Philly school board unanimously approves DOJ asbestos agreement and considers six charter schools for renewal

And now we're adjourned for real! July action meeting is cancelled.

For more details on Thursday night's action meeting, visit my author page on Inquirer.com later Thursday night.

The board sped through its agenda, adjourning almost exactly five hours after it began.

(But it has one more item to consider, meeting as the Philadelphia Intermediate Unit, a quirk of Philadelphia being its own city and county.)

Lisa Haver, a retired district teacher and founder of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, is objecting to what she said amounted to a vote on charter action without a vote.

Streater reminded her and the public that he was not calling a vote, but engaging in a "temperature taking" of members.

The board’s decision on charter school renewals tonight was not a final decision on each school’s fate; the board will formally vote in a future meeting.

Ultimately, the board was split on Byers.

Wilkerson was the tiebreaker, favoring a five-year charter renewal, and Streater directed Chao to negotiate a five-year charter.

Streater directed charter schools chief Chao to draft a notice of nonrenewal for People for People.

The board's decision tonight is not a final decision on the school's fate; the board will formally vote in a future meeting once that nonrenewal notice is drafted.

Board president Reggie Streater directed the charter schools office to negotiate a one-year charter with KIPP Philadelphia.

After hearing concerns from the board, president Reggie Streater instructed Chao to draft a notice of nonrenewal for KIPP North Philadelphia.

The board's decision tonight is not a final decision on the school's fate; the board will formally vote in a future meeting once that nonrenewal notice is drafted.

Board president Reginald Streater directed Chao to negotiate a one-year charter, with conditions, for Mastery Douglass.

(The board reminds the public: These are not votes tonight. This is direction for the charter office to either negotiate a charter or draft a nonrenewal notice.)

"I have deep concerns about this school," board member Joyce Wilkerson said. As a Renaissance school, "when we sold this to this community, we said, this will be your neighborhood school, and this will be a dramatic turnaround."

Wilkerson said: The suspension rate is troubling. Douglass enrolling students out of catchment is troubling. "I don't support the renewal of this school," she said.

"I think we are comfortable with you negotiating a five-year charter for Deep Roots Charter, with conditions," board president Reginald Streater said.

Steater asks Chao to notify the board if the schools do not sign their charter agreement.

Next, the board will discuss the unresolved charter school renewals and give the charter schools office direction on whether to negotiate new charters or notices of nonrenewal.

Up first: a presentation on six charters that the board reserved judgment on at its last meeting, a special meeting to consider charter renewals. These six all had deficiencies in one or more areas: academics, organizational compliance, and financial health.

The schools are: Deep Roots, Frederick Douglass Mastery, KIPP North Philadelphia, KIPP Philadelphia, People for People, and Russell Byers. All six missed the mark on academic success.

Toni Damon, a Philadelphia principal, brought two of her children, successful products of the district, speaks to the board.

"Thank you for supporting us, but know that great things come from the School District of Philadelphia," Damon said. "I'm not taking anything away from the charters," but traditional public schools are the best option, she said.

Nicole Cooper, assistant principal at Mastery Douglass, tells the board that before she joined the school, she heard a "negative narrative." But it wasn't true.

"What I have experienced at Douglass is a school fighting hard against the odds to serve, uplift and educate," she said.

"I come to you today to ask that you would give us the time and the trust to continue building our students," Cooper said.

Deep Roots is a "vibrant and rigorous academic community," incoming principal Allison Grundy says.

Efforts to improve Deep Roots are showing early success, Grundy said. Achievement isn't where it needs to be, she said, but wants the board to renew its charter. If they do, she told them, they will see growth.

Nylah Watson, a People for People alum and current staffer, said she was lifted up by the school.

"Close these doors and you don't lose classrooms," Watson said. "You lose the heartbeat that steadies children in chaos."

"Thank you for listening, and for keeping the light on," Watson said.

Jessica Varevice, incoming chief schools officer for Mastery Charter Schools, tells the board: "I can tell you, none of us are satisfied with the current levels" of academic proficiency at Mastery Douglass. She's confident that the right strategies are in place to change that.

