(indiscernible) was sort of leading the engagement. You said, What percent? what does that look like in the classroom? We said we could go back and find that. We have 11,390 classrooms. In 59 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 2005, Phi Delta Kappa, a national organization, came in and said going into these classrooms, looking at the engagement of the teachers, which is a result of what happens with our principals who are leading that, what's the percentage of classrooms that you see that are really showing the kind of engagement? And it was 7 percent. We went back and we said we would calculate that for you for the walk-ins. The percentage today is 35 percent. That's growth, as Dr. Sheffield was saying. Are we there a hundred percent? No, but that does not say that the majority of those other classrooms don't have principals who are engaged in the way that we are expecting. There is a range, it's a continuum --
I appreciate what you're saying, but percent and 6 35 percent are both failing grades. 7 It's tremendous progress, but it's not helping the students -- the 65 percent of students who are in classrooms with teachers who are not engaged.
But I think that you're looking at a single indicator. As you were saying, you can't look at just test scores.
And that's not what we're saying, because when we look at a principal's score card, we measure engagement by the parent and community involvement, student engagement. We look at the test scores, we look at how they work on professional development. So on the continuum of services, I think that you will see that with all of our principals to a 61 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 varying degree, and some need more support than others.
Oh, okay. My time is ended, and I don't know if other people have questions or --
Yes. And, Councilman, your time has been up also.
We'll do a second go-around. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you. These questions may have been answered yesterday; I tried to listen in my office. But I want to go back here 'cause I see the chart here relative to the math -- PSSA math, reading test results. And what is disturbing is 62 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 the -- in my district a high school that has 74 percent of the students reading below basic, how do they get there? I mean, how do these students get to high school without reading? My question is, you had mentioned earlier that the real thrust to education should be at the elementally school level, grades 1 and 2. Are the resources targeted to those early grades to provide the teacher to be able to teach children to read, write and to arithmetic? That should be the basic goal of the early grades. And what is being done? Because if we don't handle it there, each year they fall behind and behind. So they get to high school and they're 74 percent below the basics in math and reading and the -- and 60 percent below on reading and math in the other part of the high school.
And we certainly 63 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 grapple with that every day, and you are absolutely correct. We absolutely have -- the core curriculum, as we spoke about, was actually started in the lower grades where we had the targeted resources. Then we brought in many of our interventions that looked specifically at how do we improve the reading and the math. And so though the test scores are showing that there's improvement there, it's still not enough. Unfortunately, when you hear that it takes a generation for this to go through and so you're seeing the results of students who did not have the advantage of that, that doesn't excuse us for that. So what we've done in the high school and our middle school, we have some very specific targeted reading and math interventions that we're looking at with our students and high 64 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 school also. The reality is that there's still more that needs to be done. How does it happen? It comes from when we first have our children in preschool environment, many of them that come in that have not had the structured, formal preschool experience, and then we are playing -- working very hard to catch up with those students, it is having adequate resources, whether it's the programs where there's professional development, to move the students forward. The extended resources that we need, it is the books, it's the manipulatives, it's better ways of teaching it, it's connecting the social services that we need to try to change a culture and a climate, it's professional development about what believe our children can do and how you turn the tide. It's the combination of all of that, that we 65 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 move in the right direction. But clearly, as we were saying, though, the scores are going in the right direction, it's not just test scores but attendance, looking at the suspension data, looking at all of the free and reduced lunch. We look at everything.
Do you have -- I know in the old days you used to have reading teachers to help children who are struggling with the ability to read.
We do. And we've actually added reading coaches as a strategy. We know that reading across all of our subject areas is a major trust for the District. Again, not enough. When look at the elementary schools, certainly more, but as start to go up, when you're seeing the numbers that you're looking at in high school, the high schools, we have reading coaches, but 66 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 not enough in terms of what you're talking about. So you're absolutely correct.
Are the reading coaches mandatory? I mean, do the students have to go or is it voluntary?
It's not always a pullout so that it's not a separate class. They are now working with teachers. It is a actual different model, what you're talking about, where they're actually working with teachers to help them improve how they use reading in their science class, reading in math, reading in the history, and then some students, smaller students -- it's a smaller number of students have actually pulled out of reading classes. But the majority do not at the high school level, they do not have to pullout reading courses, so you're working with teachers to improve it, and it is a resource issue. 67 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
Do you have pullout classes in the 1st and 2nd grades for reading and math?
We do have some, not across the board in all classes, but we absolutely have some of the targeted in the lower grades. But, again, part of the strategy is how do we build the skills of all of the teachers to be teachers of reading.
