Four at-risk schools slated for overhaul

FOUR MORE elementary schools will be overhauled next year as part of the school district's Renaissance Initiative, which aims to turn around "chronically low-performing schools."

The district will work with the community to select one of six companies to turn the struggling schools into charters. The School Reform Commission will vote on April 19 after getting recommendations from school advisory councils.

The schools selected are: Cleveland Elementary School, 19th Street near Butler, in Tioga; Creighton Elementary School, Tabor Road near Arbor Street, in Olney; H.R. Edmunds Elementary School, Hawarth Street near Horrocks, in Northeast Philadelphia; and Jones Middle School, Memphis Street near Ann, in Port Richmond.

The providers are: American Paradigm, Mosaica Turnaround Team, Mastery Charter Schools, Scholar Academies, String Theory and Universal Companies.

Thomas Darden, the district's deputy chief of strategic programs, promised "a high degree of transparency in this process."

Last year, Martin Luther King High School's SAC recommended one operator, but state Rep. Dwight Evans pressured that choice to back out in favor of a campaign contributor.

"We're going to increase our communications with all stakeholders," Darden said. We encourage everyone to be involved in this process and have their voice heard."