Students’ Response to School Budget Cuts
Notes from the Field
Submitted by Angela Chan
When I decided to teach, I believed that the betterment of our nation depends on growing compassionate and caring citizens, and on creating an engaged citizenry that must include even those who live in the poorest communities. As a public and as a nation, we have determined education to be so important to the common good that we would collectively fund it for all children. I thought, what better way to invest my life and energy than to be a public servant, to do the important work of educating our young, and not just to do this work anywhere, but to commit to those communities and schools with the least resources.
The last few years of budget cuts to public education has shaken my belief that our country and political leaders value the well being of every single child, rich or poor. Across school buildings in Philadelphia, staff will hear their principals say, “We have a limited budget for next year. We only have enough money for a principal and enough teachers for every class. We don’t have any funds for books or supplies.”
Many who do not work in schools have only minimal understanding of the implications of the reality of those words. For the last two years, my students have lost some of their favorite teachers: our school police officer, a full-time technology teacher, and bilingual counseling assistants who have worked with us for years. Now we must tell our students that they might lose everyone else who is not a teacher. Next year, we, along with all public schools in Philadelphia, might not have a Dean of Students, an office staff, a counselor, an instrumental music program, noon time aides who supervise lunch and recess, extracurricular activities including sports, and books and supplies.
I struggled to help my students understand this senseless predicament. Our children come to school everyday expecting to be in a place of learning. How do we explain that we lack even the basics to sustain our schools? My students are smart, and they understand fairness. Sooner or later, they will make the connection between what is happening to their schools and how this can come to happen. They will come to understand marginalization and know that some groups do not matter in the grand scheme of our nation’s operation. Read the rest of this entry »
Superintendent William Hite has changed a flawed school-closings plan, and the revision was an encouraging sign. Hearing the concerns and suggestions of individual school communities was exactly what Dr. Hite needed to do in order to demonstrate that he is pursuing a school reform agenda responsive to the best interests and needs of city neighborhoods. It is time that the members of the School Reform Commission do the same.
This site lists nearly all of the public, charter and parochial schools in the city. Each school reviewed received an overall score in addition to a score for each of the above listed categories. The highest score a school can receive is ten. The lowest score is one.
By now most Americans with any link to media has heard about the (now settled) National Football League Referee strike. This strike between the football officials and the NFL began in late August. The striking officials were replaced with referees from other organizations and were considered sub-par replacement officiates by most media outlets. Almost simultaneously, the Chicago Teacher’s Union was exacting their own strike (also settled) against the Chicago school district. According to media outlets at that time, the Referees were asking for pay raises in the six digit range and the continuation of their pension plan. The Chicago Teachers concerns were focused on working conditions that could affect student and teacher performance as well as an evaluation system based on student test scores.
Dear Dr. Hite,