PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — School district officials said that they plan to offer algebra to all of its eighth graders in the 2027-2028 school year at a city council meeting this week.
The announcement came after a study by Pennsylvania child education advocacy group Children First found that about a third of Philadelphia eighth graders have access to algebra.
According to policy director Symbol Lai, who testified at the hearing Thursday, it is as much of an education equity issue as it is a workforce and economic development issue.
“In a city where medicine, pharmaceuticals, tech and even our trades dominate, the fact that not all students are able to take algebra in their schools hinders their ability to connect to good jobs, stable careers and opportunities in our own local economy,” she said.
At the hearing, Deputy School Superintendent Brenda Elliot assured members the district has plans to expand access from the current 75 schools to all 126 and ensure “every eligible eighth grade student has access to Algebra I.”
Eligibility for those classes is based on sixth grade test scores.
Diana Lievano, executive director at the Philadelphia STEM Equity Collective, said the district should make sure more students are ready to meet those requirements.
“The goal must be access, yes,” Lievano said. “But also awareness, preparation and success.”
No easy answers for pre-K expulsions
City council’s education committee also addressed the issue of children being expelled from Philadelphia preschools at the hearing.
Parents testified about their experiences, such as Jennifer Garrison, who spoke about the difficulties her autistic son had in preschool that ultimately led to his expulsion.
“Terrell is one of the sweetest, brightest, most loving boys you could ever meet,” Garrison said at the hearing. “The impact on my son has been devastating.”
Committee members were sympathetic, but also heard testimony from preschool providers who showed another side of the issue.
“It is hard to address the needs of kids with physical disabilities, mental issues, behavior problems without resources,” testified Taneema Fannings, who is one of more than 1,500 private pre-K providers in the city. “You want me to support families and be a resource, be a resource for me. Someone cannot continue to sit in a room and demand of me all of these obligations without resources.”
Pennsylvania does not mandate pre-K or kindergarten, so there are no state resources available for private providers. As a result, those providers tend to be small and very selective about the children they admit.
City and school district officials testified that their policies don’t permit children with special needs to be expelled from Head Start of PHLpreK, but those only make up a small sliver of pre-K programs.
Committee chair Isaiah Thomas admitted he was stymied by the hearings.
“It’s a big gap there, the needs and concerns of providers compared to the issues that parents communicated,” he said. “Very informative wrapping my mind around the problem, but I don’t know about the solution.”
School district officials say they will offer algebra to all eighth graders starting in the 2027-2028 school year, and education committee members grapple with preschool expulsions
School district officials say they will offer algebra to all eighth graders starting in the 2027-2028 school year, and education committee members grapple with preschool expulsions
