[Editor’s Note: We did not attend yesterday’s Penn Alexander rally at Penn. The information for the report below comes from some who did. We decided to reprint the statement from a parent below because we feel it provides an important perspective. That said, we hope that ALL of the neighborhood schools in the area could benefit from committed parents like the ones we have come to know from the situation at Penn Alexander.]
Several parents of prospective Penn Alexander School kindergartners rallied on Penn’s campus yesterday. Carrying signs and chanting “10 more in,” the parents hoped to attract the attention of top Penn administrators who were meeting inside Houston Hall and protest the School District of Philadelphia registration lottery held behind closed doors last week.
The district mailed notifications to parents this week indicating whether their child was admitted to the school. Most parents at the rally knew whether their child was one of the 10 who registered and were not selected in the computer-generated lottery.
The statement below is from Spruce Hill resident Eric Santoro, whose son attends Penn Alexander. His daughter was not selected in the lottery. He read the statement during the rally. The bold and capitals are in the original.
Earlier this morning, I learned that a computerized lottery wait listed my daughter for admission into Penn Alexander, her neighborhood school. Penn Alexander is the school that her older brother already attends. It is the school where my wife is a room parent. It is the school where I became a founding member of the parent communication committee. It is the school that is the very reason I moved back to University City, after I moved away in 1997 following an epidemic of violence and murder against neighborhood residents. Like many of you here today, my wife and I chose to live in the Penn Alexander Catchment, and have made considerable investments of time and resources to the neighborhood, because we want the best urban education possible for our children
Now we are being asked to accept that a computer generated lottery, which was conducted in secret, and about which we were given no information, has rejected my daughter from the neighborhood school that drove us to live here in the first place. I cannot accept this. On January 18, when the school district capriciously changed Penn Alexander’s registration policies, the school disseminated a letter from Superintendent Hite that said: “In an effort to make this process . . . less challenging for parents in the catchment area, the School District of Philadelphia has decided to conduct a lottery to determine kindergarten enrollment.”
Unfortunately, the School District got it absolutely backwards: when you implement a lottery and break up families and neighborhoods, you have created the most, not a less, challenging situation for parents in the catchment area. When the Penn Alexander School was created, one of the stated goals was “[t]o ensure a close and vital relationship between the Neighborhood School and the community it serves.” This aspirational goal has been turned on its head. The imposition of a lottery now threatens to make our neighborhood school, the very thing that divides and diminishes our neighborhood.
Families, like mine, with multiple children cannot be asked to play the lottery over and over again and risk that their families will be strewn across the district. Families will inevitably move, new families will inevitably refuse to move in, and our wonderful neighborhood will be torn apart – returning it to the days when Spruce Hill was mere transient stop for Penn employs to live for a couple of years before they move to the suburbs. This is also unacceptable.
We are told that the Penn Alexander lottery is a District “pilot” program. I have a better idea: how about if instead of piloting a lottery, we pilot doing everything possible to allow all children to attend their neighborhood school? How about if instead of piloting a lottery, we pilot increased student enrollment even if it’s a little beyond our typical “comfort” level? How about if instead of piloting breaking up families, we pilot doing everything we can to keep families together? How about if instead of piloting a secret lottery, we pilot transparent processes where all impacted parents can understand how decisions are made about their children? How about if instead of piloting school district ultimatums and capricious decision making, we pilot increased community involvement and open dialogues about decisions that impact our children? How about if instead of piloting school district decision making based anonymous data and hypothetical conjecture, we pilot decision making that takes into consideration the actual, real life people and families who will be affected?
On January 18, 71 families got in line and planned to sleep outside for four days for a spot at Penn Alexander. If 71 parents are willing to sleep outside for 4 nights in January so that their children can attend this school, then we are surely also willing to commit our time, resources, and diverse skill sets to help develop a solution to the enrollment issues. Give us that chance! Give us a chance, and I have no doubt that a reasonable solution to the enrollment crunch will be achieved The School District and University of Pennsylvania need to recognize that the parents are not a problem to be dealt with; but rather, we need to be part of the solution.
Parental involvement in a neighborhood school can only be a good thing. And decisions about the school that impact the lives of families and do not involve the input of the community should be viewed as unacceptable and deemed invalid. We should not have to accept an untimely and entirely arbitrary pilot program. The lottery was supposed to promote fairness, but singling out our children as a test case for the entire Philadelphia School District is the most unfair result of all.
To the School District and to the University of Pennsylvania, I implore you: Let us help you FIND A WAY TO ENROLL 10 MORE CHILDREN AT PENN ALEXANDER!
Thank you
February 21st, 2013 at 10:38 am
Maybe the “community” that Santoro envisions is not the community that Penn envisions. Rather than those who have the resources to wait in line getting the spots, the spots are determined by a lottery to put the community members on equal footing regardless of resources.
by the way, isn’t crime in Philly triple what it was in 1997?
February 21st, 2013 at 11:22 am
Great statement Mr. Santoro. I was with you 100% – And then I read your last line. The goal shouldn’t be to find a way get “ten more children” in this year. The goal should be to develop a sustainable model that allows all children to attend their neighborhood school. Without a sustainable plan this battle will be fought every year.
