Parent involvement efforts in Renaissance process: successful, but messy
by Benjamin Herold
For Alicia Ogburn, the parent of a kindergartener and third grader in the struggling Haddington neighborhood of West Philadelphia, the chance to have a voice in determining the future direction of her children’s school was an unprecedented experience.
“I loved it,” said Ogburn of her involvement on theSchool Advisory Council (SAC) at Daroff Elementary, one of eight schools designated for turnaround under Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s Renaissance Schoolsinitiative. “I’ve done a lot of volunteering, but I’ve never been this close with this kind of situation.”
Joy Herbert, however, had a very different experience. Like Ogburn, Herbert joined a SAC, devoted months to the process, and ultimately cast her vote for an outside provider to turn around her child’s school, West Philadelphia High.
Unlike Ogburn, Herbert’s involvement left her frustrated and demoralized. Her council’s recommendation was disregarded, and she is one of four parents who found themselves the subject of a District “investigation” into an alleged conflict of interest.
“At one point, I really thought that my opinion actually mattered,” lamented Herbert.
The dust has just begun to settle following the whirlwind first stage of the