Mastery Charter Schools' big test in Philadelphia

Months before receiving district approval, Mastery began recruiting teachers and staff for the schools it hoped to open. The organization, which received 20 resumés for each spot, hired 214 employees, including 29 Teach for America corps members.

Selection took months. Mastery staff conducted 857 in-person interviews and 1,800 phone interviews, Gordon said. And between February and August, staff observed 423 applicants teach sample lessons to gauge their classroom skills.

But Gordon said the most important criteria were that applicants believed students can achieve and were committed to helping them perform at grade level and above in three years.

The teachers who made the cut, he said, came from everywhere from West Philadelphia to California and from as far away as the West African nation of Mali.

The teachers tend to be younger than in district schools, but Mastery sought instructors with experience.

"People who are attracted to turnaround schools or Mastery, for whatever reason, tend to be teachers who are earlier in their careers," he said. "It can be scary to sign up to turn around one of Philadelphia's most struggling schools."

"All Mastery Day" on Aug. 17 drew all 417 employees to the Crystal Tea Room in the former John Wanamaker store in Center City to launch the new school year and ponder the challenges of boosting achievement at elementary schools, where three-quarters of students read below grade level.

"We want to make sure that every child touched by Mastery has a great education," Gordon told the staffers. "We have a lot of work to do together."

After a buffet of miniburgers and sandwiches paid for with private money, the afternoon turned into a pep rally with the showing of a video clip of Obama praising Mastery's success in turning around failing Philadelphia schools in a talk at the National Urban League Centennial Conference in July.

"Our president wants to sound the alarm about national competitiveness and educational inequality," Gordon told the gathering. "We're doing the nation's work."

Gordon said Mastery felt pressure to succeed at Harrity and the other elementary schools, but not because of the national attention.

"The pressure is on because 850 parents have entrusted their kids to us," Gordon said at Harrity Wednesday. "I don't want to get too sappy, but over the summer you meet all the parents. They tell you their stories about what happened to their kids. That's pressure."

Renaissance Schools

Seven low-performing district schools are being converted to charters this fall by nonprofit operators.

Aspira Inc. of Pennsylvania: Stetson Middle School, 3200 B St.; first day, Sept. 8

Mastery Charter Schools: Harrity, 5601 Christian St.; Mann, 5376 W. Berks St.; Smedley, 1790 Bridge St.; first day, Sept. 1.

Universal Cos: Bluford, 5900 Baltimore Ave.; Daroff, 5630 Vine St.; first day, Sept. 7.

Young Scholars Charter School: Douglass School, 2118 W. Norris St.; first day, Aug. 31.

Contact staff writer Martha Woodall at 215-854-2789 or martha.woodall@phillynews.com.