Philadelphia School District
Many More Philly Students Are Opting Out of State Exams
It would appear the opt-out movement has momentum: Philadelphia School District officials said this week that the families of 486 students in grades 3 through […]
Darrell Clarke: Fund Philly Schools By Cracking Down on Tax Deadbeats
A Philadelphia lawmaker has a plan to fund the city’s schools and crack down on tax deadbeats at the same time. City Council President Darrell […]
Jim Kenney’s Complicated History with School Vouchers
The Philadelphia teachers union announced last month that it is backing former City Councilman Jim Kenney in the mayor’s race. “His years of consistent support for traditional public schools and […]
Council to Nutter: Find Your $105 Million Somewhere Else
Close, but no cigar, Mayor Michael Nutter. That was the general message from Council members at their hearing Tuesday on Nutter’s five-year fiscal plan, the first budget […]
Inside Take: How (Relatively) Rich Philly Public Schools Benefit at the Expense of Poor Ones
(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from a Citified insider.) There’s been a lot of talk about school equity in Philadelphia recently, but the conversation is […]
Council Skeptical of School Funding Plan
The City Council will begin two months of budget hearings today — with the biggest question being whether it will approve Mayor Nutter’s request to […]
10 Charts That Show Philly’s Outlook Is More Precarious Than Philadelphians Think
Philadelphians have a giant crush on Philly, according to poll results released last week by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Forty-eight percent of residents surveyed believe the city […]
How Trauma Overwhelms Philly Schoolkids
During the 18 years he was a counselor at Barratt Middle School in South Philadelphia, Steven Hymans became accustomed to seeing students arrive for classes […]
SRC Aims for $2.86 Billion Budget in 2016
The School Reform Commission on Thursday adopted a $2.86 billion “lump sum” budget for the 2015-16 school year, providing the fiscal outlines for leaders as […]
Tony Williams Is Finally Starting to Own School Choice
For years, mayoral candidate and state Sen. Anthony Williams has been Pennsylvania’s highest-profile Democratic champion of charter schools and vouchers. When he ran for governor in 2010, he received […]
Wilson Goode: “Mega-Nonprofits” Should Do More to Help Schools
The fight over PILOTs is about to move from Amy Gutmann’s foyer all the way to City Hall.
Inside Take: Stop It Already With the Outrage Over the Philadelphia Book Dungeon
(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from a Citified insider.) You’ve heard of the Philly Shrug? Whelp, here it is, loud and proud. In this […]
Pew Poll: Philadelphians Are Split on Charter Schools
Philadelphians say education is the top issue facing the next mayor, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts poll released Monday. But if you’re looking to find out […]
Two Stats That Show Harrisburg Is Stacking the Deck Against Philly Schools
Dear Sen. Jake Corman: I’ve been thinking about you lately. Admittedly, I wasn’t too thrilled to see you displace local favorite Dom Pileggi as the […]
PA’s Wealthy School Districts Get Way More Local Cash Than Poor Ones
School districts across Pennsylvania have felt the impact of state budget cuts and the expiration of federal stimulus dollars over the past few years. But the money woes of […]