School District of Philadelphia ends teacher reassignment practice known as 'leveling'

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The School District of Philadelphia said it is ending a practice known as 'leveling,' in which teachers could be reassigned after the school year began.

Under the process, officially called 'Enrollment-Driven Resource Review,' teachers working at a school where enrollment was lower than projected could be moved to another school where enrollment was higher than projected.

The moves would happen in the fall after classes were already underway. Critics say those moves were disruptive for students.

In order to more accurately predict the need for teachers in schools, the district said Tuesday it will "implement process improvements" and "increase outreach efforts to students and families" during the summer to get a better idea of how many students will be enrolled in each school.

The district said it will reallocate $8.8 million to make those changes happen.

The money will come from central office cuts and energy savings.

The central office budget cuts will be done without eliminating any jobs, Superintendent Tony Watlington said in a statement.

The move was praised by the head of the teacher's union.

"Every child in every school needs and deserves a highly qualified, certified teacher from the first day of school. It is imperative that we get this right for our young people," said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

The district said the decision to end leveling came after meetings with students, families, staff, elected officials and school communities over the past year.