The crowd, which began massing at 4 p.m. in front of 440 N. Broad St., braved plunging temperatures and roaring winds to chant and wave placards. The event was mobilized by the Philadelphia's Teacher Action Group with the blessings of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
Tensions have been running high since the district announced in late January the next phase of the "Renaissance School" initiative. Plans call for overhauling 18 schools that the district says have failed students for years. Some will be given to charter organizations, and others revamped by the district, but with longer academic days and years and new faculties.
In recent weeks, students at West Philadelphia, Audenried, and Martin Luther King High Schools have protested the district's turnaround plans for their schools. Students said they objected to the district's imposing changes on their schools without consulting the community.
Audenried teacher Hope Moffett, an outspoken critic of the Renaissance plan, also has been exiled to an empty administrative office - the "Rubber Room," an act that has drawn widespread criticism.
Moffett is accused of "endangering the welfare and safety of children," but she's also in hot water for disclosing her removal from the classroom. District officials told her she could not discuss her ouster.
The district has said Moffett had been using class time in inappropriate ways.
The third-year English teacher has had to report to a basement office since Feb. 10. She says she has done nothing wrong.
Moffett drew the loudest applause at the rally.
