The Power of Parents to Reform a School System
PHILLYACTIVE™ (NEWS THAT GETS PHILLY ACTIVE) Felicia Roche, mother an 8th grader, analyzes the School District of Philadelphia and asks: “Do parents care?”
By Felicia Roche
5.27.14: Philadelphia – (Politics/Education): If you mention the words “School District of Philadelphia” to an active citizen, parent, or even politician living in Philly, nine times out of 10 they’ll respond with phrases of disgust and frustration, such as: “the schools are horrible,” or “the district doesn’t care about the students.” In an effort to avoid school district politics and ensure the safety of their children, many parents have resolved to move outside of Philadelphia, or place their children in private/charter schools.
We know the headlines; we’ve read the news articles; and we know the crisis the School District of Philadelphia has been facing for years. Enraged, we rally, march, complain and do our best to make noise. But in all the moments of civil disobedience, there seems to be a population that are consistently less vocal, a group from which we almost never hear from. There are literally tens of thousands of parents in Philly who are directly impacted by the cuts to education and mismanagement of the district, but they remain silent. To this fact, I must ask the question: do parents care?
Why does it seem like parents accept the cuts, the closures and the inequality without as much as a whisper of disapproval? Why isn’t the streets filled with parents demanding their children have access to the same resources as the schools in the suburbs?
Do parents not want smaller classroom sizes, a nurse every day of the week, counselors, libraries, better qualified teachers, afterschool programs, new books, computers, laptops, smart boards, new buildings, music, language, creative writing, career prep, college tours, early intervention resources, and educational field trips? Do the parents of these unlucky students not want what’s best for their young? Do they not know they can make such demands? Or do they just not care?
CLICK HERE to read “Why a Vote Won’t Fix Our Schools But a Parent’s Power Can.”
When a group of my peers were presented with this question the majority resorted to the narrative that “most parents The Power of Parents to Reform a School System | Philly in Focus: