►
Description
Excerpt from the Joint Committees on Children & Youth and Education of the Council of the City of Philadelphia Public Hearing on Monday, April 11, 2016 to hear testimony on the following item:
No. 160049
A Resolution authorizing the Committee on Children and Youth and the Committee on Education to conduct hearings concerning the impact of five years of reduced state funding on safety, essential services and academic outcomes in Philadelphia
schools, and on vulnerable student populations.
www.phlcouncil.com
A
A
Marjorie
nap,
chair
of
the
School
Reform
Commission
Rory,
Bahnson,
chief
financial
officer
for
the
school
district,
Cheryl
Logan
chief
of
academic,
supports
for
the
school
district
good
morning,
Fran
burns
chief
operating
officer?
Thank
you
very
much
for
being
here.
I
appreciate
it
out.
So,
as
everybody
knows,
this
hearing
was
recessed
on
februari
februari
18th
after
my
colleagues
expressed
interest
in
gaining
more
clarity
about
the
state
of
services
within
our
schools
and
making
sure
that
we
expanded
as
well
district
representation
at
the
hearing.
A
This
hearing
is
part
of
a
larger
initiative
to
gain
insights
into
the
impact
at
five
years
of
budget
cuts
have
had
on
education
in
the
Philadelphia
School
District
and
how
we
can
look
ahead
in
terms
of
spending
priorities
that
match
community
needs
and
student
needs.
If
it
helps
I
thought
it
made
sense
to
update
you
on
our
process,
I'm
finding
so
far
as
we
transition
into
the
next
five
years
to
help
frame
a
few
things
for
us.
So
we
have
a
brief
PowerPoint
that
we're
moving
through.
A
A
So
the
process
was:
are
we've
gone
through
a
process
in
which
we've
had
several
hearings
hosted
by
the
children
and
youth
and
committees
on
education?
We've
had
neighborhood
education,
town
halls
at
South,
Philadelphia,
High,
School,
say
our
high
school
and
Edison
High
School
that
been
attended
by
hundreds
of
Philadelphians
and
others
have
submitted
hundreds
of
community
priority
forms
as
well.
A
We've
also
made
sure
that
we
asked
for
significant
data
requests
from
the
school
district
to
examine
current
staffing
and
access
to
key
services
and
I
think
among
the
things
that
Philadelphians,
especially
those
who
are
experiencing
or
live,
the
policies
that
we
create
and
our
schools
have
spoken
about.
The
most
has
been
the
issue
of
basic
human
rights
to
be
recognized,
and
that
is
a
right
that
is
believed
to
belong
justifiably
to
every
person.
A
So
I
wanted
to
share
with
the
public
one
of
our
first
maps.
That
I
think
is
one
of
the
most
important
things,
which
is
what
is
happening
in
terms
of
teaching
and
learning
conditions
within
our
schools.
We've
discussed
the
significant
impact
of
teacher
vacancies.
It's
important
to
understand
that
teacher
vacancies
are
a
set
of
numbers.
They
started
out
with
around
200,
went
anywhere
from
once
150
to
180
currently
today,
but
they
impact
an
estimated
9600
students
over
the
course
of
an
individual
school
day.
A
The
vacancies
also
impact
the
fact
that
there
are
2,000
students
in
64
split
grade
classes
in
just
k23
alone,
which
is
tremendously
significant
when
we
are
talking
about
a
literacy
initiative
that
asks
us
to
put
every
eight-year-old
on
grade
level
split
grade.
Classrooms
are
those
that
are
forced
on
schools
and
teachers.
They
don't
have
pedagogical
basis.
They
are
primarily
used
in
order
to
save
money
or
because
that
there's
a
lack
of
teachers
to
be
able
to
fulfill
fill
out
a
whole
classroom.
A
There
seems
to
be
little
prep
training
or
extra
support
for
teachers
who
are
in
split
grade
classrooms,
and
additionally,
we've
been
trying
to
talk
about
the
issue
of
overcrowding
in
schools
and
what
it
feels
like
it
could
be:
300
high
school
classes
over
contractual
limits.
The
Philadelphia
Federation
of
Teachers
has
talked
about
nearly
600
classrooms
over
the
limits
that
we
are
seeing
significant
rises
in
terms
of
recognition.
A
I
believe
that
many
of
us
were
a
little
shocked
and
City
Council
to
hear
that
the
school
district
was
starting
to
count
overcrowding
as
being
at
39
students
in
a
classroom.
