This report examines the role of the central office and describes its evolution over the course of Children Achieving. The first section of the report recounts how conflicts arose about the theory of systemic reform.
Children Achieving: Contradictions and Control in Systemic Reform: The Ascendancy of the Central Office in Philadelphia Schools
Related Publications
Publication
The Need for More Teachers of Color
This booklet, The Need for More Teachers of Color, was released as part of a Teach-In hosted by Research for Action on April 23, 2022, in FDR Park in Philadelphia. The booklet provides highlights of…
Publication
FAQ: Superintendents in Pennsylvania School Districts
Superintendent leadership plays an important role in charting the trajectory of school district operations and ultimately of student learning. Meanwhile, several school districts undergo a superintendent transition each year, yet relatively little is known about…
Publication
Access to Experienced Teachers in Allegheny County
Using personnel records from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), this ACER report, takes a closer look at teacher experience in Allegheny County, examining whether equity gaps exist between district and charter schools and between…
Publication
Teacher Mobility in Allegheny County, 2014-15 through 2019-20
Teacher mobility, or teacher turnover, has long garnered attention as a critical educational equity gap. This attention is warranted as, within schools, teachers have the single greatest impact on student achievement. The unprecedented interruptions to school-based learning and the trials…
Publication
Final Report: Evaluation of the Aspiring to Educate Philadelphia Pilot
In November 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced the Aspiring to Educate (A2E) program and its intention to pilot the program in the Philadelphia area. The goals of A2E include diversifying and developing…
Publication
Where Do We Go Next? Youth Insights on the High School Experience During a Year of Historic Upheaval
Our new report, Where Do We Go Next? Youth Insights on the High School Experience During a Year of Historic Upheaval, made in collaboration with America’s Promise Alliance, presents findings from a national survey focused…
Publication
Students Experiencing Homelessness in Allegheny County
Close to 3,000 students in Allegheny County public schools were identified as experiencing homelessness during the 2018-19 school year, or 2.0% of the total student population. Meanwhile, homelessness rates have been growing in recent years…
Publication
Special Education Funding in Pennsylvania Charter Schools
For many years, policymakers, researchers, and education stakeholders in Pennsylvania have been examining and debating the Commonwealth’s system of funding special education in charter schools. Despite all this attention, there remains significant confusion about how…
Publication
FAQ: Allegheny County Teachers of Color
In a December 2020 project, Research for Action provided statewide analysis and released seven years of new data on teacher demographics for each Pennsylvania public school. Here, as part of our ACER project, we address…
Publication
Students Experiencing Homelessness in Pennsylvania: New Evidence of Under-Identification and Inequity
Properly identifying when students are experiencing homelessness is the first step to providing them academic supports and other rights afforded by federal law. As RFA found in 2018, Pennsylvania schools have a history of under-identification.…
Publication
School Police Presence in Allegheny County
In recent years, some school districts across Allegheny County have made noteworthy changes to school policing. While some districts have sought to reduce or eliminate reliance on police, a growing number of other districts in…
Publication
Teacher Diversity in Pennsylvania from 2013-14 to 2019-20
As RFA documented in Patching the Leaky Pipeline, teachers of color (TOCs) are important for all students and particularly for students of color (SOCs). Yet, despite promising statewide initiatives to improve teacher diversity, there is…