The pandemic set schools back, Varevice said.

"We aren't where we need to be. But we aren't where we used to be," she said.

Cee Crowner, a Southwest Leadership Academy and NAACP member, said many families have long been underserved by public schools. School choice, especially for Black and brown families, is "not just an option, but a necessity."

Historically, there have been few opportunities for Black and brown kids' heritage to be lifted up in school. That's not the case in many Philly charters, she said.

"We are not asking for your permission to succeed. We are building the paths ourselves," Crowner said.

There's a bit of a verbal dustup over the speakers list. Kenae Damon was scheduled to speak; she wanted to yield her time to another speaker, but board president Reginald Streater said no. The would-be speaker (not Damon) said it wasn't OK to shut him out.

Damon, a district graduate, daughter of a current district principal, and current Comcast employee, talks about the success of public schools. She asks: If we don't pour all our efforts into our public schools, what does that say to our kids?

Lisa Cruz, parent of a rising 10th grader at CAPA, said "it is a gross injustice" to everyone in the district when open seats at any criteria-based school go unfilled in a city where many students get shut out of magnets. Cruz said the admissions process was mismanaged.

"There has been an egregious lack of communication with perspective families," and audition opportunities have been limited.

CAPA will need four years to rebuild its base, Cruz said.

Joel Boyd, the CEO of Mastery Schools, said: "Douglass is on track to accelerate improvement for all students," Boyd said.

Mastery wouldn't be seeking a renewal for its charter if it was not on track, he said.

Zakeya Rodriguez, a People for People staffer, says the school truly lives up to its name: "People for People." Its culture is strong.

Students with disabilities are not just accommodated, but embraced, Rodriguez said.

Lucilla Perry-Edwards, CEO of Deep Roots Charter, said the school has been through two charter renewals, was given "ambitious conditions," and met them all.

The school's early literacy is improving, and there is a "deep commitment to meeting our academic goals."

Perry-Edwards asks for a five-year charter renewal for Deep Roots.

Ebony Jones said the board's concerns about People for People are valid, but there's more to the picture.

"We're not perfect, but we are accountable," Jones said. We took district concerns and turned it into action, she said.

"People for People isn't just a school. It's a family."

William Bazemore, an official at People for People Charter, details efforts to help improve the school — programs around attendance and academics.

"Our school is more than just a place of learning," he said. "It is a home where children and families come together to thrive, dream and achieve," he said.

Paul Berlet, a teacher and community member, said he taught summer school in a building without air conditioning a few years ago. It had deplorable air quality when smoke from wildfires made breathing tough, he said.

"It's not a condition students should have to learn in," Berlet said. Berlet urges the district to commit to measures that make air quality better.

"There needs to be a clear public plan with accountability and feedback," Berlet said. "No student should have to choose between showing up and protecting their lungs."

Jessika Gbai, an Olympic track and field athlete, is also an alum of People for People Charter School. She spoke to the school board in support of the school.

Eleanor Blunt Dennis, said her family has attended Frederick Douglass for decades. It improved when Mastery took over, she said.

"I submit to you today that Douglass is the bomb, and is worth being renewed," Blunt Dennis said.

"If this school is not renewed, it will break my heart," said Blunt Dennis.

Amy Hollister of Philadelphia Charters for Excellence said she looks forward to reforms in charter renewals and authorizations, and thanks the board for its work.

Anthony Fratanduono, the principal of People for People Charter School, said the school is a "second home for our students and their families."

The school's achievement numbers are low, but rising, Fratanduono said. The school is working with "urgency and purpose" and wants a five-year renewal, he said.

Rickia Reid, a Mastery charter official — and a Douglass alum — is talking about the importance of a charter renewal for Douglass.

"We know we are working together and doing everything we can as a school community," Reid said, "and as a network to get them to the academic progress that has eluded generations before us."

Corey D. Williams, of KIPP, is talking about changes that are being put in place at KIPP, including "closing early gaps," lots of accountability, new talent, and non-negotiables around academics.

