Students, Teachers and Parents Rally for Education

Stakeholders from all over Northwest Philadelphia gather in Gorgas Park to protest the city's education budget.

Parents, teachers and students gathered in Gorgas Park in Roxborough on Monday night to rally in protest against the proposed school district cuts and closing of schools. “We have people here from all over the Northwest,” said parent organizer Rebecca Poyourow.  “There are people here from Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill as well as Roxborough and Manayunk. Kids and parents as well as a few teachers and principals held up signs that said things like “save our schools,” and “we need sports.” Sabra Townsend has a child who attends the Dobson School, and she was there to speak for the special education students in the district. “All children should have the right to an education,” Townsend said.  “A special education child is just as deserving of …

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Germantown High School to Close

Germantown High School will be closed by the Philadelphia School District.

The following is a press release from the Philadelphia School District. The School Reform Commission (SRC) approved Thursday several program relocations, mergers and consolidations along with the closure of 23 schools as part of District’s commitment to better align programs and resources with student needs. The District began work in 2010 on developing a long-range Facilities Master Plan to standardize grade configurations, increase school utilization and reduce excess building capacity. Last December, the District initially recommended 37 schools for closure. As a result of extensive community feedback and comments, more than a dozen recommendations were modified in February. The District’s final recommendation was to close 29 buildings…

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Germantown HS Still Slated to Close, Despite Superintendent's Review

School superintendent William Hite has recommended 10 schools to be taken off the district's list to be closed.

10 schools could be spared from closing, though Germantown High School isn’t one of them. The Inquirer is reporting that a new recommendation issued by school district superintendent William Hite Jr., would take 10 city schools off the proposed closing / merging list. The three Northwest schools slated for closure and merging, Germantown High School, Emlen Elementary and Parkway Northwest, will be voted on in March. Students from Germantown High School are expected to attend Roxborough High School and Martin Luther King High School if the closing goes through. See the full story from the Inquirer here.

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District To Talk About Possible Emlen Closing

The Philadelphia School District will talk about its plan that would close 37 schools on Thursday.

The Philadelphia School District is holding a public meeting to discuss the plans to close 37 schools in the city, including Emlen Elementary in Mt. Airy, on Thursday, Jan 24. The meeting, which is being held at Martin Luther King High School (6100 Stenton Avenue), will discuss the proposed plans to close Emlen, Fulton Elementary in Germantown and 10 other schools in the Northwest. From the school district’s website: “[the meetings will] Provide parents and community stakeholders with an opportunity to learn more about the Facilities Master Plan recommendations, ask questions, and share input.” Check the school district’s website for more information.

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Video: Superintendent, Police Talk School Closing

"No superintendent anywhere wants to move into a place ... and recommend that 37 schools close." - Superintendent William Hite.

The Philadelphia School Distrcit has released video of a public meeting held at Martin Luther King High School in which school and police representatives discuss the decision to reccomened the closing of 37 district schools, including Germantown High School. Superintendent William Hite said that the closings were reccomended for a number of reasons, including an opportunity to readjust the district's resources. "We have seats for 53,000 students who are not being educated in our schools," he said. "The money could be better used on different resources for students ... and at the end of the day, whatever the vote is, we have to shift our focus from 'why shouldn't these schools close' to 'how can we come together.'" Watch the full video of …

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Germantown High School to Close

Two other area schools will see changes in the coming months, according to the Philadelphia School District.

Public Schools, City To Close on Tuesday

The city school district is keeping kids home, citing the forecast.

The Philadelphia School District and the city government are playing it safe on Tuesday in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The city school district announced on its website that all public schools and administrative offices will be closed on Oct. 30 due to "severe weather forecasts." The closing includes the cancelation of all early childhood and after school programs. Additionally, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that all city offices and courts will remain closed on Tuesday and that all non-essential government employees should stay home. Patch will continue to update this story as it develops.

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Website Ranks the Northwest's Best Schools

See where your school landed on a 1-to-10 scale, according to GreatPhillySchools.

A new website aims to provide parents with a consists way to compare schools in the Philadelphia. GreatPhillySchools, a website that ranks the city's schools based on enrollment information, performance data, census maps, graduation and college-enrollment rates and "student engagement," allows users to search by neighborhood and zip code to find what they deam to be the best school in the area. According to a release on the website, the aim is to make sure "Every child in Philadelphia … have access to a great school." "Our mission is to make information available so parents, guardians and students can find, compare and demand great schools," the release states. According to the website, the ratings should be used to help parents make a …

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Catherine Collins

11:17 am on Friday, October 26, 2012

And "Houston Henry" is actually the Henry H. Houston School, another K-8 public school in West Mt. Airy. Houston's website is http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/h/houston   more ›

The School Reform Commission Adopts Revised Code of Conduct

The new SRC code adopts newly categorized infractions, promotes the use of interventions instead of expulsions wherever possible, and gives more discretion on disciplinary issues to school principals.

Rep. Youngblood to Hold School Funding Hearing

City officials will attend.

There will be a state House committee hearing near Independence Mall on Wednesday that was requested by state Rep. Rosita Youngblood and one other representative. Youngblood and state Rep. Mike O'Brien worked to put together the hearing. It will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Independence Visitor Center in the Liberty View Ballroom at 6th and Market. The hearing will focus on House Bill 2361, which has to do with school funding. According to a news release, the "hearing will also examine the effects and impacts of the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), the proposal offered by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter that would reassess Philadelphia properties to bring in additional tax revenues." The city's finance director and …

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