Philadelphia, PA - Today, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, State Representative Stephen Kinsey, and School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington toured Anna L. Lingelbach Elementary School to highlight historic investments in K-12 education and the improvement in statewide test scores.
“Governor Shapiro has signed a commonsense, bipartisan budget that delivers on his top priorities to create a stronger economy, safer and healthier communities, and better schools,” said Secretary Mumin. “This budget’s historic investments will help schools like Lingelbach Elementary make continued improvements in their assessment results, and it will ensure that all children have the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.”
The 2023-24 budget makes historic investments in education for students across Pennsylvania, including $567 million in basic education funding – the largest increase to the Basic Education Funding Formula in Pennsylvania history. This includes an increase of $85.5 million for the School District of Philadelphia. Gov. Shapiro also fought for and delivered $46.5 million to guarantee universal free breakfast for Pennsylvania students. Universal free breakfast ensures that students have access to a healthy, nutritious meal to start the school day and eliminates the stigma associated with free and reduced-price breakfast that may deter eligible students from participating.
“I want to thank Secretary Mumin for coming to northwest Philadelphia to visit Lingelbach with myself and Dr. Watlington. I also want to thank Principal Waddell for having us,” said Representative Kinsey. “Getting to see a few classrooms and interact with the students directly lets us know the impact their education is having on them. I look forward to continuing my advocacy to ensure Pennsylvania’s schools are fairly funded and our students can receive the best education possible.”
Results of the 2023 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) show that students at Lingelbach Elementary increased their proficient and advanced scores by 13.7% in Science, 10.5% in Math, and 3.6% in English Language Arts. This reflects continued improvement statewide. Statewide assessment results are improving with each passing year as impacts of pandemic-related assessment waivers decline and investments to put needed resources in our classrooms increase.
“From reducing the student dropout rate, increasing the number of students passing state tests while decreasing the number of students scoring at the lowest levels, and increasing student and teacher attendance — we are Accelerating Philly,” said Superintendent Watlington. “We are thrilled to have Secretary Mumin visit Lingelbach to see one of the schools that is increasing student academic achievement to learn more about how it’s making an impact on our students."
During the tour, Secretary Mumin, Representative Kinsey, and Superintendent Watlington got a firsthand look at the school’s outdoor learning activities and also visited indoor classrooms. The tour concluded with a Q&A session, where students had the opportunity to directly engage with the three officials.