Lure of Gates $$ sparks schools' spirit of trust

JURATE KROKYS, chief executive of Center City's Independence Charter School, says that there's long been a "rift" and "mistrust" between the Philadelphia School District and the city's charter schools.

But yesterday she joined with dozens of charter-school leaders who have come together with the city and the district to propose a new way of working together.

And all it took was the lure of some Bill Gates cash.

The "Great Schools Compact" calls for greater collaboration between the district and charters and increased accountability measures to improve schools on both sides.

"Competition doesn't have to be synonymous with fighting," said Lawrence Jones, head of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools and CEO of the Richard Allen Preparatory School in Southwest Philly.

"Now we're together. That's a major paradigm shift."

Pending approval next week from the School Reform Commission, the proposal would be reviewed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and could eventually mean up to $15 million, according to Lori Shorr, Mayor Nutter's chief education officer and an executive adviser to the district.

The Gates money - and any other grant money that rolls in because of it - would go to improving district, charter and independent schools with the goal of replacing the poorest-performing schools (50,000 "seats") with high-quality options by the 2016-17 school year.

Meanwhile, it's expected that the charter schools that sign on and meet quality standards would be able to add more students, bypassing enrollment caps imposed by the district.

Philadelphia ranks third among the country's top 10 school districts, with more than 40,000 students in charters.

Also yesterday, the new-look SRC - Chairman Pedro Ramos led his first meeting - did something somewhat rare: It shot down contracts.

The SRC voted against a $66,816 contract with Temple University and $16,500 for the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Also, a $1,050 printing contract for the Protect Public Education Campaign, launched by former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, wasn't approved.

Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky said he refused to vote for contracts that weren't properly justified.