like a remarkably easy question, Madam President, but it depends on how you compute the dropout rate. We report to the State, I believe it's, 7 percent, 7.1 44 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. percent, but we are reevaluating how we compute the dropout rate and we are looking at a six-year cohort methodology. And so I cannot for the record -- I will get back to you with the latest that we have on record and also an explanation of how we are reevaluating, how we determine what exactly is a dropout. And so the State is doing the same effort.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode for a point of information.
The figure that is usually used and the methodology that I think people are most familiar with is the amount of people who enter ninth grade that do not graduate. Do you have a statistic related to the amount of people who enter ninth grade but do not graduate? 45 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
In just a moment as I research, yes, sir, or perhaps Dr. Jones can assist. I don't have the percentage, but 3,201 students in school year 2006-2007 dropped out, as opposed to 5,162 in school year 2005-2006 and 5,294 in school year 2004-2005.
The question was based upon people who enter ninth grade and they didn't graduate and what's your latest statistic in terms of those people who entered ninth grade but did not graduate.
I will get back to you with that, sir. We will be researching it in the meantime.
You have to have a latest number. Whether you have the latest number or not, you have to have a latest number. There has to be some number that was the last number you knew of in terms of people who entered ninth grade and then did not graduate. 46 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Councilman Goode, if I may, based on the briefings that we have received, there's an estimated dropout rate of about 45 percent citywide for, I guess what we call, on-time graduation, those who enter ninth grade and fail to graduate roughly four years later. That really comes from the work the School District did with Project U-Turn. And it varies greatly school by school. Some of our graduation rates are obviously -- dropout rates, excuse me, are in the teens and others exceed 50 percent. But I believe the average that the Commission has been briefed on is approximately 45 percent failure of on-time graduation.
And people are very familiar with that 45 percent number. Has that number changed since that number was first revealed?
Again, I don't know if it has been updated. That was a number that we were briefed on, and it 47 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. really was at the beginning of the school year. I don't believe it included an '07 update, so there may be a more recent number that Mr. Brady can bring to Council.
Thank you. What is the current dropout rate for students enrolled in vocational training?
I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't hear you well. You're talking about vocational?
What 48 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. is the current dropout rate for students enrolled in vocational training schools?
Great. That sounds better. Can you tell us how much the District spent on vocational training?
For the current fiscal year, for career and technical education, we're projecting $61.4 million, and for next year, $63.1 million. That is operating funds only, so there's also approximately $25 million worth of Perkins funds that will be spent in addition to that from the federal government.
I'm sorry. For next year, $63.1 million for career and 49 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. technical vocational education in operating funds and approximately another $25 million in federal Perkins grant funds.
And you say we have a waiting list of how many students? Was it 3,000?
That was a waiting list for our -- a waiting list for our Project U-Turn, and it wasn't related to the career and technical education.
Is there a waiting list for students wanting to get into vocational training schools?
Good morning. Cassandra Jones, Interim Chief Academic Officer. At this particular point, we are just completing our enrollment for September 2008, and so we will not know about for another month in terms of the students who have applied for our CTE schools, and we are now in the process of doing the match and accepting -- or the 50 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. admission process for those schools. So by the end of May, we will know the students who have accepted, because our students get multiple acceptances, and so once we clear those rates, we will know if there are any waiting lists.
I would think that if we did in fact have more vocational schools, that would be an initiative to reduce the dropout rate. Would you agree with me, Mr. Brady?
I think part of the High School Blueprint, which is in the process of being reviewed now, may see more career and technical education as we go forward. And, again, remembering that CTE is not necessarily just a high school certification and then you move on, elements of Community College and then further preparation for a four year's degree. But, yeah, there may be an expansion of CTE, and I know it's being discussed for the Blueprint that the new 51 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. CEO will review and forward to the SRC for the ultimate approval.
Again, referring to the Five-Year Plan, the chart on shows a change in reserve of $884,453 in FY08-09. Can you explain what this is?
It has to do with the School District's debt service, and the School District is required to reserve a certain portion of swaps debt service in order to meet federal regulations. And so the 884,000 actually shows up as an expenditure in our debt service line and then comes back out in the reserve line. And I don't actually understand it much beyond that, but it's sort of a pass-through debt service information.
