1

The Union Repnewsletter of the philadelphia student union

Spring • Summer • 2009

As a student at a “hard to staff ” school and an Empowerment School—I

am personally affected by problems with teacher effectiveness and equity. We have many good teachers at my school, but I have seen some of them leave to teach at other district schools or leave teaching al-together. I have seen too many first year teachers come in and out of my school. I have seen teacher vacancies and long-term substitutes.

Issues of teacher quality and teacher equity are one of the main reasons why our

schools are now Empowerment Schools. The quality of teachers in a school has a big effect on whether or not students do well on the PSSA’s. Not only that, but if there is a high rate of teacher turnover, and too many first year teachers, students get discouraged, start cutting class, and eventually drop out. What is going on, or not going on in the class can make the dif-ference between whether or not a student is motivated to come to school every day.

I know what works in the classroom

and I was a part of creating the Teaching Quality and Equity Platform. I believe that in order to have an effective learning environment, you need to distribute expe-rienced teachers equally across the district, give them the tools and resources needed to teach effectively, and create effective professional development for teachers. All of these things will help to better the way students receive their education – we the students deserve no less!

The School Reform Commission has to make sure that in the Imagine 2014

plan every school is required to make teacher equity a top priority. Especially the lowest performing schools that need qualified and effective teachers the most. I don’t want any more generations of stu-dents to have to go through what I did. If the district is truly concerned about eq-uity – then students, parents, community, teachers and district leaders will come to-gether and make this happen. The time is now to make sure that every student has a qualified, experienced and effective teacher. •

Teacher Quality and Equity: The Time is Now

CandaCe Carter, a leader in the teaCher effeCtiveness Campaign. photo:©JaCques-Jean tiziou. www.JJtiziou.net

I have seen my own good teachers leave to teach at other schools.

I have seen too many first year teachers come in and out of my school.

I have seen teacher vacancies and long-term substitutes.

I don’t want any more generations of students to go through what I have.

1. Equitable distribution of experienced and effective teachers across the District.2. Incentive grants to attract experienced teachers to ‘hard to staff’ schools.3. Full site selection, with hiring decisions made by committees of teachers, students, parents and principal.4. Performance standards & evaluations, developed collaboratively with teachers.

5. All schools open each fall with no teacher vacancies.

6. Teacher-driven professional development.* Platform developed in conjunction with

Philadelphia Cross City Campaign for School Reform & Education First Compact.

Teacher Quality Imperatives: Highlights from Our Platform

a speeCh by CandaCe Carter

2

The Philadelphia Student Union has been involved in building the educa-

tional vision for West Philadelphia High School for six years now - ever since we learned that West was going to get a new building. Our ultimate vision is indepen-dent theme based schools housed within one building, with the Auto Academy in a seperate building. Sometimes when we talk about “schools within a school,” people think we’re talking about making West smaller or more exclusive. Just the opposite. We’re talking about a plan for

the same students who go to West right now - who can’t wait any longer for trans-formational changes.

For the past two years our school has had academies - one milestone in our progress. The themes for the academies are ones that students have asked for, and continue to desire. Our plan is not only a way to create good “academies”, but to completely change the school. To take the students currently in the building, and give them resources that will transform

their educational experience into one where students can excel.

West chapter members have been involved in establishing a community based transformation of our school. We’ve looked at most of our problems in our school. Among them are that students constantly miss out or remain unaware of college opportunities because we don’t have enough counselors and students fall through the cracks. When class sizes are too large, teachers can’t intervene with dis-ruptive students because they don’t know

their students well enough as individuals.Students suffer when teachers don’t

have time to create stimulating assign-ments because they can’t grade a large body of students. Instead, teachers end up relying on multiple choice tests and worksheets. The problem with this type of teaching is that there is no sense of com-munity. If our plan is implemented, it will eliminate this problem.

Personalization is the key element in our fight to transform West. We need

to give the school and its community the resources it needs to accommodate their students directly. These include autonomy to deal with staff in terms of hiring and evaluation. The ability to budget money more freely will give the school and its administration the opportunity to benefit the school by being innovative with the budget. For example, if climate improves drastically, then security can be reduced, leaving flexibility to hire more teachers and further reduce class size.

This also opens the door to advance the rigor in our school. Many of our com-munity members are concerned that the course work isn’t as rigorous as some other schools in our district. We need to be-gin to offer this rigor, so that our students can step up to the plate and do what we know they are capable of doing. If it’s good enough for Center City schools it’s good enough for West Philadelphia High School.

