More changes are in store for several Philadelphia public schools, including the conversion of the Samuel B. Huey School (5200 Pine St.) to a charter and the opening of a middle school in cooperation with Drexel University aimed in part at Samuel Powel Elementary (301 N. 36th St.) and students from the nearby Mantua neighborhood.

Superintendent William Hite announced the plan yesterday. It will impact about 5,000 students and cost the district $15 million to $20 million, he said.

Huey, a K-8 school which has struggled academically, would be converted to a charter school as part of the district’s Renaissance Schools Initiative in the 2016-2017 school year. Jay Cooke in Logan in North Philadelphia and John Wister in East Mount Airy would also be converted to charter schools. The plan includes a charter operator selection process that includes school parent representatives on search committees. The School Reform Commission will vote on the charters on Jan. 21, according to reports. 

A new catchment middle school could open as early as next year near Powelton Village that would serve students from the K-4 Powel school and from the nearby Mantua neighborhood. The school would initially be housed in a rented space until a new facility is built on the site of the old University City High School, officials said. Drexel University will help support the school, which officials said will be project-based, similar to the Science Leadership Academy schools.

Beeber Middle School in Wynnefield, which parents and advocates rallied to save from closure in 2013, would be closed by 2018 under the plan. Leeds Middle School in East Mount Airy would also close.

Schools advocate and City Council candidate Helen Gym tweeted following the announcement that she was “deeply troubled” by the proposal.

Deeply troubled by school closures hitting Northwest & lack of community voice in charter conversions for #PhlEd. http://t.co/mpuhEQFLBp

— Helen Gym (@HelenGym2015) October 1, 2015

Gym and other critics argue that the plan was developed with very little involvement with community members.

For complete coverage of the plan, read this story on Newsworks.

– Mike Lyons