Also, I can’t help but wonder if the PSD is “making an example” out of Mr. Santoro because he was a high-profile leader of the line parents. Zero transparency with the lottery and the PSD’s history of incompetence and corruption certainly support that idea. I hope that is not the case. But, this being Philadelphia, nothing would surprise me.
I hope that you will continue to fight – And that you will reach out to your neighbors for support in that fight.
February 21st, 2013 at 11:46 am
I wonder the same, if Eric was punished for his active role in this situation. I feel sorry for him, other high profile families kept their involvement behind the front line, until the lottery took place. Now after the lottery they are coming out and addressing the University Council. Some others, who were active, are now backing off once they found out that their kids got in. I feel our community has already been torn apart, it will never be the same for me again.
February 21st, 2013 at 11:49 am
Sources are confirming something we figured would happen at some point – a Daily News reporter is looking for kids who are “illegally” enrolled at PAS. This could get even uglier.
February 21st, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Knowing the district and Philly, it would be more suspicious if all of the really vocal kindergarten parents just so happened to be picked in the lottery…
February 21st, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Am I the only one who thinks our “community” and “neighborhood” goes beyond the Penn Alexander catchment boundaries? I don’t understand that part of the argument, the idea of a community being divided. Either they narrowly define the neighborhood to include only families within the catchment, or, following their logic, the very idea of a catchment boundary divides neighborhoods.
Just because someone lives on 48th street instead of 43rd does not mean they are any less of a community member, in my book at least.
February 21st, 2013 at 12:30 pm
@Editor – if by “illegally” you mean families that do not live in the PAS catchment but maintain some sort of mailing address / apartment / grandparent / friend address just to get their kid into PAS, then I say they should go full Woodward & Bernstein on their azz.
@Anon – yep
@ Westphillyguy – agreed. They should just make a supercatchment, with Lee, PAS and Wilson (closing?). Do a lottery with 1/3, 1/3, & 1/3 distribution. At least you’d have some even distribution of families that give a crap / willing to wait a week in the freezing cold etc. channelling their energies into making the best with what they’ve been given.
February 21st, 2013 at 12:30 pm
When you have families competing against one another for access to a valuable resource, the neighborhood and community will suffer. Yes we are all part of a larger neighborhood, but many of the people moved into this defined neighborhood to be able to send their children to a great school, just as parents and families have done for decades and will continue to do. And the PSD and Penn’s view that these “privileged” and “entitled” parents will go to Lea and make Lea better is offensive to the families at Lea. Perhaps they are not so keen to be “saved” by the rejected PAS families and the demographics they represent.
February 21st, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Who at the PSD and Penn is making that argument about Lea? I am not aware of anyone at those institutions making that argument. I have seen no evidence that this is some covert effort to push families in the PAS catchment to Lea. But by all means, maybe I am missing something and there is in fact some evidence of that.
That said, my understanding is that the PSD is about to make a decision that will push almost all Wilson children into Lea. Taking account for the larger neighborhood, I see that as a much larger story, the fact that the PSD is actually shutting down an entire school nearby. The combination of the cap on school enrollment at PAS, and the shutting down of Wilson, those two things combined are what really bother me. It’s like the whole community is being squeezed.
February 21st, 2013 at 1:03 pm
Wild Turkey, i like your supercatchment idea.
February 21st, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Also, Another line parent, I get that issue, that some people bought houses to send their children to PAS. So putting that aside for the moment, I was trying to bring up another argument that is being made. Again, the argument is that the neighborhood is being divided.
Speaking as someone who does not have a child at PAS, it is a bit alienating to hear the line parents repeating that over and over. I trust that they do not mean to alienate anyone, but I ask that they consider what that argument actually implies. Are families outside of the catchment any less a part of their community as those inside?
February 21st, 2013 at 1:05 pm
@Happy Curmudgeon- Crime has definitely NOT doubled since 1997. In fact there has been a dramatic REDUCTION in crime since the late 1990s. In 1997 there were 409 homicides in Philly. In 2012 there were 334. For University City that number fell from 7 to 4. Other crimes have seen larger reductions than that.
February 21st, 2013 at 1:44 pm
I’m confused about 10 people being on the wait list. I thought that 88 students–including IEP and head start students–were applying for 72 spots (4 classrooms with 18 students in each room). That would leave 16 people on the waiting list. Were more K seats found at PAS, or did some people withdraw from the lottery at the last minute, or did something else happen?
Does anyone know how many people have been pulled off the waiting list in past years? Is there any way for people to find out where they are on the waiting list?
February 21st, 2013 at 1:55 pm
@Nick – PSD increased capacity to 78 students and said they would not/could not go higher. So 10 kids are on the waitlist. Apparently they were given a # of 1-10 for their place on the waitlist.
As for your second question, I do not know if/when/how people have been pulled off the wailist (for K or for other grades). I think that the lack of transparency with respect to the waitlist in years past has been an issue for people.
February 21st, 2013 at 1:55 pm
@ A parent-for the record, the deadline to sign up to speak at the university council meeting was several weeks ago. That family put themselves out there, too. But, I also question whether the Santoro family is being punished.
February 21st, 2013 at 2:09 pm
Re: The Wait List. I just published this on the public google group.