Well, do you have professional-development opportunities for those teachers to learn how to teach?
Absolutely, absolutely. And that's ongoing professional development that we use, but I wanted to -- we need -- if we could say, as Mr. Brady said, what would we use with some of those additional resources? Absolutely to have more of the reading emphasis. So it is coaching, it is to be able to have more of the targeted 68 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 resources at a younger age, 'cause you're correct, if you get it at the younger age, then they're reading by 3, they're able to be engaged. And we would use a lot of those resources to increase what we do in reading and math in the lower grades so that the foundation is even stronger.
I think I -- just one comment to support Dr. Jones. In terms of systemic fixes, we're working -- the heavy lifting is connecting the acquisition of standards to a grade. Were you proficient or are you not proficient? And I think we're doing that work. How do we establish rubrics for marks, grades? Because when you look at our data -- and we run our data by our PSSA, proficient basic, you have students who get C's and B's who are below basic. So the question that you 69 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 ask and that we've been grappling with is, Why is that? So how do we step back and provide a framework for grading so that you do pass based on acquisition of knowledge and acquisition of standards. If we do that, you don't get to the 10th grade or the 9th grade without being able to read at a proficient level. And that's what the hard work and the heavy lifting we're doing now so we can put some framework and then do professional development and move it forward.
Does some of this go back to the notion that you had to -- the children had to be passed and not held back? I know that at one point in time, it was -- there was some outcry about the number of children who were being held back, and then there was an outcry about the kids being passed and they couldn't read and 70 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 couldn't write. Where does that debate stand? I mean, where you all in that philosophy?
If you look at the promotion policy and what you were referring to, that absolutely -- I think you cannot ignore that as a contributing factor and another reason why we work so hard in terms of the intervention and support for students. And even when a child was promoted socially, it was with the intention that that child had a structured, extended-day program, and it didn't always happen.
But that was the intention, even with social promotion, that if you promoted Cassandra socially, that I had -- you knew, as my incoming teacher, that I had a difficulty in reading, that you needed to work with me on a particular reading 71 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 intervention. That did not happen across the board. So that was, again, another factor that you cannot ignore.
Thank you, Madam President. On a better note, 'cause your stamina has been incredible and we appreciate you being able to answer and respond to questions. It's not always what we want to hear, but it is what it is. And it can, based on that information, get better.
And that's 72 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 the way I'm looking at.
In my district, we have the School of the Future, which was recently certified as a LEED school, which is environmentally friendly, and I wanted to know if schools like Barry School, which is being constructed also in my district, are they going to be LEED certified? And the third part of my question is: Are we developing a green-job curriculum to prepare public school students for jobs in the industry of environmentalism, conservation, alternate energy and the like?
I'm going to take the last one and then turn it over to Mr. Ferolino. I actually love that idea, and I'm going to speak with Dr. Analoff (sp?) in our career focus, our CTE programs, because I will say that 73 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 that's one of the things where you say, "Duh, why didn't you think of that?" because that's makes so much sense. So thank you for that, and we are absolutely going to speak with Dr. Analoff, because there is no 8 reason why we would not do that.
I think -- thank you, Councilman. Yes, we're very proud that the School of the Future met the LEED standard, and all future design and construction will incorporate LEED standard. It makes good sense to have the right environmental systems and products. And over the years, you could make a good business case that will more than pay for itself.
There was a recent commercial where this young environmentalist is talking to a seasoned, grizzly CEO type, and she's trying to explain why greening is important, and she simply lifted up the 74 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 bottom line of the financial sheet: that it saves money.
And if that is, in fact, true and we can demonstrate that, it seems like it's a no-brainer to incorporate that. But in addition, as we start to look at careers -- not in the future but in the present -- whether we're talking about waterless urinals or gray-water technology or thermal heating, all of these things are careers.
You're no 18 longer just a plumber; you're a green plumber. And I think we just need to incorporate that into our shop. But not just green jobs; we're talking about life sciences, we're talking about hospital jobs, and we're talking about service jobs. As we look at the possibility of gambling 75 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 actually hitting Philadelphia, we need to prepare public school students for entry-level and even management-level opportunities with these industries. And it seems as though cooperation with the various chambers of commerce, cooperation with PWDC, and cooperation with Community College might be an appropriate way to --
-- kind of reverse-engineer these careers and really give a graduate of public school a opportunity, if they're not going to college, at least they're at a wage-earning, family-supporting job.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green. 76 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
I just wanted to ask a question in terms of Councilman Jones's comments about preparing young people for jobs of the future. I guess the core -- the question is: What are we educating our children to do? I mean, what is the core of the school system in educating our children? What is the end goal?
