It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Arlene Ackerman to Discuss “Imagine 2014″ on WHYY-FM
Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 1:10 pm - by Matt Campbell. Filed under: Education.
One week ago, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman released the draft of “Imagine 2014″ a new five year plan to improve the city’s schools.
This Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Ms. Ackerman will be a guest on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane to discuss the plan’s methods and goals.
One thing to keep in mind is this plan is still a plan in the works. The district plans to hold 6 public town hall meetings this month to get feedback on it.
One element of the plan calls for closing the city’s worst performing schools, and re-opening them as “Renaissance Schools.” Some of these would be operated as charter schools and others would be turned over for outside management. This has some people feeling a little deja vu. Didn’t we try this before?
Anyways, we’d love to know your initial thoughts about the “Imagine 2014″ plan, and please feel free to highlight other parts of the plan that aren’t getting as much attention that you think are important.
Related links:
Read Dale Mezzacappa’s analysis of the plan
Read Philadelphia’s “Imagine 2014” plan
Similar plan in Chicago “Renaissance 2010”
Similar plan in “Boston Pilot Schools”
Dates for the school district’s town hall meetings.
The meetings begin at 6 p.m.
March 3rd - Olney High School (East)
March 12th - School of the Future (West)
March 19th - South Philadelphia High (South)
March 23rd - Northeast High School (Northeast)
March 31st - Girls High School (North)
May 5th, 2009 at 2:27 am
[...] Arlene Ackerman to Discuss “Imagine 2014″ on WHYY-FM | Its Our … [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
The goals of Imagine 2014 are commendable, but only achievable if school systems can teach their students to read and compute at grade level by the time they reach high school. Once the basics have been mastered at an early age, the minds of our young people are able to grow rapidly.
When the basics are not mastered, young people lose confidence and interest in school work. If a college education is the end goal, and I don’t think it should be for all, achieving the mastery of the basics is essential.
The problem to date has been that students entering high school have not mastered the basics and are asked to go way beyond. As a result school systems have continually lowered their standards for graduation to keep the number of graduates as high as possible. Even so, the number of high school drop-outs remains close to the 50% level.
As bad as this is, it might be acceptable if the 50% that do graduate were college ready, but they are not. Today’s college drop-out levels are as high as those from high school and these results are shameful.
As one of those people who attended elementary K-8, I will never know why they ever created Middle School.
In my mind, more damage is done to students by taking them out of an environment that they are just feeling confident in and throwing them into a new and unfamiliar one. The social shock causes disruption in the learning process and shifts the focus from learning to one of social adjustment. The adjustment to high school and college is enough for an individual to go through.
If the quality of education in middle school was superior to elementary school and students were well prepared for high school, one might be able to justify the angst we put our children through. Study after study, year after year point to the problems of middle school with no solutions in sight. Why not do away with middle schools. The buildings could be used to make additional smaller K-8 schools delivering better education.
Parents and students should be made responsible for their education. It should not be something that is taken for granted. Education like in many other countries and societies should be highly valued and if you want a good one, you will need to work hard for it.
Although no one wants to talk about it, students that don’t or can’t make the grade by high school should be offered other opportunities, such as demanding CTE programs or industry apprenticeships.
As you say Imagine 2014 is still only a plan. To implement and to make the plan successful a lot of changes need to be made and much more money will need to be paid to attract and retain good teachers. With Obama as President an opportunity to make sweeping changes is possible. I question whether, as a nation much less a school administration, we have the foresight or the fortitude to make those changes.
I hope that Imagine 2014 is a plan for realistic change and excellence in education and not just another band-aide for a broken system.
Richard Grausman
Founder & President
Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP)