School Day

Although archdiocesan teachers went on strike Wednesday, it appears that all but one Catholic League high school are planning to continue their athletic schedule as normal. Cardinal O'Hara is believed to be the lone Catholic League school that will not participate in games during the strike. O'Hara teams, though, still will practice. Each individual school was given the choice by the archdiocese to participate in athletic events during the strike. "That's for the time being.

MORE THAN 700 lay teachers at Philadelphia-area Catholic high schools are expected to take to the picket lines today in the first strike of archdiocesan teachers since a nine-day strike in 2003. The union voted 589 to 60 yesterday to reject the Archdiocese's latest contract proposal, said Rita Schwartz, president of the Association of Catholic Teachers, Local 1776. Talks broke down early yesterday morning. Schwartz said that the Archdiocese had given the union 10 or 12 things that it wanted in the new contract.

Pickets went up this morning at Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as teachers went on strike for the first time in eight years. No new contract talks had been scheduled, but the archdiocese today offered to meet Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, according to spokesman Ken Gavin. Today is the first day of school for freshman at most schools, from Archbishop Carroll in Radnor to West Philadelphia Catholic, with other grade levels staggered over subsequent days.

It was another hectic first day of school at Neshaminy High School, as students lingered at their lockers and shuffled to homeroom before the 7:16 a.m. bell. But Tuesday, most of the 220 teachers gathered first at the flagpole in front of the building, many wearing Neshaminy Federation of Teachers shirts, and filed in together at 7 o'clock to start their fourth school year without a contract. "This is our way of staying strong and representing the union," said James Kelly, a ninth-grade social studies teacher.

Arne Duncan, U.S. secretary of education, has encouraged school districts to adopt bold strategies to improve the nation's worst-performing high schools, including converting them into charter schools. Only a handful of districts have chosen the charter option. A recent report from a Washington think tank said Philadelphia and Los Angeles were in the forefront. "Philadelphia has much to teach the nation," Cynthia Brown, vice president of education policy at the Center for American Progress, said when the center released its report.

IN HIS FIRST BUDGET UPDATE to the School Reform Commission since the spring, the school district's chief business officer, Michael Masch, yesterday revealed more cuts to the district, including drastic cuts to two signature district initiatives. District officials seek to close a $35 million budget gap, and in doing so have undercut Promise Academies, one of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman's key initiatives. Three will open this year instead of the 11 as originally planned, Masch reported.

Embattled Philadelphia schools chief Arlene C. Ackerman vowed Wednesday to fight for her job even as officials dramatically scaled back her signature initiative and the teachers' union said it would not consider concessions while she was in charge. Rumors of Ackerman's departure have been swirling all summer, and a small group of supporters gathered at a special School Reform Commission meeting Wednesday to call on the superintendent to stay while denouncing her critics. "I have to have the support of the people who hired me, but I am going to fight," Ackerman said after the meeting.

Donna Cooper's article on Monday ("School spending worked, data show") turned cherry-picking data into a fine art. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the national exam used to compare performance among states, more than half of Pennsylvania's fourth- and eighth-grade students are not proficient in reading or math. Since 1996, Pennsylvania has doubled what it spends on education, from $13 billion to $26 billion. But performance on the NAEP has changed little, and recent tests show fourth-grade students' scores actually declined.

WITH HUNDREDS OF teachers facing layoffs and threats to cancel union contracts to close an apocalyptic school-budget deficit, it's hard to argue to keep a program that teaches kids how to play at recess. But that doesn't mean that cutting programs like Playworks and other "wish list" services won't harm students. As officials grapple with a $629 million deficit, the many individuals and groups that have contributed to the social and academic welfare of students are suffering, too. District officials have decreased funding for contracted services like these by roughly 15 percent, from $306 million in this year's budget to $261 million for next year.

Kelly Phillips Erb prepared herself for cuts at her children's Philadelphia public school: no assistant principal, no more Spanish teacher, fewer days of music instruction. But she didn't expect to have to find a new plan for her 4-year-old son, Charlie, who was heading to full-day kindergarten at Cook-Wissahickon Elementary this fall. Full-day kindergarten, in place in Philadelphia public schools since 1996, will be eliminated for all schools under a budget-trimming plan announced by the district Wednesday.