Mayor Nutter poses for the city's 2008 Back to School campaign

In January 7, 2008 Michael Nutter was sworn in as Philadelphia’s mayor. During his inauguration speech he made many bold promises. One of the major ones was on improving education. Here’s what he said:

If our young people are ever going to have the opportunity to begin college, let alone earn a degree, then they must graduate from high school and we must commit ourselves to lowering the 45% dropout rate that plagues our city day after day after day and that we must seek to cut in half over the next five to seven years.

But a mayor is not in a position to launch major school reforms. But what a city leader can do is set goals, provide support and turn the heat up on school administrators see certain issues as major priorities. Also, Philadelphia’s mayor gets to appoint two of the School Reform Commission’s five member board. The Governor gets to choose the other three. We reached out to DEBRA A. KAHN to assess Mayor Nutter’s handling of education issues in his first two years. Kahn served as Education Secretary under Philadelphia Mayor John Street.

Here is a Q& A with Debra Kahn who now is Executive Director of Delaware Valley Grantmakers.

WHYY: Overall, how do you think the Nutter administration on education has done in the first couple of years?

Well the Mayor from the get-go set some very ambitious and important goals about halving the dropout rate and doubling the percentage of our city residents who have college degrees. These are what might be called big hairy goals. And they’re important ones but they also take a lot of time to accomplish. I know there’s been a lot of infrastructure put in place.  It takes a while to see progress come to fruition. But there are indicators along the way. I think the city needs to keep an eye on the ball in addition to those.

WHYY: Such as?

I think there are a few key issues. One is the finances of the school district, which always an issue, an ever-present issue. The fact is that the school district right now needs money and its needed money
for a long time for good reasons. One is to really produce the quality education that our students need and deserve. And we’ve proven over time, that as performances continue to improve, that these investments in our schools really do make a difference. We also have to have a stable financial situation. And the school district and the city have been very fortunate with (Pennsylvania) Governor Rendell who has made, in working with the legislator, has made education a major, major, major priority. So there have been very, very  substantial increases that have been needed. I think we have to keep an eye on that and plan and prepare for when they say perhaps the level of increases may not be coming. I mean there’s been big change thanks to advocacy in the community and across the state. So we’ve made some dramatic changes, but I think the financial picture is always something that bears watching and there’s a direct impact certainly on the city as well.

WHYY: How would someone know if an improvement was the result of a city administration or the mayor?

That can be difficult. There are evaluations that are done on certain programs. But it is true. It’s never any one thing. It’s very much a collaborative effort. But we can track performance. I mean we can
track the progress of our students from their test scores, love them or hate them. But that is a fact of life right now in how the performance of our students is measured. I for one don’t think the tests are the be all and the end all. I do think that they’re important. And it is a way, across the board, of being able to tell
whether our students end up with what are really basic and important skills. Literacy and numeracy. And that is an important way of tracking, but you do always have to have a plan and then you have to
be flexible in terms of really evaluating and taking a look at what we think works and use your best judgment.

WHYY: School violence is always a problem in large cities, but do you think the city is doing the best it can to support the school district efforts to reduce violence in and around schools?

Safety is really job number one. And it’s unfortunate that we have to say that, but it is true. And it can become pretty complicated, but the school district certainly needs to be working in tangent with the
city whether it’s the social service piece of it. Certainly the public safety piece. And that is something a Mayor can exercise, and needs to exercise leadership. You know our schools need to be safer, but they
also need to appeal to a broad range of students and families across the city. So it’s very important that create that right environment.

WHYY: Do you have any specific hopes or things you hope this administration does in terms of education in what it urges?

I think to be focused on the goals the Mayor has set is important. I also, in addition to halving the dropout rate, I think it’s just as important that we look at the quality of students that do graduate and
make sure that they are job ready and higher-ed ready. And I think, unfortunately, we still have a very long way to go on that. Again, progress have been made, but we do have a long way to go. Another
thing I’d say is to continue to have the kinds of partnerships that started that have been labeled, the Adminstration, the school district, that have made progress. Partnerships with foundations, with
community organizations and non-profits. And to continue to improve on those because it is a situation where the school district or the city can’t do it alone. And last, but not least,  I would like to see,
again, I think we need to have a rich school environment that does attract and appeal to families and students of all types, including our middle class. And sometimes when we focus on the public schools,
and its very important to look at performance, particularly in our neediest neighborhoods, it’s also important to look across the board and make sure that we have educational options work for every resident so that we continue to attract and retain all kinds of families in Philadelphia.

WHYY News profile of Nutter’s first two years

Video of Nutter’s first major speech on education. Sept 11, 2008 at South Philadelphia High School