DN Editorial: Designed for failure

IT'S GRATIFYING, of course, that Harrisburg will allow Philadelphia to impose a $2-a-pack cigarette tax to raise money for the school district. But, as a recent study so starkly revealed, the money is wholly inadequate for the Herculean task faced by our school district.

The study, released last month, revealed that 17 percent of students have "been involved with the child welfare and/or juvenile justice system" - a number that grows to 20 percent in the city's high schools. In other words, one out of five high school students has been in trouble with the law, has been traumatized, neglected and victimized, and has been removed from the family home and put into placement.

That information alone is heartbreaking. But the fact that schools aren't able to save these children is tragic. They have needs that simply can't be met in schools without counselors, aides, nurses, psychologists. And their performance shows it.

"Students with DHS involvement are an at-risk population experiencing poor academic outcomes; on average, they are less likely to be promoted to the next grade on time, earn fewer credits during the year, have lower PSSA scores, are more likely to receive special education services and are absent more days from school," the report noted.

The Department of Human Services, along with the School Reform Commission, the school district and the city, commissioned the study to help assess the needs of these students and shape future policy to help them succeed. DHS is already planning to beef up its presence in the schools.

The research showed that these at-risk children aren't grouped in particular neighborhoods but attend schools all over the city. Not surprisingly, they're mostly concentrated in large, comprehensive high schools, rather than charter or special-admission schools.

The report noted that nearly half of the city's high schools have a student population that includes more than 100 students with DHS or juvenile-justice involvement - more than 20 percent of the student population, a staggering number. Imagine trying to provide the necessary support for so many children with special needs. It's yet another eye-opener to the daunting task we require of our educators while depriving them of the resources to do their jobs. It's also another eye-opener to how little value we place on the troubled children in our city.

"In a very challenging financial environment, it helps us understand what these teachers face every day," said Dr. David Rubin, a pediatrician and co-director of the PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which conducted the study.

We've long since realized that urban education is about far more than studies. It's a rescue mission for many children, perhaps the only hope for an equalizing experience that helps them overcome the scarring backgrounds that have already begun to set parameters around their possibilities.

The cigarette tax and increase in funding is a relief, but not enough. The school district will still be tens of millions of dollars short. It's obscene that children who've already been failed by their families and damaged by conditions in which they live continue to be failed by a resource-starved school district.

For their sake and our sake, can't we do better?