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.

Neighborhood Foods, a West Philly urban farm, is bringing its CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) back to Four Worlds Bakery for pick-up and adding one new pick-up point at 37th and Lancaster this year. Here’s a reminder of how CSA works: Customers pay the farmer at the beginning of the season and receive a box of local produce every week.

This year, Neighborhood Foods is working directly with Lancaster farmers to supplement what they grow in the city and are also incorporating Philly-produced jam, honey, bread, and locally roasted coffee, all of which are available through the CSA.

Neighborhood Foods consists of a group of activists, farmers, and entrepreneurs of all ages whose main goal is to unify communities through urban farming and civic action. They offer educational programs for people of all ages, bring neighbors together through events, and make fresh local produce accessible in low-income neighborhoods. All of the income from the CSA goes to support these programs.

The Neighborhood Foods CSA runs from May 24 through October 25. To sign up, please visit neighborhoodfoods.org or email: neighborhoodfoods@gmail.com.

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

Trash collectors have a tough job and usually they are professional and thorough, but not always. Here’s what happened to a neighbor, Kelly, this morning:

“It appears our trash [collector] can get away with tossing your can all of the place including through your windshield. Today on the 5000 block of Catharine Street, we received an early morning [visit] from our neighbors to inform us the trash workers had thrown a trash can into our windshield. Now I have to wait for Waste Management who only lets you leave a recording to mail us a claim form. I have little hope they will reimburse us… I also doubt my report to 311 will do anything. And thanks to this a day of work was lost and my eldest missed school.”

Kelly adds that neighbors on both sides of her house saw it happen and came to her door to let her know. She says that everything was tossed about and it was not the wind.

UPDATE (3/7): Here’s a response from Philly311 we received this morning:

@blulotuspr @westphillylocal This was forwarded to us and the Streets Dept yesterday. We escalated and it is under investigation. Thanks!

— Philly311 (@philly311) March 7, 2013

Clark Park Youth Soccer, a recreational program for children ages 5 to 11 is returning this Spring and registration is now open. The season will start on March 23 and go on through May 18. More information about the program and registration forms are available on the Friends of Clark Park website.

The program is also seeking volunteer coaches. You don’t need serious soccer skills or coaching experience in order to apply. What’s important is some basic knowledge of the game and enthusiasm for working with kids. If you’d like to volunteer or have questions, please email clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com.

We are very sad to report that Oliver “Ali” Robinson, a longtime activist and community organizer in the city, died on Monday. He was 64.

Back when he was a little boy growing up in Southwest Philadelphia, scrambling through the pews of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Oliver Robinson was simply known as “Ollie.”

As the youngest of five, he worked hard to live up to the examples set by his older brothers, especially the late state Sen. Hardy Williams, who would go on to have a pioneering legal and political career that included a run for mayor in 1971 that would inspire other African Americans to seek public office.

Robinson worked to apply the teachings of his mother, Frances “Mom” Williams, renowned for championing “the people’s business.” And as the Civil Rights Movement evolved from sit-ins and picket signs to more confrontational politics, “Ollie” became known as “Ali.”

“He was a stalwart in our family and our organizational structure, a fellow civil rights warrior,” said state Sen. Anthony “Hardy” Williams, Robinson’s nephew. “But I realized it was more important to him to be my uncle than anything else.”

Family members say Robinson watched “Mom” Frances counsel and speak out for neighbors in need, which helped spark his interest in social justice.

Robinson graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1967 and went on to attend Howard University.

He joined the 1971 mayoral campaign against Frank Rizzo his big brother Hardy waged that shook up party politics. Robinson worked on a variety of campaigns, including the elections of Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. in the 1980s and state Rep. Jordan Harris just last year.

“He was an architect. Even before there were computers, Ali was the best Election Day statistician in the city,” said Lynette Brown-Sow, who worked as teen on the Hardy Williams mayoral campaign. “He had a gift.”

Robinson also worked at the Crisis Intervention Network, where he was part of the team that led one of the most effective youth violence intervention programs in the city’s history. He co-founded the People’s Institute, which helped provide services to young people. He also applied his skills as a community organizer for Model Cities of North Philadelphia and remained an active member of the Kingsessing Community Association.

Working from a philosophy that an informed people are an engaged people, he founded and published the Southwest News, which published uplifting stories by and about neighbors.

In 1992, the Rendell Administration honored Robinson with the Philadelphia Pride Award.

“He gave a lot to the community, but at the end of the day, he was still a dad and a granddad,” said his daughter, Kya Kamil Robinson.

Robinson is survived by his other daughter, Afrika Mona Strong; his brothers, Jimmy Williams, Freddie Williams and Teddy Williams; his sister, Barbara Williams; his grandchildren, Alexus and Ervon Schultz Jr. and several of nieces, nephews, cousins and other loving friends.

A viewing will be held Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1411 S. 50th St. Funeral services will immediately follow. Internment will be at the West Laurel Hill Cemetery, 225 Belmont Ave. in Bala Cynwyd.