Philly parents file hundreds of school complaints with Pa. education department
by thenotebook on Oct 03 2013 Posted in Latest news
by Holly Otterbein for NewsWorks
Before this year's classes began in the Philadelphia School District, parents groups and lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center worried that budget cutbacks were so severe that the state would not be able to meet its legal obligation to provide an adequate education.
A few days before class, they called on fellow parents, students and teachers to file formal complaints with Pennsylvania's education secretary.
Thus far, they said, 260 have been filed. They expect to file an additional 100 complaints by the end of the week.
On Thursday, education advocates also announced a new website,myphillyschools.com, where people can make official complaints.
Minh Nguyen, who works with Asian youth at Boat People SOC, said some immigrant students are not getting the language services to which they're entitled. Take a Vietnamese high school senior, who just came to the country last year.
"When I first met her, I asked her, 'What are you most excited about to be in Philadelphia, to be in the United States?'" he said. "And she said to me, 'I'm most excited about getting a good education. I want to improve my life. I want to end poverty within my family.'"
But now, Nguyen said, she is lost.