Dear fellow members of the Philadelphia School District
I am petitioning on the behalf of the soon to be Central students, current students, and the thousands of alumni to the state of Pennsylvania on the grounds of the upcoming drastic budget cuts. For well over 150 years Central High School has given thousands of students an outstanding educational foundation to prepare for the future. Starting in 1836 Central was the second public school in the entire nation and the first high school in the state. Since the very beginning Central has presented endless opportunities for students from all walks of life an exceptional education and instilled a rigorous work ethic that has shaped the leaders for tomorrow and is regarded as one of the top public schools in the nation due to its high academic standards. To this day, Central High School is the only school where you can graduate with a college degree.
“If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door”
â Milton Berle
Central high school is for our students that door of endless opportunity and The Philadelphia School District has shut the threshold that would lead thousands of students to reach their fullest potential.
· Class will be reduced from 106 to 90 teachers
· All classes will be filled to the maximum of 33 students
· Central will be reduced from 3 to Zero assistant principals
· The school’s student Barnwell Library will be CLOSED
· All extracurricular activity sports teams will be ELIMINATED
· All 80 afterschool clubs will be ELIMINATED
· There will be no after school activities such as music and tutoring
· No textbooks purchased
· Mentally gifted programs will be ELIMINATED
As you can see The Philadelphia School District is stripping away all of the unique and essential parts of Central that many hold as creditable ingredients for stepping stones of a student’s success. How can members of the School District board go through with these extreme cuts when their mission statement contradicts their action plan? “The mission of the School District of Philadelphia is to provide a high-quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential in order to become lifelong learners and productive members of society”. How could the School District possibly ensure the highest quality of education by closing one of the largest and technologically advanced high school libraries in the world? How can the School District empower all students to reach their full social potential and become lifelong learners by eliminating all sports teams and tutoring programs? The School Reform Commission believes all children can reach their learning potential and that the achievement gap can be eliminated. However, all they have done is widen that gap by maximizing the number of students per classroom and intending to not purchase more textbooks.
The people of today should be striving to educate well rounded students; enabling them to not just be book smart, but team players, leaders, and role models. This is nearly impossible without receiving the high school education and experience these students deserve. Instead of helping them excel, these budgets cuts are giving them the impression that they are not worthy of a world-class education. If they worked hard enough to be accepted into Central, it is evident that these students are the future leaders of our city, our state, and maybe even our country. Depriving these students of tools that are necessary to achieve will without a doubt only backfire on those who concluded that cutting down on education is the solution for the budget crisis. You cannot save the city by hurting the youth. No ifs, no buts, no education cuts.