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HomeAuthorsMatthew S. Leister

Articles by Matthew S. Leister

Business

Education: Kenney’s Universal Pre-K Proposal Sparks Hope, Controversy

April 27, 2016Matthew S. Leister and

Philadelphia’s public school system has long faced academic and financial troubles, resulting in poor standardized test scores and high dropout rates. Now, advocates of Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposition for universal pre-kindergarten say such a program

Broad Street

Education: YouthBuild Gives High School Dropouts A Second Chance To Succeed

March 28, 2016Matthew S. Leister

Jocquelyn Cain, 21, was turned away when he tried to re-enroll in his high school two years after he dropped out. He was too old. The Pennsylvania Department of Education says that only 70 percent

Arts and Entertainment

Education: Piano Teacher Says Music Plays Key Role in Children’s Development

March 28, 2016Matthew S. Leister and

Patrick Fink, 27, a piano instructor and professional musician, has taught music since 2006. Fink has taught private lessons from his home in Roxborough for nearly 10 years, and has traveled to give lessons in

Arts and Entertainment

Education: Young Playwrights’ Program Puts Spotlight on Student Voices

February 12, 2016Matthew S. Leister

Anthony Martinez-Briggs, 25, is a teaching artist at the Philadelphia Young Playwrights. He is a co-founder of the grassroots organization “I Love Living,” which stems from the local hip-hop band Ill Doots. He also teaches

Recent Posts

  • People stand on a sidewalk beneath a pale gray sky. The street behind them is between two tan stone buildings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows on their ground levels, and the multicolored glass exterior of a parking garage shines further down the street, next to some taller red brick buildings. Glass windows are visible behind the people on the sidewalk. Some of them wear raincoats or windbreakers, and some of them hold umbrellas of various colors. Two men in the right half of the image, one southeast Asian and one white, wear clerical collars. They are all waving wooden rods with thick red ribbons tied to the ends of them in the air. Most of the people present appear to be white and/or over the age of 50. One bearded, middle-aged man in a gray and black windbreaker and black pants points a camera towards the bottom right corner of the image, where a blue banner reads “GOD STANDS WITH THE OPPRESSED.” To the banner’s left, a canvas with a monarch butterfly painted on it is draped over a concrete sidewalk barrier. A blue bicycle is parked behind the man with the camera, and a black car in the street drives past the group of people.
    ‘These are our people’: Weekly vigils unite faiths on ICE’s doorstep
    July 7, 2026
  • “To Be Here” weaves a web of Philadelphia experiences, told by and for the community
    July 3, 2026
  • The crowd during a performance by The DOJD, Claire Brown's band, in a West Philadelphia basement. (Image-Jacob Magaldi)
    How Philadelphia’s DIY music scene is helping fund gender-affirming care
    June 7, 2026
  • Inspired by ACT UP, this queer Philly collective is throwing mutual aid parties 
    May 4, 2026
  • Robeson future on the line in today’s school board vote 
    April 30, 2026
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