Philadelphia schools Superintendent says progress is far too slow

At current pace it would take 100 years to meet standards

The head of Philadelphia’s public schools says slow but steady progress isn’t enough to bring student performance to where it needs to be.

Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman testified during city council budget hearings that the district is doing its best to educate students.

“While the district is proud to report seven years of steady, incremental growth in test scores at if we continue to make progress at this rate this rate it will take us until 2123, yes 2123 to get all our students to a level of proficiency in all key school areas. We know this is unacceptable.”

Ackerman says federal stimulus dollars have helped the district enhance some programs and there are plans for some 50,000 children to attend summer school this year to help them reach achievement goals. She says the district also has installed a million dollars worth of cameras at South Philadelphia High School to make sure violence that erupted there last December does not return.