All right. I have any number of questions that I'd like to ask, but I see that a number of my colleagues have had their light on. 52 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. I assume that Councilwoman Tasco is not in the room. Councilman Greenlee.
Mr. Brady, in your testimony -- first of all, may I just say thank you for your service to the School District. Best of luck in the future.
You talk about in your remarks about the deficit and you talk about the cyber charters and they can either grant nor disapprove. Can you give a little more detail on that? You're required to fund by whom, just so I'm clear?
By the State. We're required -- it's charter cyber students, and we didn't -- it's very difficult to project the number of cyber 53 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. charter students who are going to be enrolled, but it's after the fact. So there was a number after the fact that we were required by the State to reimburse, and we did.
Okay. I didn't know there were that many in that. Speaking of the funding issue, do we know -- and maybe the budget person can tell us -- how we compare to some of the other cities, particularly the east coast cities, Baltimore, New York, Boston, as far as the percentage we get from the State? Has that ever been 54 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. looked at?
If you look in the Five-Year Plan, it actually shows that Pennsylvania is quite low relative to other states. I think we were sixth from the bottom among the 50 states. That doesn't directly answer your question of how Baltimore, Boston, New York are doing, and since I don't know that, I'm not going to venture a guess.
I was just wondering, because obviously they experience some of the same issues we do in different ways and I know on other issues there's been complaints that those cities -- that the State kind of recognizes their problems better than sometimes Pennsylvania does. So I didn't know if that was ever looked at directly.
We'll get the specifics to you. 55 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you. One last question. You talk about the most dangerous schools and the "Single School Culture." Now, we're not talking -- are the disciplinary schools included in that when you're talking about the most dangerous schools?
Now, I know before we heard some concerns -- and I don't know if they still do it the same way, because I haven't heard it recently -- that sometimes students were put in some of these disciplinary schools that didn't necessarily belong and that it either pushed them to maybe drop out of the school or it just put them in fear generally because maybe they didn't fit 56 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. exactly in there. Did you relook at that at all?
There was an alternative school task force that was created about six months ago that looked at every portion of that on entry and what student code would trigger the entry. We're working with the Safe School Advocate on what can we provide, what is being provided, at what cost and how many seats do we have, and part of that was what does trigger a student to be entered into an alternative ed. We looked at particularly driven by the costing, and so wanted to provide a safe classroom for all students, and clearly, some of our students need and do well in alternative education. So it is the results of that task force that will be out in about a month on costing, rules, changes, et cetera, and that is part of the recommendations that's going to go forward to the SRC. 57 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
I know that last year we had some issues with regard to budget, but we're assuming this year that whatever the District says, the SRC agrees with, so we're in agreement; is that correct?
I'd like to ask -- and maybe Ms. Glenn can 58 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. come back. We had an issue with regard to Sulzberger School that was supposed to be considered at the SRC meeting on the 16th, and we want to -- many of you know, this was a big issue, $12 million deal, kind of first of its kind in the City. We all worked very, very hard and did what Mr. Brady talked about in creating a task force and agreements citywide, statewide, School District, PHA. And so we'd like to know if it will be considered at the next SRC meeting, and, that is, the question of giving the right to negotiate. That's all it did with regard to the ownership of the Sulzberger annex or the Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center. The question was only that all entities talk so that they can deal with the issues of ownership and such. Will that be on the SRC's next meeting?
Councilwoman, the SRC is prepared to consider that. We 59 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. were asked to allow the -- I believe the City Solicitor had asked for some time to review what was being proposed, and basically as a courtesy we did remove it from our agenda in April. Again, we are prepared. We will have our general counsel follow up with them to see if their concerns have been addressed so that we can move forward.
Thank you. Let me say to anyone from the City who is here, that we have had that discussion, and the City Solicitor is telling my staff that it is not on their -- that they're not the ones holding it up, it's the SRC. So we are requesting, Madam President, if you would, that before we conclude these hearings, that we have that issue resolved from the City Solicitor. Because not only does it affect that, it affects 42nd and Fairmount, and we have several issues 60 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. interrelated. And, as I said, it only gives them the right to talk about the issue so that legally we can work out those ownership issues since there are various sides who have invested in that.
