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What to do with tainted PSSA scores?
Howard Wainer poses a question:If you measured the height of a group of kids and later found out some had been standing on a stool, what would you do?“The statistical approach would be to try to...
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Quicktakes: Is cheating on standardized tests a problem in the District?
We also asked how anyone caught cheating should be handled.
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A distorted reality
In July 2010, when Saliyah Cruz was named principal of Communications Technology High, state test scores said the small citywide admission school in Southwest Philadelphia was one of the best in the...
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Selling of vacant schools is underway
With dozens of new school closings looming, the School District of Philadelphia has started selling off some of its properties that are already vacant. Three building sales were approved by the School...
View ArticleCheating: Time for answers
For nine years in a row, up through 2011, every summer brought cheery news that test scores went up in Philadelphia schools. Sure, performance wasn’t where it should be, but things were on the right...
View ArticleWill the system really decentralize?
Response to the October 2012 edition article “A new blend of public and private”I think the decentralized approach to school management that is a component of the portfolio model is questionable due...
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District creates new office to address student concerns
Since coming to Philadelphia, Superintendent William Hite has emphasized the importance of community input and involving students in decision-making. This fall, Hite created the Office of Student...
View ArticleCoalition developing alternative to consultant’s plan for District
Education advocates worked this fall to ensure a community voice in the discussion about the future of Philadelphia schools: The Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools (PCAPS) sought...
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Reaching out in print and online
Notebook readers can still find the bimonthly print publication at 750 distribution sites throughout the city, including all District and charter schools. But to increase access to the paper, the...
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Coalición reúne opiniones de la comunidad sobre planes de reforma
Este otoño los defensores de la educación trabajaron para asegurar que se tomara en cuenta la opinión de la comunidad en la discusión sobre el futuro de las escuelas de Filadelfia: la Philadelphia...
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Test security: Philadelphia gets strictest treatment
Heightened security measures are expected to again be in force throughout the School District of Philadelphia when state standardized tests are administered next spring. Changes are unlikely at least...
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Investigations at 53 schools continue without resolution
Pennsylvania’s investigation of possible cheating on state tests in Philadelphia is entering its second year with no results announced and with little information about its scope and depth.So far, no...
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Deadline for high school applications fast approaching
by Charlotte PopeThe deadline for applications to attend citywide admission or special admission high schools, or to transfer to District neighborhood schools is Friday, Nov. 30.All students in grades...
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Ethics complaint questions legitimacy of BCG reform plan, school closures
by Bill Hangley, Jr. With the shadow of dozens of possible school closures looming in the background, a group of public school advocates has formally filed an ethics complaint challenging the...
View ArticleDistrict has new model for handling students' academic and behavioral problems
by Charlotte PopeThe School District has begun to roll out a new system for responding to poor classroom performance, bad behavior, and truancy in students.The West Philadelphia Parent and Family...
View ArticleAt high schools targeted for closing, fears of college dreams deferred
by Bill Hangley Jr. Students, community advocates, and Philadelphia School District officials agree: Closing high schools this year will make getting into college even tougher than usual for next...
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Pa. lags behind nation in graduation rate improvement
A new Graduation Nation report shows that the country is on track to reach a 90 percent high school graduation rate by 2020. Pennsylvania, however, is one of 23 states not on track to reach that...
View ArticleA biotech pilot program to get students excited about STEM
by Charlotte PopeRobin Bethune, a junior at Roxborough High School, is intrigued by forensics, and she is eager about a class she's taking as part of an afterschool program being piloted in the...
View Article59 teachers named Lindback award winners
Today is National Teacher Day, and this afternoon 59 Philadelphia teachers, one from each District high school, will receive the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation’s Distinguished Teaching...
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Winners of the Philadelphia student journalism awards
The Notebook announced the winners of the ninth annual Philadelphia Student Journalism Awards for high school journalists at its “Turning the Page for Change” event last week. The Notebook recognizes...
View ArticleFree book bags, activities at annual 'back to school' event
With the new school year just about a month away, parents and students will prepare by attending the District’s Family and Education Reunion, better known in past years as the Back to School Expo or...
View ArticleCountdown Day 31: Safe corridors the goal of new citywide campaign, WalkSafePHL
by Mark McHughStudent safety inside and outside the classroom has been a community concern as the District works on the transitions for students from 24 closing schools in the midst of a profound...
View ArticleCountdown, Day 24: District cancels High School Expo, citing costs
by Mark McHugh The District’s annual High School Expo, an event designed to help students and parents navigate the high school selection process, has been canceled this year.According to the...
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Encontrar una escuela superior: Difícil para los inmigrantes
En enero de 2013, Aron y Mussie Tesfay acababan de llegar a Filadelfia de un campamento para refugiados en Uganda. Necesitaban encontrar una escuela, pero ni ellos ni sus papás sabían qué hacer.Los...
