A mural at the Alexander Wilson School.
The Alexander Wilson School (46th and Woodland), which is one of two dozen public schools slated to close in a couple of weeks, is being eyed as a possible location for a charter school.
A public meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, June 13 beginning at 6 p.m. to discuss that possibility. Speakers will include Marc Mannella, CEO of KIPP: Philadelphia Schools and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. The meeting will be held at the 46th Street Baptist Church, right across the street from Wilson at 46th and Woodland. All parents, students and members of the community are invited to attend.
While the fate of most of the closing schools is unclear, it is likely that some of them will become independently run charter schools. Some 57,000 of Philadelphia’s public school students were enrolled in charter schools this year, about 37 percent of all students.
Begun in 2003, KIPP: Philadelphia Schools currently operates one elementary school, KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Academy, two middle schools, KIPP Philadelphia Charter School and KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School, and one high school, KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy. The company hopes to operate 10 schools in West and North Philadelphia by 2016, according to its website. Those plans include adding one elementary school per year between 2013 and 2015.
– Mike Lyons
June 11th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Interesting development. I had assumed that the Pharmacy School would snap up the space.
June 11th, 2013 at 8:39 pm
So, can someone explain why they are discussing this at a time when the district is laying of 3800 counselors, nurses, librarians, teachers and support staff?
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/The-end-of-Phillys-public-schools.html#WRFS7yKY7ThlCuHs.99
June 12th, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Has KIPP received another charter? How can the district justify paying for this new charter school if it argued that it had to close Wilson?
June 12th, 2013 at 6:28 pm
KIPP has not received approval from the SRC to expand. It was looking to relocate one of its high school and middle school programs by buying a closed district school but backed out of the deal with a hissyfit over not being able to expand: http://thenotebook.org/blog/135787/kipp-backs-out-deal-buy-vacant-philadelphia-school
But the Wilson building isn’t a good fit for those ages so that’s a bit of a red herring.
It has also received millions of dollars from the Philadelphia School Partnership to expand despite not having approval from the SRC to do so:
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local//region/52271-nonprofit-gives-34-million-to-expand-two-philadelphia-charters
Each additional charter seat costs the district $7,000 in “stranded” administrative costs caused by low utilization and the basics that each school must have no matter how small its population. The recent district school closures sought to close that gap but charter expansion not balanced with equivalent charter school closures will only open back up the gap and cause more district schools to close. Unlike district schools which as we’ve seen can be closed quite easily, low performing charter schools get at least a year of hearings and lawsuits before closure. And even bad charters have made through campaign donations powerful friends who put the squeeze on the easily intimidated SRC.
The Wilson community is being used by KIPP in a gambit to expand and one that will cause still more area district schools to close. At the meeting, please ask our councilwoman and head of the City Council education committee why she is trying to kill more of our neighborhood district schools.
June 19th, 2013 at 5:59 am
Hissyfit?
Why would KIPP buy a school building from the district if it wouldn’t be allowed to run a school in that building?
Do you work for the district? Seriously knowing this sort of lack of common sense or logic would help explain how we constantly have hundred million + deficits.
June 19th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Before you start throwing around insults, you might try reading the linked article. KIPP sought to move its EXISTING high school and middle school into Walton and backed out because it also wanted to expand enrollment. So for $320,000 for the building, it wanted to cost the district $6 million/year in expanded enrollment costs. That kind of crummy deal is what got us into the budget crunch. And I do not work for the district.
June 12th, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Blackwell is not a friend of our schools.
June 15th, 2013 at 11:47 am
The Notebook has more information on the KIPP proposal at Wilson but many questions remain: http://thenotebook.org/blog/136107/kipp-hopes-move-closing-wilson-elementary
June 16th, 2013 at 11:25 am
For instance, KIPP wants to RENT the Wilson building and start in September with 100 kindergarteners. How does that help any of the 1st-6th families at Wilson?! Where the heck are they going to get all those 5-year-olds from?
June 16th, 2013 at 11:58 am
It is crazy that Jannie Blackwell would even entertain such a thought right now.
June 16th, 2013 at 10:49 pm
The SOLUTION has become part of the PROBLEM!
June 22nd, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Went over like a fart in church http://thenotebook.org/blog/136129/src-rebuffs-kipp-plan-move-closing-wilson-elementary
The poor Wilson parents were testifying in favor of a joint KIPP-district venture that KIPP didn’t even want. At least you know their testimony wasn’t completely astroturfed I suppose.
June 23rd, 2013 at 12:09 pm
As someone who has a child who will be entering his school years, I can only HOPE that these schools become charter.
Ask yourself… Does the city of Philadelphia do a good job when it comes to things like this?
I came to my answer pretty rapidly. The answer is no. I do not have ANY faith in the city of Philadelphia to EVER fix its education system. It’s not just Philly either. Look across the nation. Public schools are failing left and right, and I’m not sure it has to do with $$$. A lot of it has to do with schools being run by bureaucrats, not teachers or anyone with a teaching background.
I have way more faith in a private entity to do a better job. Even if you can’t currently prove that Charters will be a viable solution, you can currently prove that the city of Philadelphia has squandered millions of tax payers dollars, and ruined thousands of students educations… Let’s try something new. The city just isn’t cutting it. I’m not sure public education will ever work in a large city like this.
June 23rd, 2013 at 1:13 pm
If you actually read up on KIPP’s Milford School approach to educating poor children of color, I think you will be considerably less excited.
June 23rd, 2013 at 4:32 pm
You can always tell a Milford man.