At a discussion of equity and excellence in education in Pennsylvania, John Sarandrea, the superintendent of the Néw Castle district, said:
“I don’t have any problems saying this, because it’s true: Poor kids are getting the shaft right now,” he said to loud applause from the audience.
“How can you possibly not invest in these children early, knowing what will be the outcome if you don’t?” Sarandrea wondered. “It’s negligence. It’s criminal.”
The state has cut nearly a billion dollars from the school budget in the past three years, while giving out corporate tax breaks and opening charter schools. The most successful charter operator–who manages the Chester Community Charter School–is Governor Corbett’s biggest campaign contributor. Vahan Gureghian has made millions managing and supplying his charter school. The local district, meanwhile, has gone bankrupt.
William Hite, the superintendent of the cash-starved Philadelphia district, said a new state funding formula was needed:
“He said any formula for distributing state aid should consider the number of students who live in poverty and are learning to speak English. Hite said Philadelphia has a larger share of those students than any other district in the state but has less money to spend to educate them.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If only more superintendents were as brave as this guy.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
Why does Philadelphia have so many kids that have to learn to speak English?
Children of immigrant foreign speaking families…. One year, recently I had a caseload of 9 at one school. The families were from Nigeria, Liberia, Palestine, China, Jamaica and 4 from the US. The school’s 450 students spoke 27 different languages. They have 4 full time ESOL staff. At another school where I had students to see, their population of over 1000 spoke 200 languages. The district has an extensive translator department and also contracts with a service providing translation via phone. Most formal district documents are available in a diverse variety of languages at the school district website
Because we have large populations of immigrants from Cambodia, African countries, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Vietnam Nam to name a few.
My niece is a special ed teacher at Chester Charter (only job she could get) and she is given a very small budget for her classroom supplies yet Vahan G. can contribute to all the PA politicians who support his agenda to make.more. money. In my own PA school district, we parents are beginning to organize and push back against this insane and unfair education budget. The less money you make in PA, the less money PA gives to the school district. Hopefully, the push back will continue. We did get some money added to the education budget at the end of the budget process, so our local legislators are beginning to hear us.
If only the issue of poverty were truly dealt with, we would see real academic success for all students. I wish the brave Superintendent luck in getting the needed funding.
He’s a Broadie…the 3rd Broad Superintendent Phila has had in a row. He’s here for the final fatal blow. He slashed our PFT Union Contract, particularly disturbing because, being a state takeover district, we cannot strike or we lose our teaching credentials. Destruction by design…Gradualism…the boiling frog…and now its time for the final croak. Do not be fooled by that man behind the podium moving his lips…his actions speak louder than his semantic deceptions.
Jo,
I believe AL teacher is referring to John Sarandrea, the superintendent of the Néw Castle district, with the “brave superintendent” moniker and not to the Broadie Hite.
With all due respect to Diane and those on this list, I get so very much annoyed with those who think “more money” solves a problem. I have been watching that political solution since the 1960’s and studying it, in history, from the 1860’s onward. I have seen zero successes based on that mantra. Please give me many examples that relate in any way to American Public Education that show my ignorance.
Stop talking about “more money” and talk about solutions and what “more money” will buy. Then, I will listen. “More money” is an excuse for not understanding the problem at hand. “More money” is part of the blame game.
Kids with moms and dads are much more successful with their kids than those without. How do we solve that problem? That, my friends, is the real problem. Think about a kid who goes to school under a public mandate, has zero support at home and ends up being a criminal/gang_member. I really hate that.
We have too many folks that just don’t know what happens with kids whose home life really sucks. Some people have done that. Will progressives and liberals seek out those to learn from them? I have not seen any examples of the liberal folks or progressive folks aiming to learn from those few who overcame their lack of parenting to become exemplary citizens.
If I am wrong, can we collect a list of the very poor with zero parenting, folks that did that? The only people I can think of are Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Condelesa Rice, Marc Lamont Hill (was MLH raised in poverty? – I don’t know).
That list should be a-racial, don’t you think?
Racism and “disparate impact” are red herrings.
Egbegb, funny how when people say “more money is not the answer,” they don’t mean THEIR children. They are quite content to see the city of Philadelphia cut thousands of teachers, see the kids have no art, no music, no sports, because “money is not the answer.” But for their children, money is the answer. Quite a conundrum.
