Be sure to read this op-ed in today’s Daily News: PSP’s Helen Cunningham and Mark Gleason call on District leadership to continue its highly successful school turnaround efforts.

In the last five years, nearly two dozen persistently failing schools have been turned around with dramatic results, both academically and for the community… all while serving the same students from the same neighborhoods in the same buildings. These schools are the most important and striking innovation happening in public education anywhere in the country – so why aren’t we doing more of them?

As the piece notes, “The facts show that charter turnarounds are working in Philadelphia. Students and families say they’re working. Dollar for dollar, it’s the most efficient way to dramatically improve neighborhood schools. Successful operators are ready to serve more students and communities.”

The District will soon announce its plans for the coming year. Alongside families who, year after year, are left to contend with Philadelphia’s most persistently violent and academically failing schools, we hope the District will double down on what is unequivocally its most powerful tool for creating better neighborhood schools.