We
do
not
think
that
that
was
something
that
was
commonly
agreed
upon,
recognized
or
publicly
presented
to
anybody,
and
that,
in
fact,
recognizing
that
the
contractual
limit
of
30
students
in
K,
23
and
33
and
4
to
12
are
exactly
that.
They
are
the
contractual
maximum
of
students
that
we
want
to
see
and
anything
over.
A
That
is
starting
to
feel
crowded,
and
that
is
something
that
many
young
people
spoke
to.
What
it
felt
like
to
be
in
deeply
overcrowded
classrooms
to
not
have
enough
books
to
not
have
enough
seating
space
to
never
feel,
like
a
teacher,
could
have
enough
time
with
you
to
answer
your
questions
and
to
feel
the
few
minutes
that
you
have
in
a
high
school
biology
class
in
a
classroom
of
50
or
gym
class
of
77
feeling
like
it
just
doesn't
feel
like
school
anymore.
It
feels
incredibly
oppressive
and
stressful
for
a
lot
of
young
people.
A
The
legend
in
the
the
map
that
you
see
there
is
just
alone
the
split
grade
classrooms
in
grades,
K,
2,
3
and
again
we
really
want
to
support
children's
teaching
and
learning.
We
want
our
educators
to
become
fulfilled
professionals
under
the
Paul
Vallas
administration
and
through
the
early
parts,
the
Ackerman
administration.
A
We
had
a
commitment
to
end
split
grades
because
they
were
not
pedagogically
sound
practice,
and
unless
that
there
are
pedagogically
sound
reasons
for
doing
split
grades,
we
wanted
to
make
sure
that
that
those
were
avoided
at
all
costs,
particularly
for
those
younger
grades
and
also
encouraging
some
reflection
on
the
school
district
about
the
sudden,
re-emergence
and
significant
rise
of
64
split
grades.
30
students
per
grade
is
as
many
as
1900
2000
students
who
are
impacted
by
this.
A
Our
next
slide
talks
a
little
bit
about
the
source
for
teachers,
contract
and
again
about
teacher
vacancies
and
about
the
lack
of
substitutes
in
schools.
So
there
are
many
reasons
why
a
teacher
may
not
be
present
in
a
school
building
for
the
fact
that
we
have
a
ten
thousand,
eight
thousand
or
so
employees.
There's
a
significant
impact
and
I
know
that
the
district
was
very
serious
about
trying
to
address
teacher
vacancies.
A
But
this
year
the
two
year,
34
million
dollar
contract
awarded
to
source
for
teachers
to
improve
the
fill
rate
for
substitutes,
has
had
a
devastating
impact
on
schools
all
across
the
city,
on
average
by
january,
according
to
district
numbers,
only
an
average
of
thirty
five
to
forty
five
percent
fill
rate,
even
though
the
source
for
teachers
contract
guaranteed
seventy
percent.
What
that
means
is
that
we
saw
thousands
of
instructional
minutes
that
are
lost
due
to
the
lack
of
substitutes
in
schools.
A
We
wasted
countless
critical
prep
periods
in
schools.
I
think
that
many
people
don't
understand
how
important
it
is
to
have
prep
time
and
some
time
to
prepare
for
your
next
classes
when
you're
an
educator,
especially
when
fifty
percent
of
our
teachers
are
new
in
our
schools
or
relatively
new,
have
less
than
five
years
experience.
We
want
them
to
have
the
ability
to
settle
down
and
prepare
for
their
next
class,
but
that
can't
happen
when
we've
got
a
contract
that
is
so
deeply
impacting
the
ability
of
teachers
to
just
manage
their
basic
day.
A
A
We
talk
a
lot
about
the
needs
of
young
people
who
live
in
poverty,
young
people
who
experienced
trauma
every
day
and
what
it
means
to
go
to
a
school
where
there
isn't
somebody
to
talk
to
that
there
isn't
a
designated
personnel
beyond
your
teacher,
who
may
or
may
not
be
there
or
may
or
may
not
have
an
overcrowded
classroom,
but
that
the
counselor
has
long
been
seen
as
a
individual
within
the
school
that
was
supposed
to
respond
to
the
to
the
personal
holistic
needs
of
young
people.
They
coordinate
care,
they're
responsible
for
our
homeless
youth.
A
They
have
significant
number
of
legal
responsibilities
as
well,
including
placement
of
children,
identification
support
services
for
an
IEP
process,
but
the
shocking
loss
of
counselors
in
schools
has
had
a
very
devastating
individual
impact
on
students.
