Philadelphia public schools, after Arlene Ackerman

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    Back in May, Philadelphia students and parents joined Superintendent Arlene Ackerman to rally for lawmakers to restore funding to "save" full-day kindergarten. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

    Hour 2

    Though the Arlene Ackerman era at the School District of Philadelphia is officially over, the reverberations and repercussions go on. Boos, jeers and crowd protests punctuated Wednesday’s School Reform Commission meeting, at which the ousted superintendent’s $900,000 buyout was approved by SRC commissioners. Dr. Ackerman upped the ante Thursday morning on WURD, blasting Mayor Nutter and many others in spreading blame for the debacle that was her exit in an interview with WURD “Wake Up with Bill” host BILL ANDERSON. Anderson joins us to discuss that interview, plus his take on what Philadelphia-area listeners are saying about the Ackerman era and its aftermath. We’re also bringing in Philadelphia Daily News columnist and editorial board member ELMER SMITH and Philadelphia Education Fund executive director CAROL FIXMAN to discuss what the messy end of the Ackerman administration means for Philly’s school district and community, what it tells us about race and politics in the city, and what it tells us going forward about the extremely difficult job of educating students, managing teachers and improving schools.

    Listen to the mp3

    Listen:
    [audio: 082611_110630.mp3]

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