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9486 in the collection
Remaking Chester: Chester Upland schools have privatized and the changes have been small, but welcomed
Ohanian Comment: In the "truth is always stranger than fiction" department, I thought I was being so clever in spoofing merit pay AND the government takeover of General Motors in The Eggplant story yesterday, when I said "Duncan to Offer Chevy Malibus to Teachers Who Raise Standardized Test Scores." But now a friend tells me about Edison's corporate approach to fixing failing schools: Buy the principals Mustang convertibles.
I would point out this was 8 years ago. 2005, after the revelation of sex and cheating scandals involving Edison principals, the company left Chester a year before their contract was up.
By Matt Zager
"We decided we wanted to do something principals would never do for themselves," said Adam Tucker, an Edison spokesman. "We bought them fantastic, brand new Mustang convertibles."
It was a gesture unheard of in public education, but not so strange in the context of Edison's corporate approach to fixing failing schools.
With its seemingly fresh ideas and proposals to turn around some of the worst schools in the nation, Edison is rapidly gaining recognition, most recently in Philadelphia, where it is expected to play a role in reform efforts.
And this week, as public advocates there continued to wage war against privatization, much as their Chester counterparts did, the academically distressed Chester Upland School District began its fourth month under Edison's charge amidst praise, criticism and a sense that maybe, given time, this could work.
"Our kids have books now, and the classroom time is a little longer," said Georgine Pray, who has three children in Chester schools, as she waited to pick up students outside Columbus Elementary School this week. "Edison seems to be offering things our district wasn't able to because of finances. Right now, I don't see any problems as far as my children."
Edison, which says it runs 136 schools nationwide, manages nine of Chester Upland's 10 schools, with 5,192 students in its charge
Perhaps the most visual sign of change under Edison has been the new materials - computers, books, music keyboards, tennis rackets, hockey sticks - purchased by the company and delivered in 18-wheelers.
Also, lockers have been painted; new ceilings and lighting installed.
Students will take monthly tests on computers to measure progress in subjects. They also wear uniforms and get rewards, like ice cream socials for perfect attendance.
Teachers are training on laptops that they will use to track attendance and grades.
Louis Mason, a Philadelphia school administrator who was hired by Edison to be principal of Pulaski Middle School and its 445 students, said these things will contribute to changing "the culture" of the school.
"That is my goal," he said. "Just like people expected (students) to fight, expected people to argue and fuss (in the past), and all this kind of stuff and not achieve real well, I think you can change that whole thing so the norm is not that but the norm is that people do achieve."
Edison hired new principals for all of its Chester schools, but teaching staffs - and their union protection remained intact. That's different, much to Edison's dismay, from their contracts with other districts.
Teachers are working longer days to fit the Edison model, although official changes to the teachers' contract sought by Edison have not been agreed to, said a district administrator.
Phone messages left for teacher's union President Gloria Zoranski this week were not returned.
Thomas Persing, chairman of the Board of Control that now has run Chester Upland since it was declared distressed by the state Department of Education, said a reductionof Chester Upland's central administration may be in the offing, although no decision had been made.
"I think we are going to have some decreases as (Edison sees) things they can do better," said Persing. "I'm sure some tough decisions are going to have to be made in the near future."
Asked about Edison's management, Persing said he wants to see more decision-making power given to Edison's local chief of operations, Juan Baughn.
"In order to get answers we have to go to New York (Edison's headquarters)," said Persing. "We don't have a local contact. That is going to change, the more they can share information with Juan Baughn."
He commended Edison's training of its principals and said they were "working very hard within their model."
One of the chief obstacles to achievement here will be student behavior, especially at 1,464-student Chester High School, where metal detectors line the main entrance.
"We are making it clear to them that we are not going to tolerate (poor behavior) here," said H. Major Poteat, who left a job as a supervisor of special education at a district in New Jersey to be principal of Chester High School. "If you fight on the premises then you are going to have to go, if you continuously threaten or make people uncomfortable or disrupt the education process, then you can't stay here."