Councilwoman, the stenographer cannot hear you. 77 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
I'm sorry. What is the end goal? Is it to have them just to be able to read and write and go off into the world? Is it to help them understand what the world is all about and developing a curriculum so they understand that at the end of the day, they have to work; at the end of the day, they are going to be parents; at the end of the day, they're going to be home owners; and at the end of the day they're going to be adults? And what is it they need to be a productive adult? Are we developing those children to function in the world?
And that was my question. What is the goal for kids who graduate? What is the goal for kids who graduate?
At the end of the day, what is it that you're trying to do?
You've actually 78 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 described it: It is to be productive citizens in a global society, not just to go to college, 'cause even after you go to college, you still want them to work and be gainfully employed. I mean, you really described it, you know, in a nutshell. That's what the whole education process is. We want them to be functional, we want them to be good citizens, we want them to understand that this is a global society, we want them to understand that the world does not stop at, you know, North Philly or South Philly or -- you know, that it is, you know, you go to Africa, you go to Italy, you go to other places and you're able to prepare for jobs. Our curriculum -- you know, how do you become thinking, you know, functioning adults, because the jobs that we're preparing them for now don't even exist. And so -- and that you're not 79 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 going to be in a job forever, that you are going to be changing your jobs six or seven times. Those days are gone when you came in and you had that job for 30 years. You know, you're going to change jobs four or five times. And so, how do you maneuver the systems, how you're a critical thinker, how you're able to, you know, adapt your skills so they are transferable. Those are the things that we are preparing our students for, so your description was absolutely correct.
I think, sir, if I may, and Dr. Jones just gave a great overview. Being a more simple soldier-type, I know there's a mission statement and a declaration of education that the SRC has approved, and it -- I think it takes all of the great things that you two just discussed, and I think it puts in more 80 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 succinct language, so if you could allow me to get that copied to you, that will give you a better appreciation of, in a more succinct form, what the School District's mission is.
On a scale of 1 to -- 10 being fulfillment of 10 your mission, that is your written mission, and zero being zero attainment -- where is the School District with respect to the written mission statement?
Sure. I'll come back to it. The reason I was going to ask, What is the goal for kids who graduate? and I expected the answer to be productive citizens, in my view, that -- if you boil down your mission statement, that's it, productive citizens. 81 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 And what testing are you doing to determine whether or not a person is achieving towards being a productive citizen? How -- in other words, productive citizens share society's civic values, which may include things like conflict resolution or other things.
What testing is the School District doing towards determining whether or not you're achieving your goal of producing productive citizens? And at what level?
I think across the board, when we're talking about the testing, it -- we get that feedback, one, from our business partners, so let me start there. When we talk about, Are they able to work as members of a cooperative team? are they meeting some of their skills? some of that 82 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 comes from our direct feedback from our business partners, because we have several organizations that work directly with us. And so I want to move away from, if I can, just the test scores; that's a pencil and paper test. That's very concrete. When our employers come back and say, You're producing children, or your graduates are coming to us, and they're not able to function in teams, they're not able to get along with diverse cultures, and so you will see that we do teach conflict resolution, you'll see that we do have service learning and community service learning so that those skills we can measure. And sometimes it's in portfolios.
Great. How many 6th grade students are proficient in conflict resolution?
When you say "proficient," I would have to go back 83 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 and tell you how many pass the course. If that's going to be your bar for proficient, then I would --
Well, passing courses does not have a correlation with proficiency in tests, right?
But you asked me how are many proficient in conflict resolution, and so that is a course, and so the measure of that, of that -- of your particular question, I would have to go back to get that answer.
But that's not going to answer the question, because just as, you know, PSSA scores don't reflect -- don't have a correlation to whether or not somebody passed the course in math or reading, you can pass courses, people pass courses, to Councilwoman Tasco's point, and are not proficient, and that's why they end up at 74 percent who don't read who go to high school or who don't 84 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 read at proficiency that go to high school. So my -- the point of this is, there should be tests, we should be measuring other things to produce productive citizens other than just what we measure in our tests. So we should develop tests that help us understand whether kids really -- regardless of whether or not they pass the course, whether it's reading, math, or conflict-resolution, they really understand conflict resolution with respect to societal and civic values that we want to impart to our children. There is no measurement that says children, yes, they get that mugging somebody is wrong or fighting is not the way to solve things or being respectful to your boss is important or -- et cetera. These are things that are as important to measure when your goal is 85 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 to produce productive citizens as whether or not they're proficient in math or English, and I'd like to know if we can do that.