Putting this topic out there hoping some of the members of this group might know since I understand that the lottery results have been communicated and there is an official wait list of 10 students. Was it communicated how the wait list will work and be managed? I know some might say that is pretty straightforward but from my personal experiences I can see nuances and have questions. I’m thinking it would be really helpful if the wait list policy was stated formally so parents could manage their plans accordingly.
Here are my questions:
1) Will the wait list carry over year to year? So if you don’t get in in K does the list get applied to 1st grade, and so on
2) If a spot opens up mid year (this just happened in my son’s 1st grade class when his classmate left the school last week) and you are top of the list do you have to take the spot immediately? or would you be able to claim it the next school year?
3) If the policy is that you must claim the spot immediately and you don’t pull you kid from where ever they are and put them in PAS, do you maintain your position on the wait list or do you have to re-apply and get at the end of the line for the next year?
The reason I ask is because we have personal experience of being on the wait list. I know how it worked for us but given the heighten focus and stakes, I’m wondering if it would be the same going forward. Our experience is that we were on the wait list for Kindergarten for our middle son who is now in 1st grade. (This was our choice because we wanted him to finish his K year at Greene Towne School where he had been for three years and this was before they added the 4th K class effectively filling 1st grade with the K registration). We were deep on the list and the intent was just to have a spot for 1st grade. However, they made it all the way through the wait list to us three days before the school year started for Kindergarten. They called and made us aware that a spot was available. Our son had already started his year at Greene Towne (and we’d paid the year’s tuition) so I said we didn’t want the spot but wanted to maintain his spot for 1st grade. They confirmed that he would remain on the list and would be offered a 1st grade spot. Last May, we received notice that he would be enrolled for 1st grade.
If no formal policy was communicated to this year’s K-eligible parents, I see this as an area where we need to get greater clarification from PSD and PAS on how this will be handled going forward.
February 21st, 2013 at 4:08 pm
“Again, the argument is that the neighborhood is being divided….Are families outside of the catchment any less a part of their community as those inside?”
There are two issues 1) people who bought in or out of the catchment did so knowing that they were in or out of the catchment (or so they thought anyway). 2) There are micro-communities and support networks – neighbors who collaborate in raising their kids (“it takes a village”). They trade off in taking kids to school, to practices, lessons and games. Kids wander in and out of each others houses, yards and alleys (yes, this still happens in a city in 2013). When kids and families are involuntarily reassigned from the school, the families are separated from this support network. Suddenly you can’t ask your neighbor to walk your kid to school with hers when you need it, etc., etc. It is disruptive and devastating to a family (and those around them) through no fault of their own.
February 21st, 2013 at 4:30 pm
So just to be clear–these are families that have formed support networks, specifically with other families in the PAS catchment, and specifically not with families outside the catchment?
February 21st, 2013 at 4:37 pm
But Anonymous @ 4:08, there’s a third issue, which is that everyone outside the catchment has been dealing with splintered support networks (because of “school choice”), preschool friends who are scattered across the city (ditto), capricious and arbitrary dictates by the school district (for instance, the proposed Wilson closing), a lack of transparency in decision making and so on and so on for years. I can’t afford the catchment, so I don’t begrudge catchment parents for what they have. It seems really nice! But a little sensitivity and acknowledgement that many others have been dealing with similar challenges for years would go a long way.
(And a neighbor on the other side of the catchment line can be trusted to walk your kid to school, if you ask nicely. It’s not a “here be dragons” type of situation.)
February 21st, 2013 at 5:00 pm
@westphilly and anonymous@4:37pm
Of course not. We have friends outside the catchment, too. But they are not geographically close. I can ask the neighbor on my block to take my kid somewhere. Now I am going to ask someone in the Lea catchment to walk 6 or more blocks to my house and turn around and walk the 6 or more blocks back to Lea? Not practical at all.
February 21st, 2013 at 5:04 pm
I don’t know why I’m surprised but the “please be sensitive” request really isn’t getting through, is it?
February 21st, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Is it a contest? We have to figure out who are the people who have it the absolute worst and they are the only ones who have a right to complain or to stand up for themselves? Everyone else should just quietly accept that it could be worse?
February 21st, 2013 at 5:18 pm
@ Terrilyn – My daughter was waitlisted for Kindergarten and is now in 1st grade at PAS too. We too, got the call almost a week before school started and she was already enrolled at another school. I pulled her out and sent her to FREE PAS. I can’t help but wonder if you saying “no thanks” is how she got there, if so, THANK YOU! I didn’t know I was going to afford the tuition at Catholic School. As to your questions, I think they’re all very good ones, and someone should answer them!
February 21st, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Line Parent, I can’t tell if you are agreeing with me or if you are the sort of person I am asking to be a little more considerate and empathetic about the challenges people have been facing in the school district for years, which PAS parents are facing for the first time. What’s happening isn’t “right,” but it’s not happening in a vacuum either. My original comment was a reply to what defines a community, and if we are indeed going to try to be a community we should be thinking of ways to share our resources and energy to maximize our voices. We definitely agree it’s not a competition.
February 21st, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Does anyone have the list of kids wait listed for kindergarten?
February 21st, 2013 at 8:41 pm
Why do you want the list?
February 21st, 2013 at 8:47 pm
So I can send them a fruit basket. Why do you think I want the list?
February 21st, 2013 at 9:00 pm
I think school district has the list.