As
you
can
see
in
this
one
quote
from
a
student
at
Edison,
High
School,
who
said
we
have
a
lot
to
worry
about
at
home
and
at
school
I
struggle
towards
the
end
of
the
month.
It's
hard
for
me
to
get
my
work
done
and
deal
with
everything
at
home,
I
come
to
school
and
it's
hard
to
get
help.
A
The
teachers
are
doing
their
best,
but
I'm
tired
and
we're
all
so
tired,
and
that's
the
student
who's
talking
about
that.
When
we
don't
have
enough
educators,
you
feel,
like
you
can't
get
anywhere
and
that's
another
student
who
came
to
one
of
our
town
halls:
the
pft
contract,
what
guaranteed
one
counselor
for
every
school
when
the
district
moved
away
from
the
contract,
it
didn't
improve
the
situation
for
our
young
people
and
on
a
critical
issue
that
we
speak
about
consistently
that
the
school
district
has
held.
A
You
know
briefings
for
City
Council,
about
making
us
promises
about
trauma-informed
care,
about
support
services,
about
improving
connections
with
our
city
departments,
and
it's
hard
to
understand
how
that
happens
with
so
many
schools.
Without
a
full-time
counselor,
Wilson
Elementary
School
has
1,100
kids
Edison
High
School
has
1250
students,
they
may
have
a
counselor,
but
you
know
it's
certainly
not
at
the
levels
that
we
need
to
be
seeing
and
at
levels
that
are
that
are
having
tremendous
personal.
A
A
We
know
that
young
people
have
such
little
access
to
healthcare
initiatives
that
they
frequently
don't
have
an
ability
to
get
the
fullest
amount
of
nutrition
that
they
may
not
be
able
to
get
their
eyesight
checked,
may
not
get
dental
access
and
that
the
school
nurse
is
a
frontline
individual.
Not
only
is
that
individual
responsible
for
proactive
identification,
but
they
also
dispense
medication.
They
help
with
children
with
shocking
and
vulnerable
situations
that
are
happening
in
their
lives.
A
Like
they
could
not
send
their
child
to
school
without
feeling
that
their
child
would
be
cared
for
and
safe,
we
have
64,000
students
in
131
schools
that
do
not
have
access
to
a
full
time
nurse
and
that
the
consequences
have
ranged
from
students
who
may
miss
school
and
actually
can
go
into
the
DHS
truancy
system.
As
a
result,
we
certainly
had
anecdotal
testimony
towards
that
and
on
a
regular
basis,
parents
who've
been
called
out
of
work
to
pick
up
sick
children.
911
been
called.
You
know.
A
A
We've
had
a
lot
of
discussion
with
about
facilities
in
schools.
We
know
that
this
is
a
huge
area
and
in
fact,
miss
burns.
I
know
you've
been
here
frequently.
We
should
probably
get
you
a
side
room
here
at
some
point,
but
you
know
we
want
to
recognize
the
importance
of
facilities
and
facilities,
investments
in
upgrades
in
our
in
our
buildings,
many
of
which
averaged
between
50
to
70
years
of
age.
A
We
had
a
great
conversation
actually
with
with
the
with
ms
burns
and
through
the
water
LED
hearings,
but
we
would
continue
to
urge
the
school
district
to
take
a
look
at
this
issue
of
water
access
and
hydration
in
our
school
buildings
as
being
something
that
young
people
have
frequently
mentioned
as
feeling
as
making
them
feel
like
they
are
not
valued
when
that's
not
readily
and
clearly
available
to
them.
We've
requested
data
for
the
location
and
operational
status
of
all
drinking
water
sources
in
our
schools.
A
We've
requested
information
about
expanded
testing
of
all
water
in
Philadelphia,
public
schools.
We
have
a
commitment
from
the
district
to
create
a
new
inventory
and
to
potentially
retest
representative
water
sources,
but
hope
that
we
can
also
continue
with
that
conversation
knowing
what's
moving
and
then,
as
we
talk
about
what
we
found.
I
also
want
to
take
a
moment
to
take
a
look
forward
at
what
the
district
has
has
planned,
as
it
looks
at
its
future.
So
the
district
is
move
forward
with
a
five-year
plan
for
additional
spending.
A
A
So
the
district
has
elaborated
on
a
number
of
its
priorities
for
spending,
including
literacy
initiatives,
instructional
materials,
refresh
turnaround,
schools,
literacy,
coaches,
it's
looked
at
college
and
career
readiness
and
labor
in
the
workforce.
