Is there anyone willing to discuss Russell Byers Charter School? My child is a student there, and it has been a good experience. The 4K teachers are awesome and I see how happy my child is. But I am concerned about the kindergarten teacher situation. I just spoke to another mom and she seems to think the teacher is not returning next year. I don't want to speculate, especially when I don't really know the entire situation, but I wanted my child to have this teacher next year for K. I don't know if I should switch to Catholic school or what. I just wish I was more informed. I did speak to the principal, but I felt like I got the runaround.

Just keep your eyes and ears open at RBCS. There is a lot to see, but is covered by the beautiful building. Oh... how colorful, clean, nice, fun, and of course the location...it fits well with those that live and work in the area.

Parents are often fooled by the visual. Please get more into the curriculum. Inquire about the EL program and the Social Studies and Science in the upper grades and if they have a Discipline Code. Is a 12 week expedition on one topic really great? Are the pretty bulletin boards or "Documentation Panels" really showing actual student learning, understanding or is it just frilly and pretty things for show. Parents looooovvvvvveeeee a show.

The runaround with the principal "Ha".... Your not the first one to express that feeling.

Also check to see how many teachers return. That is a big sign. BIG. ASK QUESTIONS..GO TO THE BOARD MEETINGS...TALK TO PARENTS WHO GO TO BOARD MEETING.....Do your research? Please don't be a parent who falls for the "This is a pretty school" mess.

Enjoy your day.

The principal is excellent at the runaround, dishonesty and basically he is full of himself; not concerned with the children in school or the teachers. One kindergarten teacher is not returning due to the lack of respect and treatment from administration. One of the fabulous 4k creators is also not returning. There are about 3 more teachers in the upper grades and the Spanish teacher who was there from the beginning, who are also not returning. They were fired or decided not to return. The teacher turnnover incredibly high! To me that raises concerns for our children. What type of message is that sending to the children that several new faces appear each year? Why are several great teachers asked to leave? I will consider attending a board meeting as suggested and ask for the truth from them, not the principal.

RBCS is all about the look and how people see the school from the outside. Great teachers not able 2 come back . That is HORRIBLE!!!
My sister had her kids at the school. Thank God Not any more. But my sister still has friends that hear things about the school all the time.
I feel really bad for the teachers that have to stay and put up with the bad administration.
The last time I talk to a teacher at the school she told me they give them sooooo much work and 1/2 the kids dont know how to read or do math at the level that they should.
Its all a BIG PRETTY SHOW!!! Dont do it!!! Put your kids at another school.

I would recommend changing, it is all about looks and as the saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover. It looks good on the outside, but is a mess on the inside. Interesting about your sisters children. My child will leave this year and attend the neighborhood school which is better managed with a Fantastic principal. Mr. El is not a good principal. Several parents don't even deal with him, they go to another person from administration because he is not easy to deal with...He is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! There are wonderful public schools with great leadership and low teacher turnover...that tells you something good when teachers stay at their school.

All of this doesn't sound good. I am going to give the school one more year because I just don't want to switch without really looking at other schools thoroughly. Of course if the other person is correct and several teachers are being fired, not coming back, etc. that tells me that something is going on. I am not a parent that is super active but I try to do my part. Maybe I was taken by the beautiful building and everything seemed to be wonderful when I first came to the school. And honestly, my child had an awesome year in 4K. But I am concerned about this teacher issue. I thought it was just a one teacher issue, but it seems like it's more. So that worries me, especially as my child gets older. I don't want to get to 3rd grade thinking I should have done something earlier. I just wanted to get some answers, and now it seems like there are many other problems. I realize that every school is going to have little issues here and there, but happy and satisfied employees don't leave their jobs. I appreciate the responses. I have some things to think about during this summer.

I guess is true what they say about Russell Byers. My God it is BAD. I also know a couple of parents that have kids in the school and all I hear is that the new principal is an ASS and he acts like he still in the projects but he makes more that 100.000.00 a year. He is a joke.... I feel bad for the teachers... But if you notice they only have like 2 or 3 teachers from the original bunch. The new teachers are new and very young. I guess they rather pay less to have a teacher that just graduated than to keep good teachers with a lot of experience. Not a GREAT LOOK for the school.
My friend that has kids at the school told me that this is her last year dealing with the stupid changes.
I guess they let go 2 or 4 teachers I really dont know and my friend is really upset. SHe cant wait to see who is taking the Kinder teacher place.
I guess I will ask her and report to you guys later.
Good luck looking for a school.

