Welcome to Straight from the 8th! I hope this will be a resource for you about the happenings of the 8th Senatorial District, as well as events or legislative initiatives that I am sponsoring in the district and Harrisburg.

Education has been a major issue of mine since my days in the General Assembly. Whether it is support of innovative funding methods, using the arts to reach nontraditional learners or providing greater access to struggling students, focusing on how we help today’s students become tomorrow’s workforce remains essential. Here is an update on some of the important educational events and initiatives underway in which I am involved.

Even during tough economic times, investment in education still shows us the largest return because preparing today’s learners to be tomorrow’s thinkers will help improve the economy for generations to come. Please keep me up to date on the new and creative educational programs you and your neighbors are working on and how my office may be able to assist you.

Sincerely, ANTHONY H. WILLIAMS PA SENATE - 8TH DISTRICT

Something’s Coming! Performance Spreads Message of Peace

In a city all too familiar with violence, area students have created a theatrical performance that teaches their peers and the community new ways to cope and overcome the tensions of city life.

The Youth Arts Corp, a group of 40 talented local teenagers, recently performed Something’s Coming!, a play geared toward school children featuring music from West Side Story, dance numbers, and their own monologues and poems about crime, gang fighting and what it means for youth to live surrounded by violence.

Something’s Coming! debuted in March, and there will be additional school performances in the near future.

“We have all seen the tragedies that violence has caused in our city, touching the lives of everyone from our school children to our police officers,” Williams said. “Arts and creative expression are great ways to keep students engaged and away from violence — giving them a voice and an outlet to express life’s challenges. They’re also teaching other children to look beyond violence as a way to solve problems. That’s why I was so pleased to team up with West Philadelphia Coalition of Neighborhoods and Businesses (WPCNB) and secure a state grant to fund this powerful show.”
 

‘Code of Accountability’ Created to Ensure Equality
Among Charter, Public Schools

As the number of charter schools continues to grow throughout the state, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Charter Schools (PCCS) has introduced a new “Code of Accountability.”

The Code of Accountability is comprised of three key standards: academic accountability, ethical accountability and responsible governance, and fiscal accountability. The code puts a strong emphasis on transparency, requiring that standards be made public and establishing guidelines to eliminate possible financial or familial conflicts of interest.

Half of Pennsylvania’s charter schools are in Philadelphia, representing one in five of all the city’s publicly funded schools.

Currently, charter schools receive 70 percent of the per-pupil cost of the student’s home district. PCCS is emphasizing its policy of “Trust and Transparency” as support for funding parity between public and charter schools.

“Why are we giving charter schools, which are public schools, fewer dollars, yet scrutinizing them even more?,” Williams asked. “We are no longer going to allow for open discrimination in a public system. Penny for penny, all students must be given the chance to compete.”
 

Salsa Fund Raiser to Benefit Steppingstone Scholars

State Sen. Anthony H. Williams and former state Sen. Connie Williams (D-17) join together to present the annual Steppingstone Scholars Salsa, the organization’s signature event of the year. It will be one of the hottest social affairs in Philadelphia this spring, and all proceeds will help further the good work of Steppingstone Scholars, a Philadelphia based non-profit that prepares motivated and talented urban school children for educational opportunities that lead to college. Williams and his wife Shari were both invited to co-chair the event with Connie Williams and her husband Dr. Sankey Williams.

This year’s Salsa, marking the organization’s tenth anniversary, will take place on Friday, April 24 from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park. The Please Touch Museum will transform into a hot dance lounge for over 300 friends and supporters of Steppingstone. The event will feature exotic cocktails, an exquisite stationed dinner prepared by Max & Me, and the festive sounds of The Quake.

“By working together to support educational programs and organizations that are truly making a difference - like Steppingstone - we can promote academic success while also helping our nation remain competitive in this increasingly global economy,” Williams said.