Governor Corbett just announced that he is nominating City Councilman Bill Green and Farah Jimenez, head of the People’s Emergency Center, to the School Reform Commission. This is great news for our schools and students.

Bill Green, who will be nominated as Chair, has been an advocate for high-quality public education and a champion for policies that will lead to better outcomes for students. Farah Jimenez is a long-time supporter of education reforms from her distinguished career in community and civic leadership. As we said in a statement today, “The Governor’s nominees reflect a strong commitment to meaningful, bipartisan reform of public education in Philadelphia.”

Over the past two years, Chairman Pedro Ramos and his colleagues on the School Reform Commission – alongside philanthropists, civic and business leaders, and families from across the city – have been leading transformational change to our city’s schools by expanding our highest quality schools and addressing some of the toughest questions around finance, governance, and human capital.

We hope today’s announcement, which comes at an important time for Philadelphia’s schools, signals a continuing commitment to dramatic reform. This year, the SRC will make decisions on issues critical to the future of education in our city, including resolution of the teacher’s contract, expansion of the successful Renaissance Schools initiative, the growth of high quality district and charter schools, achieving financial stability, and much more. At PSP we stand ready to work with families, civic and educational leaders, and the SRC on these critical challenges.

Again, congratulations to Councilman Green and Ms. Jimenez; we applaud their willingness to serve and look forward to partnering in the vital effort to ensure every child in every neighborhood can attend a great school.