Councilwoman Blackwell, I'll make sure I have the most recent information. I'll check with our general counsel, who is here today, to see if there's been some change in status, but we would be prepared to put it back on our agenda.
Thank you very, very much. Let me ask -- I don't know if that would be you. I want to ask, since we have a Lucien E. Blackwell apprenticeship program that Penn sponsors and we have Brandywine who has bought in, Drexel agreed to do it, the Zoo and others, how does your District Apprentice Partnership Labor Agreement work at the School District? I wanted to know how it works and if there are commitments for 61 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. jobs after. Maybe this is the first year. I don't know, but if it exists, how it's going and do the youngsters get jobs afterwards. That's an idea whose time has come for us all.
Fred Farlino, Interim Chief Operating Officer. Councilwoman, there is a target in our relationship with the trades with regard to the number of apprentices that you have brought on during four years of the agreement, and we are coming at the end of the second year and one of the things that we are working with the trades right now is a more specific tracking system, that as young people are brought into the trades, they sometimes get absorbed into the general workforce and we lose track of them, because we're concerned about them and being able to track the effectiveness of the program. So to answer your question, they are brought into the unions. They are apprentices, and the District is 62 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. working with the trades to create a better tracking system to be able to answer your question to say where are these kids actually going.
So two graduations have happened. Do you train them specifically for an apprenticeship test? I know math is an issue, even with the adults that we tried to solicit. Do you have a specific training course for them in terms of math and reading or whatever?
We do, and this year we are planning something called Senior Centers. These will be sites located in different parts of the City to give equal access to youngsters that want to be part of it, and we are really focusing to do a better job in preparing our youngsters to become apprentices. Sometimes students think they want to get into the trades, but sometimes at the apprentice level, the work is not all that glamorous and they're not really 63 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. prepared for it. So we're spending time planning a program for next year that will better prepare. But this year we have had -- probably a great program we had was a relationship with the Glazers and Painters Union where we had youngsters who participated in that program as undergraduates. We call it our pre-apprentice program.
We found in our Lucien E. Blackwell apprenticeship program that we will need to do some training in terms of -- well, remedial is not the right word, but we're going to have to do some extra training. Maybe we can do it in my area at a community college level. It would be kind of GED, maybe even adult basic ed to get people ready for training tests. And so we're happy to work with you. Because ours isn't a high school program. As you know, it's an unemployed adult program. But we also want to work 64 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. with the Science Center. We've met with them in terms of keeping adults who graduate. That's one of their missions, to keep adults who graduate from college in our city. So we want to work with that and include it from a school level to a college graduate level where we'll use my area as a pilot to try to keep college graduates here, because we have need of them. And I've heard people talk, Councilman Kenney talked in the Caucus Room about us having engineers and electricians. We're having a very difficult time bringing unemployed people into these trades. So it's from a professional level. He talked about engineers on down, that we have to have people prepared, otherwise we're not going to have everybody in our city from all ethnic backgrounds included in this whole tree of life that we're working so hard. And that leads me into one last question. 65 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. The '09 budget talks about eliminating 151 teaching positions. How are we doing on that? What are we going to do and how will we complement classes? You know, there are many of us, especially we former teachers, who don't like two grades in a classroom, because if you have two grades, a kid at the top grade loses out. So we are interested in that issue.
Yes, ma'am, and thank you for the question, because it has caused some confusion. The number of teachers that we project is based on enrollment. And so as we looked ahead in '09, we could see that based on the student enrollment, we would probably need 154 teachers less, but at the same time, the SRC has given us the priority of lowering class size in kindergarten and three and some of our most troubled academic schools. So we will be hiring teachers to fill those positions. So parents will see less students in the 66 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. classrooms. And so we're talking about -- although obviously we're talking about teachers, it's two separate entities. One is simply a reflection of what we have for enrollment and we won't need those number of teachers, and then on the other hand, in a related -- in a very important academic initiative, which is class size reduction, we will need more teachers. So that's the clarity that I think we need to bring forward.
And, Mr. Brady, if I may, just to add, Councilwoman, we also are maintaining the SRC and the District's commitment to eliminate split classes, which you're referring to.
