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Philadelphia School District Summer School...Worth It?

by: Rebel - Havertown, PA
started: 07/11/11 10:05 am | updated: 07/11/11 10:05 am

The Philadelphia school district still facing a $600 million dollar budget gap has many wondering about the 18 day district wide summer school program, which costs $18 million dollars.

Some classrooms have had full attendance, while others, have had minimal to no students showing up. Teachers are sitting in empty classrooms with nothing to do and being paid.

Most of the $18 million pays for teacher salaries for the 18 days.

The district had planned on 28,000 students but was calculating a more exact attendance. Based on that number, teachers will be reassigned - and some could be dismissed if enrollment is too low.
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On a steamy summer Wednesday, every usable classroom in Andrew Jackson Elementary School in South Philadelphia was alive with activity - students learning about decimal places and hip-hop dance, analyzing handwriting and reading about different cultures.

"This provides academic support that many children need," principal Carol Domb said of the 18-day districtwide program, which costs $18 million. "When these kids start the school year, they'll be ready to go."

And while attendance was robust at Andrew Jackson Elementary School in South Philadelphia , it appeared uneven throughout the district. Teachers at other schools reported near-empty classrooms all week.

At Roxborough High, for instance, some classes have only two or three students. A program for incoming ninth graders had fewer than 10 students.

"It's a really nice thing to have, but in a year like this, spending this much money on summer school is unconscionable," said one summer school teacher, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

A teacher at Barry Elementary in West Philadelphia had no students show up for her class. In most classes at Barry, fewer than 10 showed up, the teacher said.

"I just sit there," said the teacher, who also asked to remain anonymous. "There's nothing to do."

One class at a North Philadelphia elementary school designated a Promise Academy - an overhauled school designed by Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman to mandate summer instruction for all students - had two students and three teachers. Attendance schoolwide was light, as it was for Saturday classes at the school, teachers said.

"I like the idea of giving the kids more instructional time," one teacher at the school said, "but if they're not there, it's a waste of money. How many programs that help kids all school year could you keep if you canceled summer school?"

District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the district had planned on 28,000 students but was calculating a more exact attendance. Based on that number, teachers will be reassigned Monday - and some could be dismissed if enrollment is too low, he added.

Most of the $18 million pays for teacher salaries for the 18 days.

Under Ackerman, the district has bulked up its summer school, offering a morning session of reading and math for those who need to make up work or want to advance, and an afternoon session of enrichment activities.

The district has cut summer school spending from last year's $40 million.

"We believe that a high-quality summer learning experience has the power to yield benefits long after the summer is gone, making a real and lasting difference in the lives of children and families," Deputy Superintendent Leroy Nunery said in a statement.

"Summer school is a proven investment."

An internal report evaluating last year's summer school found that students who attended 16 days or more showed "significantly greater gains in reading and math achievement than peers who did not participate in summer programming."
Councilman Bill Green, who has criticized the district's fiscal priorities, said summer school should be targeted only to those students who need to make up credits to move to the next grade or graduate.

"The School District is spending too much on summer school," he said.

"The fundamental, overarching point is that it is not about whether something works or doesn't work when you have to deal with this kind of cut," Green said. "It is about what is more efficacious or less efficacious, and they didn't prove to me that this program is more important than other things they're going to cut."