Last Thursday the Philadelphia Board of Education, in a 6-3 vote, passed a controversial facilities master plan that will close 17 district schools. The meeting was disrupted by several City Council members, forcing it to be halted twice before resuming virtually. As emotions still run high days after the vote, Board of Education President Reginald Streater joined City Cast Philly to explain why he made the tough call. Below are excerpts from that conversation.
Why was all of this so necessary?
“ What this plan is really trying to do is address the inadequate opportunities that our children have in the School District of Philadelphia. When we look at our resources, we're unable to provide extended pre-K access … in order to get an AP course, some children have to go halfway across the city or go to certain criteria-based schools.
"Children should have algebra in early grades so that they have the opportunity to not only go to college, but also to be able to qualify for some of our amazing criteria-based schools. So the facilities plan is to try to solve that problem.”
What does closing schools, though, have to do with making these educational improvements?
”For schools that have less than 100 students in them, on average it's about $50,000-per-pupil for that school.
“When you have a district where you have schools with 200, 250, 100, or 80 students in it, it's hard to have the equitable distribution of resources to support student learning. ... It’s very cost-prohibitive to do that. Some of our schools have nine students in a grade. Some have 10. It's just not sustainable.
“ We could continue the status quo and have chronic underachievement in the School District of Philadelphia and scrape by to get by while honoring the legacy of facilities….[But] I believe we can provide them a better educational experience. I believe that we cannot do that how we're built, and that's the tough decisions the board has to make. I’m a father, I have kids in the district right now, and I’m willing to make that sacrifice. Not accept it, but understand that I think what we're trying to do is just.”
For a president, it cannot be easy to get yelled at in a public way by elected officials, and face upset parents, and see students crying who are seeing their school closed. How have you been dealing with that?
“Therapy. I’m gonna keep it real, especially as a Black man, one of the things that I was able to hold onto closely during the pandemic was therapy. And I think therapy works. Having a strong village at home works. And I think for me, being a father, understanding that some decisions have to be made that hurt – but if intended to benefit those who need benefiting, it matters.
“ As the board president, and I'm a volunteer, if I lose my cool, if I don't stay focused on the mission, which is to educate children — our why … it's gonna impact the rest of the board. It's gonna impact [Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr.]. It's gonna impact students. Because my job is to keep the agenda moving forward.
“ Therapy probably is the main piece that keeps me sane, and then waking up and seeing my children every morning.”
🎧 Listen to the full conversation on this episode of City Cast Philly.
