Students at the Morton McMichael School, a K-8 public school located on Fairmount Avenue in the Mantua neighborhood, will have a brand new playground when the 2022-2023 school year begins next week, as the result of a joint effort by the School, Drexel University, and the Mantua Civic Association.

The new 12,000-square foot recreation space officially opened yesterday. It was the culmination of more than a decade of planning, fundraising and execution.

“This playground is a splendid example of what we can accomplish by working together as a community,” Drexel President John Fry said at the opening ceremony. Continue Reading

Thanks to the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC), 13 local schools that lost their librarian due to budget cuts, now have a library run by volunteers. On Monday, one of these schools, Morton McMichael school in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia, hosted well-known local children’s author and illustrator Andy Myer. WePAC arranged the visit.

Myer spoke with a group of fourth grade students about his life as a writer and illustrator and the process to move from concept to published book.

“The children were mesmerized, and they were especially excited to each get a copy of Myer’s latest book [Henry Hubble’s Book of Troubles] signed by the author himself,” writes Heather Farber, WePAC Interim Executive Director.  Continue Reading

Photo from Drexel.edu.

Two West Philly schools received a hefty financial boost this week.

The Exelon Foundation and PECO are donating $500,000 to Drexel University, which will use the funds to develop new STEAM (science, technology, art, engineering, and math) courses at two neighborhood schools – Samuel Powel and Morton McMichael.

The PECO and Drexel partnership to create new educational opportunities for local students began in 2011 with a $1 million grant for the University Assisted Schools (UAS) Initiative, which focuses on the unique needs of Powel and McMichael schools. Since its inception “the program to improve educational options and learning opportunities for students in the Mantua and Powelton communities ha[s] been incredibly successful,” Drexel President John A. Fry said in a statement.

The program provides universal screening of all students’ literacy and math skills, development of a unique schedule for academic enrichment and intervention, development of a customized education plan for every student, and more. Also, K-8 students at McMichael and K-4 students at Powel have been visiting or received instruction from representatives of the University City Science Center, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, and the Mural Arts Program.

More information about the grant and the program is available here.