March 26, 2011
"This summer, Williamsport Area High School graduate Amanda Tomack will embark on a two-year mission to make a difference in the lives of inner-city children..."
Get to Know The Philadelphia School Partnership
The Philadelphia School Partnership works on creating great schools, engaging parents and communities, and sharing knowledge and best practices among school leaders. The organization was established to accelerate the pace of education reform in Philadelphia, and raises philanthropic funds to invest in promising schools.
Changing the education landscape is a challenge that all sectors of Philadelphia must take on together, and PSP works with government officials, business leaders, education leaders, communities, and organizations like Teach For America to pursue its goals. The Philadelphia School Partnership has leveraged these relationships with the Great Schools Compact, and Teach For America • Greater Philadelphia is excited to have signed on to help provide strong talent and leadership to our region’s classrooms.
Region Timeline
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The first public school in the American Colonies is founded in Philadelphia.
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Benjamin Franklin establishes the University of Pennsylvania, the first university in the United States.
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The School District of Philadelphia is established.
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Management of the school district shifts from judge appointed “Controllers of Public Schools” to a school board selected by the mayor.
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In response to desegregation attempts, the mayor and the city council president speak out against busing to relieve overcrowding. The school district responds to a federal judge's order to draw up a desegregation plan by studying the question, taking minor desegregation steps, and instituting compensatory educational programs rather than desegregating the schools.
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High school students demonstrate in front of the Board of Education building, demanding better funding and better treatment, especially for African American students. The demonstrators are met with force by the Philadelphia Police Department, and the resulting riot leaves 22 injured and 57 arrested.
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Judge Doris A. Smith rules that the School District of Philadelphia had not done enough to desegregate its schools. She orders improvements in the substandard quality of education in “racially isolated schools” and desegregation.
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District superintendent David Hornbeck threatens to close the city's schools if the state does not provide the funds needed to balance his proposed budget.
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The state takes over the School District of Philadelphia due to chronic low performance and financial issues, including a projected deficit of $216.7 million.
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Dr. Arlene Ackerman, CEO of the School District of Philadelphia, is bought out of her contract with the district for more than $900,000. The buyout follows the failure of Dr. Ackerman’s “Imagine 2014” strategic plan for the district. Four of the School Reform Commission’s five members resign amid the public outcry.
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New superintendent Dr. William C. Hite is selected to lead the School District of Philadelphia.
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Camden City Public Schools names Mr. Reuben F. Mills as Interim Superintendent
Overheard
The people who I've met within Teach For America are certainly strung together by this thread of a common vision, but it's not that simple, nor should it be. Not only do we all bring unique sets of skills and passions to this vision, but we also interpret it through different lenses and work toward it from different angles in different ways. Each of us fits into this picture in different capacities, and it's clear that Teach For America finds those individuals who work to figure out which piece that is.
Greater Philadelphia Corps 2009
Press
July 22, 2010
"Teach for America, the impressive program that recruits recent college graduates to help bridge the achievement gap between poor and affluent schools, deserves continued federal funding..."
March 4, 2010
"According to Teach For America, 9-year-olds in low-income communities are three grade levels behind students in high-income communities and half the poor kids won't graduate from high school..."
