By Solomon Leach
Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 3:01 AM
EDUCATORS, PARENTS, community groups and universities that have bold ideas to improve a Philadelphia public school now have a vehicle to pitch their plans.
The school district yesterday announced the start of the School Redesign Initiative, its latest effort to allow stakeholders to identify, develop and implement their innovative plans at existing schools.
The district said the goal is to increase the number of high-quality schools, but many question the rationale behind the plan at a time when schools lack basic resources, such as counselors, full-time nurses and librarians, and the district faces an estimated $93 million deficit, which could require hundreds of layoffs.
“I find it disturbing,” said Lisa Haver, a retired teacher and member of Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools. “The way that I read how this plan was thought up and how they plan to implement it, I don’t see it as a new design, I see it as a new destabilization plan.”
Full story: Philly schools open up overhaul proposals to community By Solomon Leach, Lancaster Online, 7/23/14