So this is an ongoing, as I've learned -- and I'm a student in this area -- that into the school year, it's not until we're about two to three weeks in the new school year 67 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. that we can really make the final adjustments based on how many children actually show up, where they show up, and then the District staff, led by Dr. Jones, makes the appropriate adjustment so that we are not exceeding either contractual limits on class size nor violating the SRC's priorities about reduced class sizes in the early grades. So that's an ongoing process, and it usually doesn't wrap up until mid to late September.
And last year there was a tremendous effort devoted to the SRC priority eliminating split classes, and it was October, but it was a successful effort, and it's monitored every month.
If I can just piggyback on that. I see that you're projecting a decrease of 1,466 students for FY08-09, which would equate to a reduction of the 151 teachers. That seems less than a ten student to one 68 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. teacher ratio. Can you tell us what the actual student-to-teacher ratio is now?
Well, first off, Councilwoman, you found our mistake, that the enrollment numbers are incorrect. The actual drop -- thank you. The actual drop is projected to be 3,303 students. If it had been 1,400 students, we would never have reduced teachers by 151. So you're absolutely correct on that. In general, the District uses a rule of thumb of approximately 14 students to one teacher, but it depends 15 on whether it's middle schools, 16 elementary schools or high schools, are 17 all different. Smaller schools, the 18 ratio tends to be lower, so it differs 19 depending on the school. 20
What 21 accounts for the reduction of the drop or 22 the decrease of students; do you know? 23
Is it 25 mostly because of the charter schools? 69 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. What accounts for that loss?
Well, we cannot give, obviously, a precise exact answer to that, but it's a mixture of demographics, with a lowering birth rate, which is now turning around in the City, but there's a five-year lag between obviously when more children start being born and when they reach us. So we know that that is going to -- that's going to turn around, but it hasn't turned around for our schools yet. And also the charter schools, approximately 60 percent of the children who enter charter schools have come from the public schools. So we're looking at an increase next year -- this is off the top of my head, but I believe it's around 2,000, 1,900 or 2,000 additional students. A thousand or so of those are for the two charter schools that were deferred and the remainder is for a projected increase in cyber charters and some natural growth among the existing charters. 70 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. So if you use the 60 percent number, approximately 1,200 of the drop would be due to charter schools and approximately 1,900 would be due to the demographic impact.
Thank you. Certainly I have enjoyed working with you, Mr. Brady, and all of you who are there, from Mr. Farlino to Dr. Jones to you, Mr. Brady, to Sandra Dungee Glenn to Ms. Armbrister and all of those on that first row. We worked together very closely to do all of the things that we need to do. We appreciate that. We have a lot of challenges, because often even though we have standards for each grade, they're different in different schools in spite of that. So we still have far to go. And I'll mention one last issue that I mention every year and have for many, many years, and, that is, the issue of 71 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Ritalin and behavior-altering drugs. I ask that you consider that. Many of you know, students become -- when puberty hits, students become suicidal if drugs aren't changed. I know after many hearings on it -- we have many, many hearings, so I know that it is tight that if there isn't a nurse in the school -- and that's another issue. I know we deal with nurses -- that students have to have somebody in charge of dispensing medicine. So we got that out of these Council hearings. But it's a very important issue, because we have some students who take drugs who just come from weak homes and they mimic misbehavior in their homes and they need some decent food, and we have some kids who may need them. But it's a big, big issue, and there's still no universal way we deal with it in terms of kids getting on and off. Everybody says that they take drugs, they should fit in, you know. 72 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. It's supposed to make them normal people, but it's not that simple, as we know. And we know Chad and these other pharmaceuticals make money from our kids and they offer parents SSI and they get a lot more money than they do on welfare, many related issues. It's a complicated issue, but I hope that you will consider the issue of children taking behavior-altering drugs. It's a very, very, very important one. I've been fighting it for a long, long time, unsuccessfully, but I ask that you put it in your minds, because it's a health issue and a moral issue as well. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you very much. I am sorry. I had to leave the Chambers for a meeting, so I missed your 73 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. discussion, I'm sure, about the apprenticeship program. So I won't -- I'll read the notes of testimony, because we are concerned about the participation of young people in the building trades and -- I guess I'll just ask this one question. It may have been asked. What is the level of participation within your program of the trades? Was that question asked?
