School Improvement or District Dissolution: Philadelphia as a Case

• In Event: Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Leadership for School Improvement

Abstract

This paper considers Philadelphia as a test of reform policies required by No Child Left Behind and encouraged by Race to the Top. Philadelphia makes an important case because both Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and President Barack Obama have repeatedly pointed to Philadelphia as an exemplar for their Race to the Top reform agenda.

When the state assumed control of Philadelphia schools in 2001, it imposed a “portfolio management model” characterized by an increase in the number of charter schools, direct school management by for-profit and not-for-profit organizations (EMOs), and closure or intervention in low-performing schools. Although 2010-12 data are not yet available, a ten-year trend analysis suggests a very mixed record for improved student outcomes.

Author

• James H. Lytle, University of Pennsylvania