PSU members from West have visited some small, community-centered schools, including South Bronx High School and Bushwick Academy, which have over 90% graduation rates. The reason that these schools do so well is because they are small and diverse within each learning sub-community. Every academy can suit the interests of the students based around whatever trade or study the theme of that academy may be. Also, they function as one big progressive school. This doesn’t lock the student into that academy, because all “small schools” are capable of sending their students on to four year institutions, or other post secondary education. Stu-dents have something worthwhile to be in school for, that will help segue them into their career.

We will continue to fight for our school and we need your support. We can’t rest until we see West Philadelphia High School become the vanguard school it was in its past. We have a history and a responsibility to make this school what the community needs it to be. •

Building a Better West Philadelphia High SchoolCOMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

students disCuss small sChool models of whole sChool transformation during a Community event.photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

by azeem hill

3

Our school funding campaign work over the past year, in conjunction with

organizations across Pennsylvania, resulted in an increase in school funding across the state, including a $50 million increase for Philadelphia. Some legislators, though, worry that the new money will not do anything to help our schools. We know otherwise. Therefore, we set out to gather stories of how the new money is helping our schools. We want to use these stories to push our campaign goals this year. We have been pushing for several things, the most important being the retention of the new formula whereby funding is distrib-uted according to need. We also have been pushing for a funding increase for this year. We have been taking a number of steps to support these goals.

One major project that we recently finished is a “Community Account” which has stories and testimony from a number of students, parents, teachers, and school officials, from both Philadelphia and sur-rounding school districts. Working col-laboritively with the Philadelphia Cross City Campaign for School Reform, we interviewed dozens of people about what they have experienced as a result of the new money. Some spoke of new programs, class size reductions, and more resources

for English language learners, while oth-ers talked about new technology, and more supports for teachers.

Cherelle Reed, a senior at Overbrook, described the process of gathering testi-mony: “By doing interviews with students from Philly, Upper Darby and other school districts, it reminded me that most of the state is underfunded. One thing that came across with everyone I interviewed, was that last year’s funding increase is helping, but we still have a long way to go before all students have the right resources.”

One Saturday in March, members from several groups gathered at a church to take photographs of the students and parents who gave testimony. Since the Community Account was published in May, we have used it in presentations, as well as in meetings with a long list of legislators, to highlight the importance of equitable funding.

We have also been meeting with a number of state legislators and encouraging them to actively support the funding formula. We have two main priorities that fit hand in hand. Our first priority is retaining of the new funding formula. Second, we are using the formula’s accountability provisions to ensure that the Phialdelphia School District uses new funds on reforms that will make a difference inside classrooms. Philadelphia Student Union will continue to fight for equitable statewide funding, because a person’s address should not determine the quality of their school. •

In late 2007, a “costing-out study” was released. It was commissioned by the state to find out how much money is needed to give all students

in Pennsylvania an adequate education, broken down by school district. It took into account factors such as poverty and English language learners. It found that about 19 out of every 20 districts in PA are underfunded.

The average school district in PA has only about 80% of the money it needs. Districts with a lot of money can have smaller class sizes, more counselors and teachers, and more services for English language learn-ers and special education students. Underfunded districts, on the other hand, suffer.

Armed with the results of this study, education organizers across the state pushed for an increase in school funding, distributed equitably. Gov-ernor Rendell’s budget incorporated many of these principles, and with some modifications, was passed last year. There were school funding in-creases across the state.

Last year was the beginning of a six-year plan to bring every district in Pennsylvania to an equitable, adequate level of school funding. The future of the plan depends on the continued work of organized students and communities.

by greg Jordan-detamore

Measured SuccessStudents Document the Impact of Increased School Funding

darrian Kennedy, eriKa almiron & graCe harman smile for the Camera at our Community aC-Count photo shoot. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

Last year’s funding increase

is helping, but we still have a

long way to go before all students

have the right resources.”

“

4

While Student Union focuses its or-ganizing in Philadelphia, we be-

lieve that we can only be effective if we stay aware of and understand trends in educa-tion policy on a national level. In the past few years, a definite direction in education policy has been increasingly evident in big cities throughout the country including New Orleans, Chicago, Washington D.C. and even here in Philadelphia.

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Or-leans in 2005, the school system (which was already struggling) was left devastat-ed. It the wake of the devastation, the Re-covery School District was born, and 107 schools were re-opened as charter schools. Before the hurricane, only 2% of students

were in charters, recent figures put charter school enrollment at 53% of total enroll-ment. The New Orleans school district currently only runs 8 schools. This reform parallels changes in public housing, and has been met with resistance from com-munity organizations and the teacher’s union.

