Another top executive is leaving the Philly school district, among other upheaval

The upheaval continues in the Philadelphia School District, with Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. shaking up the way schools are grouped and supervised, abolishing networks for innovative and high-needs schools in favor of neighborhood-based clusters.

Another top deputy of Watlington’s also has resigned after just over a year on the job.

» READ MORE: Superintendent Watlington announces Philadelphia School District leadership changes

Here’s a rundown of what’s happening in the school system, one of the nation’s largest:

Until June, Philadelphia’s 216 schools had been organized into 13 networks loosely based on geography and two specialized networks: the innovation network and the acceleration network.

The innovation network was initially designed to include schools with nontraditional models, like Science Leadership Academy and Vaux Big Picture High School, that were given more freedom than other schools in curriculum and other areas. The acceleration network was comprised of high-needs schools that got more support than other schools, including in staffing, coaching and training.

Watlington and Jermaine Dawson, deputy superintendent of academics — at a late June meeting for principals and assistant superintendents — announced the coming changes.

Going forward, the district’s schools will be sorted into 11 elementary and middle school networks based on geography, three high school networks based on geography, and one citywide admissions high school network for some but not all citywide admissions schools, including magnet schools like Masterman and Central.

Monique Braxton, district spokesperson, said the change was made to “center schools as the unit of change,” and matches the way large districts such as New York, Los Angeles Unified and Chicago group their schools.

“Learning networks must create the conditions to support school leaders, provide strategic direction, and oversee leadership development at the school level,” Braxton said in a statement.

The changes were directed in part by Accelerate Philly, Watlington’s strategic action plan, which calls for the realignment of learning networks “to place resources closer to families and communities and to improve student outcomes.”

Realigned networks will move central office supports closer to schools and families, increase district response time, and reduce travel time for the officials who support schools, allowing them to spend more time there, Braxton said.

Schools previously in the innovation and acceleration networks “will receive similar support” to what they currently get, Braxton said. “Under the updated learning network structure, we will be able to provide improved supports to schools in the areas of, but not limited to: operations, professional learning, talent, special education, diverse learners, student support services, climate, and family engagement. These changes should result in faster responses and resolutions to school-level issues impacting our students and families.”

The leaders of each of the 15 networks have not been announced.

Jeremy Grant-Skinner, Watlington’s deputy for talent, strategy and culture, has announced his resignation. His last day is July 10.

Grant-Skinner, who came to the district from the Houston school district, which has been taken over by the state, stayed just over a year in Philadelphia.

In his current role, he oversees the offices of talent, professional learning, equity, information technology and strategic planning. When he was hired, officials said he was charged with overhauling recruiting strategies, reducing onboarding time for new hires, developing an evaluation system for central office staff, and helping Watlington shift the district “into a more collaborative, trusted and results-oriented culture that recognizes and better supports school leadership teams as the unit of change,” according to a 2023 statement. Grant-Skinner was also in charge of the implementation of the district’s strategic plan.

Braxton said Grant-Skinner “has been an asset to the district and will be greatly missed.”

A search will be conducted to find Grant-Skinner’s replacement, but in the interim, Braxton said, the offices of equity, information technology, and talent will report to Watlington; the Office of Professional Learning will report to Dawson.

A prior deputy appointed by Watlington near the beginning of his superintendency in 2022, ShaVon Savage, who had been deputy superintendent for academics, announced her resignation in March after just five months.

The changes drew concern from some school stakeholders, as they come on the heels of prior leadership changes and departures.

“440,” said one central office staffer, referring to the North Broad Street address of district headquarters, “is in a complete state of flux.”

The staffer, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal, said that “morale is low” in the district. “There’s a state of confusion. People feel like they’re not involved in any decisions.”

Another central office staffer, who also asked that their name be withheld for fear of reprisal, said decisions are tightly held by a small group of people, and even people with assistant and associate superintendent titles often don’t know what’s coming down the pike.

“Principals and teachers are looking up, and they see a mess,” the second central office staffer said. “People are operating in a vacuum. People in leadership find out things one hour before everyone else does. There is a fundamental lack of trust between the new regime and people who have been here doing this for years.”

A third central office worker said that in their years of experience, “it has never been like this, where people who have been in the district for many years are just jumping ship. People are quitting because they feel disrespected, they feel like they don’t have authority or power.”

The third central office staffer also asked not to be identified for similar fears.

» READ MORE: Philly schools tops in big-city U.S. districts in academic recovery: takeaways from the school board meeting

Asked to respond to the uneasiness expressed by some district employees about the upheaval, Braxton noted that the district has made strides in student and teacher attendance, graduation rates, and dropouts, as well as being identified by a Harvard and Stanford research study as the school system with the fastest post-pandemic recovery in math in the country, and the second-fastest recovery in reading among all large, urban districts.

“As we continue to focus on accelerating academic achievement, we will recruit top-performing talent, internally and externally, who will work to support our goal of becoming the fastest-improving, large, urban district in the nation,” Braxton said. “We thank every district employee for their dedicated service to the students and families of Philadelphia.”