A view of SFUSD from Philadelphia

With Arlene Ackerman just named CEO of Philadelphia's schools, it's interesting reading the Philly press on her history in SFUSD (Yes, I and other parent activists here have talked to Philadelphia reporters.)

Here's veteran Philadelphia Inquirer education reporter Susan Snyder's coverage: Ackerman praised as new chief of city schools

If Arlene Ackerman, the new Philadelphia schools CEO, comes to Philadelphia with any baggage, it's the reputation of having ruffled some school board members and union officials in San Francisco, where she was superintendent for six years.

But at yesterday's formal announcement of her selection, even that was something to praise.

"You show me a big city school superintendent who hasn't had a run-in with some particular constituency, and I'll show you somebody who never tried to accomplish anything," Mayor Nutter, joined by Gov. Rendell, said during a news conference at City Hall.

Nutter, Rendell and Sandra Dungee Glenn, chairwoman of the School Reform Commission, said they were impressed with Ackerman's ability to improve student achievement, work with diverse groups and ferret out corruption. Dungee Glenn said she also admired a funding system that Ackerman developed in which more resources were directed to needier schools. ...In San Francisco, some critics complained that Ackerman had an "autocratic" style and didn't involve the community enough when making plans to overhaul the worst schools. Some local education advocates saw this as worrisome.

But Nutter and Rendell said they had talked with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who told them that some of Ackerman's disputes were with members of the Green Party, an environmental and social justice group. Nutter cited one conflict over "irradiated meat."

"None of those are tremendously big issues here in Philadelphia," Nutter said.

It's pretty amusing that the irradiated meat kerfuffle is STILL the subject of ridicule, several years later and 3,000 miles away. (For the uninitiated, this was about a Board of Ed resolution to ban irradiated meat from SFUSD's school meals, though it had never been served, discussed or on the radar in SFUSD. Many felt that the BOE should be devoting its time and energy to actual real-life problems, not symbolic statements.)

Here's some more Philadelphia coverage of Ackerman:

• Philadelphia Daily News
• Philadelphia Inquirer