Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington wants student academic scores to improve

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system.

Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has begun his fifth year on the job with his focus set on improving students’ academic performance.

But other pressing issues, including the 17 schools the district plans to close beginning next year, may command the attention of students, families, and staff.

The release of last year’s state test scores remains “delayed by the state,” Watlington said, but previous scores show that while students’ math performance has improved, reading performance has declined. The district’s graduation rate has risen, and the number of dropouts has declined.

“We’re going to keep putting our foot on the gas,” Watlington said, adding that he’s focused on improving communication with families and building stronger partnerships with parents and community members. That will include paying some family and community members a “modest stipend” to become ambassadors for the district.

Still, it’s unclear whether Watlington’s strategy will strengthen the district’s relationships and repair trust with the thousands of families facing school closures or whose children’s education has already been disrupted this year by asbestos concerns or the end of certain programs.

Chalkbeat spoke with Watlington Wednesday about his plans for the upcoming school year. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

We’re coming off a year with high tensions, largely about school closures. Some teachers and students said they lost trust in the district. How will you go about building trust this year?

Trust is the cumulative effect of small acts over time. It takes a long time to build it, and it takes a little time to erode it.

We’re going to be transparent, and we’re going to tell our families and communities the truth. Truth is kindness, I believe, and especially when we have to deal with really difficult issues.

One of our truths is, in the sixth-largest city in the United States of America, the district-operated schools have a 65% occupancy rate, and 35% of those seats are sitting vacant. It’s inefficient for the taxpayer’s dollar.

I understand people who have strong feelings about school closures, and we’re going to empathize. We’re going to stay at the table. We’re going to build transition committees with school communities. We’re going to listen. We’re going to do something with that feedback.

We’re going to continue to work as partners, and we’re not going to take personal when conversations get a bit strident. That’s when we need to stay in the fight, work together, and we can disagree without being disagreeable.

What do you plan to do in the coming year — be it around academics, curriculum, family support, staff support — that’s different from when you first started?

Number one, I’m going to focus on academic achievement. We had the right strategy in math. Three through eighth grade math, we’ve got nearly a 13-percentage-point increase (in proficiency rates over three years).

On the reading side, we expected there to be some implementation dip. We think we absolutely did the right thing to standardize the reading curriculum across the school district. A lesson learned is that we’ve got to double down on how we support and prepare teachers. We need the classroom teaching to change in Philadelphia.

Half of the day, kids have to be exposed to grade-level standards, not remedial work, not just tutoring. Because we will never improve and fix this problem through tutoring and remediation. We will never remediate or tutor our way to excellence.

We see graduation rates going up, but we don’t necessarily see all high school academic scores going up. Do you worry at all that the standards to reach graduation have lowered?

I don’t think the standards to reach graduation have lowered. I do think that I want to challenge the notion that when school districts improve their graduation rates, there are people who automatically want to say, “Well, they’re lowering their standards.” Because I think there’s a bias against public education in this country. I really do, and the bias is strong, and that’s why I’m here in Philadelphia.

I’m going to stand tall and strong and tell people many public schools are doing better with the students that we serve than kids in other sectors. As third through eighth grade kids get (academically) stronger, and we continue to invest in those lower grades as they move up, we will do nothing but produce stronger high school students and graduates.

I think there’s a problem with grade inflation in higher education and K-12. I’ll admit that at the same time.

Some Philadelphia superintendents stay a long time. Some don’t. Why stay in the role?

This is personal to me. As a student who came out of poverty myself, I know that public schools are the way to get into the middle class and solidly in the middle class. I know that public schools are what can help to create wealth and generational wealth that far too many Americans don’t get.

I just think all the pieces are coming together at one time, despite all the challenges we have. I’m optimistic about the progress that has been made.

And then finally, I’d like to stay 10 years and one day — and beat (former Superintendent) Bill Hite’s record of 10 years.

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org.