Samuel Powel School (photo from greatphillyschools.org).

Great news for a small Powelton Village elementary school students, parents and staff. According to a recently released 2013-2014 Philadelphia school progress report, which measured school performance throughout the year across various dimensions, such as student progress, achievement and school climate, Samuel Powel is ranked the second best elementary school in the district. Anne Frank elementary located in Northeast Philadelphia is the leader among the city’s 61 K-4 schools. Powel School, which is located near 36th and Pearl streets and is led by principal Kimberly Ellerbee, enrolls about 260 students. Check out a recent piece about the school on Philly.com.

As concerns K-8 schools, here are the rankings of some West Philly schools (there are 126 K-8 schools in Philadelphia): Penn Alexander School (43rd and Locust) – 6th; Alain Locke (4550 Haverford Ave.) – 88th; Henry C. Lea (4700 Locust St.) – 70th; Samuel B. Huey (5200 Pine St.) – 97th. The city leader in this category is Folks Arts Cultural Treasures Charter School located at 1023 Callowhill St.

To download the reports, visit the Philadelphia School District website.

This is a reminder that monthly community meetings with the 18th Police District officers will take place on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. Residents are invited to bring their questions and concerns about crime in their area. There are three units in the 18th Police District, and each unit has its own meeting scheduled:

• Lt. Brian McBride of the University City Division of the 18th Police District and representatives of University City District will meet with community members at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore).
• The community meeting for the PSA 2 area residents (see map) will be held at the 18th Police District headquarters at 5510 Pine St.
• Lt. Sean Cobette will meet with residents of the PSA 1 area at the Christian Compassion Hall located at 6130 Cedar Ave.  Continue Reading

UPDATE: Police identified the victim as 50-year-old Tony Harris. Harris, who worked as an electronics repairman, recently posted on Facebook a photo of his wife holding bundles of cash that he claimed amounted to $60,000, according to reports. Police say it was done as a joke, but may have prompted the attempted robbery and shooting.

Police are looking for three suspects who shot in the head and killed a 50-year-old man, a married father of three young children, during a home invasion robbery near 54th and Warrington. Police say the home invasion took place shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday on the 1100 block of S. Ruby Street. The intruders, described as three teenagers wearing masks, entered the house through the unlocked front door. They found the man, his wife, ad three children ages 5, 2 and 10 months upstairs.

One of the men, armed with a black and silver handgun, took the woman to the kitchen where he put the gun to her head and demanded money, according to a police report. Then she heard another man yelling at her husband in the living room, asking: “Where’s the money?” She then heard a single gunshot. She found her husband lying on the floor suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The woman called police. Police say they found a shotgun on the front porch when they arrived.  Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a local non-profit that has been providing bike education and recreation opportunities to youth for nearly 20 years, has a new home. The organization has recently opened a new, larger community shop and bike education hub at 3939 Lancaster Ave. For many years West Philly’s NBW headquarters had been located in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on Locust Walk.

The new space’s grand opening celebration, which included community bike shop dedication, volunteer awards, and commemorative t-shirt screen printing, took place on Saturday:  Continue Reading

Here are a few reminders for Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12.

• Public schools, government offices and libraries are closed

• Post offices are closed, and there is no mail delivery

• SEPTA buses, trolleys and trains are operating on a regular weekday schedule

• There will be no trash or recycling pick up today. If your trash pick up day is Monday, set out your materials for Tuesday pick up. Trash collection will be one day behind schedule for the rest of the week.

A large, old Malcolm X Park tree fell on power lines and knocked out power in the area around 51st and Osage during Friday evening’s storm. Residents reported that it happened right after the storm started around 5:30 p.m. on Friday. By Saturday, when the photo above was taken, the broken power lines were fixed and power restored. There is no word on injuries.