Phila. summer school kicks off with almost 58,000 enrolled

Isaiah Rivers earned all A's on his report card at Chester Arthur School in South Philadelphia, but that wasn't enough for the 13-year-old.

He wants to get ahead for next year. So Tuesday, he was one of almost 58,000 registered students who showed up for the Philadelphia School District's expanded summer-school program.

"I heard about it at school, and then my mom came to sign my little brothers up," said Rivers, who is going into eighth grade at the school at 20th and Catharine Streets. "I thought it would be fun."

He was one of more than 200 students, along with teachers, parents, and Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, to mark the first day of a different kind of summer school.

Classes are not just for students who are behind - students who are on track can use the 21-day session to get ahead. And while mornings are for academics, afternoons are for enrichment.

The district is making a hefty investment in the program it's calling SLAM, for Summer Learning and More. The summer-school budget is $47 million - $34 million more than for last year's summer school, which enrolled about 34,000 fewer students.

The added expense is worth it, according to the superintendent.

"It's easier to educate them now than to remediate them or incarcerate them later," Ackerman said. "It's really important for young people in school districts like Philadelphia."

Summer classes are taking place at 128 schools around the city, enrolling students from pre-K through 12th grade. Fifty of the schools have central air-conditioning; the other 78 have had 1,453 window air conditioners installed.

Officials said that as of Friday, the program was fully staffed with full- and part-time district teachers, retired teachers, and teachers from other districts, as it has been in years past.

Last year, more than 23,000 students participated in the summer program. Ackerman said that those pupils' progress was tracked throughout the school year and that they outperformed their peers who did not enroll in summer school.

Although more students than expected enrolled, summer school will not go over budget, Ackerman said. Extra students will mean larger class sizes, though the student-teacher ratios will still be lower than they are during the regular school year, when most grades can have up to 33 students in one room.

Flags, cheerleaders, dancing, drumming, and pep talks marked the opening ceremonies of summer school, officially launched in the sweltering Arthur auditorium.

Actor Quinton Aaron of the movie The Blind Side even made a guest appearance. A giant of a man, in a gray pinstripe suit, he stood in front of the students and extolled the virtues of summer school.

"You want to be a basketball player, actor, football player? It all starts here. You're getting a step ahead of the competition," said Aaron, in Philadelphia for a parent workshop on opportunities in the arts.

Parent Ameena Brightman didn't need to be sold on the virtues of summer school. She was eager to send her daughter Shahadah Muhammad, 8, who just finished second grade.

"It's free," Brightman said, "and it's for the whole month. She gets math, reading, art, dance. She'll get ready for third grade."