District officials are 鈥渢aking very seriously鈥� a report from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations finding that it lacks the policies and procedures to prevent and counteract widespread intergroup conflict in city schools.
The report, drawn from 11 public hearings on school violence triggered by December, 2009 incidents at South Philadelphia High School, was officially released at a City Hall press conference Tuesday.
Tom谩s Hanna, associate superintendent for academic support, noted that the district鈥檚 Blue Ribbon Commission on Safe Schools will make recommendations in June. He said the district is already taking some action, including principal training, and will put a 鈥渃omprehensive plan in place鈥� to address issues brought out in the report, called
It painted a disturbing picture of a district that lacks 鈥渁 clear and consistent framework for preventing and resolving intergroup conflicts,鈥� while the policies in place 鈥渁re neither uniformly implemented, nor clearly communicated.鈥�
The report questioned whether the district even recognizes intergroup conflicts as a systemwide problem that needs to be prioritized. The report also found that language services for students and families that don鈥檛 speak English are woefully inadequate and exacerbate problems.
The PCHR document is the second major report to come out in the last few months to declare the zero-tolerance discipline policy a failure 鈥渢hat alienates students and has an adverse effect on school climate.鈥� Youth United for Change came to a similar conclusion in January.
At the same time, the report said, the district has failed to adequately pursue and implement alternative discipline strategies, including positive behavior supports, peer mediation, and restorative justice鈥攁ll of which emphasize prevention, restitution, and conflict resolution over punishment.
Hanna said that the district 鈥渨ants to do everything possible to create an environment for young people where teachers can teach and students can learn,鈥� and 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 apologize for policies that make young people feel safe,鈥� including metal detectors and other security measures. At the hearings, some students said that the jail-like security at schools does not set the right tone for learning.
Commissioner Marshall E. Freeman said that School Reform Commission chairman Robert Archie had personally assured him that he will do 鈥渁nything and everything he can鈥� to improve processes in which incidents can be reported and dealt with systematically.
