Classes start for 135,000 public-school students – The Philadelphia Tribune – September 9, 2014

 

With Monday’s opening of more than 200 schools, all of Philadelphia’s public-school students are back in class. For many of Philadelphia’s charter school students, summer break ended last week.

Yellow school buses, children and teens — some in school uniforms and toting back bags — were again part of the city streets and subway lines.

While students were going through orientation, parents, local education advocates and elected officials were advocating on their behalf outside Hyatt at The Bellevue, which houses the governor’s local office.

Organizers stood behind a podium and spoke into a microphone as they read out loud letters penned by public school students. The students mentioned schools being critical of their personal growth and their preparation for college or career goals.

One student signed off as “an angry student” in a letter addressed to Gov. Tom Corbett. She pleaded for funding for counselors and athletic programs, saying students learn skills that teach lifelong benefits.

“Without sports, many students will not be able to go to college. With sports being an after-school activity, many students are occupied [after school]. Without sports, more children will roam the streets [after school] with nothing to do, which may lead to crime,” the girl wrote in a one-page letter.

The rally was held to show solidarity among members of the Philadelphia education community in asking the state to increase funding for public schools across the state.

Mount Airy’s Denise Larrabee, whose two sons attend two public schools, said the reason she was participating in the demonstration was simple.

“I’m a Philadelphia parent and both of my children are in public schools,” she said. “The state has an obligation, and it needs to step up and do its duty to fund all public schools, fairly and fully.”

A 15-member bi-partisan panel charged with making a recommendation for a new formula for funding Pennsylvania’s 500 public schools is in the early stages of its work. The commonwealth has been sharply criticized for being one of several states without a public school funding formula.

The advocacy group, Parents Concerned About Philadelphia Schools (PCAPS), plan to protest inadequate school funding at daily demonstrations through Thursday at schools in North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia and Kensington. Friday’s rally is planned outside the governor’s office.

School Superintendent William Hite and Mayor Michael Nutter greeted students at the new Learning in New Context High School in North Philadelphia before heading to Swenson Arts and Technical High School for lunch.

Two more new high schools, named Building 21 and The U School, also opened, sharing a campus in the 2000 block of S. 7th St. in South Philadelphia.

As the school chief, Hite used Monday’s school tours as an opportunity to assess student feelings about making a fresh start in a new academic year, said Fernando Gallard, the district’s chief of communications.

Most students were focused on making it through their first day rather than issues arising from the ongoing funding crisis or stalled cigarette tax bill, he said.

“They are concentrating on having a good first day, which is at it should be,” Gallard said.

By mid-morning, a queue of more than 20 people almost stretched from the security check-in point out the front doors to the School District of Philadelphia’s headquarters.

At least two dozen people were waiting in line ahead of Kenya Webb, 35, of West Philadelphia, who was scrambling to enroll her five-year-old son in a public school after being turned away from a neighborhood school already filled to capacity.

Webb said she was expecting a letter about which school her son was assigned, but it never came.

“My goal is to find out what school he can go to so I can go there today and he can start,” Webb said.

Kindergarten classes are set to start Sept. 15, according to the academic calendar.

There were no demonstrations at the central school office, as the district starts the new academic year saddled with significant debt. School leaders have included anticipated revenue from a local levy on cigarette packs sold in Philadelphia into the district’s current operating budget, but legislation authorizing the tax hike has been stalled in Harrisburg. State lawmakers adjourned for the summer without reaching consensus on the school funding portion of the bill but promised action when they return to session later this month.

The Philadelphia Tribune – September 9, 2014 – Read article online