Teachers

They gathered in the shadow of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia's main Catholic church, in an amen chorus of support for nuns. "For Sister Marie Timothy, who assured me I didn't have an attitude problem and that I was a strong woman in the making," said a school nurse. "For Sister Evelyn, who put my feet on the path of demonstrating in Washington in 1972," said a baby boomer. "To Sister Mary Paul, for teaching us the mysteries of sex in middle school!"

Spencer Hawes one day will consider following a certain right-wing right tackle into elected office. In 2010, Jon Runyan parlayed his fame as an Eagle into a congressional seat in New Jersey -- a tack Hawes can see taking: "If the opportunity presents itself ... " For now, Hawes, 24, will just play center for the Sixers as they seek their first title in almost 30 years. He said he has a hard time finding informed debates with his less civic-minded peers in the NBA. "They don't last very long.

IT ALL SOUNDED so good on paper: a "global high school of the 21st century," a cyber school that would teach about 300 students two languages and keep them constantly engaged in learning. That was how John Craig pitched the Frontier Virtual Charter High School to state education officials two years ago. The state approved the Philadelphia-based charter, hoping that the school would prove to be a model for both cyber and traditional high schools. Frontier opened in the fall.

Natalie Munroe, the Central Bucks East High School teacher who might lose her job because of her blog posts about her students, is the latest example of a local teacher dealing with the consequences of blogging or social media. She is unlikely to be the last, though, as those in the first generation that grew up using social media are now old enough that some are becoming teachers. Last year, Elizabeth Collins, an English teacher at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, a private all-girls school in Villanova, was dismissed after she wrote on her blog about a student's classroom presentation.

Neshaminy School District teachers, who have been working under the terms of an expired contract for four years, voted Wednesday to lift their controversial "work-to-contract" job action and to authorize their second strike of the school year. There has been no decision on whether the 633 members of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers will go on strike, union president Louise Boyd said in a statement Thursday. Members authorized the NFT executive committee to call a strike "when and under the circumstances the committee decides are appropriate.

AFTER MAKING a deal to protect its own contract under Act 46, the law that allowed the state takeover of Philadelphia public schools, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers was rather quiet for months. They held a few demonstrations outside the media eye, but the attitude then was "wait and see. " This week, though, the city's teachers' union found its voice - and was it loud. And while it's fair to wonder where they've been until now, the questions the teachers are screaming need to be asked: Just what is a "reconstituted" school - as 19 of the 75 schools slated for "reform" will be?

STOP, STOP, stop! Enough already with the continuous declarations that children will only achieve if their educator and they share the same ethnicity. That theory holds about as much water as school segregation - and we all know how well that worked out. While I'm merely just an average cracker in the box, I have taught mainly Latino and African-American students, many of whom have been tremendously successful in school. As a matter of fact, the average student whom I've taught has scored either advanced or proficient in mathematics on the PSSAs.

I WAS INVITED to attend a press screening of the documentary Bully , which opens this Friday. The film has generated a ton of publicity and interest. Many have said that the movie clearly shows how largely ineffective schools, teachers and administrators are in addressing the bullying issue. Philadelphia City Council member Jim Kenney is trying to raise funds so that at least 5,000 Philadelphia students can see this film. I agree that this is a must-see movie for kids, and it might serve as a wake-up call for them to recognize bullying behavior.

Twenty-six teachers and nine school board members in National Park are at an impasse after the board rejected a state-mediated tentative contract agreement between the parties last month. The teachers have been working without a contract since last July, and they have been negotiating for a new contract since December 1990. On Nov. 26, the teachers and the board reached a tentative agreement; and on Dec. 10, the negotiating members agreed to recommend ratification to their respective constituencies.

Phyllis Della Vecchia stood in front of a room full of teachers and did the unthinkable. The Camden County College president sized up the educators and challenged them to stop listening to jargon and start talking about how to teach their students better. "It has to happen that teachers talk to teachers," she said. "Communication can't just be a buzzword. " Fifty or so men and women from 16 school districts had gathered at the college to help begin the Camden County Academy of Teaching and Learning, and they sat straighter in their seats, nodding as Della Vecchia spoke.

The Philadelphia School Reform Commission on Friday renewed operating agreements with two city charter schools and approved additional students for those two and a third charter. And in a special session otherwise devoted to charter-school issues, the SRC assured parents from Creighton Elementary that the five-member panel will vote next week on whether the school's teachers will be given permission to try to turn it around. "We have to take a vote that resolves the Creighton issue by the end of next week," SRC Chairman Pedro Ramos said.

