Philadelphia School District
ThinkFest Preview: William Hite on Moving Philadelphia’s Schools Forward
He’s got the toughest job in Philadelphia, and more experience managing crises than FEMA. But Philadelphia schools superintendent William Hite didn’t move to the city […]
What Governor Tom Wolf Means for Philadelphia
Four years of Tom Corbett have, to put it mildly, been rough on Philadelphia. Chaos in the state-managed and largely state-funded school district. Cuts to […]
Council Calling SRC, Teachers Back to Bargaining Table
It’s not easy to get unanimity from the Philadelphia City Council. But every single member has signed on to sponsor a resolution asking the School Reform […]
Bill Green Responds to Helen Gym: Honest School Dialogue Requires All the Facts
In criticizing our decision to begin charging teachers for health benefits and directing the $44 million annual savings to schools, Helen Gym makes an important […]
The PFT Fails Philly’s Students and Teachers
Who is standing up for good teachers and poor children in the School District of Philadelphia? If you guessed “the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers,” you’d […]
Philly Principals Are Hungry for Money
If you want to get a better idea of the financial squeeze Philly’s public schools operate under, just take a look at how some of […]
SRC’s Contract Move Isn’t About Shared Sacrifice — It’s Looting
Recently, I visited my brother-in-law at Radnor High School and was privileged to see him teach his ninth-grade English/civics class. When I walked in, his […]
Helen Gym and Bill Green Try to Find Common Ground (or Not) on Education in Philadelphia
He’s chairman of the School Reform Commission. She’s co-founder of Parents United for Public Education. They have very different ideas about how to run the […]
Court Won’t Let SRC Change Teachers’ Contract, Yet
A court on Monday halted the School Reform Commission’s act to tear up its contract with Philadelphia teachers and begin charging them for a portion […]
23 Best Signs From the Philadelphia Teachers’ Protest
Thousands of teachers jammed Broad Street before a meeting of the School Reform Commission late Thursday afternoon, protesting the SRC’s unilateral cancellation of teachers’ contracts […]
Students: School Reform Commission Member Told Us ‘You Belong in Jail’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq7jL0E8d-U Philadelphia School Reform Commission member Sylvia Simms lashed out at student protesters at a movie screening last night. As seen in the above video […]
Commonwealth Foundation to Demonstrate at Schools Protest
Update: Challenging the characterization of the event as a “counter-protest,” the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives confirmed it has hired a team to appear […]
School Boards, Elections, and Philadelphia’s Utterly Failed Democracy
Maybe democracy in Philadelphia isn’t working so well. That’s not a novel observation, I realize, but it takes on new urgency with the growing campaign […]
Crowdfunding Has Consequences
Over two weeks this past summer, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge poured millions of gallons of frigid water over people’s heads and millions of dollars […]
Philly Schools Shedding Students Faster Than Expected
Philadelphia officials expected there would be fewer students in public schools this fall — but even then they underestimated just how quickly the district would […]