Tara O'Brien, a parent with a child at CAPA, talks about problems at the school. They aren't isolated, but a pattern.

"The complete lack of accountability has eroded our trust in the current administration," O'Brien said.

O'Brien asks Watlington to consider whether he'd be OK with sending one of his children to a school that had the turmoil CAPA has had over the past years.

"I can represent to everyone that there is no secret plan hidden in a drawer somewhere," school board president Reginald Streater said.

No decisions about which schools might close, co-locate, or get new buildings have been made.

The public will have opportunities to speak to the board about the facilities planning process during several engagement sessions scheduled in July.

The district will also prioritize maintaining filled staff positions and reallocating them to "accelerate student achievement" in struggling schools, but that's an "if," contingent on collective bargaining and "adequate funding through the annual budgeting process," Watlington said.

Watlington describes how decisions about buildings will be made. There will be

• School building scores, based on whether buildings are safe and accessible, have environmental problems, and modern technology
• Program alignment scores, noting whether schools have space for things like pre-kindergarten or career and technical education, AP courses, arts courses, and more
• Capacity utilization scores, a read on whether school sites are over or under capacity
• A "neighborhood vulnerability score" that looks at the surrounding neighborhood — whether school closures have happened there in the past and examining adverse conditions like poverty, a lack of transportation, etc.

Watlington, on the facilities planning process, said that a key aim is allowing for strong academics and extracurricular activities, and solving for significant overcapacity in some areas, and some undercapacity in others.

"Some schools will be recommended to co-locate, to put more than one school on a campus," similar to the Ben Franklin-Science Leadership Academy model, Watlington said. "Some schools we are going to recommend that we repurpose."

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has said she wants 30,000 new housing units in the city, and current school buildings could be part of that calculus. Also, "unfortunately, there will be some schools that we will come back to the board in the late fall and recommend to close," Watlington said.

» READ MORE: Philly is starting on a process that will likely lead to school closures, new buildings. Here’s what you should know.

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington is giving his monthly report now.

Student regular attendance in the month of May was 68%, 2 points higher than May 2024. Teacher regular attendance was 79%, 3 points higher than May 2024. The district had 1,411 dropouts through April 2025, compared to 2,185 at the same time last year.

The school board is shouting out its student members, whose term is finished: Charles Rinker, Kenzy Ahmed, and Jake Benny. They spent a year representing the district's 200,000 students on the board.

Senior of the month is Ibrahim Soukouna of CAPA, who's headed to Temple University on a full scholarship.

The co-senior of the month is Jason Noel, of Carver High School of Engineering and Science.

The teacher of the month is Shannon Brophy of Bartram High School, where she's an emotional support teacher and the school's special education compliance monitor.

The school board unanimously voted to accept the deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. will sign it, and it will be filed with the courts as soon as possible.

» READ MORE: A secret DOJ probe of Philly schools’ asbestos management means officials will now have to answer to a court

"I am happy that we are able to finally close this chapter," board member Whitney Jones said, noting that the probe predated Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.

Jones said he hopes at a future board meeting, district staff can discuss the costs of the district's stepped-up asbestos management practices and answer other questions in the interest of transparency.

"The agreement recognizes the work that's been done, especially under Dr. Watlington's administration," board member Joan Stern said. The district is now in compliance with federal AHERA law.

Members of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools are speaking about the "deferred prosecution agreement" with the U.S. Department of Justice, telling the board that it didn't give the public enough notice to review the agreement.

APPS member Ilene Poses is singing a song decrying low-performing charter schools, to the tune of Skeeter Davis' classic "The End of the World."

The Philadelphia School District will meet Thursday for its monthly meeting, and the afternoon is expected to be jam-packed.

Among other things, the board is poised to consider “a proposed agreement between The School District of Philadelphia and the United States Department of Justice" regarding its management of asbestos in school buildings. It was recently revealed that the district was under investigation by the DOJ over the issue. This is the second time the board has said it would consider an agreement. An agenda item was posted on the issue in May, but was never voted on.

Registered speakers are also expected to share comments with the board about: