Here's your chance to comment about today's issue du jour: Education.
Check out today's episode of Issues Forums, available any way you want it - streaming video, a video podcast (link will open iTunes), or on everyone's favorite tube, Youtube:
My takeaway from this video is that is doesn't matter whether or not the SRC - School Reform Commission - continues to be the governing body of the School District. The next mayor can have an impact on the schools by doing things that are as simple as actually visiting the schools on a regular basis. This next mayor will get about 6 months of a honeymoon during which television crews will flock to him like moths to a flame. Use that and bring those tv cameras into some of the more troubled schools. Don't hide from the things that are wrong with the schools. Bring them to light so everyone knows about them, use that pulpit to lay out a plan to fix them and then get everyone to buy into that plan.
Also, influence over decision making comes with money. If the next mayor dedicates a portion of the budget to the schools, greater than what it is now, and puts that money in place for specific actions - like new teacher recruitment and retention - he can make those decisions.
Anyway... people who think about this stuff much more than I do have actually written about what the mayor can do about the schools. Check out this summary of the report from the Cross-City Campaign for School Reform, which includes links to the entire report.
Check out the video and sound off in the comments.
Comments (2)
Not just the bad schools! Philadelphia has many great schools. They need to be looked at as well and their strategies for success duplicated.
Posted by Friedman | August 3, 2007 2:40 PM
The School Reform Commission (SRC) is the governing body. Even if the next Mayor invests more in public schools, he can't direct the money. The state law that created the SRC is pretty clear about that. Even if the mayor strikes an agreement with the SRC for spending in one year, in exchange for new money, the money must appropriated every year after that without regard to the agreement.
Unfortunately, that's the state law.
Posted by councilman goode | August 5, 2007 8:57 AM