...the students had lockers to use (with school-supplied locks)?

Since the first day of professional development a promise was made that students would be receiving lockers this year. Yet, by the end of January, that has not happened. Students continue to bring jackets with them to class, leaving them with various compassionate teachers, sometimes returning to the room in which they left them to find the teacher gone. Moreover, students are often found without enough school supplies, perhaps because they have nowhere to store such a bulky load. Before Winter Break some progress was made on this front but it seems to have ground to a halt. At this point, what more is needed? If it is the physical locks, just call up West Philadelphia Locksmith - I'm sure they can help provide.

Here's a coupon if you need one: http://www.ucnet.com/locksmith/index.htm

... we were provided the resources with which to teach properly?

Business expenses are what it really comes down to. Every year teachers use money they earn in order to run their classes properly. It could be buying copy paper, arts and crafts supplies, calculators, or even the most basic necessity: chalk. Whatever it may be, they are using their own money instead of being provided with these tools by the school. How can a teacher keep his or her students on target with the Planning and Scheduling Timeline when the books required by the PST are unavailable at the school? What about teaching functions and trigonometry without graphing calculators (when they are behind lock and key)? If the new weekly assessments demand knowledge of the PST, we are definitely screwed. We need to know where the resources are that we need and how to get them. Simplify the process so the students can get what they need from their school. In the meantime, Walmart has offered to help:

http://www.philasd.org/announcements/walmart_donation.html

...we maximized instructional time instead of demanding weekly assessments?

Our students are difficult - we understand that. They are late to class; they leave early; or they don't come at all and show up the next day without a note to excuse them. Why, then, do we attempt to solve the problem of underachievement through unnecessary assessments? Is it really going to entice our students to show up more often and do more work if all we can guarantee them is more mindless bubble-filling? Real education comes from spending time working with students in meaningful ways on meaningful tasks. We know our students are behind - give us some more resources so we can do something about it. And leave the tests at 440.

http://www.pde.state.pa.us/k12/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=54309