Independence Charter School is considering opening a school in West Philadelphia.
Officials from the school, which currently has one location at 1600 Lombard, are trying to gauge interest in the school from the local community, a key part of a new charter school application. If approved, the school would likely be located in the 19139 or 19143 zip codes, according to the letter, which was posted on neighborhood e-mail lists.
The 19139 zip code covers an area west of 45th Street to Cobbs Creek and north of Spruce Street to Westminster. 19143 runs south from Spruce to the river and west from 45th Street to roughly 60th Street.
New charter school applications are due at the School Reform Commission by Saturday. Public hearings on the applications are expected by next month. The SRC then has up to 75 days to approve or reject a charter application.
The district currently has 86 charter schools that enroll some 67,000 students. This is the first time since 2007 that the SRC has considered new applications for charter schools, thanks to a provision in the $2-per-pack cigarette tax. There could be as many as 50 applications, according to reports.
Penn Alexander School (Photo West Philly Local).
In other school news, the School District of Philadelphia has published the procedures for the year’s kindergarten lottery at Penn Alexander School for the 2015-2016 school year. Applications will be accepted between Jan. 20 and Feb. 27. The lottery will be conducted and letters will be sent to parents during the week of March 9.
Here are some guidelines:
• Two proofs of residency within the Penn Alexander catchment are required.
• Head Start and Early Intervention applications are also due within the same time frame.
• From the District’s website: “Parents are strongly encouraged to participate in the School Selection Process beginning October 17, 2014 and ending 5:00 PM on December 12, 2014. The School Selection online application can be reached by going to schoolselect.philasd.org.”
• Admission decision will only be communicated in writing. No phone calls.
More information and application materials can be found on the Office of Student Enrollment and Placement website.
– Mike Lyons
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