As a mother and grandmother, Rhemar Pouncey has been fighting along with other parents to keep Overbrook Elementary School open amidst the potential closure. On February 19, she attended the Community Meeting to Save Overbrook Elementary and received a standing ovation for her speech to the board, parents, staff, and students.
“Let me explain something to you, our children are not dollars and cents,” Pouncey said. “They are not numbers.”
With an enrollment of 215, Overbrook Elementary is a small, close-knit community where its students walk to and from school every day. With the potential closure of Overbrook Elementary, there are 4 other elementary schools in the area where the students may be reassigned to: Lewis C. Cassidy Plus Academics, Guion S. Bluford Elementary School, John Barry Elementary School, and Edward Heston School. Each of these schools ranges from a 0.6-mile walk to a 1.5-mile walk from Overbrook Elementary.
Pouncey, as well as other parents and staff members, are worried about the safety of their students travelling a much further distance to get to school. Crossing Guard Kelly Smith spoke on her concerns regarding student safety, considering the increase in travel.
“These streets are not safe,” Smith said. “We’re dealing with drug dealers. We’re dealing with pedophiles. We’re dealing with people who speed in the school zone. We’re dealing with kids that are robbing other kids getting on and off the bus.”
According to data collected by 6abc Action News, there were 312 assaults within the Philadelphia School District in 2024. With the district experiencing violence in the area, the idea of switching over to the schools outside of Overbrook has raised more fear in the community.
Pouncey shared Smith’s views on the danger of the streets in Philadelphia, claiming that Overbrook Elementary is the only safe school for her grandson.
“…You’re not going to send them to Heston. No, it’s unacceptable. You’re not going to send them to Bluford, you’re damn sure not going to send them across 63rd Street, Cassidy, and we’re definitely not going to John Barry,” Pouncey said.
Pouncey’s concern for her grandson not only lies in safety, but in his quality of education. She noted that because Overbrook is small they are better able to serve the needs of students like her grandson who have an Individualized Education Program (commonly referred to as an IEP). She said she appreciated this after her own son struggled to access a quality education when he had an IEP at a different school.
“You all had to give me an APS [Approved Private School] Certificate so my youngest son could go to a private school because you couldn’t service him. Now they can service my grandson here, who is also an IEP student,” Pouncey said.
Pouncey made it known that she would be fighting for the students and putting as much effort into the cause as she could to help keep Overbrook Elementary operational.
“So let me make something clear to you. This is not going to be the first time or the last time you see my face if you’re never seen it before,” Pouncey said. “This is not going to be the first time or the last time you hear my voice because, regardless, all of these kids, in my opinion, are my kids.”
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