At this moment, when our schools, city, and country are experiencing the impact of generational trauma and suffering, suffering which has most critically impacted the Black community, Board Members want to respect this time for our school communities as a moment to process events and to begin healing. We believe that the trauma our students,…
(Board President Joyce Wilkerson presented the following testimony to Philadelphia City Council during a budget hearing on May 20, 2020.) Good morning, Council President and members of City Council. Thank you for having us here today. My name is Joyce Wilkerson, and I am the President of the Board of Education. I…
Members of the Board of Education extend a warm welcome to our newest member, Ameen Akbar, who was appointed to the Board of Education by Philadelphia City Council on May 1, 2020, for a four-year term. Over the last two years, members of the board have worked hard to develop a spirit of collegiality and…
I am deeply honored and, at the same time, saddened to have this opportunity on behalf of the Board to thank Vice President Wayne Walker for his dedication to the School District of Philadelphia and his many contributions to the work of the School Board. Wayne has spent his career focusing on corporate governance,…
It is with real sadness that we are saying goodbye to Dr. Chris McGinley as a member of the Board of Education. I had the privilege of co-chairing the Student Achievement Committee with Dr. McGinley, and it proved to be an invaluable experience. As a career educator from a family of career educators, Dr. McGinley…
Safeguard Education and Don’t Let Coronavirus Force Budget Cuts Doha Ibrahim, Student Representative on the Philadelphia Board of Education, Lincoln High School Class of 2020 Imere Williams, Student Representative on the Philadelphia Board of Education, Boys Latin Charter School Class of 2020 We are members of the class of 2020. In the last few…
By: Julia Danzy and Mallory Fix Lopez are members of Philadelphia’s Board of Education and co-chair the Board’s District Partnerships and Community Engagement Committee (Also posted in The Notebook: Board members urge public participation in virtual meetings) Recently a school counselor reached out to share some of the challenges his school is facing during…
As I hope by now everyone knows, the Board is committed to assuring that each and every student in the city of Philadelphia receives a world-class education that is beyond compare. And we are taking steps to make that happen. However, as a District responsible for almost 204,000 students and thousands of staff, first and…
As we are tasked with the mission of educating students, I deeply thank our teachers for their creativity and perseverance in keeping that going under such unusual circumstances. I know it’s the Board’s intention to make sure that, in the absence of access to our buildings, the learning and ancillary support services can continue, with…
I want to take a moment to acknowledge how difficult these last several weeks have been for our communities and our city, and to thank the District, our educators, and our school and city staff for everything they are doing to support and educate our children. As a grandmother of school-age children, I have seen…