The School District of Philadelphia has scrapped a plan that would allow most students to attend school in person a couple of days a week and announced today that all students will start the year online.

The district presented the new plan following public criticism of a plan introduced earlier this month that would allow most students to attend school two days per week. Students will attend school online until at least Nov. 17, the end of the first marking period.

The hybrid learning model, the district’s original plan of a mix of in-person and digital learning, will be reconsidered after Nov. 17.

The Board of Education will consider the proposed changes at its meeting this Thursday, July 30 at 4 p.m.

For more information on the revised plan, please visit the School District website.

If your trash/recycling collection days are Monday or Tuesday, please hold on to your recyclables until next week. The Streets Department has been a few days behind with collections for the past three weeks and has suspended recycling collection for these two days to help them return to a normal schedule. Residents can place trash out on their normal trash collection day beginning Monday, July 27.

The delays in collections were due to a few factors, including shortage of staff who called in sick with COVID-19, the tropical storm that hit our area on July 10 and an overall increase in trash/recyclables amount this month due to the holidays.

Recycling continues to be delayed by several days as the Streets Department is focusing on trash collection to mitigate risks to health and public safety. The Department expects to return to a normal recycling schedule on Wednesday, July 29.

Registration is now open for the School District of Philadelphia’s new “Digital Academy” for those Philadelphia public school students who would like to stay home while the COVID-19 epidemic continues. The digital academy allows families to opt in to a 100 percent virtual learning and instructional model for students enrolled in grades K-12.

Students registering for the Digital Academy must remain in that model throughout the first two terms of the academic year, and will only be able to transition out at the start of the third term.  Continue Reading

Due to a high volume of trash and recycling after the July 4th holiday, the tropical storm that hit our area on July 10 and the shortage of staff due to COVID-19, there have been lengthy delays in the collection, according to the Streets Department. The delays were up to four days last week, but the situation is expected to improve this week.

Over the weekend, the Streets Department brought in help from its Highways Division and other departments and has reduced the delays from 3 or 4 days to 1 or 2 days across the city, Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams said.

This week residents should still expect delays as crews continue to prioritize collecting materials not picked up from last week. Residents are asked to set their trash and recycling out one day later than their regularly scheduled day. Please note that recycling may take longer to collect as the city is prioritizing trash collection to mitigate public health risks.  Continue Reading

The City of Philadelphia’s Health Department has declared a heat health emergency for Monday, July 20 due to an expected high heat index. The city will be opening sites where Philadelphians can cool off safely, including libraries, schools, SEPTA buses, and spraygrounds.

In West Philadelphia, Haddington Library at 446 North 65th Street will be open to all residents from 1 to 5 p.m. on Monday. West Philadelphia High School at 49th and Chestnut Streets will also be open from 1 to 5 p.m. to everyone who wants to cool off. Visitors to both places will be required to abide by social distancing guidelines and wear a mask while inside.  Continue Reading

A 28-year-old man died Thursday evening from multiple gunshot wounds near 49th and Chester, according to police. The shooting took place at about 6:30 p.m., reportedly inside a laundromat located on the 1000 block of S. 49th Street.

Three unidentified men approached the victim and began firing. The victim, later identified by the police as Shawn Best, a Philadelphia resident, was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m.

The victim was reportedly with two children and there were about 10 other people inside the laundromat at the time of the shooting, according to NBC Philadelphia. No other injuries were reported.  Continue Reading