Fifteen years ago, Jeanette W. Brewer was a student at Penn's Graduate School of Education (GSE), pursuing a Ph.D. in educational leadership. Last month, she returned to GSE, not only as a graduate and the recipient of the Helen C. Bailey Alumni Award of Distinction, but also as a peer among Philadelphia's top educators.

"Receiving this award makes me proud to be in such distinguished company of former winners who have worked with Philadelphia's public schools: Susan Lytle, Ernestine J. Rouse, Constance E. Clayton, Ruth Wright Hayre, Marcus A. Foster and Rosemary Mazzetenta," Brewer said.

Brewer spent her entire educational career with the Philadelphia public-school system before retiring to pursue a career in finance. David Hornbeck, Philadelphia's superintendent of schools, enticed her to come back in 1994. He told her of his plans for reforming the school system and asked her to join his staff.

"The opportunity to be a part of the first major school district reform, in which a majority of students are going to achieve, was too interesting to miss out on," she said. "It's a brand new era of education in Philadelphia."

Currently the deputy superintendent for the School District of Philadelphia, Brewer spoke to the GSE Alumni Association about "Systematic Reform in the Philadelphia Public School." She also had some kind things to say about her alma mater.

"The University of Pennsylvania has always been a friend to Philadelphia's public schools," she noted. "Penn students and Penn graduates have continually volunteered their time, energy and resources to help improve education in this city. The faculty has worked closely with school administrators to support both special projects and regular activities."

Brewer entered the GSE Ph.D. program as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow. Her thesis was on the development of children of teen-age parents.

"It was a time of too much caffeine, too few friends, much too little socializing," she recalled. "Once I had decided to finish, I knew I'd have to give up some things, such as making telephone calls to friends and participating in social activities. That's when a family has become extra supportive.

"Pursuing a degree does train you to stay focused and become organized, to discern and localize a problem," she continued. "Scattershot, spraying bullets everywhere, professors help you to identify and focus on issues and how to learn about a specific issue, to become an expert, not the generalist you had been during your career."

Return to Compass Features for June 18, 1996