Philadelphia Public School theNotebook: Ackerman: 'This has got to be radical.':

Notebook: What do you think about the argument that there should be more robust incentives to get teachers into the hard-to-staff schools?

Ackerman: Money is not the only thing that is going to get them there. [Teachers] ask for several things: a great principal—they will not go if you don't have a great principal. They ask that we address some of the larger societal issues that impact children's learning—health issues, emotional, social kinds of issues, psychological—which is why we put in place the social service liaisons, the student advisors, the parent liaisons.

The other thing that [experienced teachers] have said to me is that they want to be in the lowest-performing schools in cohorts or groups of five or six, because if you're there as a singleton or a doubleton, it's too hard. Those teachers get overwhelmed not only with the issues that they're dealing with in their classroom, but then they're trying to support and mentor new teachers.

And I think on top of that, we just have to look at paying teachers differently. Teachers are in this 19th century model: we all get paid the same thing, and you earn more money by the number of years you put in. That doesn't make sense, and that doesn't happen in any other business but education now.

Read the entire interview.

Read Todd Wolfson and Hanna Sassaman piece summarizing Philadelphia's important pursuit of stimulus money to expand Philadelphia online access.

St. Michael's Lutheran Church, 6671 Germantown Avenue, will join Philadelphia Fight (www.fight.org) to participate in National HIV Testing Day on Saturday, June 27, 2009 from noon to 4 pm. Speakers, literature and on-site HIV testing will be available. Other health-related information will be provided including resources for people who are living with HIV/AIDS, a healthy living table, and information about the SHARE food program, A community barbecue will be held during the event. The event is free and open to the public. Walk-ins welcome.

This program is a part of the15th Anniversary of National HIV Month during the month of June. The theme this year if Prevention, Treatment and Justice. Prevention because this is still the only way to stop the spread of HIV!. Treatment because HIV is not a death sentence! And Justice because HIV is caused by a virus, but the epidemic is caused by poverty, injustice and despair!

For more information, contact the church office at 215-848-0199.

Philadelphia, Pa- Hip hop has always garnered the reputation for being adverse and unapologetic. A genre that has been overlooked and underrated for many years, most people question its legitimacy. Native Philadelphian and emerging hip hop star, Legrand begs to differ. Less than a week ago, he gave birth to a brainchild of running a mini-marathon to inspire him, connect with the fans and communicate a sense of spirituality and health to the community at large. This Saturday, June 13, 2009, Legrand will begin his journey around the city officially starting at 10a.m.at The Philadelphia Art Museum in Center City. Prior to this, he will be found having breakfast with the men of First African Baptist Church, Sharon Hill, Pa where the Rev.Dr.Richard A. Dent is the pastor. “I want to start the day off with a connection to my higher power- God and a healthy dose of breakfast and fellowship with God’s people”, states the artist. His journey of level paced marathon running will start at the museum, which will take him thru many areas of the city including South Street, university city and others. Along the route will include water and food stations for the artist/runner and hopeful attendants and volunteers will boast the likes of family members and Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest African American Fraternity, will also give a lending hand to one of their most noted members. This momentous run is also a platform to promote a chance for fans to spend the day with Legrand. “I would love to stop and chat with my fans, take pictures and have it documented for the internet, television and other media outlets”, states Legrand. He would like all fans to come out at various “fueling stations” with cameras, questions and great energy on Saturday to support him. Speaking of fans and their much appreciated energy, June 18th, 2009 at Philadelphia’s own, Trocadero, Legrand will be giving his fans his much anticipated Fan Appreciation Concert. “I am very excited to give my fans some love for their undying support of my musical journey”, he states. The “Legrandathon” is tentatively expected to last until 2pm! Validation in hip hop can be found in this artist, not only is he committed to running a mini-marathon; he is committed to his walk with Christ and to creating intelligent and creative hip hop. For more information on Legrand and his ever growing list of accomplishments, please visit www.reverbnation.com/legrand or for the twitter in you, please visit www.twitter.com/legrand4790. Also to see Legrand featured in the hit reality series “Who wants to Be A Rap star?” please visit www.internetrecords.tv

Inquirer: True melting pot helped save libraries:

Stirred by Mayor Nutter's proposal to close 11 branch libraries, the opponents came tumbling off the shelves of Philadelphia society - rich, poor, black, white, homeschoolers from the Northeast, young anarchists from West Philly.

With President-elect Barack Obama's campaign as both inspiration and field guide, they organized, demonstrated and sued, then packed the courtroom for hearings and showered the mayor with boos at his own news conference.

Then, astoundingly, they won. At least for now.

A judge's ruling Tuesday forced Nutter to get City Council approval or a court order to implement his plan to save $36 million by 2013 through closing the branches. Nutter called the ruling an assault on the City Charter's strong-mayor form of government and said he would appeal.

Others called it a crucial victory for communities, even a model for civic participation in public policy.

Tom Ferrick at It's Our City wonders if the outrage Mayor Nutter has earned over this issue is worth it and offers an alternative:

Here’s an alternative: Back off on the library issue, Develop a comprehensive plan for meet the economic crisis that involves sacrifice by everyone –taxpayers, vendors, city employees, the mayor and his top staff — and use the upcoming budget address (for fiscal 2010) to begin the process of selling it to the public.

If people feel that everyone is feeling some pain, they won’t resent as much swallowing their piece of it. If people think the administration has really, actually listened to them and their concerns – and taken them into account – then maybe they will go along with the plan.

In other words, admit you made a mistake and go back to the drawing board.

Library Journal.com: Philadelphia Judge Stops Mayor’s Plan To Close 11 Libraries:

In response to two lawsuits—filed by three City Council Members, seven library patrons, and the library staff union—Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Idee Fox today put the brakes on Mayor Michael Nutter’s plan to permanently close 11 branch libraries at the end of the day tomorrow, saying that City Council approval is required.

TogetherGreen Fellowships have recently been awarded to forty of the nation’s most promising conservationists. Meet Keith Russell, a Fellow who has been involved in conservation efforts for two decades. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania man is the recipient of a new national fellowship designed to advance the work of individuals with outstanding potential to help shape a brighter environmental future. He is one of only 40 people selected from competitors nationwide for the TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Program, part of a new conservation initiative of the National Audubon Society with support from Toyota.

Fellows receive specialized training in conservation planning and execution, the chance to work and share best practices with gifted conservation professionals, and assistance with project outreach and evaluation. Each Fellow will also receive $10,000 towards a community-focused project to engage local residents in conserving land, water and energy, and contributing to greater environmental health. For his fellowship, Keith will focus on organizing a volunteer monitoring effort to collect data on bird collisions with building windows, combining citizen science and wildlife conservation efforts. This study will help reveal how building lights and building glass in downtown Philadelphia affect many of the migratory birds that pass through the city each spring and fall, allowing Russell and others to work towards making the city a safer place for these prodigious travelers. Turning off lights and reducing the transparency and reflection caused by building glass will help protect these birds from deadly collisions, educate community members and business owners about the perils migratory birds face in cities, and ultimately help slow the rate at which many of these species are now declining.

The efforts of the Fellows will aid people and wildlife around 39 cities in 24 different states—a full list can be found at http://www.togethergreen.org/fellows.

Geeks Who Give is a growing organization working to coalesce and focus the energy and capabilities of the media, tech, and online entrepreneurial communities in Philly around giving back to the city, to those in need.

It's first event is tonight at National Mechanics in support of Philabundance and fighting hunger.

I'm a big fan of this effort and am very happy to see its emergence. I hope the Philly blogosphere, in all its diversity, talent and energy gets behind it.

