Parents of some of next year’s prospective Penn Alexander School kindergartners will rally outside a University of Pennsylvania meeting on Wednesday to persuade the School District of Philadelphia to open up more spots in the school’s kindergarten and first grade. The rally comes as the District confirmed that the lottery was held and that parents would be notified by mail this week.

A group of parents of “kindergarten eligible students” are organizing the rally as Penn’s University Council meets. A representative of the group, a Penn professor, will speak during the “open forum” portion of the meeting, which allows members of the Penn community to raise issues. The meeting is only open to people affiliated with Penn and top Penn administrators are expected to be present. The rally is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. outside of Houston Hall at 3417 Spruce Street.

A Penn-affiliated parent who lives in the Lea School catchment is scheduled to speak on “partnering with local public schools beyond Penn Alexander.”

Penn Alexander rally organizers are asking that kindergarten class sizes, currently capped at 18, be increased to accommodate all registered students. Penn provides funding to the school to help keep the class sizes smaller than the District maximum of 30 seats per class.

“We request that seats be added to accommodate 22 Kindergarten students per class,” the rally organizers wrote in a statement.

The group also reiterated its opposition to the registration lottery, which was held by computer last week. According to the statement, 88 children registered for kindergarten, which includes some Head Start and special needs students who receive automatic enrollment. The increase to 22 seats would ensure admission for all students who registered.

“Based upon our group’s investigation we believe the existing kindergarten and first grade classrooms are large enough and can support more children,” the statement reads. “We believe that through a natural attrition, the class sizes for first grade will never reach close to 30.”

The group is also pressing the district to release details about how the lottery was conducted. So far district officials have only told parents that they will receive notification of their child’s status in the mail this week.

In an e-mail to prospective kindergarten parents, district spokesman Fernando Gallard wrote:

“The letter will advise if your child is admitted to the 2013-2014 class or if your child is on the waiting list. If an applicant is on the waiting list, a number advising the order on the waiting list will be cited in the letter.  The letter also asks applicants on the waiting list of their opportunity to seek enrollment at Lea School.”

– Mike Lyons

Editor’s Note: Reporters were barred from this meeting so that parents could feel free to speak their minds without fear that their names would be used. As a parent, I was able to attend the meeting, but honor that principle. No names – other than Superintendent William Hite – are used in the story. In another note, everyone has had a chance to vent about the line and those who participated in it. I, like many of you, know many people who were in the line and they are good, hard-working people who want their kids to go to the best school possible. So as of now, any comments that are of a personal nature or do not further the search for a solution will be deleted.

Superintendent William Hite speaks to parents at the Penn Alexander School on Tuesday.

Superintendent William Hite told a group of about 125 parents on Tuesday that the School District of Philadelphia would explore several options to address the kindergarten registration crisis at the Penn Alexander School. But he offered no immediate solution and did not take the proposed lottery off the table.

The options, he said, could include a lottery, but that the best long-term solution is to find out whether it’s “possible to serve every student in the catchment area,” a statement that drew applause from many parents present.

Hite seemed willing to rescind the lottery announced Friday if an equitable solution could be found.

He announced in a letter to parents on Friday that Penn Alexander would switch from a first-come, first-served process to a lottery to be held sometime in April. That announcement angered many parents who began standing in line to register Friday morning, four days before registration.

“Quite frankly I saw a process that from my perspective was not equitable,” said Hite, who told parents that he was only alerted to what might happen at the school during a meeting on Thursday evening.

Hite told parents that, while he understood that the line has become a protocol for registering at Penn Alexander, that it is unofficial.

“From my perspective the process begins when registration begins,” he said. “(That) is not the official start of the process to register.”

Several parents from Friday’s line requested that the district honor the list that circulated through the line indicating when each person began to line up.

“We got in that line because the school district steadfastly stood behind the first-come, first-served policy,” said one parent. “The line is the de facto school policy.”

That parent like many others who testified said they felt a mix of embarrassment, shame and chagrin to be forced to stand in the line, but that added that district was being disingenuous to change the policy with such late notice.

“I stood in that line not because I thought it was right, but because I thought it was what I had to do for my child,” one single mom said.

But another single mom testified that she couldn’t get off work to be in the line. Still another parent said that she refused to stand in the line.

One alternative to the lottery that gained traction during the meeting was to roll back kindergarten enrollment caps at the school, which are currently set at 18. One parent suggested raising them to 25 as a way to accommodate most, if not all, the students who want to register.