In Chicago, a plan called Renaissance 2010 called for the closure of 100 public schools and the opening of 60 new char-ters. The plan is designed to increase the quality of education by giving students and parents a choice as to what school they at-tend. It has been met with resistance from community groups who say that Renais-sance 2010 is primarily a business strategy to use schools to attract new higher-in-come residents to neighborhoods. They have also spoken out about the instability caused by school closing and displacement of students.

In D.C., chancellor of schools Mi-chelle Rhee has been pushing for a num-ber of reforms, including a new system for

paying teachers based on forfeiting union rights in exchange for a huge increase in salary and regular evaluations. The plan was developed in the hopes of increas-ing the quality and motivation of teach-ers in the district. The teacher’s union has resisted the plan and some groups have said that it doesn’t address the roots of the teacher quality problem in the city. D.C. has also seen a number of new charters in the past few years.

The public education system is looked at by many as a $600 billion industry, and

although many areas have great public schools (usually the wealthier suburbs), ‘public education’ (read the education of poor, and minority students) is associated with failure, leaving the door open for re-forms that in turn suffer a lack of account-ability and transparency in the way they are implemented.

As students, poor people, and people of color on the ground in schools, we are discouraged from thinking about the na-tional landscape of education, which ul-timately makes us only objects (complete with potential dollar signs attached) to be

acted upon as those with a financial stake in the system battle it out at the policy level. Meanwhile, the families on the ground are encouraged to think of our-selves as merely consumers of education, a belief which removes the basis for change through collective action.

Nevertheless, poor communities ar-ound the country are collaborating with each other to seize this moment to take advantage of key opportunities in the landscape - to make teacher quality and equity a top priority across the nation, to

make the school funding system equitable in every state, to ensure real parent and student involvement in school governance, to end the school to prison pipeline, to ad-vance models of whole school transforma-tion from the ground up, and to stem the drop-out crisis.

This emerging network is called the Alliance for Educational Justice, and the Philadelphia Student Union is provid-ing leadership for building this from the ground up. Look for us soon on the na-tional scene! •

by dan Jones

The National Education LandscapeTrends and Opportunities

The public education system is looked at by many

as a $600 bill ion industry

students disCuss national eduCation poliCy. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

5

Since December 2008, PSU has been an active participant in the School District’s strategic

planning process. We participated in working groups on the achievement gap, quality teachers, transforming failing schools, and college readi-ness. We also participated in and held commu-nity meetings, held public events, and testified at the School Reform Commission about the stra-tegic plan. Here are some responses to the pro-cess and the plan from members of PSU’s Youth Leadership Team.

Imagine 2014

Whole School Transforation Platform This platform comes from our di-rect experiences in Philadelphia public schools (including neighbor-hood and magnet schools), schools we’ve visited and school models we’ve researched. We believe this framework could provide a model for whole school transformation.

• Staff shake-up (i.e. zero-basing staff, or keeping 50% of current staff who sign onto new educational vision, or staffing structure models like Boston Pilot schools)

• Individualized, project-based learning

• Schools within a school and theme-based learning

• Full site-selection

• Common planning time

• Autonomy (i.e. school based budget-ing and curricular freedom)

• National search for principals

• Guaranteed structures for communi-ty, parent and student involvement (i.e. local school councils)

• Public schools that serve all students

“We had great discussions in my working group. Unfortunately, most of our recom-mendations did not make it into the final plan. For instance, ‘equitable distribution of effective teachers in low-performing schools,’ was not included”. - Dan Jones

“We’re so happy that the Student Success Centers will be expanded to all of the comprehensive high schools. PSU designed Student Success Centers and organized to have them in our schools. I work at the Student Success Center at my school. We would like to continue to work with the social workers from Resources for Change because they have the experience it will take to make the centers what they need to be as they expand.” - Mason Tyer

“We’ve been told over and over again that the plan to shut down 30-35 low perform-ing schools and re-open them with internal or external providers is not the same as the failed “diverse provider model”. But without any kind of assurance that certain providers that have failed will be off the table, it feels like we’re just doing the same thing all over again. More privatization with the same failed providers would com-pletely destroy community trust.” - Markeeta Hudgens

“We’ve been talking about the need for more couselors for a long time—and we’re finally going to get them. That will help encourage more of us to go to college.” - Cherelle Reed

“We need more equity in our school system - not more tracking” - Phuong Ninh

from Process to Plan

Mason Tyer hosTs an acTion responding To iMagine 2014. phoTo: KaThleen Foley

cherelle reed speaKs abouT The pros and cons oF The sTraTegic plan. phoTo: KaThleen Foley

6

Sayreby Kanae lee

This year the Sayre chapter spent our time working to have a positive impact on school climate. One thing that we did

was to create and put in place a peer mentoring program along with Project Grad. Our peer mentoring program helps young people become leaders and take their education seriously. We felt that peer mentoring would have a good impact on school climate because students can help other students stay on track and do what they need to do.