Chester Upland School Board president Wanda Mann was convicted of harassment, a summary offense, Thursday, for fighting with a teacher at Chester High School earlier this year. The board president was fined $300 and costs. She has 30 days to appeal the verdict by Linwood district justice David Griffin to Common Pleas Court. The ruling is another blow to the troubled Chester Upland district, which almost closed its doors for lack of money earlier this year and is facing an even bigger deficit this fall.

Doris Brody's fluency in French was only one level below that of a native speaker. And so her fascination with everything French wasn't limited to Philadelphia public school classrooms, where she taught for 25 years. "We went to see French films often, and she especially liked Charles Aznavour," the musical-hall entertainer and songwriter, her husband, Norman, said in a phone interview. "We saw him when he performed in Philadelphia, at the Academy of Music," and at his last appearance here in the early 1990s, "we went backstage and she got his autograph.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scheduled to discuss his vision of education reform Thursday morning in one of the most heavily Democratic neighborhoods in the nation: West Philadelphia. The former Massachusetts governor will visit the Universal Bluford Charter School in the 5700 block of Media Street, for a roundtable discussion and a tour of classrooms. The 8:45 a.m. program is not open to the general public. The visit follows Romney's rollout Wednesday in a Washington speech of policy changes that would encourage more charter schools, and turn $26 billion in federal grants for special-education and low-income students into a type of voucher they could apply to tuition at any public school in their state, as well as online schools and private schools.

WASHINGTON - Targeting an issue popular with women, a key voter group, Mitt Romney assailed President Obama's leadership on education Wednesday and blamed teachers unions for problems facing American schools. The Republican presidential candidate is making education the focus of his brief campaign schedule this week. On Thursday, he will tour Universal Bluford Charter School in West Philadelphia. Romney told a luncheon of Latino businessmen and women in Washington that in the United States today, "millions of kids are getting a third-world education, and America's minority children suffer the most.

The flyers were not subtle, bold black text on fluorescent yellow sheets: "FOR SALE. Your Child's Education to the Highest Bidder. " With the nearly broke Philadelphia School District poised to essentially blow up its current structure, close 64 schools over the next five years, and shift thousands more students to charter schools, the time for subtlety is gone, said teachers who picked up picket signs and took to the streets Friday. "I truly believe in public education, and even teachers who truly believe in public education are starting to lose hope," said Ashley Fanto, a third-year teacher at Locke Elementary in West Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union set up "informational picket lines" at city schools today before classes in protest of a plan that could close scores of schools. "The whole point is to start letting parents know their schools may be closed down, and we don't know which ones," said Barbara Goodman, a union spokeswoman, who was heading to the John B. Kelly Elementary School in Germantown early this morning. "It is informational picketing, and part of what we're calling Fight Back Friday.

Neshaminy School District teachers, who have been working under the terms of an expired contract for four years, voted Wednesday to lift their controversial "work-to-contract" job action and to authorize their second strike of the school year. There has been no decision on whether the 633 members of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers will go on strike, union president Louise Boyd said in a statement Thursday. Members authorized the NFT executive committee to call a strike "when and under the circumstances the committee decides are appropriate.

Wayne P. Weddington Jr. was a dedicated ear, nose and throat specialist and teacher, but he also had another passion: Fishing. He would take his 38-foot boat out of the Trump Marina in Atlantic City, meet up with other guys with the same passion, and off they'd go in a flotilla of camaraderie. Some of his more dramatic catches, like an occasional barracuda, he had stuffed and mounted to keep fresh the memories of the fights they put up. Wayne Weddington, an otolaryngologist with a former practice in Mount Airy, who also was chairman of the otolaryngology department at Germantown Hospital, an Air Force veteran and a man gifted with a rich sense of humor and fine tenor singing voice, died of cancer Sunday.

The following excerpts are from the nominating information submitted to the Lindback Foundation for the winning Philadelphia high school teachers. These teachers will be honored Tuesday at ceremonies at the Prince Music Theater. The Christian R. and Mary S. Lindback Foundation celebrates excellence in education and has been awarding the teaching prizes since 2008. There is one winner from each school. Academy at Palumbo   James W. Dyke James W. Dyke received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry in 1997 and master's degree in educational technology in 2010.