A history of management snafus under Superintendent Bill Hite can only make you wonder if we’re able to seize this potentially transformative moment.
By Larry Platt
Philly School District does about-face, releases data on failing students
After refusing to release student failure rate information twice on the grounds that the documentation does not exist and accusing B+L of feeding “negative stereotypes,” the district released data showing a 6% increase in the rate sixth through 12th grade students failed a class.
By Todd Shepherd
David R. Osborne: Teachers’ unions don’t speak for all teachers
Teachers rank near the top of any list of most trusted professions—and for good reason. But, as the fight to reopen schools showed, their unions drive a wedge between public education and the community.
By David R. Osborne
‘Keeping Kids in School’ PAC celebrates strong showing in PA primaries, looks ahead to general election
Eighty-six of the PAC’s 91 endorsed school board candidates are moving on to the November general election. Now, Clarice Schillinger, who started the PAC just months ago at her kitchen table, is looking to take on an entrenched establishment as the urgency caused by the pandemic looks to be waning.
By Todd Shepherd
Teachers’ unions influenced Wolf admin guidance that prolonged school closures
After Gov. Wolf’s chiefs of staff met twice with several Pa. teacher’s unions, the administration issued guidance for reopening schools that caused districts across the state to abandon plans for full, in-person education.
By Todd Shepherd
Ada Nestor: Our school board election should focus on education, not political conspiracies
More than 20 years after experiencing racial prejudice as a student in the West Chester Area School District, Ada Nestor is running to be on the district’s school board. Now, she’s being maligned by a group of anonymous radicals bent on infusing the race with unfounded conspiracies.
By Ada Nestor
Beth Ann Rosica: A reckoning for school boards
School board directors work for the tax-paying citizens in the District, not for the superintendent or the teacher’s union. And this May, that should be made clear.
By Beth Ann Rosica
Jamie Walker: Bucks County parents v. the teachers’ union
As a parent in the Central Bucks County School District, I became worried about my children’s future when the schools shut down. When local health authorities said reopening was safe but schools remained closed, I decided to find out who was pulling the strings.
By Jamie Walker
Inquirer stands by disputed claim that PA has “drastically reduced” school funding
The Inquirer has refused to correct the claim of one of their columnists that state funding for public schools has been reduced in recent decades. A spokesman for Pa. House Republicans said the Inquirer’s assertions were “not based in reality,” and an education researcher urged the paper to stop “peddling this false narrative.”
By Todd Shepherd
Judy Schwank: State higher education system in peril — if nothing changes
State Senator Schwank calls for level heads and a commitment to higher education as the PASSHE chancellor warns of serious financial troubles.
By Judy Schwank.