WHEREAS, improving the lives and education of the 215,000 public and charter school students in Philadelphia will have profound positive impact on the future of Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS,
Edison Schools, Inc. has been hired by the Governor to assess the Philadelphia School District and will produce a report in the near future; and
WHEREAS, An appropriate solution to today’s problems must address the opportunity gap in resources that is encountered by not only the Philadelphia School District but by urban and rural districts throughout the Commonwealth and the Country; and
WHEREAS, Seven basics of quality education have been identified by Congressman Chaka Fattah that should be examined when determining the level of opportunity students are receiving from a school district; and
WHEREAS, The seven basics of education that need to be measured for all students are: qualified teachers, smaller class sizes, rigorous academic standards, educational technology, up-to-date school libraries and textbooks, and school counselors; and
WHEREAS, Any report or plan that does not address these basics of education will be considered incomplete and flawed; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Chaka Fattah has developed seven principles that must be examined, assessed, and planned for in order to adequately measure the state of opportunity and education for the students of the Philadelphia School District; and
WHEREAS, The seven Fattah Principles for a quality education are: 1) access to instruction in core courses from a fully qualified teacher; 2) access to rigorous academic curriculums, both basic and advanced; 3) access to textbooks and instructional supplies as current as their suburban counterparts; 4) classroom sizes substantially equal to their suburban counterparts; 5) access to a school with an up-to-date library staffed by a certified librarian; 6) a student-to-computer ratio similar to suburban counterparts; and 7) access to guidance counselors in a ratio that is comparable with that of other students in suburban districts; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,
That the Council calls on Governor Mark Schweiker to insist that Edison Schools, Inc. include in their report on the Philadelphia School District an assessment of where the School District stands currently with the Fattah Principles and that any plan for the future incorporate steps to improve the School District in terms of those principles.
End