School Board continues momentum in final action session of 2023-24 school year

PHILADELPHIA – That evening marked the Philadelphia Board of Education’s final action session for the 2023-2024 school year. The Board reviewed and voted on key items, including expanded learning opportunities in collaboration with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, in-school health and mental health services, professional development and curriculum coaching for school staff, and capital and facility investments.

The following points were adopted unanimously:

Advanced learning opportunities

The Board authorized the District to continue operating Out of School Time (OST) programs in District schools, administered by qualified providers in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia Office for Children and Families.

The board also authorized the district to contract with vendors to engage students in learning activities beyond the regular school day. These OST programs provide research-based approaches to enrichment, engagement, and development opportunities for students that focus on student interests, social-emotional learning, skill acquisition, relationship building, and more.

OST programs provide unique opportunities for students to explore their interests through activities that focus on academic, social-emotional, and college and career focus. These OST programs also promote overall economic stability for families across the district by offering programs during both the school year and the summer that support work schedules in a variety of ways. Finally, OST programs are important violence prevention resources because they allow families to ensure their children can remain active outside of regular school hours in safe environments with caring adults.

School-based health centers

The board authorized the district to partner with service providers to provide school-based medical, dental and behavioral health services in select schools with the greatest need.

Students’ academic achievement, attendance, and social-emotional and behavioral well-being are inextricably linked to their health and well-being. School-based wellness centers, also known as school-based health centers (SBHCs), are an evidence-based intervention to improve health and educational equity and a key component of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child framework for promoting health and well-being in schools.

SBHCs support the Board of Education’s goals and guidelines by helping to ensure that every school is a safe, welcoming, and healthy place where students, staff, and the community want to be and learn every day. In addition, SBHCs work with parents and family members to ensure they are welcomed and encouraged to be partners in their child’s school community. Finally, SBHCs address racist practices by removing barriers to health care in communities of color, which are disproportionately affected by primary care and mental health staffing shortages and other social determinants of health, such as poverty and lack of access to health care.

Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS)

The Board has authorized the District to partner with mental health service providers to provide individual therapy, group therapy, care coordination, and family support. As of the 2020-2021 school year, Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) are offered in every school in the District. IBHS is designed to meet the needs of children by providing trauma-informed and evidence-based therapeutic interventions that support the needs of our students and families.

IBHS is provided by licensed mental health agencies approved by Community Behavioral Health and is free to the district. These mental health providers are responsible for providing behavioral health services that include individual, family and group therapy, case coordination, and connection with a family peer specialist. Services are provided in the school, home, and community setting for any student who receives approval for service.

Curriculum-based classroom coaching and professional development

The Board has authorized the District to engage vendors to provide professional development and/or coaching for the implementation of the curriculum for grades K-12.

This work ties into the school district’s plan for every student to perform at or above grade level in English (E-Law). Additionally, teachers and school leaders are the most important factor when it comes to student learning and academic development. When educators feel supported, valued, and respected, they are more likely to stay in their roles and build strong relationships with students, which is paramount to student enjoyment and academic success. By training and preparing school staff for their roles, our schools can prioritize quality teaching and learning and create environments that are supportive and nurturing for both students and staff.

Design services for the renovation of the Sayre Morris Recreation Center

The Board authorized the District to retain professional architectural services for the comprehensive renovation and modernization of the building systems and grounds of the Sayre Morris Recreation Center.

While the school district retains ownership of the property, the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation (PPR) department will staff the building, operate all swimming pool programs, and be responsible for general upkeep and maintenance of the facility.

The Board is pleased to continue working with the City of Philadelphia to provide our young people with expanded access to recreational and aquatic opportunities.

Capital and asset investments

The Board approved additional capital improvement projects totaling nearly $9 million, including:

Finally, at today’s action meeting, the board voted on several issues related to charter schools.

This included the renewal of several public charter schools, including:

The Board also took action to deny a revised application for a new charter for Global Leadership Academy International Charter High School and adopted an award supporting the denial.

This fall, the Board will review the district’s progress in 2023-2024 toward achieving its Goals and guidelines through regularly scheduled monitoring meetings. The Board hopes the public will attend these meetings to learn more about the district’s successes this school year.

“The Board of Education is immensely proud of our students. We extend our sincere congratulations to all of the graduates and our sincere thanks to our teachers, staff and administrators for all they have done for our school communities,” said President Streater. “As this school year concludes, the Board of Education is already looking ahead to the fall when we will hear more about progress toward the goals and guardrails adopted by the Board of Education. The Board of Education wishes all of our students and members of the school community a safe and restful summer, and we will see you in the 2024-2025 school year.”