February 21st, 2013 at 9:27 pm
@Anonymous, @Line Parent, whoever else is concerned out about not having support if they send their kids to Lea: I’m a parent there, and intend to keep my kid there. I’ve never asked a neighbor walk my kid to school, but if one of yours ended up there and you needed that help, I’d be happy to. There are many great people at Lea, I’m sure I’m not the only one who would offer. I have a small but decent support network that actually includes PAS parents as well. And I know at least a few parents who have kids in afterschool programs 5 or 6 blocks away from their school (both those going to Lea + afterschool program east, those going to PAS + afterschool program at Lea, etc).
So not all is lost if a family doesn’t get into PAS and needs to expand their support network. I realize some parents are considering private school instead, and that’s their choice of course. But if they stay in the neighborhood they could make it work.
As others are saying, I think that overall we just need to pull together as a community, because it does indeed span catchment boundaries. I don’t know about you other parents but my kid has friends across different schools. If the kids really get along but are at different schools, it just means more playdates.
February 22nd, 2013 at 7:26 am
Editor, not cool! That’s how rumours get started.
February 22nd, 2013 at 1:47 pm
Anonymous @ 8:36, my child was wait-listed, and I am curious about why you want the list.
February 22nd, 2013 at 2:20 pm
I wonder if Santoro’s child was included if the district would be accused of letting the child in BECAUSE he is being so vocal. I bet they would.
People do not trust the district and (at least indirectly) people do not trust Penn. The more I learn about parents of PAS kids, the more happy I am that I do not have to deal with them.
February 22nd, 2013 at 2:23 pm
The whole question would be moot if they had not held a secret lottery!
February 22nd, 2013 at 2:41 pm
In regards to the rumor that a Daily News reporter is researching to see if there are “illegal” kids who are currently enrolled as PAS- there some that I know of. I believe that a witch hunt for these kids (maybe 4-7 total? Who are not in kindergarten or even 1st grade) will not solve the underlying problem, which is there are too many children for too few spots and that the district choose to handle this matter in a very disappointing way.
While I support a lottery as the most fair way to handle the issue of overcrowding, I do not see why they did not implement sibling preference. The lack of communication and secrecy is not a way to instill trust in the system.
February 22nd, 2013 at 2:44 pm
If we want transparency from the district and the school then we should list all the names of the kids that were registered for the lottery, those accepted and those wait listed. If I had a child wait listed I would want to know the names of other wait listed to determine in the future if my child is being passed over when a spot opens.
And supposedly not everyone has received notification that they’ve been accepted or wait listed.
February 22nd, 2013 at 7:18 pm
@sad neighbor: even one spot is too many. Fraud is fraud is fraud.
February 22nd, 2013 at 7:23 pm
I still have not received notification in the mail from the school district!
February 22nd, 2013 at 10:50 pm
The only way we can get total transparency is to pass a law that requires all public schools to publish every student’s name, address and their parent’s names. Otherwise, a partial list is going to make things unnecessarily suspicious. Any community effort to compile a list is not going to help neither, because it will never result in a complete list. There are always people who don’t want to put their names on the list for their personal reasons. And there will be people who think those must be the ones who are not living in the catchment.
My take: As a community, it is time to let things go. It is just a kindergarten. There are also teachers in PAS not as good as the others. Are you going to protest if your kid is assigned to a “bad” teacher since you don’t want to “gamble” his/her education? Are you going to protest if your kid is assigned in a class where are “bad” kids because you don’t want to gamble his/her education?
February 22nd, 2013 at 11:14 pm
Yeah, publishing the names of every family on that list would be terrible policy. All kinds of privacy issues and potential for abuse that I trust you haven’t considered anon and Anonymous.
46er is spot on. It’s time to let things go.
February 22nd, 2013 at 11:15 pm
It is not just kindergarten. If you don’t get in for kindergarten, you will likely not get in ever. This is a 9 year issue.
February 23rd, 2013 at 2:20 am
“I don’t know why I’m surprised but the “please be sensitive” request really isn’t getting through, is it?”
“The more I learn about parents of PAS kids, the more happy I am that I do not have to deal with them.”
Yes, making a fuss in public is terribly declasse, isn’t it? Nothing makes one appear more to one’s disadvantage than to burden others with one’s private troubles. When one relaxes one’s stiff upper lip, one does let the side down.
February 23rd, 2013 at 6:44 am
9 years?
Please tell me there is an 8th grader who has not gotten in since K.
Please tell me there is a 4th grader who has not gotten in since K.
Please tell me a horrible story about a K student who could not get in.
February 23rd, 2013 at 9:15 am
Sure, no big deal that families have been split up. We should just let that go. Sure, kids who have been raised together in a community being separated to accomplish some social experimentation, no big deal. Families who are precluded from being able to pick up and drp off their young children who are too little to walk to school and come home alone, just shake it off. Yes, we demanding PAS parents are the enemy. Let’s devote some more time to demeaning and excoriating them for standing up for their families and children.
February 23rd, 2013 at 9:21 am
I think there should have been sibling preference.
On the other hand, for fuck’s sake people, it’s not like we’re talking about the Partition of India here.