That solution raises questions about how those children will be accommodated in subsequent grades, where enrollment has also been capped. Caps in other grades is what has made kindergarten admission so coveted. Once a student gets into kindergarten, he or she is guaranteed a spot in the other grades.

One parent of a child who attends Penn Alexander middle school grades asked that those grades not be targeted in the quest for more space. The middle school grades, which have smaller classes than lower grades because students often leave in fifth grade for magnet schools, have been eyed before as a way to create additional classroom space.

“I beg you not to remove the middle school as you consider these plans,” she said.

It became clear during the meeting that more data should be collected and released that details the number of prospective kindergartners who live the catchment.

“We believe that decision are being made with the absence of data,” said one parent.

Here are some more outcomes of the meeting:

• The district asked for members of the community to volunteer to be on an advisory committee that would be part of the decisionmaking process. Several people lined up after the meeting to sign up.

• A meeting between district officials and that advisory committee will likely take place in the next week.

• No decision was made today to rescind the lottery.

• Some parents requested that Alexander Wilson School, which could be an alternative for those who are not admitted to Penn Alexander, not be closed.

• A call for more transparency between parents, the community, school officials and the school district.

A public meeting to discuss kindergarten registration at the Penn Alexander School will be held tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 22) beginning at 11 a.m. in the school’s gym. In e-mail exchanges with parents who lined up Friday for registration, district spokesman Fernando Gallard said the meeting will be “open to anyone that would like to make a statement on the issue of Kindergarten matriculation at Penn Alexander.”

Gallard said that a microphone would be available for those who wanted to make statements. He encouraged people with similar statements to choose one or two representatives to speak on their behalf. The district has not made an official announcement of the meeting and there is no indication yet which district officials will attend.

The meeting follows the announcement Friday evening that the school would go to a lottery for kindergarten enrollment, ending the long-standing “first come, first served” policy that in recent years has lead to parents lining up well before registration started. This year the line began four days ahead of registration, which was supposed to open tomorrow at 9 a.m.

District officials announced the new policy some eight hours after the line had formed, angering many parents who said the change in policy limits their school options if their child is not selected in the lottery. In a letter distributed to parents in the line, Hite said the policy change will make the registration process “more efficient and less challenging for parents in the catchment area.”

The deadline to apply for the lottery is April 1 and it will be held in early April. The district has not announced a specific date.

The controversy over kindergarten registration at the Penn Alexander School has moved from “the line” to “the list” and “the lottery.”

The School District of Philadelphia announced yesterday that kindergarten registration would move to a lottery system, ending the first-come-first-served process.The lottery will be held in early April.

“In an effort to make this process more efficient and less challenging for parents in the catchment area, the School District of Philadelphia has decided to conduct a lottery to determine kindergarten enrollment for Penn Alexander,” Superintendent William Hite wrote in a letter distributed last night to parents in line.

Reactions were mixed from some 70 parents who started lining up yesterday morning, four days before registration was scheduled to begin. Some parents threatened a class-action lawsuit. Others requested that the district honor the list that each parent had signed next to a number indicating their place in line. Still others were relieved by the news.

One person who asked not to be named said that parents’ feelings seemed to correspond to their place in line. Those in the front protested the change, sometimes vociferously, while many near the end felt that transitioning to the lottery was a good decision.

A sign posted by parents at the entrance to the school makes note of “the list.”

“Families on the list will continue to advocate for enrollment based on the ‘first come, first served’ policy,” the sign reads.

A nearby sign posted by the district reads in bold letters “the process is no longer conducted on a first-come first served basis.”

The deadline for lottery registration is April 1 and children with siblings already attending Penn Alexander will not receive preference, according to the district. Penn Alexander currently has 72 kindergarten slots spread over four classes. Some of those spots will be reserved for children with documented special needs and children coming from early intervention programs like Head Start.

Applications for the lottery are available here. For more information call the district’s Office of Student Placement at 215-400-4290.

As of about noon, 66 people were in line. If it continues, the duration of this year’s line will be measured in days not hours.

UPDATE: The School District of Philadelphia decided tonight that Penn Alexander will go to a lottery system for kindergarten. See Superintendent William Hite’s statement here.

At the risk of contributing to the hysteria surrounding kindergarten registration at the Penn Alexander School, we feel compelled to post something. The line has already begun and as of about noon included about 70 people.

Registration for next year’s kindergarten class begins Tuesday morning. Small clusters of parents nervously huddled and strategized along the 4200 block of Locust Street this morning. They spoke about the provisions and shelter they will need to stand in line for four days. One parent said she rented an RV to park near the school.

