PCAPS: End property tax abatement program
by Naveed AhsanThe Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools will launch a new campaign to end 10-year property tax abatements at a press conference today at 4:30 p.m. held at the luxury...
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Coalition launches new initiatives to push for school funding
Since the District’s draconian budget cuts, there has been no shortage of protests in response to the funding crisis. Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools, a labor-community alliance,...
View ArticleEducation the lead issue at gubernatorial candidate forum
by Isaac RiddleFive of the eight Democrats vying to challenge Gov. Corbett next year gathered in front of education and community groups at a candidate forum held at Temple University last...
View ArticleSRC meeting to address possibility of universal enrollment
When the School Reform Commission meets Monday for its monthly public strategy session, its goal will be to discuss the pros and cons of an unprecedented proposal: unifying the enrollment process for...
View ArticleState groups make a push for early education funding
Ten advocacy groups across the state are making a push for more pre-K funding in Pennsylvania. This new coalition is seeking to use this year’s gubernatorial race as an opportunity to campaign for...
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Muñoz-Marín parents vote decisively to keep school within the District
Updated | 3:50 p.m.: Superintendent William Hite announced that Muñoz-Marín will remain a traditional District school, saying, “Parents and guardians have chosen a path for their school and we are...
View ArticleYUC students walk out of school to protest budget cuts
Students from nine high schools walked out of school at noon Wednesday, converging on the School District, City Hall and Gov. Corbett's Philadelphia office to protest inadequate funding of their...
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Youth United for Change finds new leader
Rapheal Randall was named executive director of Youth United for Change. The application process was intensive, but Youth United for Change has selected Rapheal Randall as its new executive...
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Youth groups participate in movement against violence
The deaths of two unarmed African American men, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and the non-indictments of the police officers who killed them have sparked protests throughout the country. In...
View ArticleOpt-out movement reflects growing resistance to testing
Last year, a handful of Philadelphia families balked at having their children sit for the high-stakes state standardized tests known as the PSSAs. This year, resistance to the tests is more...
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Council introduces bill to mandate sufficient water fountains
City Councilwoman Helen Gym has introduced legislation mandating that the Philadelphia School District have enough working water fountains per school building to comply with city plumbing codes. That...
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What about electing a woman? One protester's view
One of my interests this week during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia is to ask as many people as I can, women especially, how they feel about the history-making prospect of electing...
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On historic day, young feminists join effort to revive the ERA
The first people I saw when I entered the huge room in the Pennsylvania Convention Center hosting the DNC Women’s Caucus on Tuesday morning were three 20-somethings giving away familiar-looking...
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Journalist reports rough, arbitrary detention during DNC
TeleSur journalist Abby Martin made headlines this week at the Democratic National Convention after what she says was an arbitrary arrest that resulted in her detention by Philadelphia police in the...
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Group gives checks to college-bound students
Unity in the Community is continuing its fifth annual Peace Week celebration with Operation College Help. On Wednesday, the nonprofit organization promoting an end to violence in South Philadelphia...
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Philly to test for lead in water at 40 District schools
The School District of Philadelphia is reviving a program that will test for elevated lead levels in the drinking water at 40 city schools. The project will take four months to complete and focus on...
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Teachers, others meet in book clubs this summer to discuss weighty issues
While most teachers are taking a break from students and lesson plans this summer, the Caucus of Working Educators and TAG Philly have been hosting their third annual book club series to discuss...
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Why are national civil rights groups calling for a moratorium on charter...
As students prepare to head back to school in Philadelphia, the often-contentious public conversation about charter schools has reignited, with calls for a moratorium on their expansion by both the...
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Point Breeze residents protest the sale of a vacant school
The Save Smith School Committee held a news conference in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia in October calling for the School Reform Commission to stop the sale of now-closed Walter G....
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Mifflin students protest split-grade classroom plan
Parents and a small group of 2nd- and 3rd-grade students at Mifflin Elementary School staged a walkout in October to protest proposed changes that would have created a split-grade classroom. The...
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