February 23rd, 2013 at 10:40 am
I don’t think making a fuss is inappropriate, and I, for one, never said it. But apparently in my attempt to be sensitive toward PAS parents, I was not clear enough. So: if PAS parents stop acting like this is some unique injustice visited upon them and them alone–because it is not, the SDP has made an art of f***ing with people’s lives–I think PAS parents will be pleasantly surprised by non-catchment parents’ willingness to help them. Because non-catchment parents have already had to develop strategies to deal with this f**ed up sh*t, they actually have experience that is relevant and I see no good in alienating them by acting like PAS is the first school to ever face SDP caprice.
Advocate away. I support you. But drop the act that PAS parents are bearing some unique and special burden.
February 23rd, 2013 at 11:22 am
If you’re typical of a non-catchment parent, I think it’s clear why people wouldn’t want their children associating with yours.
February 23rd, 2013 at 11:25 am
Another line parent, I think what some of us are trying to say here is that there’s an awesome, organic community in this part of West Philly that spans catchment boundaries. Kids will be able to see each other and play even if they end up at schools that are 5 blocks away from each other, and maybe some families can get to know other families outside the catchment.
And I fully the support the removal of the enrollment cap and implementation of sibling preference, it makes sense that PAS should take as many kids as it can handle and not split up families. But I think what some of us are trying to say here is that the style of argument you guys are making is a bit hurtful to families that are just outside the catchment. This idea that your community ends at the catchment boundaries is alienating. And if it does not, in fact, end at the catchment boundaries, then what remains of the argument are the practical issues that have been raised. And those resonate with me at least, the practical imposition. But the practical issues are surmountable, and ones that many of us other parents face too.
In my view, the deep division being made is the unequal distribution of resources across schools so close to each other. There’s PAS with the great $1300/student contribution from UPenn, and then Lea and Wilson, who until now at least have received no money, but administrative and volunteer-based support. I think the extreme draw to one school at the exclusion of others is the underlying factor here, that’s what’s really splitting up the larger community. And now the SDP is even *closing down* one of those schools.
So perhaps families across catchment boundaries could work together more make to make this entire neighborhood an even better place to raise children. I’m a Lea parent who was at the line parent meeting with Hite and stood up and clapped when you guys argued for sibling preference and the removal of the PAS cap. I invite you to stand with us as I and other parents at my school continue to provide volunteer based support to our school and advocate for greater involvement from UPenn.
February 23rd, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Another Line Parent, I have to agree with you all those things you said are really no big deal to me, as I have been doing these for several years already.
I am also a demanding PAS parent by the way, as I demand my kids to be good citizens at school. And yet I don’t look at myself as an enemy of myself.
February 23rd, 2013 at 1:15 pm
GoldenMonkey: What, on account of the sailor talk? Aren’t you the delicate flower.
February 23rd, 2013 at 1:37 pm
I see some real potential for a reverse “You’ve Got Mail” here. Couple meets cute in the Green Line, romance blossoms as they don’t realize they hate each other on West Philly Local.
February 23rd, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Hmm, sorry to offend you, Golden Monkey. Thought we could handle adult language here, especially when directed towards the actions of the school district. I’ve certainly heard worse at Clark Park.
February 23rd, 2013 at 2:34 pm
So any word on who is on the wait list?
February 23rd, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Anonymouse, as a PAS parent I think that your comments have been very positive and completely reasonable.
GoldenMonkey’s flaming was wacky.
February 24th, 2013 at 3:56 pm
Curios why no one bothers to acknowledge the extra $1,130 penn is spending on the children of the school. And That 80 percent of students have no penn affiliation.
February 24th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Pennsylvania law says children must start school by age seven. Kindergarten is not required.
Has the Alexander school ever wait listed first graders?
February 24th, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Joephilly, that’s not how the law works. Kindergarten is not required to be offered by school districts. Any school district operating in PA must offer schooling from first grade on. Parents are not required to enroll their children in those schools or register with the district that they are homeschooling until they turn 8. EXCEPT in Philly where our own James Roebuck (State Rep – West Philly) introduced a law that passed that said parents in “cities of the first class” which in PA only applies to Philly (it’s a population thing) must send their child to school or register them as being homeschooled by age 6. Just want to clarify on that because it’s tricky.
February 26th, 2013 at 2:29 am
The PSD’s refusal to implement a common sense proposal like sibling preference is astounding. The malevolent stupidity of these people making policy at the district explains a lot of the PSD is such a disgraceful failure.
These people somehow thinks it is more “fair” to force families to attend multiple schools? Has anyone at the district ever explained the logic behind this?
Aside from the obvious logistical harm to working parents, how does it benefit anyone if parents have to split their participation across schools? Am I supposed to participate fully in two PTA’s? And what sort of parent would I be if I allowed some random bureaucrat in a failed school district to determine my kids’ future? Even if one kid wins the lottery, what do I do when the other doesn’t? Move them both?
Rather than submit to this degree of willful incompetence, I should just move. I don’t want to, but I will sacrifice my love of the city for the benefit of my kids education. Private school might be a stretch, but a house in lower merion is not.
It is sad, but the PSD seems set on destroying PAS with policies like this. They seem to have a complete lack of concern about the impact this has on kids or families. The fact that this school is desirable and works matters less than their perverse, illogical definitions of fairness.