Thank you, Diane. I am tired of the insinuation (not by Diane, but above, and insisted upon by a lot of people) that I have to take a monastic vow of poverty in order to teach. And let’s not even count those who have lost their jobs completely in these insane cuts. How does starving schools somehow help?
Yes, the problem of poverty is huge in Philly. I teach many children who don’t even live with their parents, they live on a relative’s couch. But we cannot solve poverty and the breakdown of the family easily. In the meantime, as educators we need to help these children in school- they need counselors, health professionals and support services. This costs money. If the parents are unable to help their children, we would like to do all that we can to help them in school.What is alternative? Provide a bare bones education, send them out the door and say good luck?
egbegb,
“I have seen zero successes based on that mantra. Please give me many examples that relate in any way to American Public Education that show my ignorance.”
Well, we’ve had to “throw money” at educating all children meaning a lot of money is spent helping those with disabilities (as we should have been all along) to survive and thrive. That’s one!
Two, we’ve had to spend more money to rectify the appalling education that African Americans were receiving before Brown vs Board (which still hasn’t completely been rectified especially since the new round of edudeformers educational malpractices have been put in place).
Three, we’ve spent more money to ensure that women can have access to all the services provided for in public K-16 education and that has been successful.
Just three quick ones off the top of my head.
egbegb,
“We have too many folks that just don’t know what happens with kids whose home life really sucks. Some people have done that.”
What are you trying to say with that statement. The whole paragraph makes no sense to me.
Condie Rice was not raise in poverty. She had a middle class upbringing that included all kinds of piano lessons, etc. Both her parents were well educated. All black people do not live in poverty or in single parent homes. However, even those who do deserve that one parent have a job that pays a living wage and schools that have real teachers with a capacity to help students learn. Yes, parental support is very much needed, but there is certainly an economic component to educating our children. We can’t get around it with our eugenics styled political beliefs.
dianerav: if I may…
Throwing money at a problem doesn’t solve anything?
For the edubullies and their edupreneur backers, let’s see what that means when it comes to THEIR OWN CHILDREN…
Harpeth Hall, home to at least one of Michelle Rhee’s children. Please go to their website for the info and quotations below:
http://www.harpethhall.org/podium/default.aspx?t=151797
Fine Arts: multiple arts courses, including art, music, theatre [their spelling!] and dance.
Athletics: “Harpeth Hall athletes have won 11 state championships in cross-country and 14 state titles in track–both state records for the most championships won by any school, boys or girls; Harpeth Hall varsity teams have also won championships in basketball, golf, lacrosse, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Middle School teams have recorded conference championships in basketball, cross country, tennis, track, and volleyball.”
Exchange Programs: “For several years, Harpeth Hall has offered an international exchange program for our students with schools in China, France, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa.”
Library and Technology: “The Ann Scott Carell Library, the centerpiece of Harpeth Hall’s campus, was dedicated on November 18, 2001. This 20,000-square-foot facility serves as the information and technology hub of the campus, housing traditional library services along with the school’s network and technology support team.
Comfortable and inviting spaces are available for all who enter the doors to the Ann Scott Carell Library. A fireplace, surrounded by comfortable seating, is the central feature of the reading area on the main floor. Six group study rooms provide quiet areas where individuals or small groups can work together, do research, read, or study. Non-fiction spaces include tables, workstations, and window seats.
The lower level includes two classrooms for library and technology instruction, and the Bear Cave, our laptop help desk. Also on the lower level are the Archives room, and a meeting room with state-of-the-art equipment.”
I invite viewers of this blog to peruse “Academics” and other areas at their leisure.
And to just include one more detail, this one from Cranbrook:
“The Summer Theatre School, our oldest summer program, presents classic theater skills like character acting, lighting, dance, voice, costuming, set design and other stage crafts. The Theatre School operates from Cranbrook’s beautiful Greek Theater grove, an outstanding full sized stone replica of a classic outdoor Greek theater setting nestled in a mature pine forest. Evening outdoor theater productions attract ample crowds from neighboring communities.”
Link: http://schools.cranbrook.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=146451
I guess that clinches it: throwing money at education doesn’t solve A thing—it solves
ALMOST everything.
For those who still don’t get it, heed these words of Marx:
“A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.” [Groucho Marx]
🙂