Authorizing the Council Committee on Education to hold hearings to investigate the present state of secondary education in Philadelphia public schools, and explore ways to improve educational achievement in compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

WHEREAS

, The Federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandates that all public schools must reach high levels of academic achievement; and

WHEREAS

, 70 persistently low performing Philadelphia public schools, including 22 High Schools are in “Corrective Action II”, the stage were federal law requires these schools to be restructured; and

WHEREAS

, Many of Philadelphia’s comprehensive, neighborhood high schools are on this “Corrective Action II” list; and

WHEREAS

, Recently conducted studies of Philadelphia’s dropout crisis reveal that Philadelphia has a dropout rate of at least 45%, including a 90% dropout rate in our alternative disciplinary high schools; and

WHEREAS

, Our alternative disciplinary high schools service our most at-risk students; it is vital that these schools provide a safe, academically focused environment, and that all providers are evaluated based on student retention and other measurable outcomes; and

WHEREAS

, The Philadelphia School District is developing plans to aggressively deal with their persistently failing schools and is actively working to increase graduation rates; and

WHEREAS

, A “Secondary Education Blueprint” is presently being developed in a joint venture by the Philadelphia School District and Philadelphia Education Fund that will lay out their findings on educational practices for student achievement; and

WHEREAS,

City Council must take an active role in the education of Philadelphia’s children, and must be a true participant in the re-imagining of our public high schools; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA

, That the Committee on Education is authorized to hold hearings to investigate the present conditions in Philadelphia public high schools, the ramifications of the No Child Left Behind Act, and practices that may lead to academic success.

FURTHER RESOLVED

, That in the interest of insuring the greatest possible participation of students, parents and teachers, these hearings shall be conducted in the evening in local high schools throughout the City of Philadelphia.

End