Thursday, April 10, 2014

Parents United statement in support of Steel Elementary School | Parents United for Public Education

Parents United statement in support of Steel Elementary School | Parents United for Public Education:





Parents United statement in support of Steel Elementary School







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Parents United for Public Education fully endorses the concerns of parents and community members of Steel Elementary School who are outraged over what is effectively an 8-day process to determine if Steel remains a neighborhood public school or not. More than 100 parents came out on April 8 to hear the District speak for the first time about why Steel was designated for charter conversion – an announcement which came out of the blue on April 1. The District came with few answers and zero information about a responsible process. Parents will hear the FIRST presentations on April 23 and will be forced into a vote on May 1 – 8 days later. That is no process.

We also join with parents and community members upset at the fact that the District is willing to incur costs of almost $2 million to convert Steel to a charter school, but refuses to put in additional money into the school if it remains under District control. Supt. William Hite has called the $4,000 per pupil costs of charter conversion an “investment.” We call it an abdication of the District’s mission.
Parents United supports the community and parent call to scrap a botched parent trigger attempt at Steel Elementary as well as at Munoz-Marin Elementary Schools. We believe that a parent voice matters greater than a false parent choice.
Read the letter by Concerned Neighbors of Nicetown below. Contact us if your organization can support Nicetown community’s efforts for a responsible process and a public investment in the Steel Elementary School.
Update: Sen. Christine Tartaglione and Sen. Shirley Kitchen issued a statement saying the District must reconsider the designation of Steel and Munoz Marin as Renaissance charter targets. Read their letter here.
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April 9, 2014
 “This is not a process that is respectful to parents”
Concerned Neighbors of Nicetown, parents raise concerns 
about 8-day process for Steel Elementary charter vote
PHILADELPHIA – Concerned Neighbors of Nicetown (CNN) and members of the Steel Elementary School parent community today decried an 8-day process to decide whether to turn over Steel Elementary School to a Parents United statement in support of Steel Elementary School | Parents United for Public Education: