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School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Difference between revisions

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==Academic performance==
===Proficiency assessments===
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the [[U.S. Department of Education]], proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, '''proficiency levels are not comparable between different states''' and '''year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable''' because states may change their proficiency measurements.<ref>[http://www.ed.gov/edfacts ''U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts'', "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 ED''Facts'' Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021]</ref>


====Mathematics====
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:<ref name=DataNote>''To protect student privacy, percentages were reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five (5) or fewer students were included in a data set, the data was replaced by "PS."''</ref>
{{NCES 4218990 academic performance|Type=Mathematics}}
====Reading/language arts====
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:<ref name=DataNote/>
{{NCES 4218990 academic performance|Type=Reading}}
===Graduation rates===
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:<ref name=DataNote/><ref>[http://www.ed.gov/edfacts ''U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts'', "Four-Year Adjusted-Cohort Graduation Rates - School Year 2017-18 ED''Facts'' Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021]</ref>
{{NCES 4218990 academic performance|Type=Graduation}}
==Student enrollment==
{{NCES 4218990 enrollment}}
==About the district==
{{NCES 4218990 about the district|Year=Present}}
==[[Noteworthy events]]==
==[[Noteworthy events]]==
===2015: Debates over School Reform Commission===
===2015: Debates over School Reform Commission===

Revision as of 22:47, 19 April 2021

School District of Philadelphia
School Board badge.png
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
District details
Superintendent: William R. Hite Jr.
# of school board members: 5
Website: Link

The School District of Philadelphia is a school district in Pennsylvania. In the 2012-2013 school year, the district was the largest school district in Pennsylvania and served 143,898 students.[1]

In December 2001, the district was put under the control of a School Reform Commission (SRC).[2] Learn more about the SRC and the debate over district governance here.

Superintendent

BP-Initials-UPDATED.png
This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

William R. Hite Jr. is the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. Hite was appointed superintendent in October 2012.[3]

Budget

From 1993 to 2013, the School District of Philadelphia had an average of $2,067,427,429 in revenue and $2,225,548,286 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $2,139,091,810 in outstanding debt. The district retired $272,307,048 of its debt and issued $430,354,238 in new debt each year on average.[4]

Revenue

The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.

Revenue by Source
Fiscal
Year
Local State Federal Revenue Total
Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue
2010$859,639,00030.36%$1,415,203,00049.98%$556,585,00019.66%$2,831,427,000
2011$848,447,00029.29%$1,411,582,00048.73%$636,770,00021.98%$2,896,799,000
2012$936,603,00034.92%$1,292,598,00048.20%$452,562,00016.88%$2,681,763,000
2013$980,119,00035.73%$1,333,752,00048.62%$429,562,00015.66%$2,743,433,000
Avg.$725,857,28635.72%$1,043,609,23850.38%$297,960,90513.91%$2,067,427,429

Expenditures

The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:

  • Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
  • Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
  • Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
  • Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
  • Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services
Expenditures by Category
Fiscal
Year
Instruction Support Services Capital Spending Debt & Gov. Payments Other Budget
Total
Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget
2010$1,082,196,00036.68%$809,468,00027.43%$180,847,0006.13%$135,772,0004.60%$742,259,00025.16%$2,950,542,000
2011$1,109,832,00035.31%$824,572,00026.24%$203,291,0006.47%$147,097,0004.68%$858,187,00027.30%$3,142,979,000
2012$993,871,00035.32%$689,868,00024.52%$89,663,0003.19%$132,414,0004.71%$908,096,00032.27%$2,813,912,000
2013$1,695,669,00046.74%$688,221,00018.97%$80,438,0002.22%$150,225,0004.14%$1,012,963,00027.92%$3,627,516,000
Avg.$882,402,52440.95%$629,053,81029.04%$140,691,0955.86%$91,568,0953.85%$481,832,76220.29%$2,225,548,286

Debt

The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.

Debt
Fiscal
Year
Retired Issued Outstanding
2010$429,497,000$676,295,000$3,738,134,000
2011$439,412,000$425,880,000$2,980,922,000
2012$91,117,000$254,423,000$3,144,227,000
2013$114,204,000$264,995,000$3,295,018,000
Avg.$272,307,048$430,354,238$2,139,091,810

Academic performance

Proficiency assessments

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[5]

Mathematics

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:[6]

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific
Islander (%)
Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native
American (%)
Two or More
Races (%)
White (%)
2018-2019 23 57 13 15 20-24 29 44
2017-2018 22 55 13 14 15-19 30 41
2016-2017 20 53 12 13 25-29 26 39
2015-2016 21 52 13 14 25-29 25 39
2014-2015 19 51 12 12 20-24 24 36
2013-2014 44 76 36 38 50-54 49 64
2012-2013 46 75 38 40 45-49 53 66
2011-2012 49 79 41 43 55-59 59 68
2010-2011 57 83 52 53 65-69 67 73

Reading/language arts

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:[6]

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific
Islander (%)
Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native
American (%)
Two or More
Races (%)
White (%)
2018-2019 37 65 28 29 35-39 41 59
2017-2018 37 65 28 28 35-39 43 58
2016-2017 35 63 27 26 40-44 40 55
2015-2016 35 61 27 26 35-39 39 55
2014-2015 34 60 27 26 45-49 40 54
2013-2014 43 66 38 35 45-49 47 62
2012-2013 44 66 38 37 50-54 50 62
2011-2012 44 66 39 38 55-59 53 63
2010-2011 51 70 47 45 60-64 61 69

