Guest Commentary: Philadelphia’s Educational Double Standard

The Philadelphia Board of Education has had enough with abysmal academic records — sort of.

The school board recently voted not to renew the charter for KIPP North Philadelphia. The vote doesn’t immediately close the school but begins a deliberative process to decide whether to do so.

“At some point, we have to say, ‘No more,’” said Joan Stern, a board member, citing the school’s lack of scholastic achievement, according to The Inquirer. At KIPP, only 24 percent and 10 percent of students are proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) and math, respectively.

However, about a mile-and-a-half away from KIPP is another school that doesn’t seem to be performing very well, either: the James G. Blaine School.

Now, before I go any further, I want to make something clear: I’m not picking on