Northeast Philadelphia school tops progress report
The School Progress Report is in and Anne Frank Elementary School Northeast Philadelphia topped the list for its academic achievement and progress.
On Thursday, Dr. William Hite thanked the dedicated faculty for their leadership and the students for their enthusiasm and thirst for learning.
"I'm encouraged by the success of several schools and the hard work of others to improve performance," Hite said.
Although Dr. Hite said he is encouraged by schools like Anne Frank which have made vast improvements, 80 percent of the schools in the Philadelphia School District are among the lowest performing schools.
"I think clearly the loss of a billion dollars over the four years of Governor Corbett had a major impact on the lack of progress in some of these schools," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
In his remarks, Mayor Kenny perhaps hinting lawmakers need to settle Governor Wolf's budget which allocates $160-million to get the district out of debt.
4th grader Christopher Lewis had a more forward message for Harrisburg.
"Without education they wouldn't be where there or we wouldn't be where we would be, so try to get some money to local schools," Lewis said.
Last month, Governor Wolf released emergency funds to city schools which according to Hite, would be forced to close January 29th without the money.
Hite said it is unclear how far into the school year the money will last.
Mayor Kenny said one of the reason behind the success of Anne Frank Elementary were donations and grants by businesses and non-profits. But he reiterated the district cannot rely on the private sector to solve the financial crisis or get kids the education they deserve.
"This report highlights the success, but also sets the bar for the need and hopefully this will be a tool to use in Harrisburg to explain to them why we need the resources we need. When you provide the resources children really do flourish," Kenney said.
You can find the complete progress report for the Philadelphia School District here.