And of course, this policy is not fair at all. It clearly favors parents of single children. Or parents that just don’t care, who wouldn’t participate anyway.
Quite frankly, I suspect that part of the PSD’s real rationale is a belief that children who have active caring parents have an “unfair” advantage. The PSD bureaucrats believe it is their proper role to neutralize this advantage. It is not their role and these policies only cause harm, benefitting noone.
BTW, I have no kids at PAS, so I am not a current beneficiary of sibling preference.
February 26th, 2013 at 9:15 am
Oh no. All the PAS profiteers might up’n’move back to their rich suburbs and have to suffer through Blue Ribbon schooling, lawns, and property taxes that are more reflective of actual value. If this school is the main reason someone moved into West Phila, I hate to be the one to tell them this but it is not that great a school.
February 26th, 2013 at 10:53 am
45K, I agree. I think it’s pure spite and the key word is “malevolent”.
“The PSD’s refusal to implement a common sense proposal like sibling preference is astounding. The malevolent stupidity of these people making policy at the district explains a lot of the PSD is such a disgraceful failure. ”
My kids are in a cybercharter and doing great, but it’s been fascinating seeing this play out from afar. My issue with the way the school has been behaving is if they are willing to treat the parents this way (letting them sleep out overnight for seats that don’t exist, no sibling preference, etc), how will they treat my children??? I would be very stressed about that if I was a PAS parent. I have seen an incredible amount of hubris on the part of parents who feel entitled to a “better” education simply because of education status, involvement, zip code, whatever, but school administrators should not be in the business of humiliating and belittling the real concerns of parents (and kids!). It’s disturbing. Sibling preference makes sense because it’s the right thing for the KIDS. Remember, it’s about the kids, PSD?
February 26th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
45K and others –
To me, it seems that illogical, spiteful decisions like this (school lotteries, no sibling preference, refusal to expand successful schools) is part of a larger strategy by the PSD to get out of the business of educating Philadelphia’s children.
These decisions make perfect sense if their true mission is to dismantle the public education system. And there’s reason to believe that’s exactly what they are doing…The decisions regarding PAS make sense if we look at what else PSD is doing: closing the central office, closing up to 37 schools, expanding the charter system.
It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to wonder if this isn’t all part of a larger plan to privitize education. What happened at PAS this year makes drives families to charter schools, private schools, and out of the city…and I can’t help but wonder if that isn’t exactly what the PSD is trying to do.
On a side note…our child was part of the PAS shenanigans this year…he did ‘win’ a spot…but I just got our paperwork from the PSD about the voluntary transfer process…We had applied to 5 other public schools and he got rejected from all 5 (including Lea)…So, I continue to wonder about the PSD’s true intentions since we were told over and over again to just fill out our VT forms and everything would work out…and I can only imagine how hopeless/screwed those 10 families on the waitlist feel…
February 26th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Another Parent…, unfortunately the school district central office (440 as it is sometimes called) that handles the voluntary transfer process is very conservative with the number of transfer spaces it allots, which is why many parents also take copies of their forms directly to schools’ in order to get on interal waitlists. I would contact the principal at Lea, Dr. Bell-Chiles, or the secretary, Ms. Fuller, about applying directly to Lea’s kindergarten. My understanding is that Lea is accepting applications from PAS catchment students. I thought that this was communicated by the district directly to PAS kindergarten parents but, as an outsider, it is a bit hard to keep track!
February 26th, 2013 at 5:47 pm
Another Parent…, I’ll second what Anonymous said, parents on the waitlist can directly apply to Lea and will be fine. I did that last year.
I’d also like to ask, how would you expand PAS? I feel like I’ve been missing something in all of this. A class of ~90 entering every year would yield a total of 810 students in the school, and it would take serious net attrition to bring that number down significantly (and assumes no increase in demand for the school). What’s the true capacity of PAS? What kind of contingencies would you and other line parents support? Taking the PIC building? (My understanding is that PAS owns it).
Honest questions btw, I support removing the cap…
February 26th, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Cg – with respect to capacity the PSD web site states PAS capacity is about 700. PSD has since stated that that # is too high and it’s closer to 550-600. Currently there is serious attrition at the middle school grades. Kids leave for Masterman and elsewhere and their spots are not filled back to the same levels. It’s my understanding that graduating classes have been in the 30-40 range. I expect that # will go higher over time but I don’t think all K kids that enter will stay there through 8th.
Pretty sure Penn or PIC owns the PIC buildings, not PAS.
February 26th, 2013 at 6:51 pm
Okay thanks for the info. The rumor I’ve heard was that PIC was renting the building from PAS (perhaps Penn is the real story?).
So what are the contingencies proposed? Suppose attrition is not as sharp as before. Line parents are arguing strongly that the cap is dividing their community , so perhaps there won’t be as much attrition as before. Or suppose there’s increased demand that puts greater pressure on the need for growth. What contingencies do people support? Redrawing the catchment boundaries? Taking the PIC building, or some other building nearby? What’s the bigger picture that’s being argued for here? This kind of stuff isn’t my expertise, but it does seem like that relying on natural attrition would be a tenuous strategy. History repeats itself except when it doesn’t.
February 26th, 2013 at 7:47 pm
I am sure those on the wait list can go apply directly to Lea. Issue is the school district told us to put it on our voluntary transfer forms. Then denied us. The usual runaround!
