Tracking Violent Incidents in Schools

How violent are our school kids?

According to District figures, rates of violent incidents vary widely among academic regions.

One region counted enough serious incidents to merit transfer to a disciplinary school for one in every nine of its high-school students. Called the “Restructured Schools/EMO region,” it also reported 115 threats (verbal and written) by students in elementary school grades also worthy of a discipline assignment.

The fact that these are our youngest children, in Kindergarten through 5th grade, would seem to give the impression that such a high rate of threats would be unique among serious incidents. Except that assaults by elementary-school children make up the largest sect of any category. Schools reported more than 1,600 “Level 2” assaults from elementary school children, compared with 1,500 from high-schoolers.

Ironically, Philadelphia’s school district doesn’t really have schools into which troubled elementary school children – unless they’re diagnosed with a mental condition – can even be transferred into. So that would mean the schools themselves are addressing the behavioral health needs of these students. Are they?

Looking at these figures – which were shared with the Alternative Education Task Force as part of its charge to examine both disciplinary and non-disciplinary alternative school slots – open the door to lots of questions:

• Is the EMO/Restructured Schools region (with nearly 28,000 students) too big in size to handle all those problems?
• Is that region’s incidents commensurate with the behavioral supports the schools, students and staffs in that region receive?
• When a whopping 115 incidents in one region are verbal and written threats by elementary school students, isn’t that an indication that there’s an attitude problem somewhere? (Whether that “where” is the schools or the homes is another question)

While the EMO/Restructured Schools region (not be confused with the original Restructured Schools region) reported the most “serious/Level 2” incidents (1,854), it was followed by the East Region with 1,122. The fewest incidents (540) were reported from the Northwest Region, although percentage-wise, the Northeast fares well, with 773 incidents, but nearly 28,000 students.

Judging what happened in Cleveland

Let’s hope that Wednesday's shooting at SuccessTech Academy in downtown Cleveland doesn’t result in the traditional, knee-jerk reaction that has made metal detectors the sole response to violence in schools, and an increase in disciplinary school slots the answer to all our questions about what to do with troubled youth.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer this morning reported that 14-year-old shooter Asa Coon in previous years had been ordered to undergo psychological testing, had attempted suicide and was prescribed two medications. Burns to his arms and scratches on his forehead signaled domestic abuse and thus had forced a call to the Department of Children and Family Services. Asa was released from probation after five months without incident.

But his fight prior to that shooting should have been considered an “incident,” for which mere suspension for such a troubled youth was a shallow answer.

Let’s hope that the chorus of “why’s” that are sure to follow this shooting, also incorporate the role adults played in this 14-year-old’s access to two revolvers and a duffel bag of ammunition.

But I fear it will instead increase our salacious appetite for one-size-fits-all punishments of students, and more expulsions of kids for carrying a pencil sharpener and a finger nail file, considered "weapons" by some Philadelphia administrators and officials.

And while we’re assessing blame, let’s give credit to the Cleveland school system and the Gates Foundation for what they did right around SuccessTech – for building a small school with small, manageable class sizes, for motivating its population of mostly minority, low-income kids to reach high expectations, and for graduating 94 percent of its students. Here’s hoping that those kids, that school and the rest of us will grow and not shrink in appropriate reaction to this incident.

How do we reach teacher equity?

(Choose a suggestion in the poll to the right or provide your own suggestion below.)

The effort to get quality teachers into traditionally hard-to-staff schools has been so contentious, one proposal nearly led to a strike when teachers’ contracts were last negotiated. Previous initiatives have not exactly proven effective. What will?

Answer the poll to the right and/or post your own comments.

Germantown leads Top 10 schools in disciplinary assignments

While no one disputes that a number of Philly schools can be dangerous places, it is unusual that only Philly schools make it on the "persistently dangerous schools" list. For years, places like Chicago and the entire state of California claimed to have zero persistently dangerous schools. Is there help for these schools other than the promise of being able to move even more of their students into slots at the alternative disciplinary schools?

According to District figures, Germantown High School assigned a whopping 126 students to disciplinary schools last year. That's almost twice the number of the next nearest competititor for these slots (Fels High, with 72 assignments). Interestingly enough -- Olney West, as well, had 72 disciplinary school assignments, while Olney East, located in the other half of the same Olney High building, reported 27 assignments! Here's a list of the other schools who crack the Top 10 in Disciplinary School Assignments: No. 3: Northeast High (64); No. 4: Roberto Clemente Middle (61); No. 5: South Philadelphia High (59); No. 6: George Washington High (58); No. 7: Warren Harding Middle (51); No. 8: Laura Carnell (43); No. 9: West Philadelphia High (40); No. 10: Overbrook High (34).

Bache-Martin: 42 students in 1 class!

Not sure if you caught Mike Benner's excellent Metro story on overcrowding at Bache-Martin. His article, headlined "Class size confusion," definitely contradicts the District's "Back-to-School Preparations" report to the School Reform Commission on Sept. 12. It read, "The District has allocated 55 teaching positions toward eliminating split classrooms. There are now no split classrooms." Hmmmm.