What do see as the problem? Why are the teachers leaving? Is it really the principal or something else that is going on there?

The school seems to have a good reputation and has a beautiful building. I would be curious as to what the specific issues are other than the principal makes a lot of money and wants to hire less experienced teachers. It comes across as a disgruntled teacher who wants to vent.

However, if there are a significant number of teachers leaving every year, then that would be a problem at any school.

What do see as the problem? Why are the teachers leaving? Is it really the principal or something else that is going on there?

If you read the postings IT IS THE PRINCIPAL! Teachers don't leave a well run schools. Parents don't complain or pull their kids out from a good school.

The school seems to have a good reputation and has a beautiful building.

What does that have to do with a poorly administered school? A good reputation can disappear within a year when you get the wrong principal. That's the bulk of the problems in Philly schools - too many principals think they can pull whatever they want and get away with it. Eventually it catches up with them.

I would be curious as to what the specific issues are other than the principal makes a lot of money and wants to hire less experienced teachers.

The specific issues have been identified, read the postings. This principal is not only alienating his staff, but the parents as well. Making lots of money is not a problen if you do your job well, but what is so great about hiring "less experienced teachers"? If you want to hire cheap teachers why stop there? Hire cheap principals too. They can screw up a school just a well as the high paid ones with a degree in BS.

Too many socalled school reformers think that there is an endless supply of new teachers that they can throw into the classrooms and then replace the next year with more fresh meat. The teachers that last are the ones who draw from experience in the classroom. You don't get that in teachers who are straight out of college. That's why the Teach For America program has such a high turnover.

It comes across as a disgruntled teacher who wants to vent.

You sound like a disgruntled administrator trying to deflect criticism. There's an obvious problem that the board running this charter needs to look into fast before the school's rep. is ruined.

However, if there are a significant number of teachers leaving every year, then that would be a problem at any school.

That's been an ongoing problem in Philly for years. Most administrators seem to ignore this and then dump the problem on the remaining teachers.

If you read the postings IT IS THE PRINCIPAL! Teachers don't leave a well run schools. Parents don't complain or pull their kids out from a good school.

I did read the postings. I noticed that it's always "my sister's, my neighbor's, my friend's kids" except for the original poster who was concerned about the kindergarten teacher situation. But there is not much evidence given. One poster did mention curriculum issues. That is what I would be more interested in hearing about. Everyone else wrote about teachers leaving.

Are parents really leaving the school because the principal gave them the runaround? What specifically? Did he totally ignore their concerns, told them what they wanted to hear, or they didn't get their way?

too many principals think they can pull whatever they want and get away with it. Eventually it catches up with them.

This is what I am talking about. What is it that he is pulling? Hiring less experienced teachers. That happens at every school. New teachers have to start somewhere and get the experience to be a great teacher. Could the issue with teachers leaving be that they want a higher pay? Charters pay well below unionized public schools.

From what I understand, Russell Byers Charter has an award-winning principal. Parents on other forums praise him as being the answer to some previous problems at the school. It seems as though they had several principals before him.

You sound like a disgruntled administrator trying to deflect criticism. There's an obvious problem that the board running this charter needs to look into fast before the school's rep. is ruined.

I am not an administrator. It sounds like people are using phillyblog to share their experiences and help parents get some background information about the school. Maybe they would be better off attending Board meetings and raising their concerns there.

In no way was I being critical of those people who had bad experiences with the school. Attacking the principal for making a lot of money isn't a valid argument for why parents are taking their children out of the school unless the school is lacking basic resources. This is what I was wondering. Is the school lacking basic resources? What about the curriculum? One poster mentioned the EL program and a Discipline Code. Is there a serious discipline problem at the school? What's the EL program?

This is what I was referring to in my comments about having a good reputation. When I hear people talk about schools, I don't really hear Russell Byers Charter in a negative manner.