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SRC Votes To Dissolve

November 28, 2017 by Tamir Harper Leave a Comment

Sanaa Scott-Wheeler

Staff Writer

On November 16, 2017, The School Reform Commission, also known as the SRC,

voted to disband. They voted to dissolve with a 3-1 while one member abstained from voting. The decision will be in effect starting June 30th.

The SRC is a state-appointed board responsible for the management of schools in the district and was created in 2001. In its seventeen years, the commission has closed 37 schools in the 2012-2013 school year and opened many charter schools, which advocates protest for draining resources from the district.

Countless people in the city have criticized the SRC for never fully advocating for students. Some of the complaints with the SRC have included that members of the Commission lived outside of the city, they did not have children in Philadelphia’s district schools, they did not have a background in education, and no one had any idea of what the students in Philadelphia needed.

With this level of criticism, it’s no surprise that many people were pleased with the decision to disband.

¨I am anti-SRC,” said Senior Tamir Harper, who is an education advocate, co-founder of the organization called UrbEd, (created with former student Luke Risher) and has been attending SRC meetings for years. “The disbandment will positively affect the students of Philadelphia because we will have a voice in our system.¨

Harper attended Tilden Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia which at one point was rated one of the worst middle schools in the district. He has watched the SRC fail the school system first hand by not allocating money properly, and not meeting the needs of students, caused by the lack of insight. UrbEd continues to work to bring power back to the students.

History Teacher, Daniel Symonds has appeared at 30 SRC meetings and even spoken at a few.

¨The SRC disbanding is proof that when we organize together as groups of students, educators, parents, and allies we can get things done,” he said.

“I want to see this SRC disbandment as one of a series of dominoes until we as people who live in this city demand the existence of the things we deserve, better health care, fully funded transportation, fully funded neighborhood public schools,15 dollars an hour minimum wage and an end to abusive policing. Every win that we get is another reason for people to get involved.¨

Symonds has worked in schools around the city where the SRC has promised to improve, but instead many teachers were fired and only some were allowed to get their jobs back.

So now that the SRC is gone, what happens next?

¨I am interested in seeing a hybrid school board, which is a fifty-fifty percent split with some appointed and some elected by the mayor´s office and confirmed by city council,¨ Said Harper.

However, that’s not the current plan.

The SRC will be replaced with a nine member board of people appointed by the mayor, there is also a position open on the for a student. Our City Our Schools, a group of organizations and people, think it would be best to have a people’s school board where each member must meet all three constraints, members should live in Philadelphia, they should support racial and economic justice, none should have financial states or other conflicts of interest in our public or charter schools.

Overall the absence of an SRC and presence of a mayor/people appointed board will benefit the students in Philadelphia because the members will know what issues are affecting the community.

Student Government Officials Elected

November 27, 2017 by Sara Frunzi Leave a Comment

Sara Frunzi

Photo Editor

On Monday, November 6th, the SLA student body voted for their student government.

For several weeks leading into the election, candidates were putting up posters around the school, debating with each other about how to go about the school’s problems, and talking individually to students about their choices for student government.

Junior Sara Berg won the position of secretary. The role requires her to to be at every meeting to set the agenda and record notes on each member’s input.

In the closest race of them all, Junior Gregory Tasik won the vote for student government’s treasurer. He will be responsible for student council’s finances. They focus on funds, spending strategies, and any fundraisers.

Finally, by a landslide, the president and vice president of SLA’s student government are Tamir Harper and Naima DeBrest. These two will take on a big leadership position in SLA’s community.

According to Harper, the first goal for student government this year is “to create a constitution in place so that student government can work to get things done.”

“We have the elected officials now, so we need a constitution so we’re following and executing.”

What change will the existence of student government bring to the school? Right now, it’s not entirely unclear, although a meeting on November 20th established a constitution that will be shared with the student body soon.

“I think it will come to represent what SLA says it represents,” Harper said. “It’s not just the vice president, president, treasury, secretary, advisory representatives that are going to define it; it’s the people around the SLA community.”

As a community, SLA is collaborative and non-competitive, so the official ballot counts will not be released.

Candidates Drop Out As Election Nears

November 6, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Matt Milligan & Eric Valenti

Staff Writers

On Monday, November 6th, SLA will be holding elections for student government for the first time since 2012.

SLA student government was formed back in September thanks to the efforts of several students. Dozens of students attended the early meetings, and Junior Bronwyn Goldschneider and Freshman Izzy Curtin volunteered to manage the elections committee. Advised by History Teacher Daniel Symonds, the group held meetings and was responsible for the whole organization behind SLA government.

Why have a student government now? Goldschneider believes that student representation is important to the school. Previous student governments did not last at SLA, but this group seeks to change that.

“Student leaders and representatives can bring order and cohesion to the school,” she explained. “SLA is largely based on students having the freedom to create, plan, and run their own events, so it makes sense to have elected leaders in charge of organizing these processes.”