February 26th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
Yeah look, sh*ty management all around. I had to wait until late August to find out my kid would not be allowed to attend PAS, leaving me little time to implement the backup plan (the next closest school). And I believe that timing was PAS’s responsibility, not SDP’s. And of course, I was in that position because I had gotten in line last winter 23.25 hours in advance, rather than 24 hours in advance…
February 26th, 2013 at 10:49 pm
I guess the district should have made clear to PAS parents from the beginning that the voluntary transfer lottery that they were being entered into was city-wide with significantly worse odds than the PAS lottery. There are few, few parents in the city getting good news from the voluntary transfer results.
February 27th, 2013 at 9:35 am
Is it possible that families that got into PAS were withdrawn from the VT lottery? Maybe withdrawn is the wrong word. But maybe since families got into PAS (that lottery was first) they were taken out of consideration for VT? Did any of the 10 waitlisted PAS families win a spot elsewhere via VT? Or will they just be told to go to Lea directly (as a few parents did on their own last year)?
Cg – any idea on how many K spots Lea will have now that they are supposed to absorb Wilson?
February 27th, 2013 at 10:18 am
mouse, the principal at Lea Elementary has been asking the district for a fourth kindergarten class (currently there are three classes of about 20).
The School Reform Commission will be voting on most of the proposed school closures on March 7th. Should the Wilson closure proposal go through, the new catchment maps will come out at the end of June. Since kindergarten in the district isn’t mandatory and transportation is not provided, it is a little difficult to predict the potential influx of students entering the district for the first time at the kindergarten level. Approval of a fourth kindergarten class at Lea would provide additional reassurance that there will be space for those interested in enrolling.
February 27th, 2013 at 11:16 am
Editor, what happened with the story about illegally enrolled Penn Alexander kids? Was it published?
February 27th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
@Anonymous: An article was published – http://articles.philly.com/2013-02-22/news/37244265_1_penn-alexander-philadelphia-school-partnership-school-district. Thankfully, it seems that someone from the neighborhood talked her out of publicly naming kids who were at the school fraudulently. She (the reporter) was asking around and some folks on listservs provided names.
Most people who cover Penn Alexander (including us) know some names of kids who are in the school from outside the catchment (full disclosure: out child attends the school. We live in the catchment). They have been brought to the school’s attention. Honestly, it something we were really hoping wouldn’t be hashed out in the media, but in a way that kept kids names out of the papers.
February 27th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
@mouse, my understanding from multiple sources (incl district officials) is that Wilson kids would likely end up at either Lea or Comegys (even though the SRC document specifies Lea, which is confusing). At a meeting with Principal Bell-Chiles last week, one knowledgeable source told me he thought that well under half of of Wilson kids would actually end up at Lea because of distance. No one I’ve spoken with at Lea seems to think that capacity is going to be an issue next year, not by a long shot. Dr. Bell-Chiles added a 3rd K class last year when sizes exceeded 20 (I think b/c of Drew and other closings?). My guess would be that she’d get approval and have the ability to add a 4th if the need became apparent. Speculation of course.
As an aside, I think it’s in the interest of the entire community that Wilson actually stay open. It’s a good school serving a growing neighborhood. It’s an uphill battle at this point but I’d urge everyone to devote some of their political energy to help keep that school open.
February 27th, 2013 at 6:58 pm
Re: “illegal” enrollment at PAS-last year when they added the 4th K class the number always given was that there would be now be spots for 72 kids. There are 73 kids in the current K class. It is my understanding that the child in the 73rd spot lives out of catchment but has permission from PSD (and I guess PAS) to enroll. The child also has older siblings at the school. Seems like sibling preference to me, which PAS/PSD says they do not follow. I am not naïve – I know how Philly works – who you know, connections, politics, etc. But if I lived in catchment and waited in line for 24 hours last year and my child did not get in (and those people are out there) I would be pissed.
I also hear lots of stories about families who misrepresent where they live/have moved and are still enrolled at PAS. I have no first hand knowledge (just stories) but my impression is PAS/PSD is not very serious about doing anything about it.
As for Wilson, the more I read about it the more I think it’s a shame if it closes. Sounds like they are doing good things. We need more good options in our neighborhood not less. And I mean neighborhood in the bigger sense, not just the catchment.
February 27th, 2013 at 7:35 pm
I for one am sorry that this did not come out in the media. That is the only way that anything will be done! It is just wrong.
BTW, what is up with all the NJ plates dropping off kids at PAS? They have PAS magnet and (many) have Penn parking stickers. It’s either address fraud for the school or insurance fraud on the cars. Either way, also wrong and unfair to those of us who pay our taxes and our car insurance in Philly.
February 27th, 2013 at 8:43 pm
Why doesn’t the PSD require annual certification of addresses? That would show they are serious about the issue. It is not an unreasonable burden on families who live where they say they live.
I would love to have PSD/PAS have to publicly explain why they let the sibling (child #73) into PAS last year. If I were one of the wait listed families this year with a kid already at PAS, I’d be pounding on their door for my sibling preference, too!
