25 Philly schools will pilot an 'extended day, extended year' program, Mayor Parker says
Twenty schools are expected to offer free before- and after-care programs, along with summer programming, in the 2024-25 academic year.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Thursday announced details of a plan for a year-round-school pilot program.
The year-round opportunities will start at 25 schools for the 2024-25 school year, officials said.
Participating schools will feature before- and after-school programming, remain open during winter and spring breaks, and have summer programming.
Recap: Mayor Cherelle Parker unveils details of Philadelphia schools’ ‘extended-day, extended-year’ pilot
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Thursday announced her plan to pilot “extended-day, extended-year” programs at 25 district and charter schools this fall — an initiative she said would provide both an academic boost for kids, and support for working parents.
Schools will not just be open to provide free before- and after-care, but will stay open during winter and spring breaks and offer six-week summer programs, Parker said.
But the mayor — who was joined by Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. and other city and education officials — declined to discuss how or whether the program would transition into more formalized year-round schooling, a pledge she’d made on the campaign trail.
Map: 25 schools to offer year-round opportunities
Officials decline to provide details on what program will look like after first year
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Superintendent Tony B. Watlington both declined to provide details about what the program would look like beyond the first year.
In the pilot programs, "we're going to take the time to talk to teachers, principals, parents ... They'll have the first right to continue into future years," Watlington said. He said officials "don't want parents or schools to feel like something's forced on them," and added that the district was "not going to burn out or overburden" teachers.
The district — which is working "closely" with unions, Watlington said — will be using outside providers to offer services for the first year. He said that the Board of Education will vote on a $20 million action item tonight that aims to support providers across the district, including those for before and aftercare programs.
Facility conditions, risks faced by children played key roles in pilot program school selection
In choosing which schools to pilot the program in, officials said both facility conditions and risks faced by children in the community played key roles.
While many district schools lack air conditioning, Debora Carrera, the city’s chief education officer, said the chosen schools have air conditioning that can support summer programs.
The participating schools are also spread throughout the city, and some are community schools that have existing agreements with the city that "will allow for rapid programming and expansion," Carrera said. She said communities were chosen where children are at higher risk for involvement in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems.
— Maddie Hanna
Schools will be open for families during winter and spring breaks under pilot plan
During the first phase of the program, which will be targeted to K-8 students, participating district schools will be open for before- and after-school programming from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. — as well as during half days, said Debora Carrera, the city’s chief education officer.
And, for the first time, schools will be open for families during winter and spring breaks, Carrera said.
In the summer, families in participating district and charter schools will be able to opt in to six-week programs, Carrera said.
Mayor Parker expresses frustration with leak of year-round-school plan: 'It was cute'
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker expressed frustration with sources who told The Inquirer of the plan earlier this week. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said it was caught off guard by the news.
“When the folks leak the story, this is how you know the intention wasn’t a good intention. They knew we hadn’t completed our check the box list,” Parker said. “You get a reporter going to the stakeholders before the administration has communicated to them.”
“Whomever you were, it was cute,” she said. “We won’t let that take our eyes off the prize.”
— Maddie Hanna
25 schools to pilot 'extended day, extended year' program
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Thursday said that 25 schools would be piloting an “extended day, extended year” program this fall — stopping short of calling the pilot “year-round school.”
Parker, who had used the year-round language on the campaign trail, said during a news conference at City Hall that she wanted to clear up misconceptions about the plan.
“They think about the traditional educational day, that our children are just going to be sitting in the same classrooms all day long, 7 in the morning to 6:30 in evening,” Parker said. “That in no way defines what we mean when we talk about extended day, extended year schools here in the city of Philadelphia.”
Watch: Mayor Parker announces year-round-school plan details
Mayor Parker expected to announce details of year-round-school pilot plan
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Thursday is expected to announce details of a plan to launch year-round school opportunities this fall at a number of city schools — the first move toward a pledge to implement year-round programs throughout Philadelphia.
Sources told The Inquirer earlier this week that free before- and aftercare programs would be launching at 20 district schools this fall, along with summer programming. The programs would be staffed by outside providers, not teachers, and be optional for families.
But if schools achieve buy-in, the goal is to move toward a more formal year-round calendar in 2025-26, sources said. That would require negotiating with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which said this week it was caught off guard by the news.
— Maddie Hanna
These are the Philadelphia schools in the year-round pilot
Twenty Philadelphia schools will be part of a pilot program starting this fall that will offer year-round schooling opportunities, including free before- and aftercare.
The year-round school, starting in the 2024-25 year, will not be required for students or teachers. But if school communities buy in, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker intends to move toward a more formal, full-time school calendar for the 2025-26 school year, a move that would require negotiating with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
According to sources, these are the schools that will be offering year-round school:
Add B. Anderson Elementary
Carnell Elementary
G.W. Childs Elementary
Cramp Elementary
Farrell Elementary
F.S. Edmonds Elementary
Gideon Elementary
Gompers Elementary
Greenberg Elementary
Juniata Park Academy
Locke Elementary
Morton Elementary
Overbrook Educational Center
T.M. Peirce Elementary
Pennell Elementary
Solis-Cohen Elementary
Southwark Elementary
Vare-Washington Elementary
Webster Elementary
Richard Wright Elementary
» READ MORE: These Philadelphia schools will start offering year-round school
— Kristen A. Graham
Philly has tried year-round school before
Year-round school has been tried before in the district: From 2000 through 2004, students enrolled at Grover Washington Jr. Middle School in Olney attended school for 180 days — the minimum number of instructional days required in Pennsylvania and the same as their peers in the rest of the district — but those days were spread throughout the year, with no single, monthslong break.
At the time, officials said they wanted to reduce summer learning loss and help struggling students. Grover Washington administrators hoped the schedule change would cut failure rates by 50%; research shows that such schedules especially benefit students from economically disadvantaged families.
But then-district CEO Paul Vallas ultimately ended the experiment. It didn’t show enough promise to justify keeping or expanding it past the single school.
— Kristen A. Graham
20 Philadelphia schools will start year-round calendar pilot, getting morning and aftercare in the fall, sources say
City officials will introduce year-round school opportunities at 20 Philadelphia School District schools this week, sources said — the first step toward more formal school-calendar changes promised by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker during her campaign.
Not to be confused with holding mandatory classes throughout the year, the year-round opportunities will start with the 2024-25 school year, and offer free before- and aftercare at 20 schools, including next summer. Teachers and other unionized workers won’t be required to change their schedules, and families will have the ability to opt into the extra hours.
The before- and aftercare programming will be provided by so-called out-of-school-time providers, many of whom already contract with the district to offer services.