We also organized the entire year to improve relationships and communication between students and school security. We did this by winning the right for students to be involved in train-ing school security officers. This was a major victory for our chapter and a very unusual thing in the entire school district. We did an interactive workshop so students and school security could get to know each other better. We also did a root causes

exercise to look into the roots of the challenges faced by both students and security officers. By doing this we increased un-derstanding between the two groups and improved relationships and school climate as well.

We worked hard to achieve this all year, and we are very proud of our efforts to really make a difference at our school. Over 25 students were involved in this process over the course of the year. We would like expand our trust-building with the school officers beyond our own school and we would like to ex-pand the mentoring program next year to include more students.

CAPAby simone waller

This year, our chapter has organized to have political educa-tion taught throughout the school. We held some awesome

workshops for not only PSU members but also the entire school. One week was a workshop about racism and the next week was about sexism in communities.

During the racism workshop, we talked about different lev-els of stereotypes and oppression. We watched “A Class Divided” and students discussed how discrimination could affect even el-ementary school students. The movie displayed a teacher per-forming a demonstration, dividing the class between brown-eyed and blue-eyed students. The students began to act out towards the “opposing” group. After the movie, our discussion led us to the point that to be successful in our work we have to address these issues within ourselves.

For the sexism workshop, we screened “Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” a documentary that explores how the music industry has perpetuated a sexist mentality within mainstream hip-hop. With both of these workshops, we invited people from around the school to join us in our discussion. All in all, it was very productive.

CAPA chapter is also discussing what role our chapter plays in the scope of this organi-zation. We are determined to make change in Philadelphia’s public schools, both magnet and neighborhood.

Bodineby Javier morris

We have developed a platform on access to the library and computer labs. Right now,

students have very limited access to the school li-brary and this makes it hard for us get online to do school work, especially considering that many Bodine students don’t have a computer or internet access at home. We had discussions in our chapter about how the city was planning to close down neighborhood libraries, and we made the connec-

tion that many poor and working class students are denied ac-cess to the internet everywhere—at school, at home, and in our neighborhoods. Fortunately, people put enough pressure on the city to keep libraries open, but access at school is still an issue.

Our new platform states that the Bodine library and com-puter labs should stay open until 5pm, that the library be updated with new books and that all students have equal access to the computer labs during the day.

Another campaign focused on having a freshman-sophmore dance. After talking with the principal, and circulating a petition, the dance is finally available.

Westby mason tyer, eriC yates & phill pierCe

In West Philadelphia High School, PSU has been supporting the work that is going on to improve our school in many dif-

ferent areas. The academies we organized for are being “beefed up” next year, and we have been involved in making that happen. We have been working with the Community Partners—a group that we help convene—to engage the community in the plans for creating a new West High School. (Read more about this process on page 4.)

In the coming school year there will be big changes in the way West’s academies will be structured. The Urban Studies Academy, where we have been heavily involved, will be chang-ing its name and will have two tracks —Urban Voices and Ur-ban Leadership. The Voices track will give students certification in media skills and the Leadership track includes project based learning to solve our community’s problems. We are happy with the progress of the Urban Studies Academy and we are proud that we fought for its existence.

At PSU we engage in creating media for our organizing work, so we plan to be very involved in the media work of the Urban Leadership Academy next year, while continuing to influence the process for the new school building.

Overbrookby riCardo little & eriKa almiron

The Overbrook High School Chapter of PSU has lots to celebrate. Recently Overbrook

students met with various community organiza-tions, politicians, and school district officials to talk about things that should be done in Over-brook High School. Some of the issues we identi-fied are the need for materials, the lack of qualified teachers and the importance of building PSU’s power inside of Overbrook. They have been very productive meetings and we feel supported that

many agree with our outlook and the vision we have to improve our school.

Overbrook students have testified before the School Reform Commission about the im-portance of student activism and about creating change. We most recently have learned to use documentation to tell our stories and have de-veloped a plan for what changes we would like to see inside Overbrook. We look forward to starting a larger community process in the fall.

Mastermanby greg Jordan detamore & dan Jones

This past year, the Masterman chapter has been engaged in a campaign to get om-

budspeople in our school. Student ombudspeo-ple will be students who mediate conflicts be-tween students and teachers. The idea behind this is that often times, conflicts between stu-

dents and teachers go unresolved. We want this to be a way to strengthen the school community.

