Sylvia Simms, the SRC member who changed the fate of a school
Sylvia Simms rarely speaks publicly at School Reform Commission meetings.
But nearly five hours into a contentious session on Thursday night, the former Philadelphia School District bus aide dropped a bombshell, offering a walk-on resolution that altered the fate of a struggling Germantown public school.
"I have pent-up emotions about the way the district has allowed many of our schools in low-income neighborhoods to fail our students and their families," Simms said. "Families are literally crying for alternatives, and they have shown us by their choices that they are not pleased by the way we are educating their children."
The last-minute resolution overruled the wishes of Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., beginning a process likely to culminate in Wister Elementary being taken over by Mastery Charter Schools.
Hite had first called for Wister, Huey, and Cooke Elementary Schools to be taken over by charter companies, but the superintendent reversed course this month after Wister demonstrated some growth in school-performance data.
All night Thursday at the SRC meeting, emotions ran high, with a large group of parents in blue "I support the Wister turnaround" clothing advocating ardently for Mastery, and others waving signs urging the SRC to turn no schools over to charters. Parents on each side accused the other of being manipulated by powerful outsiders.
Simms' move was so unexpected - and rare - that it wasn't immediately clear to those in the audience what had happened.
Simms and Commissioners Bill Green and Feather Houstoun endorsed the resolution to essentially invite Mastery to file a formal charter application for Wister. Farah Jimenez, citing a potential conflict, abstained, and Chair Marjorie Neff voted no, citing a "zero-sum game" where any new charter takes resources away from children in traditional public schools.
The vote had ripples Friday.
William Jackson, a Wister parent very much in favor of Mastery, was jubilant and, he said, "pleasantly surprised" by the SRC's about-face.
The traditional public school system failed Jackson's children, he said, and Mastery, where two of his children attend middle school, has set things right. He and more than 500 parents signed petitions asking that Mastery be given Wister.
"I really believe the district needs an overhaul," said Jackson. "It's outdated. It's antiquated."
He waved off suggestions that Mastery, the region's largest charter organization, had
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