Commitment to public education imperative for
"economic, civic, and moral reasons"

Former Philadelphia Superintendent of Schools David Hornbeck outlines new role of faith-based organizations as advocates for educational equity at Seminary urban program class

David Hornbeck and Katie Day

PHILADELPHIA (March 19, 2002)--"American public education is possibly the single most important institutional ingredient in maintaining a semblance of democracy," David Hornbeck told students in Prof. Katie Day's "Understanding the City" class last night.

Hornbeck, whose "Children Achieving" program in the School District of Philadelphia resulted in improved reading, math and science scores for elementary, middle and high school students during his six-year tenure, outlined the social and economic barriers to educational equity in Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and the rest of the United States, and offered some insights on how seminarians and other members of faith communities can become advocates for fairness in education.

"I want to offer my perspective on education in urban centers," Hornbeck began. In making the case for public education, he cited economic, civic, and moral issues. Hornbeck noted that Pennsylvania's poor educational performance in comparison to the rest of the United States parallels its economic fortunes, adding that Pennsylvania is one of the few states that did not have an increase in jobs during the economic boom of the 1990s. Education is vitally important in training effective citizens -- men and women who can analyze voter issues and serve effectively as jurors.

And, finally, there is a jarring moral issue at the root of a campaign for equity in education. "If you tell me a five year-old child's zip code, skin color, or primary language spoken at home, I can tell you with significant accuracy the quality of education he's going to receive in Pennsylvania," Hornbeck told the class, noting that the Commonwealth's performance is particularly troubling with respect to children at risk. This is not exclusively an urban problem, Hornbeck explained -- Pennsylvania includes counties with abject rural poverty. And it's not a problem that can be laid at the door of a particular political party. "Think of it as a statewide cultural phenomenon with a very sharp racial edge to it. Issues of race in Pennsylvania are very, very big."

"But the thing about Pennsylvania education," Hornbeck continued, "is this: we're not out seeking a way to treat an incurable disease here -- we know how to improve education. This is about will, about resolve, and about politics." No large American public school district, he explained, has ever put a system of proven techniques together and held it together long enough to make a difference. "Even though we had a 44% improvement in test scores and graduated 23% more kids on time, Philadelphia still had a long way to go."

Ten Steps to Better Schools

Improvements in public education must begin, Hornbeck emphasized, with the premise that all children can learn at high levels. "People perform to expectations," he said, "and the expectation for Philadelphia kids is low among teachers, parents, the community, and the children themselves." The system must include standards and accountability, "beginning with measuring every action against the standard that all kids can learn at a high level." Beyond that, the system must have standards that define what students must learn in order to be effective adults. It must be able to measure and assess against those standards, and it must include educator accountability for all students. "And it must employ the same standards for all kids," Hornbeck added. Additional steps for improvement cover organization, teacher training, physical plant, technology, early childhood intervention, health and social services, community involvement, and stewardship of resources.

"The tenth component is that you have to do the first nine," without neglecting any, Hornbeck explained. Without standards, assessment and accountability, he commented, there is little chance of progress. Without good teachers, assessments are worthless. Without classrooms, books, and computers, teacher performance is hampered, and with larger health and social issues unresolved students are ill equipped to learn.

Additional funding is critical for Philadelphia's schools: if the state provides the promised $75 million in funding and the city $45 million, the schools would have a total of $120 million in new money. That doesn't even cover the structural deficit of $150 million plus; it's only a quarter of the $550 million in additional funds that would equalize expenditures between Philadelphia and the average expenditure in the suburban districts (where the challenges from poverty are so dramatically less), Hornbeck explained. He made clear that money alone would not do the job, citing urban areas in New Jersey where per student expenditures approached that of the wealthiest Pennsylvania suburban school districts without commensurate improvement in student achievement. "That's why we emphasize educator accountability and the use of proven education practices in addition to funding adequacy,"

How Churches Can Help

"One of our desires is to activate the people of faith within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to see the issue of the education of our children as truly a spiritual issue, as a justice issue, as an issue that should involve all decent people of faith. We only get one shot at our children. We can't go back and do it over. This is the moment. This is the time. The challenge of preparing our children for a technologically advancing society is a critical one. And we need to do it now."

Bishop Roy Almquist
Southeastern PA Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and Good Schools Pennsylvania founding council member
Good Schools Pennsylvania Vigil, June 31, 2001

Representatives of more than twenty religious organizations have joined with other community activists to form Good Schools Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to create a statewide grassroots effort to assure quality education and adequate and equitable funding for Pennsylvania public schools. Hornbeck, a member of the founding council, explained that it is based on small "Groups of 10," a comfortable number for a living room or small church meeting room, who will complete a nine-part curriculum so that they will be articulate, well-informed advocates for education. These groups, organized through faith communities, parents, community organizations and neighbors, will meet monthly, weite letters to elected officials, help coordinate statewide and regional rallies for public education, hold monthly interfaith vigils in Harrisburg and across the state for public education, and strive to make education reform the key issue during the 2002 election cycle.

The bishops of the Southeastern, Northeastern and Southwestern synods are among the members of the Good Schools Pennsylvania founding council, and Hornbeck encouraged class members to help to form Groups of 10 in Pennsylvania churches and to form a campus chapter of Good Schools Pennsylvania at the Seminary.

"We need to be good stewards of our educational resources," Hornbeck commented. "In addition to using existing funds wisely, we need to be visionary about seeking out other sources of funding. But we can't do it all through bake sales. The state needs to step forward and do its share."

For additional information on Good Schools Pennsylvania, see http://www.goodschoolspa.org/

Other Pennsylvania Education Advocacy resources:

• Pennsylvania School Reform Network
• Pennsylvania Association for Rural and Small Schools