Why Isn’t Closing 40 Philadelphia Public Schools National News? Thursday, 10 May 2012 09:30By Bruce A. Dixon, Black Agenda Report | Report
If some racist made an inappropriate remark about the First Lady or her children our national “civil rights leaders” Obama fans all of them, would be all over that. But standing up for ordinary black children is something our leaders just don’t do much any more. When was the last time you heard Sharpton, Jealous or any of that tribe inveigh against school closings and the creeping privatization of our schools?
In what should be the biggest story of the week, the city of Philadelphia’s school system announced Tuesday that it expects to close 40 public schools next year and 64 by 2017. The school district expects to lose 40% of current enrollment to charter schools, the streets or wherever, and put thousands of experienced, well qualified teachers, often grounded in the communities where they teach, on the street.
Read entire story here ………………………..
With all the schools closing in Philadelphia there will be more available buildings for charter schools! What happens to neighborhoods with abandon buildings such as schools?
What about Wilmington Delaware’s civil rights when it comes to public education? The good righteous brothers can’t walk their talk! Where is the civil rights representation on school boards? Selling-out local school control to Markell and Arne Duncan doesn’t secure civil rights at the local school level! The Wilmington brothers are blind to the outbound force busing of black children! Blind to the inequities in the city’s public schools! Blind to a new game of requiring local schools to “compete” for grants to fund TAG programs! Should poor school be require to compete for funding for enrichment programs? I can never figure out why the brothers stand-down allowing capitalists and bankers to have control of their children’s education!
The same people that kept minorities down in the work place and housing opportunities! When a brother starts off his speech with his resume and what he has done rather that what he is doing we know it will the same on game!
A young brother gets murdered in Florida because of the color of his skin and Wilmington minorities hold a rally in Rodney Square! Yet their own children are being rob of quality of education with no civil right voice and no one rallies for them! William Hicks Anderson helped delivery federal Title 1 Section 1118 to give parents a voice and role in local control and it’s gone! Taken by Arne Duncan and Jack Markell! Now they set the agenda and programs then pour the Kool-aid after the fact selling their capitalists agenda to fools willing to drink the Kool-aid. Do the white affluent parents drink the kool-aid when they wanted new schools in the suburbs or an end to busing into Wilmington? HELL NO ! They were the ones who poured the Kool-aid for district administrators and politicians to drink! All about ownership folks! So who owns you? The public in public education means you! The people need to stop being servants to those elected to serve them!
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This is what School Choice created. School Choice is what school districts, school boards, and administrators hide behind to justify re-segregation and to not be responsible for educating all children equally. “Hey, the parents must like that failing school. If they didn’t they would choice out.” Talk about the great lie.
Kilroy asks: “Where is the civil rights representation on school boards?”
Good luck with that. A strong city voice running for school board motivates the suburban community to come out and vote against them. And that’s another thing that has to change. Only people in the candidate’s district should be allowed to vote for their school board representative.
The city is split between four districts which automatically dilutes its voice. Imagine if the Pike Creek community had to go up against the rest of RCCD; that they couldn’t ally with Hockessin and other suburban communities. Imagine if they not only had to stand on their own, but when they found a candidate to represent their interests that candidate would be presented as a threat to everyone else. What chance would that candidate stand of winning when every other community was riled up to come out and vote against them? (Let’s not forget that Red Clay gained support for their last referendum by threatening to return to suburban kids to city schools if the referendum failed.)
I haven’t met all the school board candidates running this year, but my suburban friends will have the scoop long before I do. If one of these candidates is viewed as a suburban threat I’ll hear about it. And by threat I mean a candidate willing to actually represent their nominating district. There are three candidates running to represent my district, but my community will have very little say in who ends up representing us. That has to change.
As far as Red Clay Nominating Board Seat B it is a minority majority district! I didn’t make that term up! It’s fact ! However when voting is at large the voice (voters) within B have no voice.
Kilroy has all the scoops! Too soon to expose “sharkboy’s” agenda!
Civil rights advocates better step-up because next year is the last year of Race to The Top funding. The Wall Street ponzi scheme is in motion and local taxpayers will be asked to $$$ feed them.
They’re closing 129 schools in Chicago. City council members are talking about a charter moratorium.
Let’s not forget that Red Clay gained support for their last referendum by threatening to return to suburban kids to city schools if the referendum failed.
Wasn’t that also the suggestion made by opponents of the referendum, that there was space available in city schools?
“Wasn’t that also the suggestion made by opponents of the referendum, that there was space available in city schools?”
You are 100% correct ! That was a message to white suburban parents to get the vote out or else your kids will be back in Wilmington with the black kids.
Two different things, Mike. First, there was space at city schools – enough space to question the “need” for a new school. Second, city residents supported using that empty city school space for desirable programs that would have benefited the entire district.
What RCCD did was say, “If you don’t vote for the referendum we’ll bus your kids into one of our dreaded city schools.” That was a threat designed to garner referendum support – which is very different than pointing out space already existed within the district.