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Archive for “William Hite” news
Philadelphia Getting into the Cyber School Business
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/18/2013
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Pennsylvania's two biggest cyber charter school operators--Agora and PA Cyber--are involved in federal corruption allegations. So depending on how you look at it, the news that the Philadelphia Public School District is getting in the cyber school business is either really good or really bad news. On the one hand, there seem to be systemic problems with the way cyber schools operate, and their efficacy is dubious. On the other hand, William Hite and the PPSD project 75% of the new cyber school students will have been wrested away from those schools. In addition, they say these schools will cost
Replacement Schools Just as Bad as Old Schools in Philly Closure Plan
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/08/2013
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One would hope that if 37 public schools in Philadelphia were being shut down, the replacement schools into which students will be flowing performed significantly better than the original ones. Not so. According to an analysis by the Public School Notebook:
Among the receiving schools identified by the District in the closings plan, the median reading proficiency rate is 32 percent. Among the schools that are closing, the proficiency rate is almost identical at 31 percent. Both groups of schools, on balance, are significantly below the district-wide reading proficiency rate of 45 percent.
Snapshot of full data set here, along with link
Dear Penn Alexander Parents: You Have Until 5 p.m. to Secure a Good Education for Your Child
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/08/2013
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Welcome to the new normal, anxiety-ridden potential Penn Alexander parents. Today marks the official start of the new post-line-waiting world you live in; applications for kindergarten slots, which will now be determined via lottery, are due at 5 p.m. today. Suggestive photos, 20 dollar bills, and home-baked oatmeal raisin cookies may be slipped in accompanying envelopes to bribe the School District of Philadelphia. [Philly.com]
Penn Alexander Parents Have A Plan to Combat Lottery; Will Meet With Hite on Tuesday
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/20/2013
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Irony Alert: Anti-Charter Activists Boo Decision to Close Philly Charter School
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/18/2013
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As of now, the only Philadelphia school being closed isn't a traditional public school at all. Last night, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission voted to shutter the District's oldest charter school, the Community Academy of Philadelphia, which opened in 1997 in Kensington. The school had consistently low test scores and suffered from financial issues.
I was at the SRC meeting during the vote, when an ironic turn of events took place. The first hour or so of the meeting was repeatedly marred by students and activists loudly protesting the SRC's proposal to shutter 37 schools by next September. ("Whose schools? OUR
Let the Public Help With Teaching in Philly Schools
By Gene Marks 1/10/2013
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I’ve been watching the progress of Philadelphia’s new school superintendent, William R. Hite, Jr., very closely. Every business person in the area should. Why? Because Superintendent Hite needs us. And we need him. A good school system trains our kids to be professionals and creators and contributors to our city someday. Ask anyone in Lower Merion or Cherry Hill or Chester County: A good school system attracts companies, incentivizes growth and construction, and improves neighborhoods.
Hite Reveals School “Action Plan 1.0″ (Oh Goodie, More to Come)
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/07/2013
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Marking perhaps the first time anybody's marketed something using the tag "1.0," Philly School Superintendent William Hite, Jr. has released a 25-page document spelling out his hopes, dreams, and semi-concrete plans for the District. The plan is two pronged: improve academic outcomes and become more financially sustainable. His solutions for saving money (the District will face a $1 billion shortfall in five years if nothing is done) weren't laid out very specifically, but teachers can expect to shoulder a good chunk of the burden, either through salary/benefit cutbacks or changes to hiring and tenure practices. As Hite put it in
