Dr. William Hite, CEO of Philadelphia Public Schools announced the School Districts’ most recent plans for how and when they think they will reopen schools. Some Philadelphia students will likely head back to in-person learning this month. The start date is February 22, and it will be our youngest children who will be heading back first. Pre-kindergarten- second-grade students will go back to learning in the classroom with their teacher right in front of them, live and in living color. Staff were scheduled to return to classrooms on February 8th to make sure everything is ready to welcome students back. However, as of press for this article, staff returns have been delayed due to a number of safety concerns.
“As we begin transitioning to in-person learning, we do so with the confidence of knowing that we’ve been preparing since the Spring of 2020,” Dr. Hite stated. “In-person learning can happen safely if we all do our part, remain patient and flexible and plan ahead.”
There are a lot of opinions out there about what’s best for our children right now. Certainly, some think our children should be home-schooled until the pandemic is 100% over. Others feel that if we keep our children home any longer, with just online learning, many of them will fail or drop out of school.
There’s an organization connected to our Philadelphia Public Schools that often the general public doesn’t hear about unless you follow them on Facebook, or pre-pandemic times, perhaps, attended some of their community meetings with parents.
I had an opportunity to find out just what the leaders of the Philadelphia Home and School Council (PHSC) are thinking about the question of when should our children go back to school and if they think now is the time.
Shakeda Gaines, Philadelphia Home and School Council President stated, “The Philadelphia Home and School Council is a member organization that listens to our stakeholders first. After polling stakeholders in Philadelphia, 81% of those polled stated that at the very least they believe the School District of Philadelphia needs to fine-tune their plan before pushing children and staff back into schools. Healthy Schools is a major platform for PHSC.
The School District of Philadelphia’s reopening plan does not support the overall goals or mission conveyed in our platform or the concerns of the district’s parents. As the President of this organization, I’m saddened for those parents and students who are lacking the support system needed to balance their lives and must rely on in-person school to provide core support. As a parent-led organization, we continue to look for ways to assist families and to help streamline financial contributions to community partners who are doing the work that supports families as they continue to school their children from home. The PHSC provides resources, services and assistance at no cost to students, teachers, or stakeholders.”
Gaines added, “At this time, we do not agree with the School District of Philadelphia’s reopening plan but look forward to them further developing a plan that includes the repair or implementation of proper ventilation systems, as well as the removal and cleaning of asbestos and mold. We hope that we can work with the district in the future to help them meet the needs of our parents and we invite them to lean on us for feedback and advice, as we are very engaged with parents and caregivers. We are a mobile grassroots organization working with families around the clock.
Additionally, just because we do not agree, that does not mean there isn’t an opportunity for us to come together and find the best solutions for our Philadelphia families. We are all supposed to be working in the best interest of the Philadelphia students and people are entrusting us to do the right thing. We’re advocates first and foremost, so we may not always agree on things, but we do want to make a collaborative effort to get it right for the safety, wellbeing, and welfare of the students and their families.
Cierra Freeman, Philadelphia Home and School Council Vice President commented, “There was no debate amongst the PHSC when we learned of the district’s latest game plan. But we had several conversations, conducted polls, and are jumpstarting initiatives in response to the PSD’s plan to get students back to school. We listened and stood firmly with the 81% of our stakeholders that believe that the plan needs to be fine-tuned. As an organization, we are not inclined to rate Dr. Hite and his administration. PHSC is disappointed and concerned at the lack of urgency in creating a well-thought-out plan that includes healthy schools. We would be happy to do a poll to determine how Philadelphia families rate him and send you the results.”
I asked the question, do you think all students should continue home-schooling until further notice and please express why.
President Gaines responded, “ We have agreed to disagree on this topic. Although many of our stakeholders have voted to keep schools closed, there is a large population of students with IEP’s, 504s, and ELLs that are in need of support. Some parents have stated that their child or children are having difficulties online. Ms. Nolan (a parent) writes from our Facebook Group “We have been having so many issues with the Chromebook that it has set my son back. He’s been making up missing assignments and still trying to keep up with what they are working on now. For that reason, I am all for letting him go hybrid.” There are many stories like this across the district and it would be unfair and completely abhorrent of our organization to not recognize the needs of these families. They need schools to open, but they need to be open in a safe and healthy environment”.The Home and School Council dates back to the organization of the “National Congress of Mothers” in Washington DC, February 17, 1897. After the ending of the Congress, Philadelphia Women organized the “Mother’s Club of Philadelphia” on May 7, to promote the wider use of the schools. https://library.temple.edu/finding_aids/home-and- school-council-philadelphia-pa-records.
The School District of Philadelphia responds informally to parent concerns via outlets such as news blasts, FB live updates and radio podcasts. Regretfully, the Philadelphia Home and School Council has not been formally invited to the Board of Education Parent Advisory Council nor was there an acceptance of the application to serve on the Board of Education. The Philadelphia Home and School Council President applied for consideration to be on the Board of Education and wasn’t accepted.
Of course, since the coronavirus pandemic, there’s been no public meetings of the Home and School Council. However, like many other groups, they do host Zoom meetings for members. Those meetings are posted quarterly on the Philadelphia Home and School Council Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/philahsc.
To stay current with what the Philadelphia Home and School Council is working on, visit their web site at https://www.philadelphiahsc.org/healthy-school-info