When we originally brought our proposal to the principal, she expressed a few concerns. She said that it might divide the school community, and that she did not want to pit students and teachers against each other. She also wondered if it had the sup-port of the whole school community. Given those concerns, we were forced to take a look at our whole proposal and to make sure that the proposal indeed had broad support.

We did a bunch of research, and held dozens of chapter meetings to further develop the proposal. Over 200 students signed a supporting petition. Members of our chapter met with teachers to seek teacher input, and later talked to several teach-ers to ask if they supported the new proposal. We also held an information session for over 50 students.

With the new proposal, and the assured support of most students and teachers, we took the new proposal to our principal; she was impressed, and offered her support. Now that we have her support, we are working with the school to push the process forward. We expect the ombudspeople to begin in the fall. •

psu chapters report about organizing inside their schools

mason tyer, member of west Chapter. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

naima hares, masterman Chapter member. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

phuong ninh, member of bodine Chapter. photo:©JaCques-Jean tiziou /www.JJtiziou.net

making Change every day

7

Sayreby Kanae lee

This year the Sayre chapter spent our time working to have a positive impact on school climate. One thing that we did

was to create and put in place a peer mentoring program along with Project Grad. Our peer mentoring program helps young people become leaders and take their education seriously. We felt that peer mentoring would have a good impact on school climate because students can help other students stay on track and do what they need to do.

We also organized the entire year to improve relationships and communication between students and school security. We did this by winning the right for students to be involved in train-ing school security officers. This was a major victory for our chapter and a very unusual thing in the entire school district. We did an interactive workshop so students and school security could get to know each other better. We also did a root causes

exercise to look into the roots of the challenges faced by both students and security officers. By doing this we increased un-derstanding between the two groups and improved relationships and school climate as well.

We worked hard to achieve this all year, and we are very proud of our efforts to really make a difference at our school. Over 25 students were involved in this process over the course of the year. We would like expand our trust-building with the school officers beyond our own school and we would like to ex-pand the mentoring program next year to include more students.

CAPAby simone waller

This year, our chapter has organized to have political educa-tion taught throughout the school. We held some awesome

workshops for not only PSU members but also the entire school. One week was a workshop about racism and the next week was about sexism in communities.

During the racism workshop, we talked about different lev-els of stereotypes and oppression. We watched “A Class Divided” and students discussed how discrimination could affect even el-ementary school students. The movie displayed a teacher per-forming a demonstration, dividing the class between brown-eyed and blue-eyed students. The students began to act out towards the “opposing” group. After the movie, our discussion led us to the point that to be successful in our work we have to address these issues within ourselves.

For the sexism workshop, we screened “Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” a documentary that explores how the music industry has perpetuated a sexist mentality within mainstream hip-hop. With both of these workshops, we invited people from around the school to join us in our discussion. All in all, it was very productive.

CAPA chapter is also discussing what role our chapter plays in the scope of this organi-zation. We are determined to make change in Philadelphia’s public schools, both magnet and neighborhood.

Bodineby Javier morris

We have developed a platform on access to the library and computer labs. Right now,

students have very limited access to the school li-brary and this makes it hard for us get online to do school work, especially considering that many Bodine students don’t have a computer or internet access at home. We had discussions in our chapter about how the city was planning to close down neighborhood libraries, and we made the connec-

tion that many poor and working class students are denied ac-cess to the internet everywhere—at school, at home, and in our neighborhoods. Fortunately, people put enough pressure on the city to keep libraries open, but access at school is still an issue.

Our new platform states that the Bodine library and com-puter labs should stay open until 5pm, that the library be updated with new books and that all students have equal access to the computer labs during the day.

Another campaign focused on having a freshman-sophmore dance. After talking with the principal, and circulating a petition, the dance is finally available.

Westby mason tyer, eriC yates & phill pierCe

In West Philadelphia High School, PSU has been supporting the work that is going on to improve our school in many dif-

ferent areas. The academies we organized for are being “beefed up” next year, and we have been involved in making that happen. We have been working with the Community Partners—a group that we help convene—to engage the community in the plans for creating a new West High School. (Read more about this process on page 4.)

In the coming school year there will be big changes in the way West’s academies will be structured. The Urban Studies Academy, where we have been heavily involved, will be chang-ing its name and will have two tracks —Urban Voices and Ur-ban Leadership. The Voices track will give students certification in media skills and the Leadership track includes project based learning to solve our community’s problems. We are happy with the progress of the Urban Studies Academy and we are proud that we fought for its existence.

