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The School District of Philadelphia hopes to better understand how the District is changing through the Comprehensive School Planning Review (CSPR), a collaborative process that will assess public school enrollment, educational program offerings, and school facilities.

This assessment can help plan for things like overcrowding or underuse or whether schools will need different resources to support changes in the languages they serve.

The CSPR process will take place across four years, and will assess public schools with traditional enrollment across the City of Philadelphia. Cycle 1 of the process started at the beginning of the 2019/2020 school and includes 21 schools spread across three areas of the city.  Continue Reading

A TV camera sets up ahead of today’s official groundbreaking ceremony near 36th and Filbert. (Photo by West Philly Local).

Drexel University and the School District of Philadelphia officials broke ground today on a new facility that will house two public schools. The School District will lease the building from Drexel and the facility will house the Powel Elementary School (K-4), currently at 36th Street and Powelton Avenue, and the Science Leadership Academy Middle School (SLAMS), which opened in 2016 at Drexel’s Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships and recently moved into space at 3600 Market Street.  Continue Reading

A community meeting focused on inequitable school funding system in Pennsylvania will go underway Tuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community. The system negatively impacts neighborhood public schools in West Philadelphia, many of which face crumbling buildings, overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of staff and resources, and other issues. The West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is inviting parents and caregivers to hear a presentation from Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg of the Public Interest Law Center, which is campaigning to fix the system.

Shanée Garner, the policy and legislation director and for City Council member Helen Gym will also speak about local advocacy initiatives. The event will conclude with a roundtable discussion by parent organizers in West Philly neighborhood public schools.  Continue Reading

Registration for public school kindergarten for the 2019-2020 school year is open now through May 31, 2019. On Tuesday, March 5, parents and caregivers of children who will be 5 on or before September 1st are invited to visit their neighborhood schools and get their questions answered during the Kindergarten Open House day.

Here is a list of Kindergarten Open Houses at public schools located in West Philadelphia (for more information, visit the School District of Philadelphia website).  Continue Reading

All Philadelphia public schools will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 20 due to the forecasted inclement weather, which includes snow and sleet throughout the day, according to an announcement by the School District of Philadelphia.

All after-school activities, including all athletic programs and professional development sessions scheduled for Wednesday, are canceled as well. All District early childhood centers will also be closed.

The decision regarding administrative offices is expected to be announced by 5 a.m. on Wednesday. Visit the School District website for more information and updates.

Due to sleet expected in the area throughout Monday night and early Tuesday morning, all public schools will open Tuesday, Feb. 12 on a two-hour delay, according to an announcement by the School District of Philadelphia. All buses will also begin their morning routes two hours later than their normal time.

Parents and caregivers are asked to be patient as some yellow bus routes may experience moderate to significant delays Tuesday morning due to road conditions. Families can also visit the Bus Status Page on the School District website to see if there are additional delays for their child’s bus route.  Schools will dismiss students in the afternoon on their normal schedules.

All District-operated early childhood programs will also open on a two-hour delay. After-school activities, including athletic programs and professional development sessions set for Tuesday, will continue as scheduled.