Education
Arlene Ackerman, Ed.D
Superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia
440 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia PA 19130
215-400-4000
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Click Below for the list of Philadelphia Charter Schools:
http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/IB/fd/IBfdPADUWLYD8DtMQS6T1Q/Charter-Directory-10A.pdf
SCHOOL CLIMATE
School climate includes how well a school is equipped to maintain a positive and safe environment and the school's overall effect on the students and staff. It includes both physical plant and human resources. Teaching practices, diversity, and the relationships among administrators, teachers, parents, and students contribute to the school climate. The purpose of this section is to identify some of these resources and strategies to ensure a positive and safe climate. Within the Pennsylvania School System, there are several established goals set in place to achieve a well-balanced, comfortable school climate and environment to motivate safe and drug free learning for all school-aged children. These goals include:
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To create and maintain a school environment that is clean, safe, and a welcoming place for the staff, parents,members of the community, and students.
- To create a climate focusing on personal responsibility and respect where students know they can learn, feel that they belong, where they are responsible for their own education, where students understand their own learning styles, and differentiated instruction is provided.
- To provide mental health and drug screening with referral services.
- To provide situational student crisis interventionservices.
- To develop pro-active strategies that address potential student crisis. Develop and implement clear policies regarding weapons, terrorist threats and violent or endangering behavior.
Taken from the PDE website: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/alt_disruptive/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=107131
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
All public school teachers with primary responsibility for direct instruction in one or more of the No Child Left Behind’s (NCLB) core content areas are required to demonstrate that they satisfy the definition of a "Highly Qualified Teacher." This requirement includes:
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Elementary level (grades K-6) teachers who teach all subjects to a particular grade
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Middle- and secondary-level (grades 7-12) core content area instructors
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Special education teachers who provide direct instruction in one or more core content areas;
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English as a second language (ESL) teachers who provide direct instruction in one or more core content areas; and
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Alternative education teachers who provide direct instruction in one or more core content areas.
PENNSYLVANIA'S DEFINITION OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER
To satisfy the definition of a Highly Qualified Teacher, teachers must:
- Hold at least a bachelor’s degree;
- Hold a valid Pennsylvania teaching certificate (i.e., Instructional I, Instructional II or Intern certificate but not and emergency permit); and
- Demonstrate subject matter competency for the core content area they teach.
The Quality of our Philadelphia teachers is a major concern of Philadelphians, and this concern has been voiced towards
many levels of Administration, including Superintendent Arlene Ackerman. Take a look at this March 2009 article
from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Taken from the PDE website: http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/teaching/cwp/view.asp?Q=122062&A=15
PARENT & FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has implemented a School-Parent Compact, which is a plan that spells out what teachers, other school staff, and parents need to do to help children meet educational standards.
It is imperative that the Philadelphia School staffs, parents, and communities share the responsibility in securing secure and supported learning environments for the children. The school-parent compact is one of the first steps towards ensuring that all parties involved do their part in the academic process.
For example, some of the Parent responsibilities include:
- Monitoring attendance
- Making sure that homework is completed
- Monitoring the amount of television their children watch
- Volunteering in the child’s classroom
Student responsibilities include:
- Doing homework every day and asking for help when needed
- Reading at least 30 minutes everyday outside of school time
- Providing their parent/guardian with all information received from their school in a timely manner
School Responsibilities include:
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Involving parent in the planning, review, and improvement of school activities and policy implementation
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Providing opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions and to participate in decisions about the education of their children
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Providing each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the state-mandated math, language arts and reading assessments.
Taken from the PDE website:
http://www.able.state.pa.us/k12/lib/k12/App_E_IU7.doc
POST SECONDARY COUNSELING
Post Secondary counseling services for both academic and career purposes are one of the most important things that a student can get out of their high school career. In addition to providing a catalyst for future preparation, counseling services are also beneficial in guiding students down the right path and giving them a map for the journey of life.
Fortunately, many Pennsylvania school districts have caught on to the importance of student counseling and have begun to create a variety of programs in support of counseling opportunities. In an effort to provide Philadelphia students with access to academic and career planning and guidance, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has implemented the College and Career Counseling Program. Read more about it here:
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/career_edu/lib/career_edu/College_Career_Counseling_Guidelines_08-09.pdf
Governor Ed Rendell recently announced (July 2008) that more than 33,000 students in 19 school districts across Pennsylvania will benefit from the College and Career Counseling program. Read about it here:
http://www.pdenewsroom.state.pa.us/newsroom/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=145351
TESTING IMPACT
In 1999, Pennsylvania adopted academic standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening and Mathematics. These standards identify what a student should know and be able to do at varying grade levels. School districts possess the freedom to design curriculum and instruction to ensure that students meet or exceed the standards' expectations.
Every Pennsylvania student ingrades 3 through 8 and grade 11is assessed in reading andmath. EveryPennsylvania student ingrades 5, 8 and 11is assessed in writing.
Individual student scores, provided only to their respective schools, can be used to assist teachers in identifying students who may be in need of additional educational opportunities, and school scores provide information to schools and districts for curriculum and instruction improvement discussions and planning.
Below is the he State Board of Education approved, "specific criteria for advanced, proficient, basic and below basic levels of performance":
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For More Information:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Bureau of Assessment and Accountability
Division of Assessment
333 Market Street, 8th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
Voice: (717) 787-4234
Fax: (717) 783-6642
Email: 00testing@psupen.psu.edu
Taken from the PDE website:
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/a_and_t/site/
PA Education in the news
July 27, 2009
PSSA Scores in PA Up Across The Board -- Coincidence?
The State Department of Education announced Monday that PSSA scores statewide in 2008-09 rose in every grade and in every subject for the first time ever.
August 13, 2009
Philadelphia School Test Scores Up, But Not Enough
City students improved their performance on state reading and math tests for the seventh year in a row, but slow progress is no longer enough, School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said yesterday.
Did You Know this about Pennsylvania education systems?
- 501 school districts
- 3,264 public schools, including 101 charter schools and 80 Area Vocational Technical Schools (AVTs)
- 1.8 million students
- 77% White, 16% African-American, 5% Hispanic, 2% Asian
- 30% low-income, 13% eligible for special education, 2% English language learners
- 118, 000 teachers
- • More than 3,000 private (nonpublic) schools
Taken from the Education Law Center website:
http://www.elc-pa.org/pubs/downloads/english/imp-Facts%20About%20Public%20Education%20in%20PA.pdf