Philly schools expand learning networks
The changes will provide more support for individual schools, the district said. Most neighborhood schools will not be affected.

THE PHILADELPHIA School District is expanding the number and types of clusters of schools as part of Superintendent William Hite's vision for the district.
In a meeting with Central Office staff yesterday, district leaders announced the expansion from eight learning networks to 13, moving away from grouping schools based solely on geography to instead organize them based on kind. New assistant superintendents have been hired to oversee them.
The district said the changes will allow assistant superintendents more time to support individual schools and promote equity.
"This notion of one-size-fits-all - we can no longer assure that's the best approach because all of our children are different and they're in different communities," Hite said.
The new networks include the Innovation Network, comprised of new, innovation schools; Turnaround Network, consisting of the district's 12 promise academies; Opportunity Network, consisting of district-run and contracted alternative education programs; and Autonomy Network, consisting of high-performing city-wide admission and magnet schools.
Most neighborhood schools will not be affected, district officials said.
Chris Lehmann, founding principal of Science Leadership Academy - one of the district's recent success stories - will lead the Innovation Network, while remaining SLA's co-principal. He announced the move in a letter to the school's parents, which he posted on his personal blog.
"It is my pleasure to be able to continue to serve as principal of SLA and to now help other school communities serve their students in powerful, modern ways."
But some say the changes will take away more resources from schools.
"The bottom line is we have more chiefs and less resources in schools," said Robert McGrogan, president of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators, which represents principals.
He said eight assistant principals were recently laid off because of the district's financial crisis. "We have less people in schools as administrators and more people . . . telling us how to operate and what to do."
In response, Hite noted that last year some assistant superintendents oversaw 40 schools, which he called unrealistic. Having more supervisors, he said, is critical to evaluate principals and help them develop.
The other assistant superintendents hires include: Randi Klein-Davila, a former teacher who was principal at Hackett Elementary School the past three years; Racquel Jones, previously executive director of principal support and accountability with Baltimore City Public Schools; Jeff Rhodes, who served as director of school quality at National Heritage Academies in Michigan; Christina Grant, who was superintendent of the Great Oaks Foundation; and Eric Beacoats, who served as interim executive director of Distinctive Schools, a nonprofit charter management organization in Illinois.