Five community organizations are hosting an information session on Monday, Feb. 26 about the transition of governance of the School District of Philadelphia from the state back to the city.

Otis Hackney of the Mayor’s Office of Education will be a featured speaker.

The School Reform Commission voted in November to abolish itself, beginning the end of 17 years of state control of the district. The Mayor’s Office is now tasked with assembling a Board of Education, a multi-step process that will be explained in more detail at Monday’s meeting.

The event is hosted by Cedar Park Neighbors, Cobbs Creek Neighbors, Garden Court Community Association, Spruce Hill Community Association and Walnut Hill Community Association.

The information session will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore). The regular monthly Cedar park Neighbors board meeting will follow from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The city will hold the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles parade on Thursday, Feb. 8. Due to the parade, Philadelphia public schools and administrative offices will be closed, according to a Monday afternoon announcement by the School District.

“The excitement of the Eagles first Super Bowl victory is a once in a lifetime event. For this reason we have decided to give our students, teachers and their families the chance to witness history,” reads the official statement from Dr. William R. Hite, Superintendent.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. We’ll post more information when it becomes available.

The Philadelphia School District this week released a report that shows a second consecutive year of progress among most of the 164 Philadelphia public schools.

The 2016-2017 School Progress Report (SPR) shows increasing scores among the city’s lowest performing schools.

Now in its fifth year, the SPR evaluates district and charter schools in multiple areas, including student achievement, school climate, and college- and career-readiness among high school students. There are four report types: Elementary, K-8, Middle and High. Each school receives an overall score, as well as a score for each of four SPR “performance areas”: Achievement, Progress, Climate, and College and Career (high schools only). A school’s overall and domain scores are categorized into one of four performance tiers: Intervene (lowest), Watch, Reinforce and Model (highest).  Continue Reading

All Philadelphia public schools will dismiss at 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, due to freezing rain and sleet in the forecast for late Monday afternoon. All after-school activities including all athletic programs and professional development sessions scheduled for Monday are canceled as well. In addition, all District early childhood centers will also be closed early.

All Philadelphia public schools will remain closed on Friday, Jan. 5, due to heavy snowstorm that hit the area on Thursday. All after-school activities, including all athletic programs and professional development sessions scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are also canceled. All District early childhood centers will also be closed.

School District headquarters will open on a two-hour delay.

All Archdiocesan high schools and parochial elementary schools will also be closed on Friday due to today’s storm.

Snow emergency for Philadelphia will end at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Two local schools, Penn Alexander School and Independence Charter School West, are holding drives this week to help those in need after the recent devastating hurricanes, “Harvey,” “Irma,” and “Maria.”

Independence Charter School West, located at 5600 Chester Ave., is collecting first-aid items for the areas affected by the hurricanes. The following donations are being accepted through Friday, Sept. 29: bandages, anti-bacterial ointment, flash lights, batteries, soap, antiseptic and alcohol wipes; or any other item you believe will be of use for those affected by the recent natural disasters.

Donations can also be dropped off at Independence Charter School in Center City (1600 Lombard St.).  Continue Reading