
Public Education
Well-liked…but is he well-tested? The backstory of Philly’s new superintendent
Philadelphia’s new school leader impressed at his old job in North Carolina. But his superintendent resume is thin. How will it translate to Philly?
2 months ago
Listen 5:56Meet the finalists: What Philly’s 3 superintendent hopefuls said during their job interviews
All three candidates for Philly’s top schools job visited the city this week for their public vetting. A final decision is just around the corner.
2 months ago
Listen 5:11Pa. Democrats set budget priorities with ‘historic’ education spending proposal
The plan comes about a week before Gov. Tom Wolf unveils the final budget proposal of his two-term tenure.
4 months ago
When school feels ‘chaotic’: Philly parents struggle with shifting virtual learning guidelines
Even as Philly officials vow to reduce omicron’s interruptions to in-person learning, the school district’s shifts to virtual are causing angst.
4 months ago
School can’t ‘cure every societal ill,’ GOP lawyers argue in cross-examination of Hite
Defense attorneys sought to paint a rosier picture of the state’s largest school district than the one Hite presented in his direct testimony.
4 months ago
Plaintiffs say Pennsylvania’s school funding model is inadequate and inequitable, and that the state discriminates against students in poor districts.
4 months ago
‘It’s a math problem’: Philly educators scramble amid omicron wave
For the first time this school year, Philadelphia faces the prospect of a widespread shift back to virtual learning. How many schools and for how long? No one quite knows.
5 months ago
Listen 4:37At Panther Valley Elementary in the heart of coal country, students struggle to learn in a leaky school building where needs run deep.
5 months ago
Listen 4:02Ex-Pa. Education official: Student achievement gap won’t be closed without funding changes
The state’s former deputy secretary of K-12 education took the stand in a long-awaited trial over Pennsylvania’s system for funding public education.
6 months ago
Incarcerated men pool their money to buy science lab kits for South Philly first graders
Eighteen men incarcerated at SCI Phoenix said they see their donation as a small way to help disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, from the inside.
6 months ago
Listen 4:56As Pa. school funding trial resumes, here’s a cheat sheet on what’s happened so far
The landmark case could change the way Pennsylvania funds its public schools.
6 months ago
Teacher tearfully testifies about poor, outdated resources as Pa. funding trial continues
A key question in the case before Commonwealth Court is what, exactly, a “thorough and efficient” system of education entails.
6 months ago
‘75 kindergartners, one toilet’: Witness testimony begins in landmark Pa. school funding trial
Plaintiffs argue the state has so badly underfunded public schools and failed to close spending gaps among districts that it violates its own constitution.
6 months ago
Superintendent William Hite may have saved Philly schools. Was it enough?
Hite’s decade-long tenure tells us a lot about the evolution of the school reform movement, shifts in Philly politics, and the merits of an above-the-fray leadership style.
6 months ago
Listen 5:39Pa. school funding trial kicks off with competing visions of ‘thorough and efficient’
The plaintiffs — six school districts, four parents, and two statewide organizations — argue state funding for schools is inadequate, inequitable, and illegal.
7 months ago
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