Charter Schools
3 Huge Problems With the Charter School Movement
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from PIDC.] Philly.com has a story this week that distills many of the troubling qualities of the charter school movement […]
School Closings Are Hugely Controversial, But a New Study Suggests They Boost Student Performance
The two most polarizing words in Philadelphia education might be “portfolio model.” The phrase has induced hunger strikes, enraged Diane Ravitch and paved the way for two dozen Philadelphia public school […]
The Brief: How Some Charter Schools Keep Out the Riff-Raff
1. How Some Charter Schools Keep Out the Riff-Raff The Gist: This is an important, well-reported story from WHYY’s Kevin McCorry, that’s not easily condensed […]
Former Teachers Sue SRC Over Free Speech at Charter Meeting
Three women identified as former Philadelphia school teachers are suing the School Reform Commission, saying they were deprived of First Amendment rights when they had […]
Live: SRC to Decide All 39 Philly Charter Applications
https://twitter.com/hollyotterbein/status/568144459474571264 [UPDATE] The SRC has approved 5 of 39 new charter school applications — with conditions. [ORIGINAL] As promised, the School Reform Commission will be […]
A Plea to the SRC: Evaluate Each School on Its Individual Merits
(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from a Citified insider.) At Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School in South Philly, students are offered majors in music […]
Inside Take: New Charters Should Be Unacceptable to All
(This is an opinion column from a Citified insider.) Conditions in the School District of Philadelphia have hit a new low after four record breaking […]
SRC to Rule on All 39 New Charter Applications at Special Meeting
The School Reform Commission has scheduled a special meeting to approve or reject each of 39 applications to start new charter schools in Philadelphia. The […]
Too Good To Refuse?
Yesterday, the Philadelphia School Partnership made what seemed, at first blush anyway, like an offer too good for the School District to refuse: $35 million, […]
Charter CEO: Whiter and Wealthier a “Blatant Misrepresentation”
(Editors note: The following is a response from MaST CEO John F. Swoyer III to a controversial column this week from Citified insider Andrew Saltz. Citified […]
Are the Best Charters Actually Whiter & Wealthier?
Yesterday, English teacher (and Citified insider) Andrew Saltz argued that the highest-performing charter schools do as well as they do in large part because they enroll […]
INSIDE TAKE: Time for Real Talk on Charters
(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from a Citified insider.) (Note: This story has been updated to correct an editing error in the graphic that […]
Twitter Fight of the Week: Can All Schools Actually Be Great?
Sure, Twitter is an ephemeral, terse medium. Yes, it is better suited for pithy one-liners and insults than for substantive policy debate. But every so […]
Philly Charter School Shuts for Good Today
North Philadelphia’s Wakisha Charter School is closing for good today, a rare shuttering of the school in the middle of the year. The school served […]
District Overwhelmed by Charter School Applications
The Notebook reports that the Philadelphia School District has received 46 applications to create new charter schools in the city — with days left before […]