Reflections: Then and Now
Submitted by Frank Murphy, Sept. 28, 2010
A recent trend in school reform has been to restructure public schools deemed to be low performing on state assessments. Schools have been either “reconstituted” with mostly new staff and leadership or turned over to outside providers, such as charter schools. Smedley Elementary School is one of seven public schools in Philadelphia that have been turned over to outside organizations. Mastery Charter Schools is the service provider for Smedley. The chief executive officer of Mastery, Scott Gordon, has assured the Smedley parents that in three years their children will be reading on grade level.
There is a new administrative team at Smedley this year, consisting of a principal and three assistant principals. A central management team that is committed to helping to facilitate the success of every Mastery Charter School supports them. The entire teaching staff of approximately 42 teachers is new to the school. The initial commitment of resources to this reconstituted school is impressive. Mastery Charter has budgeted $500,000 to spruce up the building. This is on top of the repairs and improvements already being made by the school district. An additional $500,000 of Mastery funding will be used to purchase books, supplies and other materials.
When I became the principal of Meade School in February of 1997 it was a school that was quite like the Smedley School. Meade housed grades k through 4. Smedley is a k-5 school. The percentage of students reading on grade level at Meade then was as minimal as the number at Smedley today. The school climate was chaotic. Assaults on students and staff were commonplace. The school facility was in ill repair. Classrooms and the hallways were dingy and poorly lighted. These have all been sited as problems at Smedley
However, the resources available to me as I started my tenure at Meade were nowhere near the level of those that the Smedley administrative team has at their disposal. I was the only administrator. I could have budgeted for an assistant principal but the cost of this position would have required me to drop two teaching positions. I handled the administration of the school in partnership with my teachers. My responsibilities were enormous. In addition to being the instructional leader, I was also the director of fund raising, political lobbyist, police chief, conflict mediator, grant writer, therapist, part-time nurse and jack-of-all-trades.
Teams of volunteers organized by Philadelphia Cares helped to paint the building inside and out. It took several years to complete the job. Persistent nagging and badgering on my part resulted in major capital improvements such as an electrical service upgrade, new playground equipment, and the construction of a new library and science lab. By relentlessly pursuing partnerships with outside organizations, I was able to increase the amount of arts, enrichment and science programs that served our children. I also scoured the field for grant writing opportunities, a chore that opened up new revenue sources for professional development activities, summer programs, after school activities, and the purchase of many leveled storybooks that students could read in class as well as take home. Finding additional funding, forming community partnerships, developing and implementing staff development activities in addition to my daily duties as a principal, made my life quite busy.
It is heartening to see that the school reformers currently directing our public schools are recognizing that principals cannot do it all on their own. They need a team that will assist them at the school site. They also need a central administrative team that will advocate and look out for the school team. It is also terrific that much needed resources are being directed to the schools most in need. Mr. Gordon’s promise to get the children of Smedley School reading on grade level is more likely to occur given the amount of attention and funding they will receive. I am happy for these lucky children and their parents.
Now if the same amount of attention and resources were showered on every school in the district, then every child would have an opportunity to succeed in school. If this were the case, no one would have to depend on luck in order to get a rich instructional program. There would also be no need to restructure public schools.