Authorizing Council's Committee on Education to hold hearings on the issue of college access and preparatory programs in the City of Philadelphia to further investigate how we can ensure matriculating high school students within the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), who are faced with School Counselor to student ratios that far exceed expert recommendations, will be paired with college access and preparatory programs.

WHEREAS, According to the Philadelphia Education Fund (PEF) and the SDP, Office of Accountability, for freshman who entered SDP High Schools in 1999, only ten percent of the students ultimately graduated from college; and

WHEREAS, According to the PEF and SDP, Office of Accountability, based upon 2009 SDP graduates who enrolled in college by the Fall of 2011, only thirty six percent of SDP students enrolled in college; and

WHEREAS, The historically low college enrollment and graduation percentages were measured at a time when more school counselors were employed by the SDP; and

WHEREAS, As of September 30, 2013, the SDP has one hundred and forty nine school counselors compared to three hundred and eighty nine on May 31, 2013 and three hundred and seventy seven on September 30, 2012; and

WHEREAS, For example, Masterman, a top academic magnet school has one counselor for 1,200 students; and

WHEREAS, The average scores of Philadelphia public school students' SAT scores dropped for the seventh time in the last eight years, falling below eight hundred for the first time; and

WHEREAS, Without additional support and interventions in place, due to the current budget constraints at the SDP, many students will be eliminated from the college access and preparation process due to the lack of available support; and

WHEREAS, Many schools within the SDP do not have one counselor and some schools share a pool of sixteen counselors, it is imperative that students are connected with college access and preparatory programs that could assist more Philadelphia high school students with the opportunity to enroll in college and graduate from an institution of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, We as a Council can help create and reinforce a college going culture; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Committee on Education is hereby authorized to hold hearings on the issue of college access and preparatory programs in the City of Philadelphia to further investigate how we can ensure matriculating high school students within the School District of Philadelphia, who are faced with School Counselor to student ratios that far exceed expert recommendations, will be paired with college access and preparatory programs.

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