Building a Better Student-to-Teacher Pipeline Can Ease Staffing Crisis

Building a Better Student-to-Teacher Pipeline Can Ease Staffing Crisis

By Senator Vincent Hughes and Sharif El-Mekki

A decade ago, Pennsylvania certified 20,000 new teachers.  Last year, that number was down to 6,000.  Chronic understaffing, along with underfunding, is driving increased burnout and shorter teaching careers.

That loss of teachers is particularly concerning among communities of color which make up 37 percent of the student body, but only 7 percent of teachers.

Republican Reopening Scam Is the Worst Kind of Politics 

Republican Reopening Scam Is the Worst Kind of Politics 

In the last few weeks, Pennsylvania Republicans have ramped up the political theatre in a brazen attempt at politicizing the Wolf Administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. From staged political rallies organized by out-of-state, extreme right-wing...
Senate Democrats Call for Action on Poverty and Income Insecurity

Senate Democrats Call for Action on Poverty and Income Insecurity

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats Call for Action on Poverty and Economic Insecurity in Pennsylvania April 4 marked the 51st anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. To honor Dr. King’s memory, Pennsylvania Senate Democrats...
No more silence: Why our community must address mental health

No more silence: Why our community must address mental health

Depression. Anxiety. Mood disorders. Dementia.

We hear about these and other mental health afflictions in our regular conversations, on television shows and even in our music, but it remains a consistent public health crisis in the black community because of the stigma surrounding topic.

We must act to stop crumbling schools in Philadelphia, across Pa.

We must act to stop crumbling schools in Philadelphia, across Pa.

Our schools are crumbling. Before the Inquirer reported on the deplorable conditions in Philadelphia schools, I heard that message from parents and students and even viewed it with my own eyes while visiting city schools. Seeing the conditions in which some of our...
Redlining is keeping people of color out of homes

Redlining is keeping people of color out of homes

The practice of redlining, which segregated communities and prevented minorities from achieving home ownership as their version of the American Dream, appears to be alive and well in our city and many communities across the nation. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 should...
Action to Address Worker Wages First Step on Long Road to Equity

Action to Address Worker Wages First Step on Long Road to Equity

Frustrated by years of resistance from legislative Republicans to raise worker wages, Gov. Tom Wolf announced plans to lift the state’s salary threshold below which Pennsylvania salaried workers automatically receive overtime pay.   The governor’s action is...
Philadelphia Takes Control of Schools, but State Still Owes Pupils

Philadelphia Takes Control of Schools, but State Still Owes Pupils

Op-ed by Vincent Hughes Mayor Kenney said he wanted to end state oversight of the School District of Philadelphia as a necessary step toward reclaiming local control of our public schools. Now, with the action by the School Reform Commission to disband, control of the...

Courts Must Step in to Ensure Fair Funding of Public Education

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court sat in session in Philadelphia last week to hear a case that provides the opportunity for the court to act affirmatively on behalf of the several hundred thousand school children in Pennsylvania who have been denied an equitable...

PSSA Tests and Public Education Funding: Let’s Not Cheat Our Students

Op-Ed Column by State Senator Vincent Hughes At a news conference on September 21, Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis, released the results of the 2011-12 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). The PSSA tests measure a student’s achievement of certain...