All vowed that they would not start the line, but that they would be nearby ready to join it if someone else did. That happened about two hours later, when a woman – a prospective student’s grandmother – started the line.

“I am a nervous person, I saw people standing around and I didn’t know what to do,” said the woman, who is holding a spot for her son.

She was in a line that had started earlier – at about 8:20 a.m. – but broke up after parents of current Penn Alexander students, who had just dropped their kids off, asked the lined-up parents to leave. One reader wrote us:

“I could hardly believe my eyes but at 8:20 this morning there were parents lining up outside Penn Alexander for registration, which I believe starts Tuesday morning.  Other parents or community members were confronting them and asking them to leave, threatening to call the cops to disperse them.  A child was shivering in her mother’s arms.  Is there any talk of moving to a lottery next year?  The current way seems insane.  If kindergarten registration is going to be a physical endurance test they might as well schedule a footrace from a mile away and award spots to the parents that finish first.  (Not a serious suggestion, just pointing out the absurdity of awarding spots to parents who camp out in the cold for 4 days.)”

Here is a timeline to illustrate how we got here.

• 2010 – The line started in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. This is the year where things seemed to have changed.

• 2011 – The line started at about 10 p.m. the night before registration began, prompting television news crews to interview parents. A spot in kindergarten becomes even more coveted when the District announces that students who did not attend PAS for kindergarten may not get a spot in first grade due to overcrowding.

• 2012 – The line last year started 24 hours before registration began. The Spruce Hill Community Association distributed a letter to parents in line calling for community residents to make their voices heard on the issue. It began, “No one should have to line up in the cold for nearly 24 hours to register their child for kindergarten.”

If the trend of lining up earlier and earlier continues, that 24-hour wait will soon seem like the good old days of kindergarten registration when all you needed was a cup of coffee, some snacks and a sleeping bag. Now you need an RV.

The line could become a public health issue. It is already a social justice issue.

The first-come-first-served system, of course, favors those who are connected and can rearrange their lives for a few days. Some will just not be able to compete – those who work inflexible jobs, single moms or parents for whatever reason simply can’t spy on that stretch of Locust Street along the school’s north side waiting for the line to start. That said, no parents can be blamed for doing what they perceive is best for their child.

The School District of Philadelphia last year approved a additional kindergarten class that the University of Pennsylvania funded. But some kids were still turned away. The District and the School Reform Commission has bigger, whale-sized fish to fry – budget shortfalls, school closures, failing schools. Those are profoundly important issues.

Shouldn’t devising an admission system that keeps parents off the sidewalk be comparatively easy?

– Mike Lyons (editor)

Community members are invited to support local public schools and participate in these upcoming events at Henry C. Lea, Penn Alexander and Samuel Powel schools.

• Lea Elementary recently received a $3,800 grant from Lowe’s to redesign the school’s interior, brighten up the hallways and make Lea a more welcoming place for students. As a part of this effort the school is teaming up with the Renewal Church to hold a paint day this Saturday, June 2. This is the second paint day (the first one was on May 19) and adult volunteers are still wanted to fill in the afternoon shift from noon to 2 p.m. To sign up, please add your name to one of the teams on the Google Doc here. If you have questions, email David Fox at defox@philasd.org. This is part of ongoing renovations at Lea.

• This Sunday, June 3, Penn Alexander School is holding the 2nd Annual Run for Arts and Sciences. There is a 5k run and a 1 mile fun walk beginning at 8:30 a.m. The course will loop through the University of Pennsylvania campus starting and finishing at Penn Alexander. The 5k run will be chip timed. All proceeds will support the Art and Science program at Penn Alexander. For more information, go here. Note: The online registration with a discounted price is closed, but you can download paper a Registration Form and bring it to the event. Also you can support this event by making a donation at the provided link.

• Alumni & Friends of Samuel Powel Elementary and Powel Home and School Association are hosting a silent auction and fundraising event on Saturday, June 9, from 6 – 10 p.m. This adults-only event will take place at Art on the Avenue, 3808 Lancaster Ave.

This is a very important fundraiser for Powel, as they are trying to raise a substantial sum to buy new Science Kits and other instructional materials for their students and to support additional music classes. This event is for current and future Powel families, friends, alumni and anyone who wants to come out to support Powel school and bid on some great items from local businesses. Go here to order tickets, become an event sponsor or benefactor and see all the great items you can bid on.