As Chairman of the Pennsylvania Black Caucus, I am expressing my unwavering and unequivocal support for Dr. Arlene Ackerman, the Superintendent of the Philadelphia School District. In light of a recent personal attack against her, including a call from one state lawmaker for her resignation, I believe it is necessary to set the record straight.
Dr. Ackerman has decided that she will defer any bonuses from the school district. She already had reported to the School Reform Commission in December 2010 that she would defer the upcoming scheduled bonuses. The bonuses were in Dr. Ackerman’s contract, but she made the decision in light of the state of the economy and the budget cuts the district must make this year. In addition, she announced she will take 20 furlough days as part of the budget cutting measures. It was the responsible thing to do. Her greatest concern is the education of Philadelphia’s children.
A Harvard-trained educator and former Columbia University professor, Dr. Ackerman recently was given the Richard R. Green Award as the nation’s top urban school leader. She turned things around in other school districts throughout the nation, including San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Seattle. And now, she’s doing the same for Philadelphia, and we are fortunate to have her. She deserves nothing but the praise of parents and students throughout our community who love her and say she is doing a great job.
In less than three years, Dr. Ackerman is making a positive change for our children with impressive achievement gains.
Her Renaissance Schools Initiative, only in its second year, is reaping big rewards. For the first time, over half of Philadelphia school students scored proficient or better on state standardized tests. Nearly 100 schools were given Keystone Achievement Awards for the progress they have made. The six-year graduation rate for high school students is 63 percent, up 4 percent in the past two years. A dropout recovery program is attracting thousands of former students back into school. And reading and math scores are up for eight straight years, while violent incidents have dropped 29 percent in two years.
Ackerman’s Promise Academies are turning around low performing schools. Her Parent University initiative allows parents to better themselves and gain new skills. This is a win-win for parents with young children in school, to get them up to speed on what is being taught, and to enable them to help with homework assignments. Schools are being funded fairly across the district. And Promise Neighborhoods provide cradle to career services to students, and helps them to pursue post-secondary education.
It also is clear that Dr. Ackerman is building for the future of Philadelphia, with investments in smaller classes, improved counseling and more support for struggling students and new immigrants. Internship programs are steering high school students to the teaching profession, and the “Grow-Your-Own” program is helping members of the community achieve their teaching certification.
Managing America’s eighth largest school system is no easy task, and there is no one better prepared to lead it than Arlene Ackerman. At a time when women such as First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Arlene Ackerman are being denigrated for making a positive difference in young lives— the First Lady for encouraging children to make healthy choices, and Dr. Ackerman for placing Philadelphia’s children on a better path to success and adding value to their lives— we must embrace these arch “sheroes” among us and sing their praises. There’s no better time for celebrating these significant accomplishments than during Black History Month. The attacks on these black women are unjustifiable, and those who would encourage people to put them down should tell us who they really are. I say thumbs up to Dr. Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia School District.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Black History Month Celebration
The following are highlinghts of the PLBC's 2011 Black History Month celebration, which took place on February 8 at the State Capitol Rotunda:
Friday, February 11, 2011
Pennsylvania must not become a capital of hate, by State Rep. Ronald G. Waters
The wave of hate crimes and racially motivated incidents throughout Pennsylvania in recent months has left me shocked and saddened. With the state and nation becoming more and more diverse, we should be celebrating our differences, the richness of cultures that make our society better. But some people are reacting to this diversity with anger, threats and acts of violence.
What’s even more disturbing is that many of these acts are being committed by young people.
In the Dover Area School District, York County, there have been two incidents of ethnic intimidation in the past two months. In December, a 14-year-old boy at Dover Intermediate School was charged with two cases of ethnic intimidation. The teen allegedly drew a swastika on a bathroom wall and wrote “KKK and White Power," and left a threatening message with a racial slur on a 12-year-old boy's cell phone. “I'm going to hang you and light you on fire,” was the alleged text to his classmate, who is black.
And just days ago, a 12-year-old boy, who is white, is alleged to have sent three threatening and racist text messages to a 12-year-old biracial girl while riding on a bus. According to the girl’s mother, who contacted the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus office, the boy called her a porch monkey in the first text message and a bitch in the second. Finally, after she ignored him, he reportedly texted, “I’m going to hang you” -- showing he was serious and not going to give up.
Here is a boy who was barely a toddler at the start of this decade, the second decade of the 21st century. Yet, he is spewing hatred that was better left in the 20th century, or in centuries before.
I do not think the blame should rest solely with these children alone. After all, children do not pick up this behavior in a vacuum. People don’t come into the world thinking this way, filled with hate. They learn it at home from their parents, and from other adults in the community. We are products of our environment, our experiences, and we act on what we learn. We must cultivate responsible citizens the way a gardener grows healthy plants. Both must be nurtured, given attention, constant care and the proper nourishment in order to flourish and become a source of pride.
Sadly, the incidents at Dover are not isolated. This is a statewide problem.
In August 2010, a 19-year-old Philipsburg man was charged with burning two crosses on the lawn of an 18-year-old white woman in Clearfield County. The young man was reportedly angry that the woman had a black friend visiting her house.
