The School District of Philadelphia is once again in fiscal straits and next year’s budget could see the worst cuts yet. More nurses, security guards, librarians, assistant principals, guidance counselors, aides, music and arts teachers, secretaries and even books and school supplies from every school in the city could go if the city doesn’t make up a $300 million shortfall. It’s already being called the “doomsday budget.”

A principal at a West Philly elementary school told parents recently that the proposed cuts are by far the worst she has seen in her 21 years. Students from city high schools are planning a rally today at the District headquarters. Members of the teachers’ union, which has been asked for concessions to help avoid the cuts, are scheduled to do “informational picketing” at every public school in the city tomorrow.

District officials are requesting $60 million from the city, which City Council members are so far reluctant to provide, and $120 million from the state, which also doesn’t seem too interested.

Home and school association parents from around the city are asking residents to get involved.

If interested, here are some things you can do to help:

• Contact your City Council member and members at large. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, head of the education committee, is available at 215-686-3418/3419 and jannie.blackwell@phila.gov.

• Contact your state legislators. The local legislators are likely to be very sympathetic, so another person to talk to is state Rep. Paul Clymer, the Bucks County Republican who heads the House Education Committee. His district office can be reached at 215-257-0279. His e-mail is: pclymer@pahousegop.com. Here is his Facebook page.

• Stop by the table at Saturday’s May Fair in Clark Park (43rd & Chester) and sign a local petition.

• Join an existing state campaign for funding by signing the petition here.

– Mike Lyons

Nora Nafaa, a graduate student from France, is doing research on the school system in Philadelphia with focus on West Philly schools. As part of the study, she is seeking parents’ input. She put together an online survey that takes only about 10 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous (your name will not be used in the study) and Nora hopes to get most honest responses. Some of the things Nora is interested in is school choices, what help children receive at and outside of school, quality of schools, and school closings.

To access the survey, click here.
 

March is the month for open houses at many local schools. Recently, local public schools held Kindergarten open houses. Here’s some info on upcoming open houses at some local private schools.

Friday, March 15

HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy
4400 Baltimore Avenue 
from 9-11 a.m. or 1-3 p.m.

Learn more about the school program by visiting and talking with the administrative staff, faculty and students. The open house includes:

• Touring the school’s state-of-the-art residence
• Seeing some cutting-edge assistive technology in action
• Speaking with current parents to learn from their firsthand experiences with HMS

Please RSVP to Annie Oberfield, 215.222.2566, ext 207, or aoberfield@hmsschool.org

If you are not able to attend on this date, please feel free to set up another time to visit.

Thursday, March 21

Spruce Hill Christian School/City Center Academy, Elementary and Middle School Campus
4115 Baltimore Avenue
9:30 a.m.

Spruce Hill/CCA offers a private k-12 education in the heart of Philadelphia. The school is committed to making a college-preparatory education accessible for all families. The generous financial aid policy welcomes families who may otherwise be unable to afford a private education. You’re invited to visit the school for an Open House to learn more about its mission.

For more information, call 215.382.7839 or visit the school website at sprucehill.org.

By now you might have heard that the School Reform Commission (SRC) voted last night to close 23 schools around the city, including the neighborhood school Alexander Wilson Elementary and University City High School.

Schools closed also included the 100-year-old Germantown High School. Students from Germantown will be sent to Martin Luther King Jr. High School, a longtime rival.

Planning for the school closings will begin immediately and impacted students will start at their new school next fall. Opponents say the mass closures, which amount to about 12 percent of the city’s public schools, will destroy neighborhoods.

Here are some tweets from last night’s meeting.

Helen Gym, co-founder of Parents United for Public Education:

No matter today’s vote, history will remember people stood for a different vision of public ed that has yet to be realized. #phillyeducation

— Helen Gym (@ParentsUnitedPA) March 7, 2013

 

High school teacher Chris Angelini:

#phillyeducation is at a crossroads & closing schools may be necessary, but what occurred last night was a travesty. #urbaned — Chris Angelini (@MrTeachPhilly) March 8, 2013

Councilwoman Blondelle Reynolds Brown from the meeting gallery:

Generations have passed legacies of #phillyeducation Alma maters 2 children/ grandchildren. For many, this feels like a death in the family.

— Blondell R. Brown (@CouncilwomanBRB) March 8, 2013

 

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham includes a photo of student protesters.

Some in audience shout “moratorium!” “not letting the SRC in to vote on that sorry situation.” #phillyeducation twitter.com/newskag/status…

— Kristen Graham (@newskag) March 7, 2013

But in a meeting beset by rancor (there were 19 arrests, including the national president of the American Federation of Teachers) there was at least one scrap of good news for some students in West Philly. The Paul Robeson High School for Human Services (4125 Ludlow) was one of four schools saved from closure last night. Students there were supposed to be transferred to Sayre High School (5800 Walnut St.), a lower performing school. Robeson showed marked improvement in recent years. In a report released a few days ago, the school ranked among the top 10 high schools in the city with a graduation rate of 90 percent for freshmen who began in 2008. Sayre has a graduation rate of 53 percent.

Philadelphia has seen a drop in public school students – from about 200,000 in 2000 to about 150,000 this year – due largely to the increase in the number of privately run charter schools. District officials have maintained that the closures are necessary to save money. Superintendent William Hite, who recommended the closures to the SRC, was active on Twitter after last night’s meeting as well:

A decision to close schools is always difficult but now we must come together to ensure all students are safe and successful. — Dr. William Hite (@SDPHite) March 8, 2013

 
The closures impact about 16,000 students and 1,000 teachers overall.

The School Reform Commission is scheduled to vote tonight on the School District of Philadelphia’s downsizing plan that would close 27 schools across the city, including West Philly’s Alexander Wilson Elementary (46th and Woodland), Shaw Middle School (5400 Warrington Avenue) and University City High School (3601 Filbert St.).

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. and you can watch it at Comcast Channel 52, Verizon Fios Channel 20 or watch it livestreaming online.

District officials say the closures will “right-size” the public school footprint in the city by closing half-full and underperforming schools. Opponents of the plan say the closing of neighborhood schools (and increase in the number of privately run charter schools) will ruin neighborhoods.

Click here to see testimony from the SRC’s February meeting that addressed the pending closures. The Philadelphia Public School Notebook also has its extensive coverage of the school closure story collected here.

– Mike Lyons

Mount Zion Baptist Church (50th & Woodland) and the pastor, Reverend Cedric Jones, are hosting a forum on school closings in Southwest Philly tonight, from 6 – 8 p.m.  The following schools in the School District of Philadelphia’s Southwest Planning Area are slated for closure: Wilson Elementary, Pepper and Shaw middle schools, and University City High School.

You can find more information on the proposed closings and other changes in the Southwest Planning Area here (PDF file).