Class size confusion
Mixed info from district as overcrowding remains
by Mike Benner / Metro Philadelphia

SEP 12, 2007

NORTH PHILADELPHIA. Parents at Bache-Martin Elementary School have been telling the Philadelphia School District since May that something needed to be done about the high number of fifth graders in a single classroom.

District officials, they say, told them not to worry; the number surely wouldn’t be as high as they thought.

But when school started on Monday, the fifth graders of Bache-Martin piled into their classroom. All 42 of them.

“The district knew about the 42 kids in fifth grade because I’ve been telling them about it since last school year,” said principal Marion McCloskey-Mueller, whose school is also forced to split a single class between its first and second grade students.

Bache-Martin currently uses a reading teacher to help with fifth grade, and hopes to get a new teacher today. There was still a split classroom at of the end of school yesterday.

Two top-ranking district officials offered differing takes yesterday. Cassandra Jones, the district’s chief academic officer, said there were no split classes in the entire district and said overcrowding at Bache-Martin was no longer an issue, while interim-CEO Tom Brady acknowledged the problems.

“It was the first day of school, you can’t expect to have that taken care of immediately, we’ll have it taken care of by the end of September,” Brady said yesterday. He also said that the district will anticipate and correct the problem before school begins next year.

The district plans to have the necessary number of teachers in place at each school in the district by the end of September through a process called “teacher leveling.”

Some parents worry damage may be done by then.

“It takes a month to give us the teachers we need,” said Anthony Ingargiola, vice president of Bache-Martin’s home and school association. “They wonder why kids in these environments don’t make Annual Yearly Progress.”

Regrettable loss of school aides

The layoffs revealed in this story below are really regrettable. Some schools are so big and diverse, having additional adults in the building and whose job is to monitor hallways and carry-out other essential tasks is a big loss.

Posted on Fri, Aug. 31, 2007
Phila. schools lay off 53 more aides
By Susan Snyder
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Philadelphia School District this week sent layoff notices to 53 teacher assistants and other aides, raising the ire of their union.

Thirteen are nonteaching assistants who help maintain order in hallways among other tasks, and 40 are teacher assistants with varying jobs.
"These were due to budget decisions at the school level," district spokeswoman Barbara Farley said yesterday.

In Philadelphia, principals are allotted budgets and have some leeway in how to spend the money.

Farley said the layoffs were not part of the district's effort to erase the remaining $20 million deficit in its $2.18 billion budget.

District enrollment is expected to dip by about 8,000 this school year, but Farley could not say how many of the layoffs were due to fewer children and how many to schools' deciding "they wanted to use their money differently." Some schools may have found other ways to deal with the tasks performed by the assistants, she said.

District officials, who expect to start school Sept. 10 with about 166,000 students, also had no information yesterday on how many schools the layoffs affected or how much money they would save.

The layoffs raised the total for assistants and aides this summer to 129, district officials said.
Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said the layoffs would mean fewer adults in schools and more chances for disruption.

"With the loss of the NTAs, we're ripe for some very, very serious problems in the area of school safety," Jordan said. "These are the people who help to inform school personnel that there's going to be a fight after school or there's going to be a problem in the lunchroom."
The union also expressed concerns this week about teacher vacancies.

"The way you open your building, that sets a tone," Jordan said. "With the lack of the appropriate number of teachers and the elimination of support staff, we've got some real concerns."

As of yesterday, the district had 121 vacancies, down from 134 last year, said Shawn Crowder, senior vice president of human resources.

Special education, math and science are among the areas short of teachers, she said.
The district expects to start school with about 60 vacancies, Crowder said. Last school year opened with 43.

The human-resources office will work through the week, including tomorrow, to get as many new teachers as possible ready for the classroom, she said.

Contact staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or ssnyder@phillynews.com.

Got meter money?

I don’t know about you, but I’m wondering how much of the additional revenue that the Philadelphia Parking Authority will collect from newly increased meter rates will go to Philadelphia schools.

Remember . . . six years ago, the Parking Authority was moved from local to state control on the promise that a more efficiently run agency could generate millions more in dollars that would be transferred to the Philadelphia School District?

A portion of the new savings – up to $45 million annually – would go to our schools. That was later revised to require that excess “on-street parking funds” beyond the first $25 million be transferred.

But funding hasn’t quite materialized as planned. In 2004, the authority provided a one-time transfer of $4 million to schools, spurring State Rep. James Roebuck last month to finally pose, “Where is the other money that was promised in 2001?”

Roebuck -- also chair of the House Education Committee – last month introduced a resolution that would require a legislative audit of the Authority (House Resolution 367 now sits in committee).

Although the Authority has yet to show that it’s managing money so much more efficiently that it can deliver on its failed financial promises, that hasn’t stopped it from pursuing even more revenue. On the recommendation of the City Planning Commission and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Council, costs for parking at meters on a three-block stretch of the Parkway and streets in Center City from Market Street south to Walnut Street are now or due to double in price.

And get this – one newspaper reported that Linda Miller, senior director of facilities and public affairs for the Parking Authority, said the Authority doesn’t know how much revenue the new regulations are expected to bring in! Now that’s efficient, profit-minded fiscal management for you!