At PSU we engage in creating media for our organizing work, so we plan to be very involved in the media work of the Urban Leadership Academy next year, while continuing to influence the process for the new school building.

Overbrookby riCardo little & eriKa almiron

The Overbrook High School Chapter of PSU has lots to celebrate. Recently Overbrook

students met with various community organiza-tions, politicians, and school district officials to talk about things that should be done in Over-brook High School. Some of the issues we identi-fied are the need for materials, the lack of qualified teachers and the importance of building PSU’s power inside of Overbrook. They have been very productive meetings and we feel supported that

many agree with our outlook and the vision we have to improve our school.

Overbrook students have testified before the School Reform Commission about the im-portance of student activism and about creating change. We most recently have learned to use documentation to tell our stories and have de-veloped a plan for what changes we would like to see inside Overbrook. We look forward to starting a larger community process in the fall.

Mastermanby greg Jordan detamore & dan Jones

This past year, the Masterman chapter has been engaged in a campaign to get om-

budspeople in our school. Student ombudspeo-ple will be students who mediate conflicts be-tween students and teachers. The idea behind this is that often times, conflicts between stu-

dents and teachers go unresolved. We want this to be a way to strengthen the school community.

When we originally brought our proposal to the principal, she expressed a few concerns. She said that it might divide the school community, and that she did not want to pit students and teachers against each other. She also wondered if it had the sup-port of the whole school community. Given those concerns, we were forced to take a look at our whole proposal and to make sure that the proposal indeed had broad support.

We did a bunch of research, and held dozens of chapter meetings to further develop the proposal. Over 200 students signed a supporting petition. Members of our chapter met with teachers to seek teacher input, and later talked to several teach-ers to ask if they supported the new proposal. We also held an information session for over 50 students.

With the new proposal, and the assured support of most students and teachers, we took the new proposal to our principal; she was impressed, and offered her support. Now that we have her support, we are working with the school to push the process forward. We expect the ombudspeople to begin in the fall. •

psu chapters report about organizing inside their schools

mason tyer, member of west Chapter. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

naima hares, masterman Chapter member. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

phuong ninh, member of bodine Chapter. photo:©JaCques-Jean tiziou /www.JJtiziou.net

making Change every day

8

There are two Philadelphias, one in Center City and one in the surround-

ing communities. For many years now, it seems the goal of the city has been to make Center City more appealing. This is a task that will be completed by both ex-panding Center City, which is now in the works, and by adding additional resources to it. The problem with this plan is that

the communities that surround Center City, which are mostly poor and working people, are still living in these communi-ties. So there is a problem. Developers and others want land they can build on, where they can get a high return on in-vestment. They want the land, but not the current residents.

So what does this have to do with education, you might ask? As we look around the country, we see a connection between school reform, and “neighbor-hood reform”. Chicago’s Mayor Daley along with business leaders in that city

created a plan called Renaissance 2010. This plan has resulted in the closing of over 50 schools since 2002. According to neighborhood activists from the Ken-wood Oakland Community Organization and others, the school closings have been in neighborhoods that were also targeted by the city for “revitalization” - in other words, neighborhoods that the city wishes

to remake with higher income residents. The schools that have been reopened

are charter schools with admittance re-quirements and only two came back as comprehensive neighborhood schools. The closings and resulting disruption meant that many of the students who attended schools previously were either already enrolled somewhere else, or were not readmitted due to entrace require-ments by the time the new schools opened up, causing disruptions to education for thousands of students.

Could this ever happen in Phila-

delphia? Well, it’s well known that local real estate companies see certain schools as “real estate anchors”—Penn Alexander School in West Philadelphia is one ex-ample. There are also many similarities in the way local politicians frame the discus-sion around “urban redevelopment”. For instance, talking about finding a way to bring the “middle class back into Phila-

delphia” and not about finding a way to improve the financial earnings of our cur-rent residents. How do we bring the mid-dle class back? Schools are certainly one solution that is on the table. In a meet-ing about how to improve failing schools and which schools should be targeted for reform, it was said by folks in leadership that “we could target the ‘up and coming’ parts of Philadelphia”.

We’ll be paying close attention to school closings over the next several years, as well as which Empowerment Schools are targeted for reform. Imagine 2014 calls for closing down 30-35 of the low-est performing schools and re-opening them as Renaissance schools - charters or schools run by internal or external provid-ers. These will undoubtedly be the same schools that have been constant victims of failed reforms, like the diverse provider model imposed by the state in 2001 dur-ing Paul Vallas’ administration. We will be working to make sure that education is not disrupted for thousands of students, and that when schools re-open they still serve the same population of students.

