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Public school closures could just be getting started
April
6

The School District’s budget woes, facilities expenses, and empty seats aren’t going away with the eight public schools that are set to close. Instead, these closures are likely the start of a longer cycle of closings and consolidations ahead.

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E.M. Stanton decision brings thank yous all around

Celebrations were in order at E.M. Stanton Elementary last Friday morning after the School Reform Commission decided not to close the school. 

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Stanton, Sheppard spared by SRC; eight other schools to close

The schools that will close are Harrison, Drew, and Levering elementaries; Pepper Middle and Sheridan West Academy; FitzSimons and Rhodes high schools; and the Philadelphia High School for Business and Technology.

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Schools threatened with closing reflect a timeline of historic architecture

Six of the nine schools appear on the National Register of Historic Places, and the others boast important academic and stylistic features.

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Straight talk to the SRC: Video voices for Sheppard and Stanton

Contingents turned out again from two elementary schools targeted for closing, E.M. Stanton and Sheppard, and gave a direct message to the School Reform Commission.

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A full day of testimony on school closings

The Notebook provided online coverage, summarizing the District's position on why each school should be closed, highlighting comments from the community on each plan, and any response from the commissioners.

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Public meetings on school closings end; SRC to hold hearings March 3

After four months, 21 meetings , and testimony from hundreds of people, the School Reform Commission is getting ready for the last phase of the process that could lead to the closure  of as many as nine schools at the end of this school year.

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SRC suspends Pa. school code on closings. 'Walk-on' resolution approved; vote on closings will be March 29

[Updated 1:30 a.m.] In an unexpected move, the School Reform Commission voted Thursday to approve a previously unannounced "walk-on" resolution to suspend a portion of the Pennsylvania Public School Code so that it can expedite its pending decision on the District's recommendation to close nine schools.

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District sets $6.5 million sale price for old West Philly High building

According to District documents, $6.5 million is the sale price for the 100-year-old, 250,000-square-foot building at 47th and Walnut Streets that used to house West Philadelphia High.

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School closings timeline a sticky issue

School Reform Commission chair Pedro Ramos told community members in South Philadelphia Thursday night that the District is working to make its final school closings decision “in as timely a way as possible.”

 

 

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100 years ago, new schools were built for growing city

This guest blog post comes from Ken Finkel, who compiled some historical photos of the construction of several District schools that are now facing closure. He blogs at The Philly History Blog, where this post was originally published. That site also has an extraordinary archive of more than 3,100 photos of Philadelphia schools.

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This landing page is the place to keep up with the Philadelphia School District's facilities master planning process. The School District is compiling a comprehensive facilities master plan designed to "right-size" its physical plant. The goal is to maximize educational availability, quality, and equity, which will involve closing, consolidating, and selling schools. Decisions on how to manage this process call for wide community dialogue and close collaboration between the School District and city government. The The Philadelphia Public School Notebook is partnering with PlanPhilly to cover this process and inform and help foster that dialogue. This coverage is supported by a grant from the William Penn Foundation.

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