Notes from the Field
Submitted by Frank Murphy, February 17, 2011
In less than a week’s time, students from two Philadelphia neighborhood high schools have staged walkouts to protest the district’s plans to restructure their schools. These students have been the closest observers of the changes that have occurred at West Philadelphia and Audenried High Schools in the last three years.
Student protesters from West were witnesses to the noteworthy turnaround efforts of a dedicated staff under the leadership of former principal, Saliyah Cruz. Then in less than a year’s time, they watched as those promising initiatives were squandered in the face of a poorly conceived and badly managed reform plan.
The students at Audenried are housed in a newly constructed multi-million dollar public facility that opened three years ago. The junior class of this school will be the first group to graduate from this completely new school community. But now the hopes and dreams that these students have held for their school and their future are threatened by the recent announcement that Audenried will be given over to a charter school manager next year. Community input has not factored into this decision, nor has the school community been extended the opportunity to discuss the merits or disadvantages of this proposal. It seems that all of their collective efforts to make a better school of Audenried over the last three years are of little relevance in determining the eventual fate of their school.
Student demonstrations of this nature are highly unusual. The administrators of these schools and especially the leadership of the school district’s central office administration should take careful note. These are not the actions of impulsive teenagers determined to engage in juvenile mischief. Instead they are the hopeful stirrings of yet another generation of Americans who are committed to the principles of our democratic society.
Students, regardless of their age, may in many ways be far more intelligent than some of the adults who direct their learning activities. Good educators know this. They make it their job to create an instructional environment where their students can develop and use literacy skills to access relevant knowledge so that they can thoughtfully solve complex problems and develop sophisticated understanding regarding the world around them. Of course the teachers who are capable of accomplishing this mission are bright people in their own right. They are expected to use their intelligence to continuously adapt their instruction to the needs of their learners. They are not relegated to merely recite scripted chants in a rote fashion, as the instructional materials of the Renaissance Plan reform strategies dictate.
Successful schools are the ones that empower teachers, who in turn empower students so that they can make the most of their intelligence. In these schools, students are engaged in meaningful and engaging learning activities. Their social and emotional growth is not ignored. They are treated with respect. Their voice is heard and taken into account in planning and making instructional decisions. They are provided with opportunities to develop leadership skills.
That the students from these two schools were able to plan and carry out peaceful civil rights demonstrations is indicative of the quality of the instructional program they once enjoyed. The West students have clearly seen in the last year they have lost something promising and good. They want it back. The Audenried students value what they have now and seek to hold on to it.
There are those who say that the autocratic management style exhibited by Dr. Ackerman is denying the people of Philadelphia from an authentic seat at the reform table. Her response to this criticism is simple. She says that the adults who object to her plans are allowing their issues to supersede the needs of children. According to her, children always come first.
I believe that this is exactly what the students who have participated in these recent demonstrations are saying to Dr. Ackerman. They want to be students who attend a successful school. They recognize that their teachers are good. In their struggling schools, they have already seen the possibility of the changes that will revitalize their learning community. They want their dreams to come first.
Our superintendent’s Imagine 2014 school reform agenda is impeding their efforts to achieve their goals. During the last three years this plan has been focused on systematically disassembling the School District of Philadelphia. Most of this work has been carried on in secret only to be sprung upon school communities at the last minute. It is a strategy that limits any discussion or careful consideration of the merits or cost of the changes that are proposed.
If Dr. Ackerman the appointed leader of our district is truly sincere in her concern for the children, then she must address the needs that have been expressed by these students. Provide them with the challenging and rich instructional programs they deserve. Show respect for the teachers who they value. Listen to the wishes of their parents. Be the leader that we all need in order to make our schools better. Be a leader who listens to, inspires and leads the people to the places where they need to go, rather then where you want them to go.