COVERITLIVE.COM

11:44

Philly.com - Inquirer education reporter Kristen Graham takes your questions about the Philadelphia School District. Post your questions now. Kristen will begin answering questions at noon.

11:54

Kristen Graham - Hi, folks. Welcome to the conversation. Please be patient - if recent history is any indication, I'll have lots of questions to answer. I'll get to as many as I can in an hour. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

11:54

[Comment From Harvey]
Philly charter school officials were recently on NBC 10 @ Issue to discuss charter school successes and the benefit these schools bring to the region. They noted in Philly alone, 20,000 students are on charter school waiting lists. Should the district approve more charter schools to accomodate?

11:57

Kristen Graham - Hi, Harvey. Thanks for the question. The city has 67 charter schools and each year gets more applications for new ones (many of which are denied.) I don't get the sense that the administration or the SRC is anti-charter. They frame it as a matter of money - if the district approves more charters, they have to pay more money to charters. Some of that is paid by the state, but not all, and it's a year behind. With a $160 (at lowest, may be as much as $190) million budget gap, I doubt we'll see a flood of new charter schools approved this year. Plus, there have been a number of high-profile charter scandals in recent years, and some suggestions that there needs to be more monitoring of charters. So, in short, there are lots of charters doing well and some charters struggling, but I think the x factor is money.

11:57

[Comment From K.C Shrine]
With all of the academic quality, particularly in higher learning institutions, within the City of Brotherly Love, how is it our ecected officials keep choosing to tap outside "expertise" to solve our pathetic school system operational problems? The current superintendent has appeared to be a more devisive figure than the creative, visionary progressive that was advertised. We can do better Philly! what say ye?

11:59

Kristen Graham - K.C. - I know Dr. Ackerman has raised lots of hackles by bringing in a lot of outsiders to the district. As she points out, that's her prerogative as CEO of a major organization. But you and others say that we can do better internally. I can't and won't take a position on this or any other district issue, though. Sorry! Reporter's neutrality and all that...

11:59

[Comment From solidarity81]
With the new contract negotiations on the way teachers are expected to work more hours with no increase in pay is that correct? Are parents going to be more accountable, teachers can't do it alone. Kids are coming in at extremely low levels and we are always playing catch up. I also think the public should be aware of Ackermans previous stint. Please tell about her rocky relationship with unions, parents, and school board. She also had minimal results and left early with her salary for the year she left. Teachers, parents, students, and SRC need to be held accountable together.

12:02

Kristen Graham - Solidarity - yes, I think we'll be getting down to more nitty-gritty contract negotiations as soon as the state budget is signed. Dr. Ackerman has said she wants a longer school day; neither she nor anyone else in the administration has said a word about economics, so I can't say whether she expects teachers to work longer days for the same money. The current superintendent has definitely tried to engage more parents, but I still hear from principals and teachers that it's a huge struggle. And how do you hold parents accountable without hurting kids? (Your ideas welcome, folks.) Yes, Dr. Ackerman left her last superintendency under less-than-ideal terms. She lost the support of the union, and had problems with her school board.

12:02

[Comment From John]
How does Dr Ackerman expect her plan to send overaged middle school students into magnet schools to be received by the members of the school community?

12:02

Kristen Graham - John, help me out. Dr. Ackerman plans to send overaged middle school students into magnet schools? Details, please.

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