On Tuesday, July 12, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington, Ed.D., announced a Transition Team as phase two of his three-phase approach to laying a foundation to improve outcomes for all students and achieve the Board’s Goals and Guardrails.

‘Listening and Learning’ is phase one of Watlington’s plan, and with the output from Phase Two Team, will then inform phase three: the development of a strategic plan in spring 2023, according to a media release.

“Through this Transition Team, I am intentionally bringing more than 80 members of the Philadelphia community, including Philadelphia parents, teachers, principals, unions educational, city, business, non-profit and grassroots leaders and the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) staff, together with non-SDP educational and industry leaders to discuss complex issues that will help me assess five specific areas of the SDP,” said Superintendent Watlington, “I am excited about the work that is well underway and the work on the horizon toward our collective goal of improving outcomes for all of our diverse learners and achieving the Board of Education’s Goals and Guardrails.”

The Transition Team will be composed of a group of local and national education and industry leaders assembled in five sub-committees, to address specific education challenges.

The review of trend data and application of research and best practices to provide short-term and long-term recommendations for progress in those areas, will be part of their tasks.

Andrea Custis, President & CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia, and Dr. Guy Generals,

President of the Community College of Philadelphia; will co-chair the Transition Team.

The five sub-committees are structured as follow: 1) The Student Achievement sub-committee —led by Dr. Sheila Brown, Former Deputy Superintendent, Boston Public Schools, and by Dr. Malika Savoy-Brooks, Chief Academic Officer, SDP—, responsible for advancing learning opportunities, to allow students achieve the level of success needed to access meaningful career and college opportunities.  2) The Operations sub-committee —led by Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr., Former Superintendent, New Orleans Public Schools, and by Uri Monson, Chief Financial Officer, SDP— will assess the current status of organizational, and logistical operations to pursue daily functioning and success of SDP, and also consider organizational capacity manage top talent.  This team will count with the support of a special advisor to bring business and industry expertise.  3) The Anti-Racist District Culture sub-committee —led by Dr. Camika Royal, Associate Professor of Urban Education, Loyola University, and Dr. Sabriya Jubilee, Chief of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, SDP— will investigate and consider elements that impact an anti-racist school culture and teaching environment, and factors which impede progress.  4) The Community Engagement and Communications sub-committee —led by Dr. James Earl Davis, Interim Dean, School of Education, Temple University, and by Kathryn Block, Chief of Communications, SDP— will provide information to strengthen community engagement in support of our students and their families. 5) The Enriching and Well-Rounded School Experiences sub-committee —led by Dr. Andrea Kane, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, and by Dr. Evelyn Nuñez, Chief Schools Officer, SDP— will explore the extent to which the District is providing a well-rounded education that affords students better opportunities.

All of these teams are aligned to the areas outlined in the ‘100-Day Priorities,’ with the involvement of members of the Philadelphia community for several weeks to generate findings and recommendations that will be shared in a report to the Board of Education and the public this fall.

More information about the Transition Team and the list of sub-committee members, is available at philasd.org/100days via the Transition Team button.