School District has ‘serious concerns’ about two Philly charters
“This is a situation that is unstable at best,” school board president Joyce Wilkerson said.
With days to go before students return, two Philadelphia charters have double-digit teacher vacancies and no apparent management structure — and School District officials have taken the unprecedented step of inviting families whose children attend the schools to enroll elsewhere.
Bluford and Daroff, which together enroll about 1,000 students in West Philadelphia, are former traditional public schools that had been given by the Philadelphia School District to Universal Companies Inc. to run as charters in 2010. The board of trustees that runs both cut ties with Universal as of July 31, and it’s not clear who will be managing the schools when classes are set to resume Aug. 29.
In fact, after working “very, very closely with both schools in being able to determine their operational status for this school year,” acting charter chief Peng Chao said, officials opted to send letters to every Bluford and Daroff family raising red flags about possible problems at the schools, and encouraging them to enroll their children at district schools.
» READ MORE: Who will run two Philly charter schools? With a month to go before school, there are no answers yet.
“This is a situation that is unstable at best,” Philadelphia school board president Joyce Wilkerson said.
In a statement, the Bluford and Daroff board said it was negotiating with the charter-schools office to close Daroff and transfer students to Bluford, but said Daroff is being targeted because of “building issues that are mostly due to negligence and vandalism.”
The Bluford and Daroff board said it “has acted in good faith with the district in the best interest of our scholars. Unfortunately, the district appears to be hyper-focused on forcing the schools back into its budget, dispersing our scholars into failing district schools that Bluford and Daroff outperform, and confirming the widespread suspicion that it will stop at nothing to close Black-founded schools with no regard to the devastating life-altering impact that will have on our children’s destiny.”
Bluford, at 57th and Media Streets, has 17 teacher vacancies, and Daroff, at 56th and Vine Streets, has 25 open teaching jobs, Chao said at a Thursday board meeting. Both schools have large populations of students who require special-education services, and significant special-education teacher holes.
The district is also worried about building conditions — including fire-alarm systems — organizational operations, and overall student safety, Chao said.
“We have some pretty significant concerns at this point regarding the status of not just the buildings themselves, but of the resources and plans that the schools have in place to support students on their planned first day of school on Aug. 29,” said Chao.
In the letter sent to families Friday, district officials reiterated the board’s “serious concerns about the health and safety of students, staff, and families at Bluford and Daroff as we quickly approach the start of the new school year.”
The Bluford and Daroff board says the safety issues were caused by damage Universal made to the buildings, and said the district has not given the schools enough time to address problems, charges Universal denies.
The combined board said Universal broke a lock at Daroff, for instance, ripped off sink knobs, and tore off the shutoff valve, creating a potentially hazardous situation.
“Interestingly, the district knew to conduct an inspection on Monday, followed by a letter citing concerns it wanted it to be repaired within an unreasonable and unachievable 48 hours,” the board said in its statement to The Inquirer. “It is perplexing that the district launched an impromptu student recruitment campaign before the 48 hours expired, urging families to enroll their children in a district school.”
Devon Allen, a spokesperson for Universal, dismissed the board’s allegations and suggested the Bluford and Daroff board was trying to cover its inability to run the schools. The board changed the two schools’ locks after a Universal-run summer program ended; a Universal worker removed servers, kitchen equipment, and other materials with a board employee watching, and cameras recording, Allen said.
“All Universal did was take possession of what belonged to them,” said Allen. “Whatever the problems are, it has nothing to do with Universal, certainly nothing to do with vandalism.”
Bluford and Daroff were given to Universal with the expectation they would dramatically improve student achievement. But the schools’ shaky track record caused the board not to renew both schools’ charters. The Bluford board is appealing that decision in court; a state panel just upheld the Daroff nonrenewal, but Daroff officials said they would appeal that ruling also.
The schools can stay open, operating as charters, while those matters are decided.
Universal, which still runs five charters across the city, had provided extensive financial, academic, and operational services for Bluford and Daroff, handling everything from insurance coverage and facility support to teacher training and curriculum support.
It had offered to extend its Daroff management contract for 90 days and the Bluford contract for a year, but the board declined the offer.
District officials are keenly aware of its responsibility to Bluford and Daroff families, they said.
“There were big commitments made to both of these communities starting in 2010,” Chao said.
“It is a real challenge when neighborhood schools in communities that have a certain level of fragility are threatened like this,” said Wilkerson.