Education Secretary Pedro Rivera Visits Philadelphia's Logan Elementary on Schools That Teach Tour

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- State Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera made a Schools That Teach tour stop at the School District of Philadelphia's Logan Elementary on Monday to visit the community school program, and to discuss the Wolf Administration's vision for improving education in for students across the commonwealth.

During the visit, Rivera was joined by local officials from the Mayor's Office of Education, the School District of Philadelphia, the School Reform Commission, and members of the General Assembly.

"The Schools That Teach tour has provided me the opportunity to visit schools across the state, and speak with educators and stakeholders about how we can work together to improve educational options and outcomes for all students," Rivera said. "The School District of Philadelphia has been a leader in introducing the concept of community schools like Logan, which go beyond meeting a student's academic need alone, but aim to partner with community assets to serve the 'whole' student."

Rivera used the visit to share Governor Wolf's vision for moving education forward, which includes securing record investments in two consecutive state budgets – over $640 million in additional funding for high quality programs from prekindergarten through postsecondary. The budget increases include:

• $415 million in basic education funding.
• $60 million for early childhood education.
• $50 million in special education funding.
• $14.6 million for early intervention
• $81.4 million for PASSHE and state-related schools.
• $16.4 million for community colleges.

Rivera also outlined recommendations the Department has made regarding changes to the School Performance Profile (SPP).

The recommendations comprise the Future Ready PA Index and are the result of more than 30 feedback sessions the Department conducted solicit feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, students, policy makers, advocates, industry and higher education leaders. The Future Ready PA Index retains several of the indicators from the current SPP; but would add new indicators and emphasize student growth. The SPP, which was implemented in 2013, is heavily reliant on standardized test scores, which only mark student performance at a single point in time during the school year.

Beginning in 2015, the Schools That Teach tour has been a hallmark of the Wolf Administration's outreach to communities across Pennsylvania. The tour has provided a framework for senior leaders of the Administration including cabinet secretaries and policy makers to expand the dialogue on how to improve education for all students regardless of zip code.

To date, the Schools That Teach tour has made stops at more than three dozen schools across Pennsylvania. A Google Map of all tour stops is available here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman, 717-783-9802       

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us