We would agree with you, and that's why I was giving you the other examples, but I wanted to respond to your question when you said specifically for conflict resolution. There are a lot of different ways to measure that. You can certainly look at the climate of a school, you can start looking at some of the students' survey work that comes out of our Office of Assessment. Those are other ways to measure it. But the only way that I could get to the concrete answer of a particular course -- and it would be lots of other ways we can get to, but that's the only way I could get to the concrete answer of a particular course if your question was just narrow for conflict resolution. 86 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
You make a very important point. Qualitative measures are much tougher to get at and drive and often have to be put in some cultural context because your values may not be someone else's values and how do we define that and measure it are very complex. I would also say to you in terms of the quantitative measures and acquisition of standards, we educate children so that they're literate adult, they're critical thinkers, they can think higher order, and that they can -- and that does translate to being a productive citizen. The role of education is to broaden the horizons of children, to teach them things and have them experience things that they would never experience. How you measure those kinds of things are tougher than how we measure if you know 2 plus 2 or if you can 87 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 complete an open-ended sentence. But you're right. The question is, how do we get to that? And it's very expensive -- I'll just put that on the table -- to develop those kinds of instruments, but you're right.
Thank you. I mean I guess I'd suggest that we know the answer to the question because 45 percent of kids don't graduate from high school at all; therefore, they're not productive citizens. So of the kids who go to public school, 45 percent don't graduate, so that's a -- if the goal is, you know, that's not -- 55 percent is not a passing grade on productive citizens.
Thank you, Madam Chair. 88 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
I'm just going to say I guess what we're asking, and society is asking, is for the school system to take on a little more than just educating the children. What you haven't said -- and you alluded to it briefly but very diplomatically -- is that you have some cultural issues and that you have some home issues, where the parents are not engaged, and you have a lot of that. And so, having all of that in the back of our minds as educators in some instances, do we throw up our hands and say we just can't get to some of these kids, and that's how I'm looking at the Boone and the Miller and the Allegheny schools where the kids are like a hundred percent below basic, and then these are the kids who end up probably in the prison system. 89 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 So we know that there are a lot of those social problems and issues that we have to recognize. And you can't be -- the school system can't be the cure-all, you can't be the end-all, but the attitude about that by some of the educators may -- and I'm not blaming the educators, but, you know, it's just human nature to say, you know, I don't know if I can deal with this, are we going to make any difference with this because of the environment these children come from, and where's the support we need? So the issue that -- and I guess I'm not asking a question but I'm making a statement that Councilman Green said about the whole issue of conflict resolution and the response about the values.
There's nothing wrong with teaching right and wrong. That's not a value system; 90 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 that's just a cultural issue or a value system, and you don't believe wrong is wrong and I don't believe wrong is wrong. Wrong is wrong. And so we need to teach that wrong is wrong and right is right, and there are some basic values that we do have to teach to these children as they go through -- 'cause you have them a major part of their lives, from 8 to 3 or 4, and you are responsible for them.
And it's a thankless job, and I thank all of you and those teachers and principals who are involved with this, because I don't know if I would have the stamina to do it, you know? But it takes a lot. But I don't want you all to forget that -- or think that we're thinking that you can't teach values. Now, what -- I mean what kind of values? I mean, certainly, there are other -- there are some 91 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 restrictions and that kind of stuff, but the basic let's-get-along kind of values, the values of right and wrong, you shouldn't hit somebody in the head with your book bag or, you know, you don't do those kinds of things unless you teach respect, that those are the values that you can teach without any fear of being in the court, and I think that ought to be pushed because a lot of these kids aren't getting that.
And that is part of what we do. And I do think that we would say as tough as it is, we don't throw up our hands because we really do believe that there's ways to work with our parents and with our communities and our partners, and it's going to take us all collectively doing that to figure out, you know, how do we change this behavior and the culture and belief systems. But it can be done, 92 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 and we see that. I'll give a perfect example, as I said with the Councilman and working with them on some challenging situations that we've had in schools, and it couldn't be solved with just the District alone, but the Councilman, you know, that came out, you know, the Councilwoman came out and put together some City resources together. And that's why I'm saying we measure it in different ways beyond just the class, but it is, when you're getting the feedback, you know, from your partners, from your parents. And I think that collectively what we've seen with the partnership with the City is, you know, that we're not throwing up our hands; we're trying to figure out different ways to measure it. And even the students that-the 45 percent that drop out, they're 93 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 still our responsibility and so that's why we're looking at different ways to engage them, even out of the court system. We still have to engage them in different ways. Because they've dropped out, that doesn't put them off our radar; we're still trying to figure out ways to reach them also.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm sure you're familiar with -- and I heard about this at a conference that I was at over the weekend. There is a program where lawyers are coming in to public schools to discuss civic values and our society and right and wrong. And I thought you might take 94 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 the opportunity to talk about that program for a second and also to let people know about it so that they might sign up for it.