February 27th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
mouse, I was one of those parents who stood in line for 24 hours and got waitlisted last year. Honestly, the main thing I’m still a little bitter about is having to wait outside that long for a mere chance of sending my kid to school just a few blocks from me and my work, which is in fact Penn.
February 27th, 2013 at 10:13 pm
Those out of catchment kids must be well connected if they were able to talk Regina from The Daily News out of running the story. I guess they made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
February 27th, 2013 at 10:26 pm
Well connected enough to get a police escort to school!
February 27th, 2013 at 10:34 pm
Cg – What bothers me is that parents such as yourself followed the rules as they were laid out by PAS/PSD to enroll their kids (both this year and last). But then there seem to be special rules for certain people and they are allowed to bypass the rules and skip ahead of people who did what they were told. Again, I understand how the real world works but that doesn’t make it right. Same for the people who may be mis-representing where they live.
February 28th, 2013 at 6:26 am
Police escort? Seriously? I’ve been dropping my kids off at PAS for years and have never seen a police escort.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:04 am
mouse, first of all, the rules I followed included those laid out by other line parents, let’s be clear about that. But agreed, that kind of corruption bothers me too and it would be great if it didn’t exist. And if it’s indeed rampant at PAS then it should be exposed and dealt with (not at the expense of those children of course, who are innocent).
In any case, wouldn’t it be great if there weren’t such a shortage of well-resourced classrooms in West Philly? Then maybe stuff like that wouldn’t seem like such a big deal…
February 28th, 2013 at 7:28 am
One more thing mouse– when I was in that line last year, I heard that at least one parent towards the front had a spot saved for them by another parent they were friends with when there was the initial rush. So for all I know, I was in that line before some other parents towards the front. If that’s true, is that corrupt? Should I have investigated that?
February 28th, 2013 at 7:52 am
Cg-I think fraud and use of influence should always be a big deal. What are we teaching our kids is ok?
February 28th, 2013 at 9:51 am
I could not agree more
February 28th, 2013 at 9:55 am
@Anon – the day the reporter was asking questions, the family in question had police accompany them at pickup. Makes a person wonder what made the reporter abandon the story?
February 28th, 2013 at 9:58 am
‘cg’ – I couldn’t agree more that the real elephant in the room is a shortage of well-resourced classrooms in West Philly (and in the city at large). It’s not acceptable to have such few schools with meaningful resources in our city. With the school closings, there is likely going to be even more pressure on fewer schools.
If I lose my optimism, I think the answer is in what ‘Another Parent’ said further up in this blog: that the PSD is not interested in publicly funded education – that the movement is toward deconstruction of the public schools. Perhaps they are paving the way for a select few opportunists to create a for-profit charter system (or, something like it). The PSD is $300,000,000 in debt – and that only covers the next two years. Karen Lynch / PSD clearly stated that the PSD has a freeze on leasing more space (so no expansion plans for performing schools). My conclusion is that the PSD will solve problems with no-cost policies like a lottery with no sibling preference, creating little incentive for families to gamble.
So, (putting my optimism back to work), what is the best way to pool our collective energy, concern, and voices to help our neighborhood schools? (That’s a sincere question.)
February 28th, 2013 at 11:27 am
My basic answer is to share our respective causes. There’s a forum tonight at 50th and Woodland (info was just posted on this site actually) on the big picture about schools around here. There’s also a meeting at the Free Library on 40th and Walnut next Thursday morning (8-9:30) that’s on Penn’s involvement in neighborhood schools. I’m still trying to find out more about that meeting but the more (and greater diversity of) voices that Penn’s representatives hear encouraging their greater involvement in the community, the better. There’s also the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools, which is focused on Lea. And I’d urge people to attend the remaining SRC meetings on school closings. I don’t know if more are planned for West Philly (there was one this last Sat) but the The Notebook usually posts that information. Perhaps some greater community organizing is called for here too…
As far as the real intentions of PSD: I’m not privy to inside info, but from what I’ve read and the conversations I’ve had, my sense is that yes, there are some decision-makers who do want to privatize the system entirely. For example, apparently the Philadelphia School Partnership has mostly made grants to charter schools. Maybe some within PSD support complete privatization. And there are other decision-makers who do not, in fact, support that, but are mostly focused on the budget and are willing to hand over some, but not all, schools to the charter system to save money.
I take Hite at his word when he says he’s interested in “scaling up” the PAS model as he put it. Let’s find some ways to do that, that does not involve privatizing.
March 1st, 2013 at 1:38 pm
It’s possible that the car with NJ plates picking up the kids is a babysitter or family member who watches the kids after school while the parents are working. It’s also possible that parents are divorced and the one without primary custody – lives outside of the catchment – picks the kids up from school. I really don’t think license plates mean that the child isn’t eligible to attend the school or lives outside of the catchment.
March 6th, 2013 at 5:38 pm
Yeah, it is possible. When you combine it with the families who admit they know other families who do not actually live in the catchment (and are not part of the 36 superintendent specials reported in today’s Inky), it is not probable.
February 8th, 2022 at 7:52 am
Well, reading this & all of the comments under it as a parent of 2 PAS kids 1 7th grade & the other 3rd (was pregnant w/ the younger 1 during this conversation here) it’s amazing how much things have changed (I’m good ways I believe) & I wonder how all of the commenters opinions have evolved over the last 9 years on this topic.