Holmesburg: New Foundations High School Teachers Attempt To Unionize
One night last November, Alicia Lynch finally got home from her job as a school counselor at New Foundations Charter High School. She just wanted to share a meal with her husband and three children. “As I am eating dinner with my family, I receive a text from a co-worker to check my email immediately,” […]
Education: A Comprehensive Look At Charters And What They Mean For Philadelphia’s Education
It is 4:20 p.m. and the security line at the school district’s Education Center was beginning to grumble with agitation. A mother clutched a poster-board using it as a fan as she stood in line in the heavy humid air. The small crowd took steps forward almost in unison, rushing to the auditorium hoping to […]
Education: English Teacher Aims To Improve Opportunities Inside And Outside The Classroom
Kayla Conklin currently serves as the department head of the English department at Esperanza Academy Charter High School in West Hunting Park. That title is just one of many she holds at the school, mainly comprised of minority students in the surrounding neighborhoods. Between the hours of 8:50 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Conklin is either […]
Education: A Look Inside the District’s Struggling Schools
—Text and image by Lora Strum and Ashley Hart
Politics: To Keep Millennials In The City, Politicians Must Focus On the Schools
It is no secret that Millennials are fueling Philadelphia’s recent growth. Individuals aged 20 to 34 represent more than a quarter of the city’s population. According to the Pew Research Center, growth within this age group – along with a growing immigrant population – accounts for a large portion of the population growth that Philadelphia […]
Ludlow: Ramonita de Rodriguez Library Hopes the Next Mayor Will Fight for Education
Inside the Ramonita de Rodriquez Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, children can be seen reading, playing, and creating school projects in a cheerful room decorated with crafts. They come every Monday through Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the library’s Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP). Having comprehensive after-school programs like LEAP […]
Hunting Park: A New Way to Educate
Daivin Rivera was a victim of bullying for seven months before his parents found out. A truancy letter stating he had missed eight days of school arrived in the mail, driving his parents to ask Daivin about his absences. To avoid feeling that he didn’t fit in and being bullied, he stayed home. The social […]
Nicetown: Parents, Teachers Protest at School District
In the debate about whether to turn over Edward T. Steel Elementary School to the administration of Mastery Charter Schools, the voices for the current leadership at Steel have been loud and clear. They are not happy with how this process has gone. Parents, children, teachers and activists recently gathered outside the Philadelphia School District […]
Hunting Park: Recreation Center Keeps Kids Moving Through Winter Months
The disparity of Hunting Park can be striking. One area can be bustling with people at one point and void of activity the next. The Hunting Park Recreation Center illustrates this perfectly. “Some days are a little quieter than others,” said Kevin Cush, the director of maintenance at the center, “then days like today are […]