For students to get involved with SLA government, they had to get a petition signed by their peers and then present it to the committee. Certain positions also required a minimum GPA of 3.5 along with involvement in SLA clubs.

The sole event that has occurred since the election has been announced was the presidential debate. In this the debate, which was filmed and sent out to advisories, presidential candidates and their running mates were given a platform to discuss their ideas for the school.

Junior Sara Berg, who is running for secretary, believes she and other candidates need more spotlight to share their ideas.

“It’s been a little bit messy because . . . they kind of were trying to plan stuff for other candidates, but nothing has happened yet.”

As far as campaigning goes, candidates are allowed to have posters around SLA supporting their campaign. Berg, as well as other students, have not seen many posters around SLA, and worry that students do not have enough information to decide who they should or should not vote for.

A few interviews with the general student body confirmed that suspicion.

“I know who is running for the most part . . . but I don’t really know what they stand for,” stated Junior Kimberly Gucciardi-Kriegh.

The election has not been without some dramatic shifts. On Halloween, Sophomore Mackenzie Hopkins dropped out of the race for vice president, causing presidential candidate Kwan Hopkins to pick a new running mate, Junior Shamus Keough.

The day after, November 1st, Sophomores Horace Ryan and Jade Gilliam dropped out of the race for president and vice president.

“I don’t know any of them personally so I don’t know why they dropped out. I guess it is probably stressful, especially for the president and vice president candidates because they definitely have been in the spotlight more than we have,” Berg said.

When asked about the somewhat chaotic process, Goldschneider comments, “It definitely hasn’t gone exactly as planned, but that’s okay in a way. It is difficult to know what will work and not work in an election if it has never happened before.”

Both students and staff have strong beliefs about student government and how it will affect the community that SLA has created.

“I think that starting a government is a difficult thing, and that all students should engage in a deep conversation about the merits of having a government before choosing to have an election,” Mr. Symonds stated.

To those ends, there is a non-binding question on the ballot asking students whether they think the creation of a government is even necessary.

Students have a slightly different opinion. While teachers cannot endorse any candidate in particular, students still believe that they should be helping the community to remain aware of their vote.

Gucciardi-Kriegh says that, “It seems very student run . . . I think he [Mr. Symonds] should encourage people to vote . . . In general, the teachers should be acknowledging that every vote matters.”

Junior Jack Sugrue said that “It should be a combined effort” and that advisories should spend more time helping students to understand the election.

“I think it would it make it a lot smoother and I also think that Mr. Symonds should help with that kind of awareness and getting the word out.”

The vote takes place during advisory, and the count will be open to the school community in the office once advisory ends.

What will happen when a winner is declared? That’s largely for the elected representatives to decide. At present, the organization is not promised any funding from the school, although some candidates have proposed demanding funds or raising money on their own.

As Goldschneider said, “We have no precedent for student government at SLA, so the first elected candidates will shape the impact that the government will have on the school.”

Students Meet to Establish Government

October 19, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Sara Frunzi

Photo Editor

On Thursday, September 14th, SLA had its first official 2017-2018 student government planning meeting. SLA students will have the opportunity to run for a student government position, or just to vote for a representative. SLA students will finally have a say in how they are represented, and hopefully will have changes made in our school for the better.

According to Science Leadership Academy Junior Kwan Hopkins, who called the meeting, A student government is something that the school really need.

“It’s one thing to say ‘I feel your pain students.’ It’s one thing to listen to a presentation the teachers are giving,” Hopkins said. But it’s another things to say ‘students, come to the table’”.

Hopkins came up with the idea for a student government and went through talking to History Teacher Dan Symonds to officiate it.

“I was student body president before,” at his old school, Hopkins explained. “We did a lot, but we didn’t get to do everything. I really just wanted another chance to share what I believe are talents, to talk about what I believe think are the issues, and I saw a lot wrong with the school”.

Mr. Symonds supports the process.

“Any activity that increases students engaging in democratic decision-making, any activity that raises expectations for what students can expect of themselves and of a political entity in the school is a good thing”.

The meeting on September 14 revealed some ideas of a purpose and function for a future government. Among other things said, some purposes mentioned were to get student representation, and more communication between the students and adults in our school. The student government not only wants to ensure that every student in the building will have their voice heard, but also to go above and beyond with being unique to SLA.

The understanding across the board at the meeting was that an organization at SLA would not simply do what other school governments do, such as plan dances and fundraisers, but also address what SLA directly needs. Right now, that may be in alignment with fundraisers or with the Spirit Committee. The idea of an SLA student jury was also put forth, so that an unbiased group of students would be able to have a say in school decisions and possibly disciplinary action of peers if deemed necessary. Students felt that sometimes punishments were too harsh or deemed unfairly, and that they wished to be able to do something about it.

