The death of Philly's public school system

Coming soon to your city -- if it hasn't already got there
 

Here's what a state takeover, a decade of corporate-style "reform" under the so-called School Reform Commission, and privatization have done to Philadelphia's public schools. 

Writes Kathy Matheson, Associated Press:

Helen Gym

The City of Brotherly Love is boiling over with frustration. It's not just the $700 million in education cuts this past year. It's not just a loss of state aid, which led to a massive rally and 14 arrests. And it's not just the plan to close 40 of Philadelphia's 249 schools within a year.

"For 10 years we've lived with promises that privatization and choice options would be the magic bullet to a lot of the problems," said parent Helen Gym. "What we found is chasing after these silver bullets has really drained schools of resources and starved them to the point of dysfunction." 

Ed historian, William Kashatus writes in the Inquirer:

Privatization fads have come and gone throughout the long, troubled history of education reform. Philadelphia's last such experiment took place just 10 years ago, when the state created the School Reform Commission and handed dozens of schools over to corporations, nonprofits, and universities. In the end, there was no measurable improvement in academic performance.