View ArticleCronograma para selección de escuela superior
Octubre - Noviembre Las escuelas distribuyen el formulario y los materiales para solicitar admisión a la escuela superior. Este año el directorio del Distrito estará disponible únicamente en línea.Por...
View ArticleA note from the editor
Welcome to our fifth annual fall guide to Philadelphia’s public high schools. Selecting and getting into high school is a pivotal point in students’ lives. The Notebook, Philadelphia’s independent...
View ArticleA school choice timeline
October - November Schools distribute high school application forms and materials. This year’s District directory will be online only.The District is not holding a High School Expo this year due to a...
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Finding a different track to graduation
Ann Ceron-Hernandez has dreams of going to college to study to become a nurse. But without a high school diploma, she knows those dreams could be derailed. So last February, the 21-year-old mother of...
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New passes give high school students access to the arts
by Isaac RiddleWith District schools suffering from severe cuts in arts and music education, a new program is offering the city's high school students free admission to 12 of the city’s museums and...
View ArticleProgram targeting African American boys launches an e-mentoring guide
by Naveed AhsanUrban Youth, a science and technology-based program that targets urban students by providing educational and mentoring opportunities, will release the Lessons Learned from What it Takes...
View ArticleResources to help with choosing a high school
by Naveed AhsanOver the summer, the School District announced that it had canceled its annual high school fair to save money. Then, the Philadelphia School Partnership stepped up by offering to...
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Philly High School Fair this Saturday
by Naveed AhsanThe Philly High School Fair will take place on Saturday, Nov. 16, at The Armory at Drexel University. The fair, which is open to parents and students, will provide information about...
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SRC approves creation of three small, innovative high schools
The School Reform Commission approved the creation of three small, non-selective high schools Thursday that are meant to personalize learning while stressing inquiry- and project-based learning. The...
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WHYY to pilot video production labs at two high schools
by Dan HamptonPhiladelphia High School for Girls and Kensington High School for International Business, Finance & Entrepreneurship have been chosen to pilot a Flash Media Lab program launched by...
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For many families choosing high schools, it's either magnet or charter
by Kevin McCorry for NewsWorksChrislie Dor, a budding poet at age 14, stands like poet Robert Frost's narrator at a fork in the road.The paths diverge not in a yellow wood, but instead the concrete...
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How do demographics affect performance at public high schools?
Last week, I wrote a story about Chrislie Dor, a Philadelphia School District student who applied to two District-run magnet high schools.If accepted, she said, she would attend one of those schools....
View ArticleDistrict to open 3 innovative neighborhood high schools
Three new high schools will open in the fall in North Philadelphia.All are planning to use an approach to learning that is based on projects and inquiry, building on students’ experiences and...
View ArticleWhat the school day looks like in 5 high schools
Many people think of the school day as seven hours with a bell schedule that divides it up into eight or nine equal periods. But in Philadelphia schools, what the school day looks like increasingly...
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At Independence Mall, students draw from history
Tourists passing through Independence Mall today may have caught a glimpse of Thomas Jefferson, as a man dressed in period uniform delivered a speech for a summer initiative called Project...
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MLK High conflict-resolution staff seek facetime with incoming freshmen
Do the right thing.Since the beginning of summer, Kim Ivery has relayed the simple — but heartfelt — wish countless times to her daughter Lexus, a rising freshman.She desperately wants her youngest to...
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A guide for student bike commuters
In response to the District’s proposed budget cuts to subsidized public transportation, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has created a guide for high school students who want to bike to...
View ArticlePhiladelphia High School Fair starts today
The annual Philadelphia High School Fair starts today at the Armory at Drexel University on North 33rd Street, between Market and Cuthbert Streets.Thousands of students and their parents are expected...
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At Building 21, tech makes learning personal
Building 21 is one of three innovative high schools started this year designed to transform the educational experience for students. After a year of planning, it opened in September to its first class...
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PCCY report highlights stark inequalities in District high schools
Public Citizens for Children and Youth earlier this week released a report on District high schools, showing wide disparities in neighborhood schools compared to citywide and special admission...
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Neighborhood high schools look to reinvent themselves
The District’s 20 neighborhood high schools — sometimes overlooked by families considering the academic options after middle school — are scrambling to find new lives as viable, even preferable...
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A tale of two schools
Eleven Philadelphia schools have been chosen for major overhauls, and the District has hired a consultant to visit each one and hear from local community members about what those plans should involve....
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Point Breeze residents protest the sale of a vacant school
The Save Smith School Committee held a news conference in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia in October calling for the School Reform Commission to stop the sale of now-closed Walter G....
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Students from Ben Franklin see history take flight
Last week, Benjamin Franklin High School students witnessed history in the making. Eighteen students from the school’s Advanced Manufacturing & Technology program toured the helicopter division of...
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