schools

Students from across Pennsylvania rallied demanding Equity in Education.  This action was organized by Philadelphia Student Union, Project Peace, A+ Schools' TeenBloc & Juntos.  Over the course of the last year, Governor Tom Corbett has cut public education in Pennsylvania by more than $1 Billion, all the while increasing funding for prisons.  These unprecedented cuts have lead to school districts like Chester Upland laying-off fifty-three percent of their teaching staff, a precursor to the teachers finally working without pay beginning in January of this year.

Hundreds of teachers and workers rallied at the School District headquarters on Monday to protest massive layoffs and testify at the meeting of the School Reform Commission.

Close to 1,500 teachers and 3,000 school district workers received layoff notices last week. The School District says it has to cut the jobs to close a budget gap.

In this video, two recently laid off teachers speak about how the cuts will impact students.

On Wednesday 24 November, tens of thousands of students walked out of their Schools, Colleges and Universities in protest against the cuts and austerity measures, whilst others occupied theirs. Occupations, teach-ins and walkouts have been reported at over 20 universities and colleges throughout the country. From United Kingdom IMC

Round-up of some of the actions

This month's show features: Youth artists & organizers create an album to tackle the drop-out crisis; Kansas City students see half of their public schools shut down; Highlights from PSU's official launch of the Campaign for Non-violent schools; West Philadelphia High students put forward their hopes & concerns for the Rennaissance 'turnaround' of their school; Plus music & other education news.

Last week Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came to our city as part of their  “Listening and Learning Tour” regarding a national agenda for public education reform.  Students, parents, teachers, and community organizations were left wondering who the group was really listening to, since none of us were included in the tour’s agenda.  We were only able to speak with them through a locked and guarded wrought-iron fence.

The stories in this show include a report about the community victory to keep William Penn High School from being closed. There is also a piece about how we are taught in school versus how we learn best. And we also hear PSU students who went to the B'more Fair in Baltimore, a march for the rights of workers in the Inner Harbor, organized by the United Workers Association. Finally, there is a segment about the struggle to stop our schools from being privatized, including Khalif Dobson's testimony from a School Reform Commission meeting. Plus, you'll hear music and other local news stories from the perspectives of youth organizers.

In the days leading up to the School Reform Commission's vote on their 5-year strategic plan,  Imagine 2014,  PSU and other goups put forth a set of demands that needed to be met before the School Reform Commission could responsibly vote on the plan.

On February 25, outside of the Philadelphia School District's building, came together a diverse crowd of people, eight rows deep, provoking the very image of community that they hoped to see implemented in the city's public school system.
The Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) hosted this event, where students, parents, and those in the community joined to voice their concerns over the proposed 5 year strategic plan called Imagine 2014. It has been proposed by CEO of Philadelphia Schools Arlene Ackerman to help solve the crisis of education.