President Obama to speak at Masterman
Tuesday speech will be at Philadelphia public magnet school.
Philadelphia School District leaders are overjoyed that President Obama will deliver his back-to-school speech from one of Philadelphia’s top schools.
President Obama will travel to Masterman – a public magnet school at 17th and Spring Garden Streets – to speak on Tuesday.
Superintendent Arlene Ackerman says although Pennsylvania didn’t get federal education “Race To The Top” funds, she believes Philadelphia was chosen because the District is working to implement the President’s vision for turning around public schools.
“Over the last year we’ve made dramatic improvement. 59% of our schools made AYP – that’s 33% more than last year. We’ve increased our graduation rate 3% in one year. We are making progress. More than half our students now are scoring proficient at advanced levels across the district in both reading and math.”
Masterman has about 1,200 students in fifth through 12th grade, including Mayor Nutter’s daughter, Olivia.
Ackerman says Masterman students will make up most of the audience for the President’s speech. Other students can watch it streamed live on the White House website.
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