We are parents of school-aged children living in Philadelphia.  All of us strongly share the School District of Philadelphia’s concerns about the lack of equity in the Philadelphia public school system, and we fully recognize the need for proactive change to dramatically improve equity for all Philadelphia school children.    

However, we are very disappointed that the District has proceeded to push forward major changes to the School Selection Process in a unduly rushed manner; without prior notice before the start of the Selection Process; and without engaging community stakeholders in a thoughtful, deliberative, transparent, and accountable manner.  As a result, we are very concerned that the entire process is fundamentally flawed and will not be one that supports the best interests of the children of Philadelphia, many of whom are still recovering from the mental toll of the pandemic and remote learning.

For the following reasons, we urge the School District to pause the proposed changes to School Selection Process, and instead work collaboratively with family and community groups, prior to finalizing any new policies or admissions criteria, so that the final School Selection plan can be one that both promotes equity and better meets the educational and emotional needs of the Philadelphia public school children. 

1. We demand inclusivity.  We ask that the District honor its commitment to be “dedicated to creating and supporting partnerships among schools, families, and communities.”  (https://www.philasd.org/face/.)  Prior to finalizing plans for the new School Selection Process, we accordingly demand that the District (1) thoughtfully and deliberatively engage with family and community stakeholders and (2) utilize feedback from those engagements to give a meaningful voice to those who will be most impacted by the changes.  (While we do understand that the District undertook a parent survey that, at a high level, explores certain areas of parental concern, it is disingenuous to suggest that such a survey is a substitute for robust family and community engagement in the decision making process.) 
2. We demand accountability.  It is troubling that major changes started being hurried through almost immediately after Superintendent Hite announced that he will not return next school year.  Ramrodding through new and controversial rules and leaving the “fall out” for the next administration to manage is the epitome of poor governance.  To the extent that it remains feasible, we demand that any changes be paused until the District has a new leadership team in place, who has its own opportunity to conduct family and community engagement and take accountability for any new policy changes.  
3. We demand thoughtful planning.  We are now several weeks into the Selection Process, and the District still cannot (or will not) answer basic questions about the new school selection criteria, such as how zip code priority will work; which zip codes will be given priority; how will mixed-income zip codes be treated; how the writing sample will be administered, scored and considered; how a lottery will work in performing arts schools; and many others.  Such a rush to implement a major new policy change without adequate prior planning raises serious questions about whether the actual school placements will be compassionate and orderly and otherwise serve the best interests of our children.
4. We demand transparency. With so many material aspects of the new plan still under consideration, there has been no information provided to the public about who is responsible for making decisions, how those decisions will be made, and/or what standards and measurements are being used to ensure a result that will benefit the impacted students.   Again, we urge you to proactively seek parent, student, and community engagement when making these decisions. 
5. We demand compassion.  As a result of the pandemic and remote learning, we remain in the middle of a nationwide, student mental health crisis.  It is well-documented that many students are still really struggling with getting up-to-speed and re-adapting to in-person schooling.  Adding new rules about school placement, just one month after the students’ return to classrooms, and without adequate planning about how the new rules will be implemented, has only added additional stress, uncertainty, and anxiety to children who are already struggling.  And the new processes being contemplated practically ensure that these additional stressors will last (at least) the entire school year.   As some children “win” multiple lotteries and others get placed on multiple wait lists, it will inevitably result in weeks (if not months) of student movement before final placements are known.  As parents, we are very worried about the mental toll this prolonged process will take on our children.  It is not too late for the District to take a far more thoughtful and open approach that will be more compassionate to the children who are affected by the changes.  Once again, much of these concerns can be addressed by giving parents a meaningful opportunity to be involved with the process.