Education Week - June 11, 2014 - 16

THE INNOVATION GAMBLE l A city district rests its hopes on a tech-themed approach
l FACES OF CHANGE l
Philadelphia educators experience hope, disappointment when pursuing
hands-on, technology-rich school models.
In Phila., Optimism
About New Models
Hits Harsh Realities
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
ers' union to heed Mr. Hite's pleas for hundreds of millions of dollars in
revenue. In late May, at the superintendent's urging, the governing School
Reform Commission refused to endorse a budget that called for steep
class-size hikes and a fresh round of cuts. The city schools are again bracing
for severe shortages of everything from paper to nurses-a sensitive
issue after the recent death of a boy who had fallen ill at a school without
a full-time nurse on duty. (See Education Week, June 4, 2014.)
To many observers, Philadelphia's plight offers yet more evidence that
large urban districts are incapable of bringing innovative educational
models to scale. Even when the money is there, those observers say, a
thicket of problems -labor strife, dysfunctional bureaucracies, crazy politics,
leadership churn -prevents sustained investments in the instructional
expertise of teachers and principals.
Mr. Hite is playing his cards as well as could be hoped for, said Steven
Fink, the executive director of the Center for Educational Leadership at
the University of Washington, in Seattle.
But a poor hand is still a poor hand, Mr. Fink said.
A Faithful Replica
Inside sla@Beeber, as the new Science Leadership Academy campus is
known, small scenes tell the story of the 21st-century education on which
Mr. Hite has gambled.
On a beautiful May afternoon, Caleb Hughes and a group of fellow 9th
graders linger at the school after hours, playing soccer in the hallway and
finishing a video-editing project for physics class.
"His personality is really coming out, and he's really learning to take
ownership for his grades," said Renee Hughes, Caleb's mother.
Ms. Hughes' eldest son attended sla's decorated flagship campus. She
described sla@Beeber as true to the original: intimate and demanding,
with caring teachers who push students to work together and juggle multiple
deadlines.
Seats in the incoming class at sla@Beeber-like the original, highly
selective-filled up quickly. So did eight new staff positions. Despite a
hectic school year, six of seven current teachers-all but Karthik Subburam,
whose difficult transition to project-based teaching was chronicled
by Education Week in March-will return.
"The beautiful thing is that what they fell back on when things got
tough-collaborating with people, sharing successes and failures, reflecting
all the time-is the same process we ask our kids to work through,"
said Christopher D. Lehmann, sla's founding principal.
For a district desperate for something to build on, the successful replication
of sla has been "gigantic," Mr. Hite said.
But such enthusiasm is quickly muted. Many Philadelphia educators
say the district's budget woes have sucked the life from creative, hands-on
instructional practices already in place. While the superintendent talks
about giving educators the freedom to innovate, many city principals and
teachers feel abandoned, rather than empowered.
Take Marilyn Quarterman, the principal of Ellwood Elementary, a K-5
school.
In early May, she joined roughly 100 people at a roundtable discussion
on new school models, hosted by the School Reform Commission, the district's
school board.She came hoping to gather information that might
help prepare students for the city's new high schools.
Her curiosity quickly turned to frustration. While Mr. Hite has directed
attention and resources to innovation, Ms. Quarterman said, Ellwood
Elementary has been forced to limp along without a functioning library
and with only a one-day-per-week nurse and a half-time counselor. Its
playground surface has grown dangerous from disrepair, she said, and
one of her best teachers is leaving.
"My expectation is that [innovation] sounds good now, and will probably
do well for a while, and then it will go away, as everything else does in
Philadelphia," said Ms. Quarterman, a 27-year veteran.
In responding to such sentiments, Mr. Hite is in turn energized about
breaking "the cycle of disbelief" surrounding the district, defensive about
the decisions he has made, and angry that he has been forced to make
such impossible choices in the first place.
The unfortunate reality, said Mr. Fink of the University of Washington,
is that's how it goes in most big-city districts that try to bring innovation
to scale.
"Making deep instructional shifts can't be done on the cheap," he said. "I
don't see the social and political will to do this, and it's a shame, because
kids are getting screwed."
16 | EDUCATION WEEK | June 11, 2014 | www.edweek.org
GIANEEN C. POWELL l Principal, James G. Blaine Elementary School
Transformation Grant Fuels
Overhaul of School's Instruction
Gianeen C. Powell gets goosebumps
talking about the opportunity before her.
Last August, James G. Blaine
Elementary, a small district-managed
school in a blighted section of North
Philadelphia, received a $1.5 million
grant to reimagine its instructional
model. Ms. Powell, a 16-year district
veteran and the school's principal
since 2008, also won considerable
freedom to reshape her staff, overhaul
Blaine's school day, and more.
"It feels like everything I want to
happen, can happen," she said.
Among the first places Ms. Powell
turned for guidance was Philadelphia's
Science Leadership Academy.
Christopher D. Lehmann, sla's
founder, advised her on hiring teachers
who share a common vision and want
to work collaboratively. sla educators
shared insights on maintaining
technology and structuring professional
development. Most importantly, Ms.
Powell said, she was able to see for
herself what project-based, inquirydriven,
technology-rich instruction looks
like in the classroom-and then imagine
how she might bring it to her school.
It's a big change from Blaine's days as
an "empowerment school." Under thenSuperintendent
Arlene C. Ackerman,
Ms. Powell said, she was required to
make her teachers use highly scripted
curricula and whole-class direct
instruction focused on remediation of
basic skills. Science and social studies
were squeezed out of the school day, she
recalled, and teachers and students alike
were miserable.
The new plan calls for hands-on
science projects, independent student
work on software programs, and
collaborative planning time for the staff.
Grant money is paying for consultants,
computers, facilities and technology
upgrades, and professional development.
All of Blaine's teachers were forced
to reapply for their jobs, and only half
could be rehired. Some teachers are
unhappy, but Ms. Powell said the move
has allowed her to tap into a deep well
of pent-up energy among Philadelphia
educators who are eager to help build
new types of schools.
For Superintendent William R. Hite
Jr., the hopeful energy at Blaine is
validation that his controversial gamble
on district-led innovation is yielding
dividends.
"We have to get away from this
belief that change can only occur if we
give schools to charter management
organizations," he said. "We would love
for this to happen at every school."
-BENJAMIN HEROLD
"
To see the hearts
and minds of
people
changing, it's
very rewarding
and very
overwhelming."
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