Ahead of potential staff and programming cuts, Philly teachers and parents plan to protest

Motivation High School, in Southwest Philadelphia, is projecting a freshman class of 14 for the fall. It has room for more than 100.

“If something doesn’t change, we could be a one-room schoolhouse in terms of our ninth grade,” said Tim Schrodel, Motivation’s counselor.

Though Schrodel’s job is safe, the small class could mean the school loses six staff positions. In the meantime, he is concerned about the implications of such a small freshman class on the school community as a whole, and about the lost opportunities for students.

Changes to the Philadelphia School District’s special-admissions process made in the name of equity have had unintended consequences. The latest: dozens of empty seats at some of its 39 criteria-based schools, like Motivation, as principals have lost any agency to pull in students who may not have met the admissions bar but were deemed likely to succeed for other, important reasons.

Now, a central office lottery is the sole determinant of who goes where.

» READ MORE: Philly’s special-admissions changes are causing unintended consequences at many district schools

After the pandemic and a year when test scores dropped across the nation and around the district, that’s translated to dropped enrollment in sought-after programs at a number of district schools. As a result, those schools are projecting staff cuts and, in some cases, lost programming, at the same time students who could thrive at these specialized schools remain shut out.

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. will introduce the broad outlines of the 2023-24 spending plan Thursday. And spokesperson Monique Braxton stressed that “budget talks are still in process and the school budgets have not yet been finalized. There are no definitive numbers.”

Also, Braxton said that Watlington will have conversations with leaders of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and principals’ union about the matter this week.

But schools already have been given tentative projections, and staff at several have raised alarm bells. Dozens from schools across the city are expected to join a protest prior to Thursday’s school board meeting.

At Franklin Learning Center, where educators held a rally Monday, there are 50 open seats in its incoming ninth-grade class and staff have been told they’ll be losing nine positions.

Tarzan MacMood, a math teacher and the school’s testing coordinator, values FLC’s unique position, offering career and technical programming, such as medical assisting and business administration.

“That draws kids into our schools, it keeps teachers here; kids have a lot of pride that they’re in majors, and get certifications by the end of high school,” said MacMood. “With this new admissions system, there’s not a lot of wiggle room to see who’s really passionate and motivated for these programs, to give a chance to kids who might not necessarily have the score, but they have the drive and the passion to do incredibly well.”

It looks as if MacMood, a second-year teacher, will lose his spot at FLC though would keep a job in the district. The district allocates teachers based on projected enrollment, though exceptions can be made as school budgets are finalized.

Like MacMood, FLC teacher Sigal Felber’s position could be on the chopping block. Felber teaches social studies, and while she was initially told she was in line to be cut, she might be able to stay if she obtained another certification, she said.

It’s frustrating that the enrollment decline is not due to student and parents’ wishes but to district mandates, said Felber, who laments the instability that FLC and other schools will likely face.

“I got to know the school, I love the kids; I started a crafting club this year,” said Felber. “There are kids who are treated as numbers in a lottery system, not as people. When you cut one teacher, you’re taking all those connections, the club that they ran, the lesson they planned. You’re taking the stability away.”

At Conwell Middle School, a 5-8 magnet in Kensington, the district is projecting a small entering class next school year — just 67 students qualified — and an overall enrollment of just 107, said teacher Zach Posnan. The school enrolled 800 students in 2009-10; this year, it has 176.

In addition to not enough students meeting academic and attendance requirements, there are safety concerns at the school at ground zero of the city’s opioid epidemic, and in an area plagued by gun violence. Many families have said that despite Conwell’s innovative programming, they don’t want to send their children to school in Kensington.

Posnan was originally told his position was being cut, along with his media lab partner. He heard more recently that the school was able to salvage a few jobs.

But his mind is made up: Posnan is resigning anyway.

Posnan was recently nominated for a teaching excellence prize, and attracted attention for a project he designed to help his students make sense of their lives and their neighborhood by telling their own stories. He loves his students and feels guilty for leaving them but is too frustrated by the system to continue to do good work, he said.

» READ MORE: This Philly middle-school teacher dreams of letting his students tell their own stories

“I think that they need to stop looking at the kids as numbers — well, here’s 10 kids, we need one teacher. There’s nothing about, where are these kids coming from, what are their issues? That doesn’t account for schools that need more supports,” said Posnan, who figures he’ll expand his part-time baking business and take on a part-time job for health insurance. “We’re trying to build all these great things at Conwell, and we need more time to get more kids, to show everybody, but they’re just cutting out the legs from under us.”

At Saul High School, veteran math and computer science teacher Walt Stepnowski just learned his position is being cut. Saul, the district’s agricultural magnet school, has about 70 open seats, officials have said, and could lose five teachers, a counselor, and programs.

Stepnowski, who also has certifications in biology and chemistry, isn’t sure whether he’ll apply for another open Saul job, but he does know he’s heartbroken at the prospect of leaving the school, which is close to home and close to his heart. (Stepnowski has an interest in farming and volunteers to help out with farm jobs at the school.)

“I felt comfortable here, I wanted to stay here, possibly even retire from here,” said Stepnowski. “I’m a person that fights for justice, and it feels like there’s no justice — this is happening because of the school district’s mistakes around lottery enrollment.”

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan said he can’t yet speak to school-based budget specifics, as he hasn’t seen documentation yet.

“In general, however, we approach budgets as a reflection of our societal priorities — do we, or do we not, collectively believe that every child in every school needs and deserves a fully funded public school?” Jordan said in a statement.

Robin Cooper, president of the district’s principals’ union, remains frustrated by the process.

“They’ve got to hold schools harmless,” said Cooper, president of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, Local 502. Cooper said the district often lowballs enrollment, then pressures principals “to cut climate support and other staff who are sorely needed, then in the meantime, when something happens, then the school leaders will be blamed. We cannot take a cut to administrative support.”

Cooper said she and her team met with Watlington and new chief financial officer Mike Herbstmann last week around budgeting. She said it was a frank conversation around school needs.

“We are waiting to see how our concerns will be answered,” said Cooper.