Good morning, Councilwoman. Would you repeat the question, please?
What is the percentage of participation of the trades in the apprenticeship program at the School District? How does it work?
All of the apprentices are given the opportunity to join the unions. So all of our apprentices are part of the trade unions.
Now, do 74 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. you have a special apprenticeship program within the School District?
We do. We have a pre-apprentice program that we would like to expand. We'd like to geographically expand it, as well as quantitatively so we can have more kids involved. We feel we need to do a better job in preparing our students who are interested in going into the trade areas by working with them. Councilwoman asked about preparation for the tests that the students have to take to get into the various unions, and we're working with the trades right now to try to more specifically track the students who are becoming part of the union. We try to target our seniors, because obviously they're ready to graduate, need the work. And a lot of times we see that students are so successful in these pre-apprentice programs, while this is a good thing, they go on to college. They make the 75 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. decision to go to college instead of going into the trades. But it is something we're working on. We are expanding it, and we look forward to being able to hit our goal, which was 425 apprentices being moved into the trade unions by the end of the fourth year of the agreement.
Who specifically at the District is in charge of this program?
At this point, it is a shared responsibility between the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief of Staff of the SRC.
So are you looking to -- I know you have a gap, but are you looking to really focus in on the effort to make this program a success by hiring someone who has some knowledge about the industry and the program and what the trades need and require? Because it seems to me that you need that kind of person to operate that program. 76 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
We have School District representatives on the committees that plan these programs, and the District's representative on that side is our Director of Capital Programs, and he is well aware of the needs of the trades and what areas apprentices can be most successful. So we do have representation on the committee.
But if I may, Councilwoman, the Commission has asked the District staff to take a look at how we could better organize the oversight of this program. Each trade committed to a specific number of apprentices, and we are now trying to follow through to see how we're doing trade by trade. And it has varied in terms of, I think, the levels of responsiveness, if you would, to the program, and part of that is our fault in terms of really being able to have the appropriate, in my opinion and I think the Commission's opinion, oversight. We have asked for the 77 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. consideration of something -- the very thing that you said, that there really needs to be a point person at the District both from the capital program, the actual construction side, and the educational side, because there's two pieces to this, to really kind of work together and have it better coordinated. So I think that's something that we have asked. I think the District staff has come up with a series of recommendations that they want to make to better -- I think to amend different aspects of the working relationship with this agreement. So we are trying to now see where we are with implementing some of those recommendations. So we believe there are areas that we could really tighten up, yes.
Well, maybe I just need to understand how does the program work. We got this big announcement that you're establishing this Apprenticeship Partnership Labor 78 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. Agreement, but what does that entail? What does it mean?
And I think we probably need to have a briefing with you and other members of City Council to kind of walk you through the program, because it has several components, from what goes on in our career and technical schools like the Dobbins and the Bok, what goes on there, what the relationships are with the trades and how they, if you would, screen our young people in terms of applying and becoming apprentices and then how they're supported as apprentices. So it's really -- it's not quite a single -- it's not a short answer to your question, and I think it would be best, if you'd like at your convenience, to have a briefing with you to give you a detailed overview of the program.
I'd appreciate that very much. And probably -- 79 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.
Excuse me, Councilwoman. Perhaps you might make one that we could do in the Caucus Room and invite whomever would like to get that information.
Let me ask you another question regarding the charter schools. There are several charter schools and a lot of them specialize in various areas, math or technology or architectural engineering. When you evaluate them, do you look to see that they're really presenting a program as outlined to you and that it's just not a high school without the 80 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. specifics being taught?
Yes, ma'am. Part of this year's evaluation for the charters that were up for renewal, part of the evaluation was the purpose and approval of the charter, there is something unique or special about that school, other than it's a high school, nautical, science and technology, et cetera. So that is part of the overall criteria now, are they keeping true with the original purpose of the charter, and that's part of the evaluation matrix that's briefed to the SRC, and this -- as I say, this is the first year we're going through that detailed analysis, yes, but it is part of the matrix, yes.
If you find that they are not conforming to the mission that they outlined in their 81 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. application, what happens?
