Currently the Philadelphia school system is operating without teachers in many of its classrooms.
Source4Teachers, the firm the school district hired before the school year started promised 75 percent of classrooms would have teachers by the first day and 90 percent would be occupied by January. As of last Thursday, according to philly.com, just 11 percent of the spots have been filled.
The substitutes will receive up to $110 a day in their classrooms, but many are still in the process of obtaining their teaching degrees or certifications. While having an adult in a classroom is better than the classroom being empty, the children in the public school system deserve more.
The district is still waiting for the state budget to be able to make any more major financial decisions, but if the $34 million contract with Source4Teachers is unsuccessful, they could be even worse off.
Those in the Temple community interested in improving the situation can volunteer or work through programs like City Year and JumpStart, Americorps programs that aid to assist city schools and their students to succeeding.
When the budget does come through, the district will have to decide how to spend the money they have finally been allotted. We hope they invest in educators who will make the best of the resources they have and stress the importance of schooling for all students.
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