School Closures and the Perils of Limiting Education Opportunities: The Philadelphia Story

Session Type: Invited Session

Abstract

Recent school closures in large urban school districts have reinforced the importance of access to educational opportunities especially in low-income communities (Engberg, Gill, Zamarro, & Zimmer, 2012; RFA, 2013). The declining population of school-aged children in these urban centers is usually given as the rationale for reducing the number of operating schools. However, broader concerns about inequities in funding, the quality and outcomes of schooling options, and retreating from neighborhood schooling are shifting the discussion from market-driven strategies to social justice approaches.

This session presents perspectives, findings and lessons learned from research and practice in the context of school closures in Philadelphia public schools. During the last three years, approximately 40 schools have been closed in the School District of Philadelphia. School closures not only represent new realities for students and families in these neighborhoods, but also challenge receiving schools. This AERA Presidential section highlights the work of a group of researchers and practitioners who contribute to the understanding of how schooling options and opportunities are experienced and envisioned for students, families, and communities in Philadelphia. The work of the panelists hopefully will challenge educational leaders and others concerned with the equitable distribution of quality school opportunities, and will challenge educational research more broadly to refocus attention on communities who have been marginalized by traditional market-driven school reform strategies and practices. In essence, the larger goal of the session is to use research findings to effectively re-center issues of access to quality schooling options and equity in reform policy that shape school choice and educational experiences for low-income communities.

The research highlighted in this session includes what we know specifically about the implementation and effects of school closures in Philadelphia and more generally about the role of limiting schooling options and access to high quality instructional experiences. Panelists will consider local, state, and national policy and fiscal contexts and their influence on learning options and opportunities for Philadelphia students and families. Suggestions for future research as well as policy and practices approaches will also be addressed.

Double decker bus will pick up participants at the Marriott Hotel at 10:30 AM and all participants are invited to a luncheon hosted by Temple University’s College of Education.

Sub Unit

• Social Justice Action Committee

Chair

• James Earl Davis, Temple University

Speakers

• Maia B. Cucchiara, Temple University

• Juliet DiLeo Curci, Temple University

• Will J. Jordan, Temple University

• Kathleen M. Shaw, Research for Action

• Charlie Baltimore, Edison High School

Discussant

• Gregory M. Anderson, Temple University