Well, this year if all the -- this rigorous evaluation process for the SRC, for particularly this year renewal, incorporates many, many different evaluation criteria. As we go forward, we'll strongly recommend that if they're not keeping with the original criteria or the original approval authority of their charter, that is a reason to revoke the charter. Such drastic action in this year, no, but as we go forward and we're tightening the criteria for the SRC, I think that that's a very valid reason. If the schools form to do one particular thing and they're not doing that, then that could be a grounds for the elimination of the charter. However, it's weighed by so many other factors, including the student achievement, et cetera, but it is part of the criteria, yes.
Okay. Let me see if I can -- I have a couple other 82 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. questions. On of your testimony, Mrs. Glenn, you talk about the early childhood programs and that you want to increase the preschool services from 4,800 to 10,000. What is the universe of preschoolers that might be reached?
Right now the School District currently serves 9,500 students in at least four or five different programs to include Head Start, Comprehensive Early Learning Centers, Bright Futures, pre-kindergarten, Pennsylvania Pre-Kindergarten Counts. And so to get -- here I was willing to give you all this information, I should have listened more carefully to your question.
Yes. We're serving about 10,000 now. And, Councilwoman, you'd like to know is that what percentage of three- and four-year-olds 83 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. in the City is that. (Bell rung.)
I don't know the answer to that question. We can get you the answer to that question. I believe our goal was to be serving about 85 percent, making sure about 85 percent of our young people were going through a preschool experience prior to coming to our schools. Where we are now, we can get that number for you. I believe we're in the 70's, somewhere in the 70 percent, 70, 75 percent range, but I'll get you an exact number
Do you think we'll ever reach the point where every child could attend preschool?
Absolutely, if it was possible within resources. I know we've made tremendous gains in the last 84 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. couple of years and great emphasis and funding from the State to make most of this happen, but it's absolutely critical, yes.
And I think one thing that we are trying to work in coordination with the non-profit and for-profit daycare providers, they don't all need to come through our programs, but I think what we're trying to understand is somehow, either through our program, private and then non-profit centers, are we reaching the vast majority of three- and four-year-olds so that they have some kind of preschool experience before they come to the schools. So that that's really our goal. It may not be through our programs specifically, but by working with the other providers. And I know there's a lot more coordination. We are doing a lot more training of preschool teachers like with the other centers. So that's something that has been improving a great 85 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. deal, but, again, we can find out between all of us what percentage of young people we're serving.
Thank you very much. If you get that information to the President, she'll make it available to all of us.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. I'll try to move very quickly. Let me first congratulate you on the improvement in PSSA test scores from 2002 to 2007. Clearly, the numbers speak for themselves in terms of scores in general. I am interested in whether that number holds true for high school performance. I believe it probably does not. Do you have a number 86 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. for high school performance in terms of PSSA scores, what it was in 2002 and what it is now in terms of those performing at proficient or advanced?
One moment, sir. We're getting it. If not, sir, we certainly can get it to you.
While we're waiting, without mentioning the schools in particular -- I don't want to stigmatize them -- I would just say that my information I have says that there's a school in North Philly where 87.4 percent did not perform at proficient or advanced. There's a school in North Philly where 90.4 percent did not perform at proficient or advanced, another school -- two schools in Northwest where 90 percent or more did not perform at proficient or advanced, a couple schools in West Philly, high schools, where 94, 97 percent did not perform at proficient or advanced. (Witness approached witness 87 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. table.)
I'm LaVonne Sheffield. I'm the Chief Accountability Officer for the School District. In grade -- and that's the 7 only grade that we test for the PSSA -- 8 for proficient and above, 2002 was 23.6, 9 and in 2007, we're at 30.9. And the 10 change is 7.3. Not as dramatic as the 11 other grades. In reading, '02, 28.7. '07, 34.9, a growth of 6.2. I should note particularly in mathematics, our growth of 7.3 is beyond the State's growth, which was only 4.1, and we're flat in terms of reading.
I'm interested in some other demographics. Chiefly a couple years ago I asked Mr. Vallas two questions: One, whether he saw a connection between the dropout rate and the murder rate, and the second question I asked was about the performance of African-American males, and he never answered the second 88 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. question. So I'm interested in what was African-American male performance in 2002 in terms of PSSA testing and what it is in 2007.
