The Renaissance School Initiative was created to help transform some of the lowest-performing schools in Philadelphia by giving them over to charter organizations. At the time this article was originally written, six additional struggling schools were slated for charter school takeovers and the district was evaluating applicants for the role. While this process was hailed by some as an effective way to raise the quality of education in one of the largest school districts in the country, others worried that there was not enough evidence to support allowing more public schools to be absorbed by charters.
About the Renaissance School Initiative
The Renaissance School Initiative was established by the School District of Philadelphia on January 27, 2010, according to the district鈥檚 website. The goal of the initiative is to bring dramatic student improvement through the transformation of some of the city鈥檚 lowest-performing schools. To accomplish this goal, the district solicits help from individuals and organizations with a positive track record of turning around struggling schools in Philadelphia. These efforts reflect broader national conversations about education reform, including the issues explored in the article 鈥Is School Reform Doing More Harm Than Good?鈥 Schools are given over to public charters so the necessary changes can take place internally to bring about the much-needed improvements in student achievement. The district has cited three important components required to meet their goals for all Philadelphia schools, which include:
- Identifying the lowest-performing schools that will require a transformative change to improve
- Identifying the entities (individuals or organizations) that are best equipped to make those transformations
- Empowering the local school community to become an essential factor in the transformation of the school
Schools are identified for charter takeover by academic performance and school climate. The district also looks at the percentage of neighborhood enrollment in a school. At the time, 17 schools within the School District of Philadelphia had been turned over to charter operators, according to reports from Philly.com. School officials said they were pleased with the progress these schools had made thus far. Specific improvements that have been documented at these schools include improvements in academic performance, higher attendance, and a decrease in violence overall. Neighborhood enrollment is also up at these schools.
This video offers an overview of the Renaissance Schools Initiative.
Success of the Renaissance
Other charter operators within Philadelphia are on track to meet their charter goals, and some serve as examples of why the district continues to work within the Renaissance framework to transform low-performing schools. For example, The Notebook has reported on schools that experienced significant changes after being taken over by charter operators through the Renaissance initiative. In some cases, when these schools were first transitioned to charter school management, many students in the surrounding neighborhoods were attending other schools.
Following the transition, charter operators introduced new academic programs, strengthened school culture, and increased outreach to families in the community. As a result, more neighborhood students began enrolling in their local schools, and some campuses reported improvements in reading and math scores. Charter leaders told The Notebook that building trust between school staff and neighborhood parents was a key part of the turnaround process, reflecting the importance of parental involvement in schools and other factors that influence student achievement in the classroom
Evidence Inconclusive, Consulting Group Asserts
Despite success stories, an independent consulting group assigned to monitor the Renaissance schools reported that the evidence of improvement was far from conclusive. The Notebook also reports that this group released a report last year that states early results from the newly-run charter schools are encouraging, but many questions have yet to be answered about the factors that are definitely contributing to the success of these schools.
While the K鈥8 schools in the Renaissance program showed favorable gains, results from the high schools in the program were less encouraging. National research on charter school outcomes is available from the . This led the consulting team to determine that it is too early to identify the specific factors that led to the success of some schools. The report also warns that it is too early to tell if the gains made during the first year will be sustainable into the future.
This video looks at charter schools.
More Schools to be Chosen
As research on the success of the Renaissance initiative continued, the district prepared for another wave of charter takeovers during the early years of the program. The timeline for identifying these schools and matching them with appropriate charter organizations was tight. The district planned to announce the schools slated for charter takeover on February 11, 2013.
At that time, they will also begin holding community meetings as they wait for applications from potential charter operators. Applications were to be considered by the superintendent, with recommendations submitted for approval. The final list was scheduled to be voted on by the School Reform Commission, the state-appointed body that governed the School District of Philadelphia at the time. The selection of operators was expected to be announced by May, with a transition phase to follow. Schools were scheduled to open under their new charters by Fall 2013.
At the time, Superintendent William Hite said he planned to turn three low-performing schools over to charter operators the following year, while another three schools would be managed by the district as 鈥淧romise Academies.鈥 These types of turnaround efforts reflect broader debates about public school improvement strategies and how public schools can best support struggling communities. Readers interested in federal policies and funding related to charter schools can learn more through the .
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