Philly superintendent pledges resources to five areas to make schools safer inside and out

When Tony B. Watlington Sr. came to town, he made it clear that his chief focus would be academics, on making the Philadelphia School District the fastest-improving urban school system in the country.

On Friday, he said he understood the district wouldn’t improve student achievement until it took care of another looming issue.

“Safety has to be our No. 1 priority,” Watlington said in an interview Friday.

The declaration — along with a promise to invest more than $1 million into safety programs at targeted schools — came almost six months into Watlington’s tenure, and in a school year where five students have already been shot, one fatally, outside district schools.

Conditions inside a number of schools are also worrisome, staff there say. At Dobbins High, for instance, students, parents, and staff have described a culture where it’s not unusual to have fights, staff assaults, marijuana smoking, and outsiders entering the building. One staffer described it as a “chaotic, unsafe environment.”

Watlington said the district would focus its safety work on five areas. They are:

The school system will spend $750,000 over two years on expanding a program that pays community members to keep children safe on their way to and from school. First announced last fall by then-Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and Kevin Bethel, the school-safety chief, the program now exists at Lincoln, Roxborough, Sayre, and Motivation High Schools. The new investment will add 12 to-be-determined schools to the program.

There are 216 schools citywide.

Watlington said the district will spend more than $600,000 in grant funding to “expand and enhance” police safety zones around the schools most affected by gun violence. The school system will hire Philadelphia Police Department officers to be stationed outside targeted schools.

It’s not yet clear how that will work, especially given the city force’s own labor shortages. But, Watlington said, discussions with the city have begun, and “it is our intent to have more sworn police officers. Recent events — horrific, unacceptable events — tell us we need more law enforcement outside of our schools.”

(The district does have its own force of school-safety officers, but they do not carry weapons and, in recent years, have been asked to focus more on mentoring and creating positive school climate and less on law-and-order matters.)

More money for safe paths and safety zones means “hard choices” must be made, Watlington said.

“We have to reallocate resources from other areas of the district,” he said. Putting money into safety might mean the district cannot hire more teachers and counselors, or restore librarians — all priorities Watlington heard were important during the dozens of listening and learning sessions that dominated the first 100 days of his term. “It’s important for us to know that we have to make really hard choices about what we fund and what we don’t fund.”

More mental health services will be provided to some students. Young people in grades 6 through 12 will have access to an online mental health services agency that provides licensed counselors, peer support, and “therapeutic content and activities.”

In November, district staff gained access to new therapy, coaching, and online self-care tools. Those benefits are available to all employees.

Schools, not streets, are the safest place for students, Watlington said; he wants to focus on making sure students are in the classroom by scrutinizing attendance and dropout data.

“By focusing on consistent attendance, we will help students get better grades, develop healthy life habits, avoid dangerous behavior, and have a better chance of graduating from high school,” Watlington said.

Monthly attendance and dropout reports are now being created and will be shared with the school board and community.

Strengthening school climate and ensuring good attendance will have ripple effects on issues like violence and poverty, Watlington said. A better education means “kids make better choices, and they’re less likely to be victims of or perpetuators of gun violence.”

In visits to 50 schools, Watlington said he’s seen hardworking students and staff, and schools that have challenges.

The superintendent has made multiple stops at Dobbins, and has added both additional climate managers and a retired school principal to help there.

“We need to get safety under control,” Watlington said. “We need to have good order and discipline in every school.”

While schools will work diligently to address climate issues, Watlington said parents — “who are our children’s first teachers” — must be part of any solution.

Violence in the city is not new, and Watlington came to Philadelphia with his eyes open, but the reality of it has been jarring, he said.

“I take it personal when we lose a student. I first think about gun violence from the perspective as a father to three young men myself,” said Watlington. “It is heartbreaking. It makes me angry. It makes me more committed to doing the work that we do every day.”

To that end, Watlington is looking for volunteers to help shape the strategic plan; he’s now in the process of crafting a roadmap for the district’s priorities over the next five years, expected to be released in the spring.

A group of community members will “provide critical insights and feedback” as pieces of the strategic plan are developed, Watlington said, and a steering committee will work with groups of parents and guardians, school staff, students, union leadership, and central-office workers to help set the course.

Applications for the advisory group will open Monday and close Dec. 18.