Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. pitched a plan for the future of the Philadelphia School District Thursday, promising service similar to Chick-Fil-A or a car dealership.
Watlington released “Accelerated Philly” on Wednesday night, an extensive five-year plan to spend $70 million on new English, math, and science curricula while strengthening tutoring programs for students, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“We know pretty much everything we need to know about student achievement, particularly for poor Black and brown students,” Watlington said. “It’s a matter of will and aligning the resources and skill to do it.” (RELATED: Red State Gov Signs School Choice Program Into Law)
The superintendent’s ambition is for the district to reach a service that’s “as good as a really nice car dealership or Chick-fil-A,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Tony B. Watlington Sr. released five-year roadmap Wednesday for how he intends to fix Philadelphia schools.@newskag breaks down the plan’s five priorities.https://t.co/u7IUXEAa52
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) May 24, 2023
Watlington’s new plan would require up to 1o schools to experiment with a year-round education system consisting of six to nine weeks in a row of class attendance broken up by two to four-week vacations, the outlet stated. “We absolutely have no interest — no interest — in requiring a school or a parent community to adopt a 12-month or year-round calendar,” Watlington told the board to reassure skeptics.
Some members of the school board are skeptical of Watlington’s ambitious plan and questioned its benefit to the diversity program of the schools, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
No vote was taken Thursday night and the board will consider adopting the plan at a special meeting scheduled for June 1.