Masterman's reputation for being a good school has been around since I've been teaching (11 years). That's why there is rarely any vacancies there, nobody wants to leave. However, I still think the quality of the teachers and the level of administrative support has a large part to do with its success, not just the students. Good teachers attract good teachers a vice versa. Nothing brings more joy than having a student who is interested in learning and realizes gaining an education involves working towards goals.
Vallas' lack of classroom experience shows with his decision to expand schools to eliminate middle schools. Instead of tackling the problem of no discipline at middle schools he ran from the problem with a quick fix solution. As a result many elementaries are suffering the results when they are expanded into the middle school grades. Daroff is an excellent example of how a school gets run down because of this stupid policy. Other schools are having to give up their police officers so they can patrol Daroff. This leaves their home schools vunerable on their days away. Smart move!
Moving good principals around to solve problems seems to be another tactic the district believes in. The only Philly principal I had that was worth a damn was forced out of her school (which she had worked hard to run right) and sent to another school to bail it out. Last I heard she moved out of being a principal role and into upper administration. Considering the dismal state of Philly principals it's sad the good ones leave. Like good teachers this district needs to bend over backwards to keep good principals too.
Alot of what goes into schools depends on the deals this administration makes with politicians and their pals. It has nothing to do with whether the student body has earned it. Why are the administrators working in a brand new building down on Broad when teachers throughout the district have to work in run-down, infested classrooms with the windows bolted shut?

It's interesting how the district said they were planning on fixing the very window that cut off three fingers belonging that poor woman THE VERY DAY OF THE ACCIDENT!! They said basically the same thing about their failure to expell one of the two cowards that attacked Frank Burd.
School reformers have become the 21st century equivalent of carpetbaggers. Exploiting others' problems for their own personal gain.

As I understand it, one of Vallas' main objectives was to replace crumbling old school buildings w/new ones. As has been observed, and should be blindingly obvious, it's tough to learn while you're dodging crumbling building material.

Re: Masterman alums + Central: My father-in-law used to teach (9th grade history + Dean of Students) @ Central, and always says that the Masterman kids had trouble when they transferred there. He attributed this to Masterman inflating their grades, but it could certainly have had something to do w/the size issue you mention.

I went neither place, so I'm somewhat neutral on the matter,
-Z

Right, cause it can't have anything to do with the fact they probably have, on average, the smartest kids in the City and ones that typically come from stale families and aren't bringing crime issues into the classroom.

If you took the exact same structure and stuck kids from point breeze there, you may have a better situation than their normal school, but you won't be close to the level of success Masterman had as a magnet.

And then the question would be how long before quality started falling under the pressure of malcontent youth who have a 5th grade reading level?

It isn't class size or all that crap. The problem with the regular high schools are that the children are already lost by then. With Masterman, the kids are current on their expected education so it is ll about moving forward.

how do you teach high school american literature when all they can read is the sports page?

The grade schools need to be the focus, not the high schools.
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Staff member of Longacre for 5th Council District.

1) About Masterman students transferring to Central - inflated grades? Maybe. But that doesnt stop us from getting National Merit Scholars and higher SAT scores. Testing services dont inflate anything, buddy.

2)Learning Environment - You make a valid point. I distinctly remember growing up being the "smartest" kid in my class - but the thing is, I might not have been any smarter than the other children - my PARENTS were the ones who taught me early to value education and study before play. I remember coming home and having to do my homework right away while I heard the other kids on my street running around outside. They would get home and dart outside before anyone could tell them otherwise (that is, if someone else was even home). The work ethic I learned from my parents gave me a solid academic foundation that I thank them for now.

I do agree that many of the problems of the school district can be avoided by affecting young minds EARLY, but if there is no type of support at home than the work that elementary schools try to do to keep students engaged is pointless. If a child comes home and does nothing but watch tv, play outside with the other neighborhood kids, and are exposed to bad parental examples, how can you expect them to absorb schooling? If they have parents that dont respect society or themselves, what makes you think that they will accept school's authority?

Cultured children are less ignorant. Obviously. I was lucky enough to have parents that took me to museums on occasion and made sure that my mind wasnt being fed complete trash (We didnt have cable and once we finally got it, the parental controls were strict). Some parents just leave their kids with the remote and dont give a darn what they are watching - you can see this anytime a five year old is watching (and IMPERSONATING) WWE or HBO late night.

Another problem I can think of is the lack of sleep that American children are getting. A nine year old cannot go to sleep at midnight and be expected to function reasonably getting up at 7. Im not sure what the actual numbers are, but im sure 12 is WAAAY past their bedtime.

And by the way, what do you tell the ignorant children that have already rached highschool age?? Too bad, you have no future. In your next life, maybe your elementary and middle school teachers will be better to you.

Yes, Vallas was supposedly aiming to reduce the size of schools, but does expanding Masterman accomplish that? And why not split up the already over crowded schools and fix the buildings instead of opening new ones to AVOID THE PROBLEM? I dont understand...