In other parts of the country we have seen plans devised by adults to put their political and economic interests ahead of the interests of students, families and communities. We have also seen that that in the face of these plans, organized com-munities that stood up to reclaim their schools and make the needed transforma-tions have been successful. Will Philadel-phia please stand up? Our students are not for sale and neither are their school buildings. •

Schools & Gentrificationby Khalif dobson

What’s Next for Our Cities?

Khalif dobson speaKs to a reporter from the publiC sChool notebooK about his neighborhood, his sChool and the effeCts of gentrifiCation. photo: © JaCques-Jean tiziou / www.JJtiziou.net

In Philadelphia, we will be working to make sure that education is not disrupted for thousands of students and that when

Rennaissance schools re-open they serve the same population of students.

9

At the Philadelphia Student Union we know that education reform is

a key factor in the much larger battle to end poverty. We have studied the end of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life - the part that we really never learn about in school - when he began to build the Poor People’s Campaign to end poverty across color lines.

There is a definite correlation between poor education and poverty. From my ex-perience as a member of the Philadelphia Student Union, as well as a graduate that has maneuvered through the Philadelphia Public school system, I know first hand the inequities in our schools. I have also seen the hardships many face because of the inequities they had to endure in their educations. Someone that has been sub-

ject to poor education has a good chance of becoming poverty stricken and this is evident because in Philadelphia the high poverty neighborhoods receive poor edu-cation from the schools in their area. At the same time, education is not the same thing as living wage jobs. If we are go-ing to ensure that everyone has what they need to grow up free from want, we need a much larger movement.

I recently had the opportunity to engage with another organization that is trying to end poverty: The Poverty Initia-tive of Union Theological Seminary. The Poverty Initiative is dedicated to raising up a new generation of religious leaders who can be active in the movement to eradicate poverty. They host a program

called “Poverty Scholars” which is a se-ries of weekend workshops dedicated to education and reflection on leadership, history, movement building and religious doctrine.

During my most recent at-tendance of the program one of the most in-triguing presen-tations was an in depth look into the economic crisis we are fac-ing today. Much of America is uncertain of its causes and what

it means for those in poverty and the fight against poverty in this time of national econo-mic instability. Another presen-tation was based on the issue of human rights and we watched the 1987 film Matewan. This film explores the struggle of coal miners in West Virginia and it is an in-spiring example of poor people organizing on their own behalf.

One of the things that I like about learning history is that I can see that many

of the same tactics used to try to discredit organizers of the past are still being used today. Organizers who are successful at changing power relationships are always

attacked. Knowing this gives me strength in the face of those around us who claim to revere figures like King and others, but who don’t respect young people like me who are picking up where they left off. I’m proud to be building on the work of those who went before me. •

PSU POOR PEOPLE’s MOVEMENT

There is a definite correlation between poor education and poverty.

If we are going to ensure that everyone has what they need

to grow up free from want, we need a much larger movement.

andthe

youth leaders join the fight to end poverty

psu members CandaCe Carter and amber marie felton marCh for eConomiC human rights, as part of a day of aCtion organized by baltimore’s united worKers allianCe. psu partiCipated alongside fellow members of media mobilizing proJeCt, a networK of groups that are building a movement to end poverty.

by Koby murphy

10

“Good afternoon. You’re listening to On Blast with the Philadelphia Student Union on WPEB, 88.1 FM.” This

is what you’ll hear every time you turn to our show, Sundays at 2pm. I’m your host Candace Carter and today is an update of our show so far this year. We’ve produced several hour-long shows and each one has been unique. Some of the topics that we’ve covered this year include: voices from our teacher quality

campaign; students’ solutions to violence at their schools; a dis-cussion with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers about orga-nizing to end farmworkers’ exploi-tation; how poor and working class youth are targeted by the military; responses to Imagine 2014; and interviews with young artists for

social change. We also cover what is happening inside our schools by inter-viewing students and teachers. And we include con-scious music and youth spoken word to make sure to that each show is fun to listen to.

We use our show to organize with media and get our voice heard across the city. We do it to tell our own story, and because we felt the city lacked media made by youth. We are the only radio show in Phila-delphia that’s produced entirely by young people, and one of the few shows that is produced by organizers. These things set On Blast apart from your average ra-dio show, because we have a true mission behind ev-ery story that we air—we want to reach people with our message and mobilize them to become part of a movement.

