An article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer reflects the anguish that many in West Philly are feeling as their children approach school age: Go to the neighborhood school? Look at other schools in the city? Or, move to the suburbs? The anguish has been compounded in recent months as confusion about admission to West Philly’s Penn Alexander School has grown.

One Queen Village parent, whose children attend the well-regarded Meredith Elementary School, told Inquirer staffer Miriam Hill:

“If you hurt Meredith, you will rip the heart out of this neighborhood,” he said. “It’s the primary driver of economic and social development in this part of Philadelphia because education-minded, working, taxpaying, civic-minded parents move here or don’t leave here because of Meredith. It sounds very suburban, but here we are.”

The real estate premium that residents in the Penn Alexander catchment pay, of course, gets a mention in the story, as does the effort to help improve other neighborhood schools.

Read the full story here.