West: No Renaissance, but plenty of turnover
by Benjamin Herold on Jun 11 2010 Posted in Latest news
West Philadelphia High School might not be getting an overhaul next year, but its teaching staff will be.
District officials said Friday that 44 of the school's 72 current staff have opted to return to West, leaving nearly 30 vacancies to be filled by September, depending on the school’s final staffing needs.
District spokesperson Evelyn Sample-Oates called it “wonderful” that so many teachers have decided to return. “[The returning staff] have a vested interest in the kids. It shows that they want to be there and they are committed to West Philadelphia High School.”
The 39 percent staff turnover is significantly higher than in recent years, however.
According to District data, from 2003 to 2005, West turned over between 26 percent and 30 percent of its staff each year. Beginning in 2006, West began to experience a marked improvement in staff retention, losing fewer than 20 percent in each of the next two years, the last for which data was available.
The increased loss of staff this year is the result of West's twice-delayed and eventually deferred participation in superintendent Arlene Ackerman'sRenaissance Schools initiative. Because West is now slated to become a Renaissance school in 2011-12, the school will almost certainly undergo similar staff churn next year, when all teachers will again be force-transferred out.
If West eventually becomes a District-managed Promise Academy or Innovation School, only 50 percent of those teachers can be rehired. If West becomes a