Those
the
college
and
career
readiness
has
mentioned
tech,
refresh
high
school
labs,
AP
courses
and
gifted
and
summer
enrichment
as
well.
A
But
as
we
take
a
look
at
some
of
the
district
priorities,
you
know
one
of
the
questions
that
we're
going
to
want
to
make
sure
that
we
ask
is
how
they
match
up
with
what
the
community
priorities
have
have
talked
about.
Whether
these
are
system
wide
improvements
that
will
touch
every
child
at
every
school,
which
many
schools
and
individuals
feel
does
not
currently
happen.
A
Does
it
make
sense
in
terms
of
how
we're
addressing
actual
students
needs?
I
know
that
there's
a
lot
of
interest
around
the
summer
enrichment
and
AP
courses,
but
there's
also
a
real
need
for
from
a
lot
of
teachers,
perspectives
to
deal
with
strengthening
our
current
curriculum,
making
sure
that
we're
fulfilling
our
curriculum
on
on
every
level.
A
Reading
specialists,
but
you
know,
one
of
the
things
that
we
try
to
highlight
here
is
that
those
may
not
necessarily
be
additional
investments
that,
if
we're
talking
about
a
district
that
is
on
track
to
having
every
child
on
grade
level
by
K
28.
To
put
so
many
thousands
of
students
into
split
grade
classrooms
to
not
be
on
level.
A
2
lakh
supports
for
those
teachers
that
we
need
to
really
think
about
whether
those
should
be
additional
investments
for
later
or
whether
how
they're
being
prioritized
for
now
and
then,
of
course,
we
have
our
FY
2017
concerns
that
are
also
looming.
So
we
see
just
for
next
year,
121
million
dollars
being
spent
an
additional
charter
costs,
23
million
for
a
turnaround
which
I
think
my
colleague
and
co-chair
Councilwoman
Blackwell
has
a
lot
of
questions
about
how
it
actually
reflects
a
significant.
A
And
then
we
have
our
community
priorities
on
the
other
end
of
it.
What
it
means
to
restore
essential
services
back
to
schools
to
serve
all
children
equitably
a
process
system
not
for
some
kids
at
the
expense
of
others,
but
to
really
look
at
what
it
means
to
restore
teachers
back
to
our
classrooms,
to
ensure
counselors
at
every
single
district
school.
To
make
a
promise
that
this.
A
That
books
and
supplies
are
being
paid
attention
to
that
we're
having
a
conversation
about
facilities
and
water
access
that
we're
talking
about
what
it
means
to
invest
in
the
personnel
to
ensure
climate
and
safety,
and
also
an
area
that
has
has
gotten
short
changed
recently,
is
to
ensure
that
we're
talking
about
supports
for
special
education
population
and
our
English
language
learner
population.
Those
are
too
high
need
populations
that
frequently
go
unmentioned
around
some
of
our
specific
needs
and
priorities,
but
are
significant
in
terms
of
of
their
representation
within
the
school
districts
of
ten
percent.
A
Four
of
our
families
are
the
our
student
population
are
English
language
learners,
but
of
course,
as
anybody
in
the
school
district
knows,
they're
highly
concentrated,
in
particular
schools
and
many
of
the
families
furnace,
which
may
have
almost
40%
almost
one
in
two
students
who
are
new
immigrants
and
English
language
learners
feel
like
they're.
Getting
such
little
academic
and
support
services,
despite
the
fact
that
they're
serving
such
a
different,
diverse
population,
of
course,
our
neighborhood
high
schools
are
serving
such
significantly.
A
And
then
do
you
just
want
to
mention
for
our
my
colleagues
and
the
final
comment
for
my
panelists
is
that
you
know
we
have
so
many
young
people
and
DHS
who
are
involved
in
the
system
one
in
five,
and
we
have
a
desperate
need
to
make
sure
that
our
city
and
district
services
coordinate
myself
and
Councilwoman.
Blackwell
will
be
absolute
partners
on
making
sure
that
happens.
A
So
those
were
some
of
the
hearings
you
know,
I
did
want
to
update
you
on
what
our
process
has
been
for
the
last
three
months,
we've
been
serious
about
trying
to
understand
some
of
these
findings,
and
it's
with
that
spirit
that
we
bring
you
back
to
City
Council.
We
welcome
you
and
would
welcome
our
first
testimony
from
from
at
Cersei
Commissioner
Marge
enough.
Thank.