NEWS
April 25, 2012 | By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer
The realities are ugly, leaders said Tuesday - the Philadelphia School District is nearly insolvent, lags behind most other urban districts in academics, and loses students to charters because parents believe it does not keep their children safe. "What we do know through lots of history and evidence and practice is that the current structure doesn't work," School Reform Commission Chairman Pedro Ramos said. "It's not fiscally sustainable and it doesn't produce high-quality schools for all kids.
NEWS
November 27, 2012 | BY REGINA MEDINA, Daily News Staff Writer medinar@phillynews.com, 215-854-5985
IT'S NO secret that the School District of Philadelphia is facing its own fiscal cliff. The district asked its blue-collar union to forgo wage increases and give back money to the district last summer as school closures loomed. Just two weeks ago, district officials were forced to borrow another $300 million from Wall Street to pay its bills. So, why is the district giving out pay raises to certain groups? The grumblings among district workers began to rise this month when word leaked that 25 nonunion employees had received salary increases since the summer.
NEWS
October 7, 2008 | By Kristen A. Graham INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
New Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman has surrounded herself with a diverse inner circle of educators picked from far and wide, shaking up a historically inbred district with fresh faces. The 14 people Ackerman has tapped are seven women and seven men, most with classroom experience. They include a former Army colonel and a handful of ex-principals. They come from around the country - New York, Detroit, Louisiana, Arizona, California. Most are her former doctoral students from Columbia University or graduates of prestigious national programs she's attended herself.
NEWS
March 19, 2011 | By Robert Moran, Inquirer Staff Writer
In a surprise move, the Philadelphia School District agreed Friday to halt its effort to fire outspoken English teacher Hope Moffett and allow her to return to the classroom on Monday. The decision was made when the district agreed to settle a First Amendment lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers in federal court last week on Moffett's behalf. "It's miraculous," Moffett said when reached by phone Friday night. "This is like the best-case scenario. " Moffett will instead face a five-day suspension that will proceed to an expedited arbitration, and the union will argue that the Audenried High School teacher should face no disciplinary action.
NEWS
October 5, 1994 | by Yvette Ousley, Daily News Staff Writer
Following a meeting with the School District's deputy superintendent, three of the seven district region offices have agreed to hold music festivals this year. But there's no word on what the remaining four will do. The region music festivals faced an uncertain future this year after the district's central office, which had coordinated the event, shifted responsibility to each region office. Some 12,000 to 15,000 students participate in the festivals each year. After a meeting last week, the Northeast, Northwest and high school region offices have committed to holding the festivals, said Deputy Superintendent Jeanette Brewer.
NEWS
November 22, 1994 | by Yvette Ousley, Daily News Staff Writer
Superintendent David Hornbeck yesterday outlined a proposal to restructure Philadelphia's schools by shifting responsibility for budgets, hiring and maintenance to 22 "community councils" made up of principals, parents and teachers. About 95 percent of the School District's budget would be divied up among the councils, who would determine how to spend the money. The plan is part of Hornbeck's "Children Achieving" agenda and would reduce the role of the district's central office.
NEWS
April 5, 2011 | By DAFNEY TALES, talesd@phillynews.com 215-854-5084
THE CITY'S Department of Homeland Security is still trying to figure out who sent a bomb threat to the school district over the weekend. District officials on Sunday said that an email addressed to Superintendent Arlene Ackerman contained a threat to detonate a bomb at lunchtime yesterday. The email included several complaints against the district and was directed toward Ackerman and staff. On Sunday, four bomb-sniffing dogs and a host of police officers searched district headquarters, near Broad and Spring Garden streets, but found nothing.
NEWS
June 25, 2001 | By Melanie Burney INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Six months after asking her entire central administration staff to resign, Superintendent Annette D. Knox is again trying to reorganize the school district's core leadership. Last week, she recommended a slew of personnel moves, including transfers, hires, and the demotion of the district's second-ranking administrator. The school board is expected to vote on the changes tonight at its monthly meeting. It will also consider a plan to lay off 136 employees. Knox offered no explanation for the reorganization when she presented the recommendations to the board.
NEWS
February 3, 2012 | By Claudia Vargas, Inquirer Staff Writer
A day after the state Department of Education sent the Camden School District a letter citing the district's failure to report more than 76 incidents of violence and vandalism in the last two school years, Camden's police chief met Thursday with the district's head of security. It was the first step in the right direction, said Gaylen Conley, executive director of the district's office of safety and security. "We are increasing interactions with Camden City police" to ensure that they and the district are in constant communication, Conley said.
NEWS
January 2, 2012
Tucked in my recent story about "Occupy 440" - a group of school nurses protesting against the Philadelphia School District's latest round of budget cuts - was a line you may have missed: District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the Promise Academies had had "significant cuts," including the elimination of the entire central office staff that supervised those schools, which was also axed as of Dec. 31. Promise Academies, of course, are...