I think the local media should press the Authority a little harder to come up with an answer on expected revenues – at least so we’ll know how much more money our city’s chronically under-funded school system will continue to miss out on.

PCCY and Student Union take on SEPTA

PCCY and the Philadelphia Student Union, through the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, recently filed a suit against SEPTA, challenging the proposed elimination of transfers as likely to seriously handicap struggling Philadelphia school students. The Philadelphia Tribune reported on it in its Aug. 10th newspaper.


SEPTA suggests extending transfers
Cutting fee was to aid agency's deficit

By Eric Mayes
Tribune Staff Writer

At the request of lawyers for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the use of transfers will be continued until Aug. 17.

In a hand-delivered letter Thursday to Judge Gary DiVito, attorney Thomas S. Biemer asked the court to "maintain the status quo" saying that SEPTA officials had conferred with the city and the "city does not oppose this request."

The move comes as a growing number of litigants are calling for SEPTA to keep the transfers.
Two organizations representing the city's youth this week joined the protest against SEPTA's proposal to eliminate transfers.

Attorneys for the Philadelphia Students Union and the Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth both filed briefs on Wednesday asking DiVito to reject the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's proposal.

They joined the suit just a day before a deadline set earlier in the week by DiVito. On Monday, after two days of testimony, the judge delayed making a ruling telling attorneys for the city and the transit agency they had until Thursday to sum up their arguments on paper. A ruling was initially expected today.

The city sued SEPTA calling a portion of its recent fare-restructuring package racist, discriminatory and illegal. In late June SEPTA boosted fares 11 percent and announced that it would drop its $.60 transfers in this month. By eliminating the transfers, officials hoped to save the agency, which faced a $129 million deficit, about $11 million.

Shelly Yanoff, executive director of Philadelphia Citizens for Children, said axing the transfers would seriously handicap students who are already struggling.

"We believe that charging for transfers will, in fact, really hinder Philadelphia school children in serious ways. We're making it harder for them to stay in school; it doesn't make sense," she said.

"Especially since more than three quarters are low income and more than three quarters are children of color. It really is very bad for them. They're making it more difficult for them to attend school."

In papers submitted to the court by the Public Interest Law Center for PCCY and the students union estimated about 15,000 students would be hit by the plan.

One family, used as an example in court papers, would see transportation costs rise from $20 a week to $50 a week for two children.

Attorney Michael Churchill said SEPTA has the power to voluntarily reverse its decision. SEPTA officials have denied that, saying the transit agency would have to hold new public hearings before it could change course.

"They have the power to reconsider without holding a new fair hearing, certainly they can have a temporary emergency provision to withhold this decision," Churchill said.

Yanoff said she personally has met with transportation officials for a long time trying to forestall fare increases or the cutting of transfers but they have not been receptive to her pleas, nor has City Council.

"We have not been able to make a difference by testifying or by urging City Council to take action so we're using any means necessary that are legal," she said. "There is a time when we have to say what exactly do we want."

Churchill said that by joining the suit, the groups added to the voice of the city's underprivileged to "help emphasis its importance and the hardship that would flow to students and minorities and low-income persons who currently use the paper transfer system."

In most Pennsylvania cities and many large U.S. cities, transportation to and from school is free. Budget constraints have led school officials to adopt other methods here.

"We don't have enough money, so that's where they cut," Yanoff said.

Eye on Restructured Schools

Kudos to Keith Newman for his Letter to the Editor (see below) in Wednesday’s Inquirer on the failings of the 'Diverse Provider Model' and successes of the District's own creation, the 'Restructured Schools Model.' (Yet, which model lives on in our children's academic careers, and which was sent to the "Graveyard of Philly School Reform Models?") In any event, thanks, Keith, for keeping the issue in the spotlight!

SAYING ONE THING ... (Letter to Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 11, 2007)
In a letter June 25, members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission said they were "focused on balancing the budget without injuring key reforms already in place, such as the movement to smaller high schools, smaller class sizes, teacher certification, and the extended-day program." It would be wonderful if all this were true, but sadly it isn't.

The School Reform Commission initiated the "Diverse Provider Model" to try different solutions for a stubborn problem. For this it should be praised. But of these diverse solutions one stood out - the Office of Restructured Schools, which was responsible for 16 of the most obstinate schools. It demonstrated improvement far above other reform models, including charter schools.

Yet it was eliminated, while failed models, such as Edison, continue to receive extra funding. We can thank the SRC for demonstrating what works. Now we need someone who can implement what we've learned.

Keith Newman
Philadelphia

The writer, a teacher in the district, is a member of the Parents United advocacy group.
(Philadelphia Inquirer, Wed., July 11, 2007, Philadelphia Media Holdings,
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070711_Letters_to_the_Editor.html)

WHERE WE WERE / WHERE WE'RE GOING . . .

Well, Gang -- the decisions have been made: Education Managers have been renewed, cuts have been announced and pink slips have flowed. Here are two questions for you:
1). Before budget woes cut into efforts to reform our schools’ ever-familiar cycle of failure, what was the best change you saw at the schools in your community?
2). What improvements are you worried might now disappear?