Going forward, SLA’s student government has big plans. The function of an SLA student government was debated upon a bit, but boiled down to a few core things. There were three main priorities discussed: students having thorough involvement in our education, a student government running student activities, and finding ways to help build connections within SLA.

The student government aims to create a formal space where teachers and students are equals, and to give students the chance to share their ideas and pass legislation.

Students will be able to start running for positions this October, and should talk to their advisors about the nomination process to become a candidate.

District Proposes Ben Franklin Move at Meeting

September 18, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Tamir Harper

Members of the SLA Community during the small group breakout portion of Monday's meeting. Photo by Sarah Frunzi. — Members of the SLA Community during the small group breakout portion of Monday’s meeting. Photo by Sarah Frunzi.

Editor in Chief

On the evening of Tuesday, September 12th, Science Leadership Academy Center City held a meeting to announce that the district plans to co-locate the school with Benjamin Franklin High School at 550 N. Broad Street.

The move into the new building will happen for the 2019-2020 school year, which gives time for the district to complete a total redesign of Benjamin Franklin, for which they have budgeted 20 million dollars.

A powerpoint delivered by Principal Chris Lehmann explained that the redesign will seek to make SLA feel at home and also improve the building conditions for Benjamin Franklin High School students as well.

This week will be the start of that redesign, with design development happening this school year, and construction slated to start in July 2018.

In attendance were students, parents, SLA Staff and School District of Philadelphia officials like Spokesperson Lee Whack, Assistant Superintendent of the Innovative Network Christina Grant, the Chief Schools Officer and a few other of Superintendent Bill Hite’s cabinet members.

After the introductory powerpoint presentation, attendees split into small groups to discuss their concerns and brainstorm around their vision for the move.

Mr. Lehmann believes that, in some ways, the news was hard for the SLA community to hear. “We [the district] have to honor people process in coming to terms with that change.”

Lehmann noted that many parents went through that process pretty quickly. “By the end of that meeting parents were like now what, what has to happen, how do we make it work, what does it look like and got to that next place.”

Throughout Monday’s meeting, Mr. Lehmann stressed how involved parents and students will be involved in this process. Parents and others will be able to sit on a building management committee to ensure that student and parent voices are heard throughout the design of the building.

Despite these assurances, some attendees of the meeting were not satisfied and felt blindsided by the announcement.

During the small group breakout conversations, Freshman and Senior parent Sharon Baker-Smith spoke with Chief Schools Officer Shawn Bird and told him that the move wasn’t smart or safe.

Other parents stressed concerns about climate and safety of their children during dismissal and in the possible co-mingling of spaces. But some were on board and wanted to see how the district can design an innovative space that would work for both schools.

But for those who weren’t on board, Dr. Bird tried his best to calm parents down and give them the reasoning behind the move, but he wasn’t very successful.

Another frequent question was about what the curriculum and culture at Benjamin Franklin would look like when SLA joins them at Broad and Spring Garden.

Officials from the district explained that Benjamin Franklin has a new principal, who is working to stabilize the culture at Benjamin Franklin.

Sophomore Horace Ryans attended the meeting and felt as though that the SLA community barely had say in it, but did not think anything can be done to stop it.

Regardless, he is hopeful. “What we can do is continue to love and care for each other like we already are because SLA isn’t SLA because of the location, it’s SLA because we make it this way.”

Some students and parents were concerned about enrollment dropping at SLA, but Mr. Lehmann believes that the school will still have a “vibrant population that is diverse and represents the entire city.”

Technology Teacher Marcie Hull, who has been with SLA since its first year, stated that some freshman are excited about the move and is ready to tackle this challenge. Some students have been worried about teachers leaving, but Mrs. Hull said she “will not be going anywhere.”

As proof of her commitment to the school, she is currently pursuing her Ed.D to become a Senior Career Teacher and grow in her position at Science Leadership Academy.

She wants students to know that “this is part of the progress that is going to create better opportunities for more kids in the city.”

Seniors who will not be directly affected by the move had some thoughts as well. Senior Ella Burrows said, “I feel hurt that this wasn’t more of a conversation, but we can all be hopeful and stick it out with each other and have faith that things will workout like they are supposed to.”

Burrows also shared that “things happen for a reason so I like to think of this as an obstacle just waiting for us to overcome.”

SLA Alumnus Luke Risher told me over the phone after hearing about the move, he “feels as though the district should be transparent and communicative because this is definitely a choice that blindsided us (the SLA community) that has given us very little process and time.”

Lehmann wants all freshman and sophomores to “be part of it, we are going to make this as transparent as we possibly can.” He wants students to voice their concerns thoughtfully.

As expected, on Thursday, Sept 14th the School Reform Commission approved the funding to renovate Ben Franklin high school for a co-location.

Upcoming meeting dates about the redesign will be shared with the community as soon as they are available via www.scienceleadership.org.