Years is not a blank stop and wait for your own pace, people are afraid of how the passage of time, but the passage of time as in life, like the young will not come back, sometimes to ask ourselves, what can be done in you?
The young years have had the passion of youth, with story Poetic's always doing things with the power and the smiling faces of the brilliant, but he did not understand the difficult road to walk, until the desire can not look forward to when we come to feel that life is not a poetically Picturesque, because life is a pluralistic, will have from time to time there is pressure and depressed.
Life needs work, people will not stop the pace of work, there is no pressure of life as stagnant water, no waves of ups and downs, and ordinary people did not insist, will not be satisfied until the harvest. I believe that insist on the importance of life is the ability to learn to survive in, people want to work, it is necessary to adhere to the one in the accumulation of goals with the times, there is no belief in life can not bear Shitaiyanliang.
Life is a thick book, but it's the only difference is that it can not or ahead of the inside to read it, but only to the memorable experience of the bit, we can not predict tomorrow's tomorrow, what would be the Scenarios, but a record of hard work and is the only way to masturbation, did not set the length of life, if there is no life, it means living under familiar with the environment and the personnel disputes, the light may be the best kind of mood, more Strong feelings often do not have the same concentration, and light can be lasting a lifetime.
That always adhere to the one in your life, a person's strength is limited, life can be small, but can not do without a strong will, can not Yiroukegang strength, writing text is my hobby, it can be said that I also insist on Suddenly feel like life is good to see all the articles, have revealed the outline of a progressive life, the true understanding of life on the record, although I do not think that the success of others, but that has its own rewards.
"Sit-in often think of their own, people chat on the non-Mo," I will reflect on their own in this, there have been energetic days, tipsy feeling the loss of their image, which lost a good person, I live in A lonely world. Life, a desire to help everyone, a kind of understanding, but it is a pragmatic world, there is hope that it will be paid back to hold, then, the truth, really difficult to have, to hold onto their last line of defense is very difficult for , Bound to make mistakes in life, and then found out gains and losses.
Like the light of life, in the words of the records emotional talk, to meet a self-satisfied, self-pleasure in the lyric, so there is green tea, poetry and life is not void, and adhere to the hearts of the written text is in fact Is to search for the soul of stability.

It's Our City: Tom Ferrick: Fishtown Blues:

To recap: Population growth is good. Reviving neighborhoods is good. Attracting young families is good.
So why is Mayor Nutter picking on Fishtown?

It sure seems that way from the ground level - from the 1200-block of E. Montgomery Ave, in Fishtown. There sits the neighborhood’s library - scheduled to be closed as part of budget cuts ordered by the mayor. Across the street is the neighborhood’s public pool - also scheduled to be shut down. A few blocks up is the fire station for Engine Co. 6, scheduled to be downsized.

“It’s a perfect storm,” said neighborhood activist A.J. Thomson. “Why would you remove something that young families see as an asset from one of the few neighborhoods that is gaining in young family population?”

Good question.

Part 1 of a series: THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS: Whatever Happens In Room 315, Stays In Room 315, Whatever Happens In:

Room 315 is a dumping ground of sorts; here are sent the students nobody else can or wants to teach. They are chronically truant, emotionally damaged, academically stunted and so disruptive that their presence makes mainstream classes unteachable. They haven’t yet offended badly enough for the School District to send them to Community Education Partners, or CEP, as the city’s three privately run discipline schools are called. CEP has a reputation for its hard-nosed student body and is sometimes less favorably referred to in the neighborhood as “Children En-route to Prison.” The kids of Room 315 aren’t welcome in the mainstream and yet can’t be shipped off somewhere else. Room 315 is where education makes its last stand in the lives of a small group of troubled children who slipped through the cracks, and are on the verge of drifting off the map entirely.

According to Michael Lewis at the Wall Street Journal and John Lancaster at The New Yorker, it is an end of an era on Wall Street. According to experts, the effects of the economic crisis have yet to be fully felt and will be touching out into every part of America over the next couple years.

Nationally, fewer are giving to charity, in Philly we have a what appears to be tightening job market, horrific stories of crime and heartbreak, and city budget that is on the ropes, triggering Mayor Nutter to pursue cuts across the board that will certainly effect livability in the city, if not lead it to being less safe.

Monday night residents in Fishtown protested proposed cuts that would eliminate the local library.

WHYY's It's Our City interviews the Inquirer's Ben Waxman on the budget process.

Jim Kenney, City Concilman-at-large, calls for cooperation to see the cuts through for the survival of the city.

If you're not already involved somehow, now it is especially needed. And if you are looking for ideas online, there are many places to discuss them and pursue them. This being just one of many in an ever growing Philadelphia online community.

Phawker, which continues to provide terrific commentary on the region, shares a piece on Pathways to Hope, a homeless initiative that focuses on the "housing first" strategy to fighting homelessness, and its establishment of services in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Inquirer: From the streets to a home: Pathways to recovery

Pathways to Hope joins a number of services serving the same space thru different means in Philly, significantly Project H.O.M.E. and The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness.

Old news I know, but congrats to Citizen Mom, Amy Z. Quinn on her new column at City Paper.

