"Reform, restructure, replace. That's where we are. That's where we're going in public education in Philadelphia," Nutter said at a news conference at Dunbar Elementary, a district-run Promise Academy, or turnaround school.
Nutter, who took the oath of office Monday for his second term, has again identified education as a priority of his administration.
The mayor and others have talked about fostering a "system of schools" that uses a mix of traditional district schools and charters, which operate with public money but are run by independent boards.
"It's time to end any notion of contention between the district and the charter-school communities," Nutter said. "This is our chance, this is our opportunity, and we need to grab it."
Nutter underscored that the compact represents a turning point.
"We can use the Great Schools Compact to begin a new chapter in our city schools," he said.
Nutter, School Reform Commission Chairman Pedro Ramos, SRC member Wendell Pritchett, and others will spend Thursday in Denver learning about the challenges and successes that city has had since it adopted its compact a year ago.
The William Penn Foundation will pay for the trip. It was arranged by the Philadelphia School Partnership, an organization that aims to raise $100 million in five years to add seats in high-performing schools in the city, whether district, charter, or private.
Ramos said Denver made sense as a model because it has a mix of traditional district and charter schools; because of its compact; and because it has strong partnerships with charters and other outside organizations.
Denver "is not perfect, but learning some lessons," Ramos said.
