FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: May 19, 2016

CONTACT: Ian Gavigan (ian.gavigan@phila.gov) 215.686.3408

Councilwoman Gym calls on SRC to delay Renaissance actions, raises

concerns regarding direction of the initiative
PHILADELPHIACouncilwoman Helen Gym has called on the School Reform Commission
to delay action on two Renaissance School agreements scheduled to be voted on this evening.
Gym raised serious concerns regarding the direction of the Renaissance initiative.
Earlier this month, Scholar Academies abruptly announced that it would cease its operation of
Young Scholars Kenderton Elementary and cede management to another charter provider.
Because the District made no provision to control the transfer of the Renaissance schools
management, Scholar Academies will be able to walk away from its commitment to the students
of Kenderton facing no penalty or consequence. The School District says that the power to
decide what is next for the students at Kenderton rests not with the District but rather with the
board of Young Scholars Kendertona board created by Scholar Academies.
It is essential that the School Reform Commission publicly commit to protect student and
school stability in Renaissance charter agreements, Gym said. To prevent more management
disasters, like the one that occurred at Kenderton, the District must maintain control over any
transfer of school managementas well as the ability to penalize operators for failing to uphold
their commitments to our students in Renaissance agreements.
Gym also has concerns about the legality of the Renaissance initiative itself. Following the West
Philadelphia Achievement case, recently decided by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the
District has lost its special powers to suspend the state code and charter school lawa method it
has used to uphold neighborhood catchments for some charter schools. Without this ability, the
SRC may risk creating a citywide-admission charter school each time it approves a new
Renaissance school.
The District is on a track to convert three new Renaissance Schools to charters this year, at a
first-year cost of $6.6 million. With this amount of funding, the District could have hired 50
additional professional educators to enhance the resources of these three schools. Emphasizing
that the District must reorient its policies and seek solutions that benefit students across all
District schools, not just a handful, Gym said, The District already has alternatives to granting
costly, ungovernable charter school contracts that drain the entire system of necessary resources.
I urge the SRC and District leaders to change course and seek out alternatives that will not
undermine our public schools.

"The District needs to rethink its approach to Renaissance Schools, said Gym, Current
contracts with Renaissance providers leave the District and children vulnerable and must be
reworked. The last thing children at struggling schools need is multiple years of turbulent
management changes."
By pursuing management agreements outside the bounds of charter contracts, the District could
retain significant oversight and control to prevent the kind of disruption that has occurred at
Kenderton. Such a move would also allow the District to avoid the costly and lengthy charter
school appeals process that now happens when the District attempts to close a Renaissance
school.
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