In case you missed it, week of May 24

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

The USDA’s plans to terminate Philly’s universal feeding program were in the news throughout the week. We linked to our past coverage of the issue and updates in the Inky on Sunday and Friday. Saturday the Inky published an editorial supportive of the program.

This Wednesday the SRC adopted the 2009-2010 District budget. KIPP Philadelphia got a multi-million dollar grant from a national fund. A million dollars in transportation funding is coming to Philly to improve walking and biking routes to school for 37 K-8 schools.

Philly schools were the topic of a Daily News editorial from John Chubb of EdisonLearning and Inquirer editorial by Arlene Ackerman. Superintedent Ackerman’s editorial addressed teacher quality, which is the focus of the Notebook‘s Summer edition.

On the local blogs, Media Mobilizing Project’s new education justice blog has a post from Aaron Couch about a new tool to look at federal education budget data. Philadelphia Student Union is blogging from the CPER (Communities for Public Education Reform) conference in Philly this week.

If you want to see writers rather than read their stuff (yay, Book TV), NY Times has a video of Farai Chideya and John McWhorter talking about segregated schools. McWhorter’s point seems to be, let’s change the paradigm so that separate is equal (or, even better!)–but isn’t the separation stil a problem, even if the school is great? That line between a safe, inviting community space and a set apart "ghetto" space is fine and difficult to navigate. (This idea came up again recently with Slate‘s women’s spin off, DoubleX, after its African American spin off, TheRoot. Why can’t we read the same awesome stuff in Slate itself? To be fair, they have a financial spin off, too.)

Food came up in the Washington area too, specifically about how food given out at after-school programs can be a critical feeding opportunity for hungry kids.

Check the PEN Blast for a thorough national roundup.