Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker released an education plan that calls for students to remain in school all year round in an effort to better equip students for today’s society and reduce crime.
As the May 16 primary election draws near, Parker introduced her Parker Plan for Education, which is her effort to transform the way people think about public schooling.
Parker believes Philadelphia’s public school system is outdated and is not preparing kids for the modern economy.
In her plan, Parker cites the public school schedule, lack of extracurriculars and career development as reasons why the public school system in Philly is failing.
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Elementary schools are only open for 6 hours and 39 minutes, which Parker’s plan says means kids miss out on extracurriculars like language, art, music, sports and coding.
Parker’s solution is for schools to be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. to include before and after school activities. Also, for high schools to be open for athletics, college courses, apprenticeship programs and career training.
Her vision is for high schools to be able to partner with “businesses, city departments, and the Building Trades to provide training for jobs that are available and needed, as well as partnering with colleges and universities to provide best-in-class preparatory training for students who are college-bound.”
To fund this initiative, Parker wants to allocate more city resources and increase the share of real estate taxes that go to the Philadelphia School District from 55% to 58%.
Parker plans to launch a pilot program for her education plan if she becomes the 100th mayor of Philadelphia.
Watch Parker's entire interview explaining her plan with NBC10's Lauren Mayk here.