Graduation rates

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:[6][7]

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific
Islander (%)
Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native
American (%)
Two or More
Races (%)
White (%)
2017-2018 63 85 61 56 ≥50 62 68
2016-2017 67 85 65 61 60-79 74 74
2015-2016 69 83 66 63 60-79 75-79 75
2014-2015 65 80 65 53 60-79 70-74 71
2013-2014 68 83 67 60 60-79 80-84 70
2012-2013 70 84 69 62 40-59 75-79 77
2011-2012 62 75 61 53 40-59 60-64 65
2010-2011 55 72 56 44 40-59 ≤5 55


Student enrollment

Year[8] Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2018-2019 128,647 1.1
2017-2018 127,202 -2.9
2016-2017 131,052 -0.2
2015-2016 131,295 0.5
2014-2015 130,664 -2.3
2013-2014 133,703 -4.2
2012-2013 139,503 -4.8
2011-2012 146,482 -6.0
2010-2011 155,856 -0.6
2009-2010 156,790 -1.9
2008-2009 159,867 -5.1
2007-2008 168,457 -3.6
2006-2007 174,718 -4.6
2005-2006 183,188 -1.5
2004-2005 186,051 -2.0
2003-2004 189,779 -1.5
2002-2003 192,683 -2.2
2001-2002 197,083 -2.0
2000-2001 201,190 -2.0
1999-2000 205,199 -1.1
1998-1999 207,465 -2.5
1997-1998 212,865 0.3
1996-1997 212,150 0.8
1995-1996 210,503 0.9
1994-1995 208,710 0.5
1993-1994 207,667 3.1
1992-1993 201,496 2.9
1991-1992 195,735 2.5
1990-1991 190,978 0.8
1989-1990 189,451 -0.9
1988-1989 191,141 1.1
1987-1988 189,031 -4.5
1986-1987 197,843 -


About the district

School District of Philadelphia is located in Philadelphia (city-county) County, Pennsylvania.
School District of Philadelphia is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is classified as a large city school district by the National Center for Education Statistics. The district served 128,647 students during the 2018-2019 school year and comprised 217 schools.[9]


During the 2018-2019 school year, 99.9% of the district's students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 12.1% were English language learners, and 18.2% of students had an Individual Education Plan (IEP).[10]

Racial Demographics, 2018-2019
Race School District of Philadelphia (%) Pennsylvania K-12 students (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2 0.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 8.9 4.0
Black 48.6 14.8
Hispanic 21.4 12.1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 6.5 4.2
White 14.2 64.7

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Noteworthy events

2015: Debates over School Reform Commission

The School District of Philadelphia has never been run by an elected school board, a unique situation among Pennsylvania school districts. The board was selected by the city's common pleas judge from 1905 to 1965, when the mayor was given the power to appoint members. In 2001, the mayor consented to the creation of the School Reform Commission (SRC), a five-member board with three members appointed by the governor and two members appointed by the mayor. The SRC was created in the midst of public concerns over district finances and academic performance.[11]

A push for local control gained momentum in 2015 with voter approval of a non-binding ballot question seeking the end of the SRC. Former Mayor Michael Nutter called for the end of the commission before leaving office, and successor James Kenney supports more local control once the district improves its finances.[12] The SRC was also analyzed by The Pew Charitable Trusts in a January 2016 report. The report titled "Governing Urban Schools in the Future: What's Facing Philadelphia and Pennsylvania" concluded with the following statement:

Education experts say that state takeovers of local districts have, at least in some cases, cured financial ills created through mismanagement. But there is no indication that any particular system for governing urban school districts is superior to another in improving long-term academic performance. Too many other factors, experts say, help determine what happens in the classroom, including the quality of principals and teachers, funding, and parental expectations.

There is broad agreement on at least one conclusion: Governance systems that produce uncertainty, distrust, and ambiguous accountability can impede districts’ progress on any front. [13]

—The Pew Charitable Trusts (2016), [11]

Contact information

School District of Philadelphia seal.jpg
School District of Philadelphia
440 N. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: (215) 400-4000

See also

Pennsylvania School Board Elections News and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 17, 2015
  2. School District of Philadelphia, "About Us," accessed July 15, 2015
  3. LinkedIn, "Bill Hite," accessed November 1, 2019
  4. United States Census Bureau, "Public School System Finances: Historical Data," accessed December 1, 2015
  5. U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 To protect student privacy, percentages were reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five (5) or fewer students were included in a data set, the data was replaced by "PS."
  7. U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "Four-Year Adjusted-Cohort Graduation Rates - School Year 2017-18 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, "ElSi tableGenerator," accessed March 8, 2021
  9. National Center for Education Statistics, "Search for Public School Districts," accessed March 8, 2021
  10. National Center for Education Statistics, "Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey," accessed March 8, 2021
  11. 11.0 11.1 The Pew Charitable Trusts, "Governing Urban Schools in the Future: What's Facing Philadelphia and Pennsylvania," January 2016
  12. Philly.com, "Pew: No magic from local or state school control," January 14, 2016
  13. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.