councilwomanbrb-blog

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

w/ The Sunbeams--The Children's Choir of Corinthian Baptist Church of Germantown. A special thanks to Ron Holt for the invitation. :-)

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

#HappyFoundersDay! #DeltaSigmaTheta #DST #DST102 #SisterhoodandService #Fortitude #Sorors

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

#NYEPhilly #HNY #HappyNewYear at Gary DeVito's party w/ Senator @larry_farnese

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

"Let's not only value diversity, let's value contrast." #MoxieWomenConference (at The Gershman Y)

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

#moxiewomenconference #sorors #DST #DST101 #deltasigmatheta @uacoalition @redcrossphilly (at The Gershman Y)

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

with future #superstar Elijah Pompey & Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. @mr4thdistrict in #phlcouncil #philly #philadelphia #leadership

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

The Fight for Education: Our Children Deserve Better

Last year, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), Parents United, the Media Mobilizing Project, and the Offices of Councilman Bill Green and Councilwoman Maria D. Quiñones-Sánchez launched an initiative to address “curriculum deficiencies” in the School District of Philadelphia. This initiative was established to address a number of issues in the district including overcrowded classrooms, a lack of school personnel, and the absence of high-quality instruction. The project was created to better convey student needs and to address the challenges our city faces such as lack of education funding. With so much at stake, I decided to join this initiative as an education and youth advocate, a former educator and parent.  

  The first step was launching www.myphillyschools.com, an online portal used to gather stakeholder grievances. The platform allowed Philadelphia parents, teachers, students, and other stakeholders to file complaints about curriculum deficiencies and to document dire school conditions. After just a few months, the system received over 800 grievances. PILCOP sorted them and sent them to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). According to state law, the PDE is required to respond to and investigate all claims. Not only did the PDE fail to investigate any claims, but the office also claimed that the grievances were not the responsibility of the state. Parents were told their concerns would not be addressed.

  As we all know, Philadelphia schools are struggling financially and otherwise. Many students have been and continue to be stuffed into rooms with 30 plus other children. They do not have access to the arts, libraries or foreign language courses. Neither do they have access to support staff like librarians, counselors, and nurses. Given this reality, it is imperative we continue this fight for education equity. We have the responsibility to look out for our children. Our city is home to great businesses, community initiatives and dozens of Eds and Meds. But where will our children learn to be our future leaders? I am thrilled to lend my voice to such a worthy cause and joint venture to end Philadelphia’s protracted education crisis! In the words of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “Until we get equality in education, we won’t have an equal society.”

  Thanks for reading!

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

#quotes #inspiration #quoteoftheday #mayaangelou #phenomenalwoman

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

#Thankful!

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

Wishing a Happy Happy Birthday to my colleague and #Soror Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco!! #DST #DeltaSigmaTheta

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

Happy #Thanksgiving from Ben Franklin! Thank you #PCVB for a fabulous party! (at Philadelphia Convention Center - Terrace Ballroom)

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

#TBT! Before a performance of "Hello Broadway" at the Brighton Hotel in Atlantic City.

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

Committee-people Robert Chalmers & Valeria Davis-Chalmers @ MLK Senior Center. (at Martin Luther King Recreation Center)

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

Come visit our table at MLK Senior Center @ 21st and Cecil B. Moore! (at Martin Luther King Recreation Center)

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

Congrats Congressman-Elect Brendan Boyle!! #EDayPhilly #electionsmatter

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

Congratulations State Rep-Elect Mike Driscoll! #EDayPhilly

[councilwomanbrb-blog]

My #Wynnefield neighbor Lois Schmidt & I after voting this am. #electionday #everyvotecounts #edayphilly