Michael Pratt actually brought that program to the District about two months ago. It is actually being developed. It's going to kick off in September. And you're right. Lawyers and judges are going to be coming in. And it's conflict resolution and, you know, how do you really understand the difference between right and wrong, and how do you navigate the life situations so that you can stay on the right track. And that curriculum is actually being developed now, as we speak, working in collaboration with our Office of Curriculum and Instruction and with the bar. And we are very excited about that. And one of the things that, as 95 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 I was listening to you, I'm going to ask that particular subcommittee to think about other ways that we're measuring what happens as a result of this program because I know we've looked at many of the traditional kinds of assessment, but some of the things that you were saying today I was making note of it to say, as they're in development, there's some different ways to assess some of the things that are going to come out of that program, and then how do we replicate that. So we're very excited about that opportunity and it's going to kick off in September of 2008.
At a recent Philly Stat meeting that a member of my staff attended, the School District shared the results of a study 96 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 identifying the big four predictors of dropout, and it was a measurement taken at 6th grade versus dropout, and that was -- and I know it was briefly discussed yesterday: low attendance, poor behavior, failing 6th grade math, failing 6th grade English. I imagine you could probably draw a correlation back to 2nd grade, you know, if you wanted to, although that's not -- And, I guess, the study found that students who fell into these categories had a 10 percent chance of graduating on time and a 20 percent of graduating one year late, and the rest pretty much don't graduate. So I'd like to know, does the District have a computer program or some kind of program that looks at a database available for all its students, that looks at these factors so that schools, as children are going to another school or -- so that their teacher knows that they're in this 97 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 risk category and their principal knows that they're in this risk category? Is there a list developed? Is there a computer -- could you hit a button now and tell me how many kids in 6th grade fall into this category? And if you can't, why not? Or should we develop it?
Melanie Harris is going to come to address that for you. (Witness comes forward.)
Good morning, Councilman. Melanie Harris, Chief Information Officer. The School District is in its fifth year of instituting an instructional management system, which allows all of our teachers to log in. And their first screen is what we call their "KPI," their key performance indicators, which allows them to see, student-by-student: attendance, drop-out rates, test scores, report 98 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 card scores. We're in the middle of bringing in actual suspension data into that system. So it allows our teachers to drill down, at the most minute level, information on their students that are in that class at any particular time, and it's updated daily to really allow them to see where they need to make improvements at a per-child level. For example, at the benchmark we talked about yesterday, the six- week intervals in which the students are taught, that six weeks allows them to look back and say, Where do I need to remediate, where do I need to do advanced instruction for those kids, to be able to move them on to the next level. So that is available to our teachers. In addition to that, we have a data warehouse system that, again, brings all of that information up to our administrative level, that allows 99 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 our administrators to report on any level of, again, key performance indicators that can drive change and instruction.
So you could go back today, tell me how many 6th grade students meet the criteria that would suggest that they're not going to graduate from high school that are in the school system in 6th grade?
Yes. Based on what I heard those four indicators to be, yes, we could.
But you would have to go in and do it manually and then -- you know, and then report back to me. So I guess what I'm looking for is, you have you all of the data. You know people's attendance records, and you know these factors that were identified are important. And what I'd like to suggest is that the School District build models that will 100 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 automatically do the pre -- do predictions for school counselors, for, you know, extra tutoring, for everything that's available for these kids that we can now know, hey, I mean, the teacher's going to work on math because it's low, but we can also say, These are the children that aren't going graduate from high school. We have to do one-on-one with them, intervention, tutoring, things like that, to make a difference, to keep them in school. And it sounds like there's no -- that we're not using our data that way.
