Several principals today testified before Philadelphia City Council in favor of Resolution 150518, which would mandate cursive writing in the Philadelphia School District’s curriculum, though the majority of their three minutes was spent pleading for lawmakers to provide $105 million in new, reoccurring funding for the cash-strapped district, which pledged to become more transparent about financial operations after City Council President, Mr. Darrell Clarke, sent a letter to the district asking for a detailed breakdown on how it had spent $372 million in new funding approved by Council in the last three years.
Councilman Clarke interrupted the Principal of Masterman High School and asked her to stay focused on Resolution 150518, which did pass.
She responded: “It’s a challenge to have a discussion about cursive writing when we don’t have the appropriate amount people in our schools.”
The Principal at the Andrew Jackson School in South Philadelphia said she’s all for mandating various curriculums, but the City must follow up by funding those mandates.
The educators in attendance were grateful to the City Council members, Ms. Jannie Blackwell in particular, for the thoughtfulness behind the Resolution, but they made it clear with their testimonies that more must be done to ensure a quality education for each young person in Philadelphia.
A large number of students, in solidarity with principals, were also in attendance and handed to each City Council member a handmade worry bracelet – a symbol of their worries about the upcoming school year – a paint set and a miniature tambourine, symbols of the basic tools their schools need.
A press release distributed on behalf of Education Voters of Pennsylvania and Ciudadanos públicos para niños y jóvenes, the organizers of the day of action, quoted the Principal of Dobbins Career and Technical High School as saying: “As educators, our message is this: if you give us the resources, we will get better outcomes.”
A vote on Resolution 150518 is expected to take place next week.
Philly Focus – June 4, 2015 – Leer artículo en línea