Here are three community meetings and public hearings scheduled this week:

• On Tuesday, May 8, the Spruce Hill Community Association is holding its monthly board meeting at the SHCA office at 257 S. 45th Street. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm. For more information, please call 215-349-7825 or visit: www.sprucehillca.org.

• This Thursday, May 10, from 6 – 8 p.m. there will be a School District Community Budget Session at West Philadelphia High School. Neighbors can learn about and discuss the reorganization plan proposed by the School District and the Actual Value Initiative proposed by the Mayor. The Actual Value Initiative’s goal is to reassess properties in Philadelphia based on their actual market value, which basically means higher property taxes for many homeowners. The current proposal would help generate approximately $90 million to support Philadelphia’s schools. To read more about what will be discussed at the meeting, take a look at the following documents: A Blueprint for Transforming Philadelphia’s Public Schools, Actual Value Initiative (AVI), Property Tax Reassessment Talking Points.

• Also on Thursday, community members are invited to attend a presentation and a brainstorming session to generate ideas on how we can create greener, more sustainable schoolyards in Philadelphia. One of the schools whose schoolyard is being proposed for this project is West Philadelphia’s Lea Elementary (47th & Locust). The presentation is organized by the Community Design Collaborative, AIA Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Water Department. The presentation will take place from 4 – 6 p.m. at the Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street. To RSVP, go here. For more information, contact Cedar Park Neighbors Vice President, David Hincher, at david.hincher@gmail.com or visit the Community Design Collaborative’s website.

The School Reform Commission last night quietly passed a resolution that adds a fourth kindergarten class at Penn Alexander School. The resolution strikes a deal between The University of Pennsylvania, which will reportedly pay for the additional class, and The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

An additional 18-student kindergarten classroom will be added to take pressure off the demand for kindergarten spots at Penn Alexander. Parents of young children who live in the Penn Alexander catchment area covet admission to the limited kindergarten spots because they usually assure admission to the 1st grade.

Penn Alexander has garnered attention across the city for the long lines for kindergarten registration. In January the line started 24 hours before registration started.

Neither the school nor the SRC has commented on how the school, which has experienced overcrowding in its lower grades, will accommodate the new kindergarten class.

(h/t Amara Rockar, John Myers and West Philly News and Kristen Graham.)

Jazz great Wynton Marsalis was in West Philly yesterday to do some teaching at St. Francis de Sales school near 47th and Springfield as part of the Play On!, Philly program.

Marsalis told advanced trumpet players who performed at the school yesterday morning that the musician’s job is to tell stories that people can’t see.

“Music is the art of the invisible,” he said.

Marsalis also advised students at the school to fine-tune their listening habits and to look beyond music for artistic inspiration.

“I want you to look at the work of (painter) Henri Matisse,” he told one trumpeter who had just finished playing. “See how he uses contrast in his work. Because that’s what you want to do with this piece.”

This has been a big week for Play On!, Philly, the after-school music program begun at St. Francis de Sales that aims to bring classical music training to kids at schools across the city. Earlier this week it was reported that a Bala Cynwyd couple had donated $1 million to the organization.

This Saturday, March 31, St. Mary’s Church at 3916 Locust Walk is hosting 2012 Band Extravaganza(!), a fundraising concert to support instrumental music instruction at Lea Elementary. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Penn Jazz, the 2012 High School Honor Band and Play On, Philly! are among featured performers. See the flyer below for more details.
 

Here is a list of kindergarten open houses coming up in March in the area. The list has been compiled by the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools.

A. D. Harrington School
5300-34 Baltimore Ave
19143
(215) 471 – 2914
www.philasd.org/schools/harrington
Open House: CONFIRMED, 3/6, 9:09-9:45 a.m., in Annex Building
Kindergarten teacher: Ms. Davis, Room A1

B. B. Comegys School
5100 Greenway Ave.
19143
(215) 727 – 2162
Open House: NOT CONFIRMED

Alexander Wilson School
1300 S. 46th St.
19143
(215) 823 – 8206
www.philasd.org/schools/alexanderwilson
Open House: CONFIRMED, 3/6, Begins 9:00 a.m.

Samuel B. Huey School
5200 Pine St.
19143
(215) 471 – 2901
Open House: NOT CONFIRMED

Henry C. Lea School
4700 Locust St.
19139
(215) 471 – 2915
webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/l/lea
Open House: CONFIRMED, 3/6, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Kindergarten teachers: Ms. Mykytiuch and Ms. McCloskey

Penn Alexander School
4209 Spruce St.
19104
(215) 823 – 5465
www.philasd.org/schools/pennalexander
Open House: CONFIRMED, 3/6, Begins 9:30 a.m.

Alain Locke School
4550 Haverford Ave.
19139
(215) 823 – 8202
Open House: CONFIRMED, 3/6, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Martha Washington Academics
766 N. 44th St.
19104
(215) 823 – 8203
www.philasd.org/schools/marthawashington
Open House: TO BE SCHEDULED LATER IN MARCH

Samuel Powel School
301 N. 36th St.
19104
(215) 823 – 8201
www.philasd.org/schools/powel
Open House: CONFIRMED, 3/6, Begins 8:30 a.m.

Charles Drew School
3724 Warren St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: (215) 823 – 8204
www.philasd.org/schools/drew
Open House: NOT CONFIRMED

West Philadelphia Catholic High School erupted into celebration earlier today when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that it would not close as expected.

The school, which was put on the Philadelphia Archdiocese closing list in early January and was supposed to shut down in June, will stay open after today’s announcement by Archbishop Charles Chaput, NBC reports. All four Catholic high schools on the closing list will remain open. Chaput said that the community support was substantial after the January announcement and that the cash pledges and donations to keep the schools open reached $12 million. The plan is to raise $100 million in five years to keep all four Catholic high schools open.