Councilman, while I'm not an academician, so I don't want to speak for my colleagues, but you are correct. We have, as Dr. Arnette said at the first Philly Stat meeting I attended, there's no lack of data in Philadelphia; probably more data than she has seen in any city. And I do 101 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 believe that our colleagues are working together to do true data-driven derision-making to drive instructional change, to look for how we need to differentiate instruction to really reach the broadest audience of students. So while I don't want to underestimate, as the technical lead, what it takes to build those models, I do believe we are moving forward on that. And we could be happy to expand on that conversation at any time.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yesterday, in the budget testimony in the afternoon, you 102 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 mentioned that despite the fact that the State allegations for alternative ed was being reduced by million, we 5 are going to stay at 5 million. Is 6 that because we're planning to expand 7 programming for alternative education? 8
The amount of funding for contract at alternative education '04 disciplinary schools and for the over-age schools is the same in the current budget, which is the Fiscal Year '08 budget and next year's budget, the Fiscal Year '09 budget. Dr. Jones is leading an effort to renegotiate the standards and the payment rates and many other things within that same -- within that same budget amount. And I think we're -- if everything went right, we would be hopeful that we might be able to provide more and better service for the same amount of money.
So where does the additional -- where is the 103 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 additional money taken from?
The State's -- the State -- the -- you're referring to 14 the $22 million that was provided by 15 the State for the Alternative Education 16 Demonstration Grant in Fiscal '07, and 17 then it dropped to 14 million in Fiscal 18 '08. 19
We are counting on 21 14 million in Fiscal Year '09 as well. 22 So the drop actually happened from last year into this year, not from this year into next year.
It's -- that funding source goes into the General Fund of the School District. And when any funding amount goes down, then we are forced to make decisions about what steps to take to close that gap.
In this case, the decision was made that that -- that we closed about two-and-a-half million of that gap through cuts in alternative education, but we were not able to cut anything like 8 million without devastating the programs.
A lot of our premise on this budget counts on the Governor's budget passing. What's our Plan B if we don't get the allegation that the Governor is pushing for?
Right now, the Plan A is to close the gap that's already announced, which is the 38.9 million. If that does not pass, then we go to -- 105 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 we're already working on a deficit- reduction plan for Plan B, and we'll have to make the necessary reduction. I mentioned it yesterday afternoon. I said once we rely on more revenue as part of that threefold approach to budget-deficit reduction, and if obviously a main source of that income is taken away, then we'll be forced to recommend to the SRC and to the City community very, very deep cuts into areas that we've made progress in the last a couple of years. And so to answer your question as openly as you can, it would be devastating, but we have a Plan B, yes.
I guess one of my concerns is, there's -- a decision in your new plan calls for extending the qualifying miles for 7th to 12th grade from 1.5 to 2, which would impact 7,000 students at a cost 106 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 of $720 per student.
So I'm asking, you know, we -- when we're experiencing cuts in other budgets, we are passing that onto the student. I mean, is this decision final? I mean, it's 7,000 kids that we're asking now to pick up $720.
That proposal in the budget is actually a policy decision that the SRC will address in the next few months. It will be a proposal to either move the geographic limit from one half -- from two miles to a mile-and-a-half, or there will be a proposal to base that SEPTA free pass based on an attendance model. And so that they will have that -- both policies. There will be public engagement on it, and then they will reach a decision in, I believe the SRC Chair said, in August. And so -- 107 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
I'm sorry? No, it's not finalized at this point. That will be a public discussion in June and August.
Can -- I don't know if someone from the SRC -- there's been some controversy around this $1,000-a-day panel. Can you summarize for us what the goals of that panel is and how that information will be used to help the new CEO?
I'm -- I know the intent of the new CEO is to gather information, have -- and help formulate her plans for the Philadelphia School District. I feel very uncomfortable in trying to explain how the $1,000 honorarium -- is that what you're referring to?
I do not know, and I think we can come back to you with 108 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 some details.
I'd appreciate that. At least with some over-arching goals and some --
Yes. And I know, Councilwoman, that Dr. Ackerman would love the opportunity to explain the overall goal and the intent and deliverables that will come out of that very important approach.
Okay. Councilman Green, immediately after you're finished your questioning, we will break until 1:30, when public testimony is scheduled. So at this time, I recognize you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to stay on civic values for a second, and I think what we heard from your CIO -- and you two were nodding yours heads in agreement, 109 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 so I'd like to make sure I understand. The quantitative data that teachers have available to them about their students, the KPIs, are driving better test scores, driving increased results. Having that quantitative data, having it available is telling teachers where to concentrate with a particular student, and that's increasing test scores. Is that a fair assess -- summary of --
It's improving in increased academic performance, 110 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 correct.
Okay. Increased academic performance, which we're measuring in test scores, okay.