If you can’t tune into our live show, you can listen online anytime (and see our cool pictures) by going to our podcast at www.onblast.podomatic.com. Cur-rently our podcast has over 1,000 people subscribed (including people from 6 continents) and many more listen live each month. “I’m Candace Carter and you’ve been listening to On Blast with the Philadel-phia Student Union.” •

Philadelphia Student Union uses media as a central part of our organizing work. Our youth pro-duced radio, video, music and journalism are the perfect places for us, Philadelphia students, to

tell our stories. Adult journalists don’t see what we see, so it’s important that we explain what’s really going on in our schools. These mediums are also places for us to present solutions. We understand what changes will work, because we are directly affected by them.

More and more people are listening and watching our media. As they do, support for our cause grows. Not only are people being informed, but they feel inspired to make change. They see that stu-dents do care, even though we’ve been called apathetic for so long. We want to learn and will not stop fighting for an education that truly informs and empowers us.

RADIO

dan Jones reCords an interview with an organizer from the baltimore algebra proJ-eCt, as part of on blast’s Coverage of a human rights demonstration.

YOUTH ARE

ORGANIZINGWITH

MEDIA

by CandaCe Carter

students Capture video during psu’s student summit. photo:© JaCques-Jean tiziou/www.JJtiziou.net

by amber marie felton

11

Video Squad (V-Squad) is working on a new documentary on the Philadel-

phia Student Union. Our previous video, “Fighting For Our Schools” was com-pleted in the year 2000, and we wanted to do something more up to date. Our new piece, named “A Day In The Life…”, focuses on one of our student members in school, at home and how PSU ties into what he’s doing now. It shows what the experience of a Philadelphia public high-school student is like, and the role PSU has in members’ lives. Our goal for this video is to show the public exactly what PSU does. We have footage of mem-

bers participating in Saturday and school chapter meetings, testifying at School Re-form Commission hearings and there are interviews with students, staff and all of the other people who come together to improve the quality of public education in Philadelphia. We do a lot of different things at PSU to be effective in our work, and we want to make sure all of it is in the video.

I’m one of the Video Squad members. I’ve shot footage of meetings, interviews, and B-roll clips for the video. I also helped work on the storyboards for the video. In V-squad’s future, we’ll be editing our foot-

age for the video and work towards finish-ing it this summer. The documentary is going to have a soundtrack and we’re also starting to brain-storm ideas for a music video for single.

For me, Video Squad has been a good experience. I never really had an experi-ence organizing something like a video. It definitely helped me be more organized and be more outgoing as a person. •

When I first learned that PSU would be starting a soundtrack

group, I was super excited. I’ve always wanted to be a part of the music in-dustry, and being a part of this group has given me the chance to pursue my dream.

When we entered the studio for the first time, I was ecstatic. Sitting be-

hind the m i x i n g board, I felt I was where I

belonged. My mentor taught me ev-erything I needed to know, from re-cording people in the vocal booth, to making beats on the computer. From then on, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. And although going into the recording booth was nerve-wrack-ing for the whole group at first, we all got used to the fact that we would be hearing our voices later on. Besides, once we heard the final product, we knew that it was worth it.

Beyond just having fun with mu-sic, I get to brainstorm with other students on topics that we feel are important. This has included issues like Imagine 2014, Renais-sance 2010, teacher equity, political and social justice, and how we as teenag-ers view the world and everything in it. We write lyrics per-taining to these issues and make beats to fit the lyrics and mood of our songs. We want the music we make to be an organizing tool. A way to get the message of change out to young people in a way that matters to

us. MP3 Players are everywhere, and if we can get inside them in the same way that major artists have, we can begin to make this a much broader movement.

By putting our words to beats that are easy to listen to, we can reach people who may not hear our mes-sage otherwise. And as we reach more people with our message, it

will increase our ability to educate and inspire them to join us in empowering and improving the lives of poor people in our community. •

MUSIC

VIDEO

by simone waller

by Javier morris

Our schools are getting worse, it’s time to get to workListen to our voices before you make your choicesWe need to build a team with the whole communityIt’s time to get involved This problem we can solve…

- Verse from ‘Small Schools’ featuring Dan Jones & Candace Carter

eriC yates & Koby murphy perform a song they wrote for the psu album. phoTo:KaThleen Foley

Philadelphia Student Union exists to build the power of young people to demand a high qual-

ity education in the Philadelphia public school sys-tem. We are a youth-led organization and we make positive changes in the short term by learning how to organize to build power. We also work to-ward becoming life-long learners and leaders who can bring diverse groups of people together to ad-dress the problems that our communities face.

Philadelphia Student Union5011 Baltimore Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19143

Philadelphia Student Union5011 Baltimore Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19143Telephone: (215) 471-5970

Fax: (215) 471-5970www.myspace.com/psu4u

Facebook group: Philadelphia Student Union

www.phillystudentunion.org

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