I have the data. I can get it for you. Our gap has been flat. We've not made very much movement with either Hispanics or African-American, both male and female.
I'm extremely interested in not only receiving that information probably before the end of these hearings or before we approve the budget, in addition to that, I'd like information, however you have it demographically in terms of those demographics, that fall far below the improvements you've made. If they're geographic demographics and otherwise, I'd like to know -- as much as I like the overall improvement, clearly there's some problems there, and if it's flat, it's flat, which means that at some point we 89 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. just look at how we address those achievement gaps, which leads me to my next question. Do we have dropout factories in Philadelphia?
Do we have dropout factories in Philadelphia, schools where people go to drop out?
There's been extensive work done in multiple pathways in Project U-Turn that identifies those groups and students who have a propensity to drop out, and you can start that study in looking at fifth and sixth. Primarily it's sixth and ninth grade. And some of the indicators would be poor attendance, poor grades and trouble with law enforcement.
My specific question is, do we have dropout factories? Are there places where you pretty much know a majority of the 90 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. students are going to drop out?
We have that data that we could -- yes, we have that level of data where we could look at the --
Let me ask the question a different way, then. If 100 percent of the students in a high school are not performing at proficient or advanced, would you consider that to be a dropout factory?
Oh, I'm sorry. My hearing is not good, and I apologize for having you ask it four or five times. Dropout factories, yes, sir. Do we have dropout factories? We have high schools that clearly are not making the academic success that the SRC and the District want, yes. Are we in the process of looking at high school reform? Yes. Have we looked at -- has the District made some significant changes in the last couple of years? Absolutely. Is it where we need to be? No. And has there been a group that's looked at it and it's 91 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. called the High School Blueprint that's going to be enrolled in June and enrolled in June for the SRC's approval? Yes. And I would say that there would be success -- there would be plans to identify those high schools that are clearly not making that achievement.
My last question simply is, if you were using PSSA scores as a benchmark and particularly those who not scored at proficient or advanced in terms of reading and math, at what level, 100 percent, 90 percent, 80 percent, if you have a school where the overwhelming majority of students are not performing at proficient or advanced, at what level of non-performance? Like I mentioned a couple of schools where clearly -- the one at the top of the list right here in terms of this particular school in terms of math scores, 0.4 percent score were advanced, only 12.2 percent were proficient, and 87.4 percent were at 92 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. basic or below, as contrasted with, say, Masterman, where 79.7 percent were advanced, 17.8 percent were proficient and only 2.5 percent were basic or below. (Bell rung.)
So if you have schools where you have 70, 80, 90 percent or more that are not scoring at proficient or advanced, are they dropout factories and how many do we have and where do you set that benchmark?
Councilman, we have a number of schools and there are a number of high schools -- and, again, I don't know the exact number -- that are in that mix. I believe there may be 10 or 11 that are included in our lowest tier of corrective action schools. That's what we've looked at. These are schools that not only do they have high numbers of students who are not on grade level, but we can't see any progress. We don't see it getting better. And we call them our Corrective Action II schools. 93 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. In those schools -- and we're looking at what we call the third tier, those schools at the very bottom, where we are preparing and asked staff to work with us to prepare an intervention plan that could include anything from restructuring the school, charterizing the school, potentially even looking for contract partners who would bring in a different educational program, one that has been shown to be effective, though, a proven program, because what we are currently doing is not working. So we are looking at ways that you might consider radical interventions in those schools. A number of them are high schools. It's not just limited to high schools, but there are -- the high schools that you're referring to would be in a category. So, yes, we have our eye honed in on them. We are very clear where it is not working. We have -- and we can't do all 70 schools at one time, but we 94 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc. have a group of about schools where we are looking over this next academic year to lay the groundwork for this intervention program and begin to turn that around.
Just lastly, 8 I'm interested in as much demographic 9 information as I can get in terms of PSSA 10 scores. Thank you. 11
Yes, and we would 12 be happy to break them out that way. And 13 they tend to be our comprehensive high 14 schools. I don't think we would be 15 surprised by the names, but it's now time 16 to do something radical in terms of 17 changing what is going on in those 18 schools. 19
23 You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. 95 4/28/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080158, etc.