That same month, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted three men for burning a 6-foot cross outside the home of a white family in a Pittsburgh suburb. The family has a black foster child who plays football for the local high school.
Last October, the William Penn Senior High School marching band of York was attacked while marching at the Manheim Farm Show in Lancaster County. The band members, who were black, white and Latino, were the victims of racial epithets and derogatory comments by the predominantly white crowd of spectators observing the parade. Spectators also threw rocks at the William Penn students and sprayed them with soda.
In April 2009, a Pittsburgh man was charged with murdering three police officers and wounding two others following a domestic dispute outside his mother’s house. The man, who is alleged to harbor racist views and whose writings appeared on a white-power website, reportedly believed President Obama would ban guns.
And in 2009 an all-white Schuylkill County jury acquitted two white youths of all serious charges in the July 2008 beating death of Mexican immigrant LuÃs Ramirez. This came despite strong evidence that the teens had murdered the man, including claims by witnesses that racial epithets were used during the violent assault. The teens were later indicted on federal hate crimes charges and convicted by a federal jury last October. Last month, two police officers were convicted for attempting to cover up the crime.
James Carville once said that “Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.” Unfortunately, his statement rings true today. Pennsylvania needs to be a leader in job growth and education, not a capital of hate and racial intolerance. During this Black History Month, we should strive to do better. We cannot afford to become the new “Old South” of the North.
At a time when we have an African-American president, first lady and family, that should serve as an indication that the country is moving forward. However, we wonder what some people mean when we they say they want to “take our country back.”
It’s time Pennsylvanians stand up and condemn hate crimes.
What’s even more disturbing is that many of these acts are being committed by young people.
In the Dover Area School District, York County, there have been two incidents of ethnic intimidation in the past two months. In December, a 14-year-old boy at Dover Intermediate School was charged with two cases of ethnic intimidation. The teen allegedly drew a swastika on a bathroom wall and wrote “KKK and White Power," and left a threatening message with a racial slur on a 12-year-old boy's cell phone. “I'm going to hang you and light you on fire,” was the alleged text to his classmate, who is black.
And just days ago, a 12-year-old boy, who is white, is alleged to have sent three threatening and racist text messages to a 12-year-old biracial girl while riding on a bus. According to the girl’s mother, who contacted the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus office, the boy called her a porch monkey in the first text message and a bitch in the second. Finally, after she ignored him, he reportedly texted, “I’m going to hang you” -- showing he was serious and not going to give up.
Here is a boy who was barely a toddler at the start of this decade, the second decade of the 21st century. Yet, he is spewing hatred that was better left in the 20th century, or in centuries before.
I do not think the blame should rest solely with these children alone. After all, children do not pick up this behavior in a vacuum. People don’t come into the world thinking this way, filled with hate. They learn it at home from their parents, and from other adults in the community. We are products of our environment, our experiences, and we act on what we learn. We must cultivate responsible citizens the way a gardener grows healthy plants. Both must be nurtured, given attention, constant care and the proper nourishment in order to flourish and become a source of pride.
Sadly, the incidents at Dover are not isolated. This is a statewide problem.
In August 2010, a 19-year-old Philipsburg man was charged with burning two crosses on the lawn of an 18-year-old white woman in Clearfield County. The young man was reportedly angry that the woman had a black friend visiting her house.
That same month, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted three men for burning a 6-foot cross outside the home of a white family in a Pittsburgh suburb. The family has a black foster child who plays football for the local high school.
Last October, the William Penn Senior High School marching band of York was attacked while marching at the Manheim Farm Show in Lancaster County. The band members, who were black, white and Latino, were the victims of racial epithets and derogatory comments by the predominantly white crowd of spectators observing the parade. Spectators also threw rocks at the William Penn students and sprayed them with soda.
In April 2009, a Pittsburgh man was charged with murdering three police officers and wounding two others following a domestic dispute outside his mother’s house. The man, who is alleged to harbor racist views and whose writings appeared on a white-power website, reportedly believed President Obama would ban guns.
And in 2009 an all-white Schuylkill County jury acquitted two white youths of all serious charges in the July 2008 beating death of Mexican immigrant LuÃs Ramirez. This came despite strong evidence that the teens had murdered the man, including claims by witnesses that racial epithets were used during the violent assault. The teens were later indicted on federal hate crimes charges and convicted by a federal jury last October. Last month, two police officers were convicted for attempting to cover up the crime.
James Carville once said that “Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.” Unfortunately, his statement rings true today. Pennsylvania needs to be a leader in job growth and education, not a capital of hate and racial intolerance. During this Black History Month, we should strive to do better. We cannot afford to become the new “Old South” of the North.
At a time when we have an African-American president, first lady and family, that should serve as an indication that the country is moving forward. However, we wonder what some people mean when we they say they want to “take our country back.”
It’s time Pennsylvanians stand up and condemn hate crimes.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Dover Area's second case of ethnic intimidation attracts concern
State Rep. Ronald Waters said he is "alarmed and concerned" that there have been two reported incidents of ethnic intimidation in the Dover Area School District in as many months.
Read more: York Daily Record/Sunday News
Read more: York Daily Record/Sunday News
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)