West Philadelphia: Libraries “Plant A Seed” That Brings Success And Literacy For West Philly Children
Out of the 339 schools within the Philadelphia School District, only eight have full-time paid certified librarians. Louis Lozzi, a Philadelphia native and teacher said that the lack of library funding in the school system has been an issue since he began his teaching career 15 years ago. “I’m used to being in schools without […]
Walnut Hill: Community Rebuilds Park From The Ground Up
Community members in Walnut Hill gathered in a collaborative effort with the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation and the Enterprise Center to rebuild the Walnut Hill Park creating a safe and relaxing space for children and families. An ongoing project since 2007, Walnut Hill Community Association and the Enterprise Center Partnerships Manager Lorna Peterson, went […]
Frankford: Hold Harmless Policy is Holding Back Education Funding for Frankford Schools
Education funding in Philadelphia is arguably the most hotly debated topic in the city. For local Frankford schools, it has been a crippling issue even though enrollment rates in Philadelphia schools has declined by more than 25 percent in the past decade. One funding policy in particular that many believe has been harmful to Philadelphia schools is […]
Education: Five Schools Impacted By Budget Cuts
As education budget cuts have spread throughout the state of Pennsylvania, building closures present a way for school districts to quickly lower their costs. In Philadelphia, a large wave of closings occurred in 2013. During this time, the School District of Philadelphia closed 23 schools to help shrink a looming financial deficit of more than […]
East Oak Lane: Non-Profit Program Director Helps Provide Scholarships To Students In Need
Portia Fullard, a longtime resident of East Oak Lane and graduate of Temple University, is program director for Sky Community Partners, Inc., a local non-profit organization that identifies children in underserved communities and helps pay for them to attend private schools in the city. The organization has been able to award more than 500 students […]
Kensington: Organization Unites Community To Save Classrooms And Empower Educators
Over the past few years, the educational funding crisis in Philadelphia has continued to cut jobs and important programs while class sizes have grown, leaving many classrooms with a lack of basic resources and a teacher to student ratio of 16 to 1. Philadelphia school budgets began being cut in 2011, when the Philadelphia School […]
Education: Schools Teeter on the Brink of Financial Crisis
Philadelphia has had a big year. It’s welcomed the pope, honored the Dalai Lama and was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO. But behind the scenes is a building crisis: its schools are failing. Since 2011, the School District of Philadelphia has been operating with inadequate financial support, constrained by lingering budgetary stalemates in […]
Northwest: School Funding a Major Issue in Mayor Race
While the race to see who will become Philadelphia’s next mayor revolves around a number of issues facing the city, the issue that appears to be at the forefront is funding for the city’s district and charter schools. Not only is the Northwest section of Philadelphia home to many public and charter schools, like Roxborough […]
Mantua: Through City Year, New College Graduate Gives Back to Younger Students
On the 600 block of North 35th Street lives a young college graduate trying to make a difference in the City of Brotherly Love. Twenty-three-year-old Ivan Vivar is a recent graduate of the University of Delaware. Instead of pursuing his own career aspirations, though, he’s taking a year to ensure the success of future generations […]
Olney: Principal Works to Improve Safety, Academics at Reunited High School
Olney Charter High School was once a building housing two separate high schools. Imagine walking into school with a friend and having him or her go right to enter Olney High School East while you stayed left towards Olney High School West. This was the case for the two failing schools in Philadelphia’s Olney section […]