Students must arrive by 7:15 a.m. or they are late. After 8:15 a.m., they are marked absent, but are allowed into the building. Their parents are then notified.
Sweeps are done to make sure no one lingers in hallways, said Poteat.
Those who repeatedly get into trouble are sent to an alternative program on the first floor of Chester High. The program's day begins at 3:45 p.m., an hour after regular students have dismissed, and runs until 7:30 p.m. There are 68 students in the program now.
Bernadette Mills learned first-hand this year how behavior problems can interfere with learning.
Her niece, a ninth-grader at Chester High School, had never gone to a public school before this year, but her mother, who is single, could not afford a parochial high school.
The niece, whose name is being withheld, had always been a model student, but began skipping classes to avoid a girl at Chester High who was making threats against her, Mills said. She missed classes over five days, said Mills. Her antagonist would wait for her after class, she said.
At first, Mills' niece would not say why she was missing classes, "but then, when the girl was about to attack her, it forced her to say something," Mills said.
A counselor spoke with the student who was making the threats, but the harassment continued.
Mills said the situation was finally resolved by an administrator at the school.
Another goal for Edison principals has been getting parents involved. Poteat said parents of 500 students attended an open house in September.
He now holds afternoon parent-teacher conferences, traditionally used only by elementary schools.
In October, students in almost every grade took the Stanford 9 test, which measures ability in academic subjects. They will take the test again in the spring. The pattern will be repeated each year.
The school district and Edison agreed to a five-year contract that can be terminated after two years if the company does not meet specific goals.
Quarterly reports of attendance, parent involvement and scores on the Stanford 9 and PSSA tests are being prepared by the district. The first report is due to be released tomorrow, although Stanford 9 results have not all come back Continued from PAGE 5
and the PSSA is not taken until the spring.
Three charter schools in Chester, which serve 1,602 students, are being held to the same standards.
Chester Upland students consistently scored in the bottom quartile on the PSSA, prompting a state takeover last year.
Although 2001 results of Chester Upland students on the PSSA remained low on average, small gains over the last several years were posted by four schools - Chester High, Showalter and Smedley Middle Schools and William Penn Elementary School. The improvement earned the district $255,569 from the Department of Education this year. An additional $13,664 was won by Showalter for attendance improvement.
On a recent afternoon at Pulaski, Mason pointed to a courtyard outside the window of his office. Jazz came from a radio next to his desk.
"I'm going to call it the Pulaski Garden of Hope," he says.
The yard is in awful disrepair, but Mason says that will change, that he hopes to host afternoon teas in the yard.
A district after-school program, Dare to Soar, is going on in Pulaski classrooms at 4 p.m. Kids study art and get help with homework.
It was started last year. About 60 kids come Monday through Thursday, said Donna Brown, its coordinator.
"This environment, believe it or not, is easier to work in than Philadelphia," said Mason. "(In Philadelphia) we had over 40 different languages and cultures and customs in one school. This school doesn't have that. You are really dealing with African-American folks here, a very small Latino population, no Asians, and a European population that is very small."
Construction of a new building for Pulaski is planned.
The district also recently completed $7,101,661 of construction at the high school, giving it a new cafeteria, industrial arts kitchen and gym. Chester High was built in 1974.
In 1970, Poteat graduated from the old Chester High School, which was destroyed by fire.
"Education was something we knew we had to have in order for us to be successful," he said. "Getting to school on time, getting to class on time was never an issue ..our parents instilled upon us that if you want to make a difference in your life, education is the way to go."
So, will Poteat and Mason get new Mustangs if their schools excel?
Tucker, the Edison spokesman, said the cars were an unexpected bonus and that the company does not have a policy of offering cars to get principals to achieve.
"It was not a carrot," he said. "It was simply a way of saying we absolutely value the way you do your job and we wanted to do something special."
— Matt Zager
2001-12-09
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2001/12/09/today%27s%20stories/2758544.txt
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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