Her first piece, on the dangers perceived attending Philadelphia schools, earned criticism at Philebrity, where they cast it as subtle racism. I don't know I'd characterize it that way.

To me, her concerns were valid for anyone of any race. The Philly school system is in need of serious repair (via Albert Yee). Denying that makes little sense to me.

A woman named Hannah Upp is missing. Many on the Main Line are receiving a message we are about to post because this young woman, now a teacher in NYC, went to Bryn Mawr College and lived in our area as a student:

Last week Hannah Upp, a New York City public school teacher and a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, disappeared from her apartment in Harlem. The last time anyone saw her was around 2pm on the afternoon of Friday, August 29th. She had been planning to go away for the weekend so her roommates did not expect her until Saturday, or Sunday at the latest. When they had not seen or heard from Hannah on Sunday afternoon they began calling her phone but it went straight to voicemail each time. By Monday evening they were frantic and went into her room, where they found her keys, her phone, and her purse containing her ATM card, her Metro Card, and her only ID. They called the police. The police searched the apartment and when she did not show up for work on Tuesday, her first day of teaching for this school year, and it became clear that she had not gone in on Friday either, a Missing Persons report was filed.

Hannah is one of my dearest friends. I lived and studied with her for four years, and spent a summer in Europe with her. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met or had the pleasure of knowing well. Loving her has been a great joy.

Hannah's army of friends has just about wallpapered New York City in Missing posters and her story has received more media attention than we ever dreamed possible. There is nothing else anybody can do now but pray, and when there is nothing left to do but to pray, you have to pray like hell. Which is what I am asking all of you to do now.

You are just everybody in my gmail contact list. I don't know anything about your spiritual background. I don't care, either. Here is what I believe:

I believe that there is a divine presence, and that this presence is good. I believe that the divine creator that created human kind, or put into motion the series of events and conditions that allowed for the evolution of human kind, endowed every human being with a divinity all their own, for a divine creator cannot create anything but divine creations. I believe, therefore, that a sincere human expression of will, coming from a place of genuine love, understanding and wisdom, is in fact an expression of divine will, and that this is true prayer.

Please pray for Hannah. Pray for her safety and her happiness. You can pray in any way you like. You can make the sign of the cross and ask Jesus for help. Or meditate. Or chant. Or just think good thoughts about a good soul.

I also believe in the transformative power of pain and suffering. I believe that the pain Hannah is going through now, wherever she is, and the pain of her friends, missing her, can be used for good. It can remind us to tell our family and friends that we love them, to renew connections with loved ones, to appreciate the comfort and safety in our lives. Or, as in my case, it can strengthen a resolve to create a world where things like this do not happen to women.

Please do not let any pain or suffering be in vain. Tell your loved ones that you love them. And then tell them again.

Please forward this email to any or every one you know and ask them to pray for Hannah. Even if you, or they, don't know Hannah from a hole in the wall there is nothing wrong with one soul asking for another soul to be okay.

Also, if you, or anyone you know, have any media connections (TV, radio, newspaper, internet blogs, anything at all) please let them know about Hannah's story. We need all the press we can get. You never know when or how it will reach the one person that saw something that will help us find her.

Love,
Amanda (amanda.j.conroy@gmail.com)

Here is a news report (an excerpt):

ABC News: Teacher's Disappearance Baffles Friends, Family
Friends, Family Take Search to the Web
By ASHLEY PHILLIPS
Sept. 5, 2008

The disappearance of a young New York City school teacher just days before classes began has launched a massive search by her army of friends.

Hannah Upp, 23, was last seen a week ago.

Upp's distraught mother, Barbara Bellus, is keeping a vigil in her daughter's apartment.....Upp's two roommates, a man and a woman, became worried about her Sunday night when they hadn't heard from her, roommate Samantha Gallardo, 25, told ABCNews.com.

According to Gallardo, Upp's other roommate, fellow teacher Manny Ramirez, searched her room and saw that her purse, wallet, cell phone, ATM card and subway card were all there.

"My roommate woke me up and we went down to the police station. They didn't seem too concerned about it at first, but at 4 a.m. that night there were already detectives in our apartment," Gallardo said. "There's been police in our apartment since." ...When they found out she was missing, Upp's network of friends from around the city and from her alma mater, Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania, sprang into action. Several flew in from out of town and plastered the city with flyers