How many Philadelphia 8-year-olds read at grade level? How many city students graduate from high school prepared for college and careers? Are the district’s finances in good shape? Are all school jobs filled with talented employees?
Philadelphia School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. measures the accomplishments of his administration by these yardsticks, the four “anchor goals” of his Action Plan 3.0. In an update released Tuesday, he highlighted the slow, steady progress the district has made since he arrived in 2012.
“The progress that we are seeing in schools across the city is not a coincidence; it’s because of intentional planning around how we can best support our diverse school communities,” Hite said.
Hite’s goals were lofty, and some are difficult to quantify. Here are the goals and the 2019 measure for each:
Hite first introduced his plan in 2013, and has issued annual updates since then.
The most recent update comes on the heels of the district’s releasing progress reports for each of its 220 schools, plus most city charter schools. There are about 130,000 students enrolled in district schools.
Seven out of 10 district schools have improved since the district first began issuing progress reports in 2014-15. The number of low-performing schools has dropped 50 percent, from 84 to 41, and the number of high-performing schools has more than doubled, from five to 12.
Each school is given a score based on academic achievement and progress, climate and safety, and college and career readiness. Based on the score, schools are placed into four categories.
The School District of Philadelphia scored its progress toward reaching 100 percent completion on four core goals.
The results drew plaudits from Mayor Jim Kenney.
“I’m so pleased that across our city, more children are reading, and more young adults are graduating ready for college and careers,” Kenney said in a statement. “This continued progress is the result of the district’s steadfast commitment to strategies that work.”
Joyce Wilkerson, school board chair, said that the district could make more progress faster with more resources, but that generally, the news was good.
“A whole school district migrating towards improvement is something I’m delighted with,” Wilkerson said.
[by Kristen A. Graham]
Posted: March 26, 2019 – 11:50 AM
Kristen A. Graham | @newskag | kgraham@phillynews.com