Okay. So what I'm suggesting is, if we had quantitative data available to teachers about whether or not their kids in their classroom understand conflict resolution or share some of our civic values, which I think Councilwoman Tasco very well described as although there may be cultural differences, there really aren't with respect to right and wrong.
You should respect your elders, you should respect your teachers, you should -- you know, I mean, there are certain universal things that we can agree.
So towards 111 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 the goal of producing productive citizens, I'd like to suggest that we should try to gather, through testing, some quantitative data on how people really understand that.
And I'd like to know if, other than just this program where lawyers are going to come in --
-- if these -- to what extent these -- the productive citizen goal is part of the core curriculum now.
Okay. Allow us to get back to you with a better detailed answer.
And I would also like to be able to contact you because there's -- I know you've made reference a couple of times to a conference.
And clearly, there's some things that I think that you have in mind that could help us. So I would like to be able to follow up with you and just to really pick your brain because I think you have some ideas that could probably help us unpack some of the things we're trying to do.
I think I'll follow up the rest of my questions when we have a chance to sit down. And let us all head to lunch. I thank you for your testimony.
You know, I just want to note that, unfortunately, it seems like we agree that the School District does not have the resources to fulfill its core mission at the moment and -- 113 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
No. And it's a sad thing for parents who have no choice, because they can't make another choice, that have to send their children to public school, to know that there's not enough money there, unless you're child is in a magnet school, to provide them with a quality education that's going to turn them into a productive citizen, and that the day that they go into school, there's a 45 percent chance that their child is not going to graduate and become a productive citizen. I mean, this is a moral obligation of this city, of this state, and of this country.
And there's 114 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 nothing more important that we can do. And I just would like to know how we can help you.
Thank you. This committee will stand in recess until 1:30.
I'd just like to say that we recognize that there is not enough money to address many, many challenges that exist with the school system.
But I have to say that there are many young people who are coming out of the public school 115 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 system who are going to college, who are productive young people. It's -- while the numbers are high, we can't overlook the fact that many, many of our leaders in this city came out public school, many of them are coming out of public school and going to colleges and universities, and the School District should highlight that, as was talked about yesterday, the positives that are happening in the public school system. It doesn't mean that we don't fight and request and argue for more resources to meet those challenges that are more difficult to deal with, that we have the funds for. But I want to speak on behalf of those young people who are in school, who are doing a good job, who are learning, and will go on to be productive citizens.
Thank you. 116 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59
Again, the committee will stand in recess until 1:30. Thank you.
Thank you, ma'am. (Proceedings stand in recess at 12:20 p.m.) (Proceedings resume at 2:17 p.m.)
The Committee of the Whole is now back in session. I believe our first witness is Jerry Jordan. (Witness comes forward.)
Your testimony is rather lengthy. If you would like to abbreviate it, we'll give a copy of it to the stenographer and it 117 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 will be transcribed in full.
What I will do is, I will skip through -- I will skip portions of it --
-- for the sake of brevity. And since it will be in the record in its entirety, that would be fine.
Thank you. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Jerry Jordan. I'm the President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. Good afternoon, Councilwoman Verna and Councilmembers. I'm pleased 118 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 to be speaking to you today on behalf of the PFT's 16,000 members. Our dedicated teachers, nurses, counselors, librarians, classroom assistants, and support staff believe in public education. They believe good schools with qualified teachers and staff, adequate and equitable funding and well-rounded educational opportunities are the path to putting children on the path to healthy, productive lives. But they also believe that education is about more than test scores, adequate yearly progress, and dropout rates. To PFT members, education is about children, some with complex social, educational, and physical needs. PFT members believe that as a community, we must address all of these needs to develop young men and women who can envision futures that are both meaningful and attainable. We know you share this belief. 119 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 PFT members work hard to serve students' needs and improve academic achievement, yet they often feel they're hindered by policies that emphasize rote learning, testing, and meaningless paperwork at the expense of programs that do not make kids want to come to school. During a recent visit to a conference of high school, a PFT member asked: How can with say we care about cutting the dropout rate when the District cuts the very programs that keep kids interested, motivated, and engaged in school? Her comments are echoed throughout the School District, where many art and music programs have been eliminated, many school libraries are closed, and choirs, bands, clubs, school newspapers, and other activities have been curtailed. If we listen to the voices of the teachers and support staff on the 120 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 front lines of education, they would advise us to offer students a broad educational program that teaches students to think creatively explore their talents, and get involved in school activities that prepare them for jobs and college. We have been encouraged in recent years by increased public support for Philadelphia's schools. Since 2000, a strong coalition of parents, students, and community leaders has joined the PFT in calling on legislators and policy-makers to focus resources in schools and in classrooms where learning occurs. The community is clear and unified about the specific resources schools need: Early childhood education programs that target at-risk three- and four-year-old children and prepare them for kindergarten; Small classes taught by certified teachers who can give 121 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 students individual attention; Safe schools with high standards for conduct and consistent enforcement of rules; Well-stocked school libraries in every school staffed by certified librarians who can instill a love of reading and guide students in the pursuit of college; Middle-grade programs that identify and support students who are struggling and at risk of dropping out of school; A relevant curriculum; Technical and career training and other creative high school opportunities to help students explore their individual talents and prepare them to join the workforce or attend college; The highest-achieving school districts have these resources, and it's time that all Philadelphia schools have them too. Our schools 122 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 have made tremendous progress. Over the past few years, academic achievement is rising, and good things are happening throughout the District. Teachers and staff are helping to broaden students' learning opportunities too, and often, their success are overlooked. S.
