The “Philly Schools Town Hall” series is coming back to West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Class size, climate and safety and the quality of school facilities will be on the agenda of the West Philadelphia Education Town Hall at Paul Robeson High School at 4125 Ludlow from 5:30-7 p.m. City Council members Helen Gym, Jannie Blackwell, Allan Domb and Derek Green along with folks from Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild (POWER) will be on hand.

The views and input from citizens at a series of education town halls last spring helped get nurses and counselors back into public schools, among other important measures.

Everyone in the community is invited to attend and to speak. Folks are asked to RSVP here or to call Steve Paul at 215-686-5380.

The School Reform Commission voted last night to move three public schools, including the Samuel B. Huey School (52nd and Pine) one step closer to becoming charter schools.

Parents from Huey and two other schools, John Wister and Jay Cooke, protested the vote, which passed 4-1. SRC Chair Marjorie Neff voted against the measure.

Under the plan, Global Leadership Academy Charter School would take over Huey. A final vote is scheduled for the March SRC meeting.

The work begins in earnest at Lea School playground. (Photo courtesy of the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools.)

You may have noticed the work underway at the Henry Lea School playground (47th and Spruce) over the last couple of weeks. This work is part of the Greening Lea Project, a multi-year, multi-project transformation of the outdoor environment of the school. In a testament to what grassroots, collaborative community work can do, this amazing transformation of the Lea playground comes as school budgets plummet.

Dozens of Lea students, families and neighbors along with donor volunteers will meet at the playground tomorrow at 10 a.m. to start planting in the playground’s rain gardens. Volunteers from the Philadelphia Orchard Project will also be there to plant in the landscaping bed along Spruce Street, according to the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools.

The construction underway now will eventually include brick pavers, large shade trees and rain gardens. The basketball court will be rotated and repaved and new hoops will be installed.

Community contributions through the Greening Lea Naming Campaign and the Close the Gap Campaign have helped pay for about a quarter of the project, which will transform hundreds of square feet of asphalt into an important community gathering place.

Swing by tomorrow between 10:00 a.m. and 12 p.m. to have a look.

We are happy to pass along the news that Neighborhood Bike Works – a non-profit well known across the city for connecting education, kids and bikes – is having a grand opening celebration this Saturday, Oct. 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at their new Community Shop and Bike Education Hub at 3939 Lancaster Ave.

You can have a look at the new space and get some info on upcoming youth and adult programs while enjoying some refreshments and activities. There will also be a commemorative t-shirt screen printing so bring a t-shirt along.  Continue Reading

The School Reform Commission is set to make decisions on 39 charter school applications during a special meeting scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

This is the final step in an application process that included public testimony and comment. This is the first time in seven years that the School District of Philadelphia has considered adding charter schools to go along with the 86 brick-and-mortar charters already operating.

The proposed schools would add some 15,000 charter school seats and cost the district hundreds of millions of dollars.

Charter school opponents like the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools argue that the district should invest money in existing public schools.

The Philadelphia School Partnerships, a pro-charter philanthropic group that includes Drexel University president John Fry on its board, offered $25 million to the district earlier this month to help offset the costs of adding new charters and another $10 million to improve existing district schools.

Republican legislators are also pushing for new charters in the city, The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting.

A list of the proposed schools along with detailed applications are available on the district website. A dozen schools are proposed around West Philadelphia. Charter application evaluation reports are available here.

Wednesday’s meeting will likely be live streamed here.

– Mike Lyons

The School District of Philadelphia began considering applications for new charter schools this week. Two schools in particular have been the topic of discussion among some in the neighborhoods recently.

The district received over a dozen applications from charter schools interested in opening new schools in West Philly.

One of the proposed new charters is the Philadelphia Music and Dance Charter School, which has applied to open a school at the old West Philadelphia High School (48th and Walnut), has drawn attention from nearby community organizations. In the application, officials from the proposed school note that they spoke with many in the community, including community associations, about the school.  Continue Reading