Pride designation out of school calendars, again

By Timothy Cwiek
PGN Writer-at-Large
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

Dr. Arlene Ackerman has made a series of tough decisions in the five-week period she’s served as superintendent of the city’s public schools.

Already, she’s significantly reduced the central bureaucracy to devote more resources to the classrooms and laid off more than 200 staffers.

She’s made the central office more customer-friendly by expanding its hours of operation and ensuring that a live person answers telephone calls, not a recorded message.

As for the upcoming school calendars, she’s agreed to go along with the School Reform Commission’s position and distribute “pride-free” calendars once again, though she realizes some LGBT advocates will be disappointed.

Two years ago, staffers went out on a limb by issuing school calendars featuring LGBT Pride Month, along with designations for other minority groups and women.

But after a firestorm of protests, the innovation abruptly ended. Ackerman has no intention of pushing for a repeat performance, she said.

“That’s the consensus of the school board,” Ackerman said. “That’s my boss. I’m told the [pride] calendars took a lot of time away from what the SRC members wanted to focus on, as it relates to improving achievement. So the decision has been made to leave all designations of different months out of the calendar.”

Ackerman, who replaced interim CEO Tom Brady after Paul Vallas left for New Orleans, stressed that she personally supports LGBT rights. She sees it as a social-justice issue, but she also shies away from being too political in her position.

Before taking the helm of the country’s eighth-largest school system, she said, she attended many LGBT-related events, including an LGBT Pride Parade, a lesbian wedding and an end-of-the-year dinner for gay and lesbian teachers and administrators.

But she did that more as a private person, and has no desire to become a lightning rod of controversy.

“I’m here for the kids,” she said. “That’s basically all I really care about. And I’ll get political for them and their issues. But I try to stay out of the other kinds of political issues as much as I can.”

Ackerman, who grew up in St. Louis, has a 30-year background in urban education. During the latter part of her career, she led public-school systems in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle prior to moving here.

San Francisco distributes school calendars with LGBT pride designations without the world coming to an end, she acknowledged.

“But that’s San Francisco, a different culture,” she said. “It’s a very different community. I am comfortable with diversity of all kinds, I really am. But I’m not trying to legislate my thoughts or ideas onto anybody else.”

On a more positive note, she expressed tentative support for an expansion of the school-condom program so that they’re available in all 61 public high schools rather than just the current 11 schools.

But the expansion will depend on the availability of funding sources, along with the approval of the SRC members, she said.

She said condoms are available in all 16 public high schools in San Francisco, with funding and staff assistance from a variety of sources, including the city’s Department of Public Health.

“Certainly I wouldn’t have a problem taking a lead or supporting the SRC if that’s, indeed, what they would like to do,” she said. “The concept isn’t anathema to me. I would rather that young people abstain, but if they are going to be sexually active, I would rather they be safe. As an organization that is devoted to learning, we have an obligation to help them be healthy in every way.”

She also supports an LGBT-inclusive curriculum for students that’s age-appropriate, and would have “no problem” with designated sections of school libraries featuring LGBT-related books.

She’d even be supportive of a mandated LGBT studies course for all high-school students in the district, though she doesn’t think the SRC would initiate such a move.

Ackerman also expressed support for the 33 gay-straight alliances that exist in Philadelphia’s public high schools. She feels strongly about the right of all students to learn in a safe, nurturing environment.

“It’s most important to learn to get along with one another, to respect our differences as well as we respect the ways we are alike. I want to make sure we don’t have any students, teachers or administrators who are disrespectful of that. They should accept where people are, and what they bring to the learning environment.”

Ackerman acknowledged having critics in San Francisco, but she said her focus has always been on championing the needs of children. She said most people in San Francisco believe that’s what she always tried to do.

Ackerman, 61, likened herself to the Energizer Bunny, alluding to an inner strength that keeps her going, even on the rockiest of roads.

She has a five-year contract with the district, featuring a salary-and-benefits package of $494,333 annually. As superintendent, she will manage a $2.3-billion operating and a $359.5-million capital budget for the 270 city schools.

When asked about the legacy she wishes to leave, she said: “That I came to Philadelphia and I left Philadelphia a better place for the children that I served.”

Timothy Cwiek can be reached at (215) 625-8501 ext. 208.