Department of Education; Or West Philadelphia High School's Automotive and Technology 123 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 Academy receiving the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation Training certification; Or the Baldi School team capturing the National Academic League City Championship. And let's not forget the 61 exemplary teachers who were honored last week by the Lenbach Foundation and those who will be honored tomorrow night at the Celebration of Excellence. These are the signs that many schools are thriving despite austere budgets and an increasing emphasis on testing. Yes, schools are improving, but we are not where we should be. And I am going to skip, Council President, and close out this testimony... I just want to spend a few minutes before closing to talk about the need for better funding for our 124 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 schools. None of the programs that I stated earlier can be implemented without additional funding. This year, the PFT joined the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign, a statewide coalition that has lobbied the General Assembly to change the way schools are funded in Pennsylvania. Governor Rendell proposed increasing the State's education subsidy by nearly 6 percent this year based on the legislators' costing-out study, which determined the actual cost of educating every child to State standards. In Philadelphia, the costing-out study determined that it would cost another $5,000 per student per year, or $14,925 a year, to help every Philadelphia student become proficient in reading, math, and science. Governor Rendell's education budget represents a significant first 125 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 step to fixing the State's education funding formula, and it is important in two critical areas. First, he proposed enacting a comprehensive education funding system for Pennsylvania for the first time since 1991, and he proposed funding it fully by the time he leaves office in 2011. Philadelphia's fortunate to have a mayor who is deeply concerned about raising graduation rates, a governor who has proposed a significant ramping-up of state education funding, and community members who are joining in the call for increased school resources invested where it counts, at the school level. Then there are those who work on the front lines of education, the dedicated teachers and support staff, both instructional and non- instructional, who deserve 126 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 recognition, respect, and to have their voices heard. They come to work every day, sometimes in extremely challenging circumstances. They are fighting a battle for the future of our students and, indeed, for the future of this city. I urge City Council to help the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign advocate for passage of the Governor's education budget this spring and to use your oversight to ensure that new state funds are used to improve conditions in classrooms and for programs proven to raise achievement. The time to improve our schools is now. Thank you for your work and for your continuing commitment to improving the future for Philadelphia's children. Thank you.
Thank you very much. 127 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 On your first page, you spoke about a PFT member indicating how we can say we care about cutting the dropout rate when the District cuts the very programs that keep kids interested, motivated, and engaged in school. You further go on to say that this PFT member's comments are echoed throughout the School District where many art and music programs have been eliminated. Yesterday, we heard testimony, and the testimony was that, as I understood it anyway, that every school would have art and music, or art or music, and it would be a requirement. Are you familiar with that?
I am, Council President Verna. That is an initiative that the School Reform Commission has mandated during this budget cycle. I am talking in my testimony about what 128 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 actually exists now. And the SRC is saying that in September, all schools are going to be required to have those programs.
Well, the issue is that we're dealing with a budget for next year; we're not dealing for the budget today. I just wanted to make certain that I was not, I guess, not too clear on what this member was saying and what we heard yesterday. But as long as you're telling us that that will be certainly in the budget for next year. You agree with that?
I can only tell you that the SRC has recommended that those positions be present.
Right. But I understood, and I assume everybody did, that it would be in every school, and it would be art and 129 4/29/08 - WHOLE - BILLS 080158,59 music, or music or art, and would be a requirement, and they felt that that was definitely going to be in the budget.
That is my understanding. I was here yesterday during the presentation by the School District.