Nutter Says Many South Philly Students Back to Class
Get inside the halls of Philadelphia power with PhillyClout: Inside City Hall, the blog by the Philadelphia Daily News' city hall reporters.
Nutter Says Many South Philly Students Back to Class
Catherine Lucey
Mayor Nutter said that many of the Asian students who have been boycotting classes at South Philadelphia High School after a series of violent attacks have returned to school today.
“I am proud of the students and their parents for coming back to school,” Nutter said. He did not know exactly how many students were back at school today, calling it a "large number," and would not detail what prompted their return.
Helen Gym, a board member of Asian Americans United, said that between 50 and 60 students have been boycotting classes for seven days. She said she didn't know what number returned today, but said some students are still not ready to attend.
Nutter said he was hopeful that the situation at South Philly High will improve. He expressed support for schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who has drawn criticism from Asian-American groups for refusing to meet with students and their families outside of school.
“All of us responded very quickly, very swiftly and very directly,” Nutter said. Plans are underway to increase security at the school and to add a diversity program.
UPDATE, 3:26 PM: Gym said that at least half of the boycotting students remained out of school today. They want to meet with Ackerman before they return, she said.
Gym also questioned Nutter's support for Ackerman.
"For him to express support for the principal and express support for district officials without having a clear understanding for what happened is, in itself, very disappointing," Gym said. "The mayor’s comments seem to apply that he wants things to go away. He wants things to end."
UPDATE, 6:24 P.M.: In response to Gym's remarks, mayoral spokesman Douglas Oliver said: "The mayor only wanted to share the good news about this most recent development and to underscore his commitment to ensure that all students, regardless of race or ethnicity are safe and have access to quality education."
Comments (29)
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
I went to South Philly High 20 years ago and never made it out of 9th grade. Had I not moved and went to a different school then, I'm sure I would not have college degree. That school then and now was and is terrible. They used to chain the doors back then to keep kids in school who had no desire to graduate. They don’t want to suspend those students. If it were the other way, no doubt the Asian students would have been at a minimum suspended. They have to keep the graduation numbers up at any cost wheather they are educated or not.— bigd_from_philly- Rather than address this problem in a truthful and progressive manner, Mayor Nutter has chosen to ingore the elephant in the room. Black racism against Asians exist and it is a major problem in mixed minority neighborhoods. Newly elected District Attorney Seth Williams will ultimately be forced to address this problem if this racist violence against Asian students continues. bigd from philly explained what is really going on.— philly68
- Hey Nutter, how about a comment of the status of the Frank Tepper investigation? You have been silent so far on the issue.
Chad C -- please dont even dare put the state of Philadelphia squarely on black people you moron.- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- People wonder why Philly, which was once one of the greatest cities in the country is on the fast track to the toilet. The mayor supports a School Superintendent that took more then a week to make any sort of comment on the racial violence in her schools. Even a statement saying that the situation was being looked into would have at least given the impression that it was being taken seriously. Instead, no comment was made by anyone other then the students. Once the Superintendent and the Principal of the affected school made public statements, they were dismissive and defensive. How dare they sit on their cell phones or worse yet fall asleep during meetings with the students and parents of the victims. I wonder if Nutter would think the administrations response to this would be the same if it were his kids that got beaten up because of their skin color.— phong60073
- bill at -- because not all of our local government is black, despite what you may think. i see you are a moron as well. john street was a HORRIBLE major, and m nutter is slightly better than that. but blaming our city woes on just on the blacks just shows where you are coming from.
- The principal, Lagreta Brown, had problems in Atlantic City. Why was she hired here? Did the people in HR not check her background? It is sad that incompetence is rewarded like this.— junethe4th
- Nutter's nuts!— dim-5
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Honestly, I think Nutter has been doing an OK job. He's not the best mayor, but he's not the worst. He had alot of promise, but didn't really rise to his promises (like most politicians). But, he rode that righteous reform wagon, and let down alot of people in the process. I think he could do more if he got his priorities straight. I think his latest announcement to back Arlene is a mistake though. She's been saying all the WRONG things to the community, the students, and the parents. She's definitely making too many enemies, and it will start showing. I just hope the Inky wakes up and realizes what she's about.— horrocksschool
- Comment removed.
- Before we make a racial issue of this, let's not forget that African immigrants have also been victimized by african-american mobs in several Philadelphia schools. One year ago, Jacob Grey, a 14 yr old kid recently arrived from Liberia was beaten to death after leaving school in SW Philly. Apparently, speaking English "differently" was his death sentence.— DonQ
- Very true DonQ. I remember when that was happening a few years back. Thugs really had it out bad for African immigrants. Someone needs to re evaluate the state of race relations in this city. I think the old perspectives of race are no longer applicable. And, I'm really suprised that there was no hate-crime cases filed at South Philly high.— horrocksschool
- “All of us responded very quickly, very swiftly and very directly." This doesn't sound like much more than back-patting for the fact that most of the Asian students have given up the boycott. It certainly doesn't inspire confidence that any significant changes to address the problem are in store. @horrocks: Actually, a federal civil rights case is in the works. @phil and zo: Do your best to ignore the racist trolls. If you feel you must engage them on the issue of corrupt city government, you might ask them to discuss what's going on at the Parking Authority.— Billy Ray Winthorpe
- Two things BTW: First, Nutter's pronouncement strikes me as akin to Bush's infamous "Heck of a job" comment about the FEMA chief during Katrina. Anyone else agree? Second, given that the common denominator between the current story and the trend identified by horrocks and DonQ is that immigrants were the target, I'd say there's no need to discuss the possibility of Sharpton or Jackson parachuting in to support the victims or to defend the perps. The guy you want to watch out for is Joey Vento :-)— Billy Ray Winthorpe
- Comment removed.
- Where is my post? Why are my posts censored?
- I feel like I have to add this for credibility...I am an African American 26y/o female. I completely support the Asian students for standing up, I feel like all students who are being mistreated (reguardless of skin color) need to stand up and let the public know what is being tolerated in the schools. Our system hides alot of problems for the sake of image and it's not benefiting any of our students(good and bad). I used to work with students in SPHS, within the past couple of years, and trust me Im not blaming any particular race because I had them all on my caseload. But one cop who can speak the language is not going to cut it, there are way deeper issues than what they can solve. Many of these kids come from broken homes and we can't fix it in a week or with a diversity training (especially when many don't pay attention in class) Don't be surprised if more problems happen between now and Christmas break. Im really curious why the administration, don't see this. They need to talk with the teachers (the ones who see them every other day) as to ways to lessen some of the issues. Some problems will never go away due to them being young and immature. (This makes me want to pursue another Masters in Education, because this frustrates me) I don't understand how that huge organization of people don't see the REAL issues at hand. Sadly there is an epidemic with us as african americans, especially our men. I wholeheartedly believe there need to be more african american competant male teachers in the classrooms to be honest with these men. I will leave it at that because I will talk for days on the topic of education.— IREPCHRIST
- Yesterday I wrote (but I guess philly.com censored it so, I'll word it differently) that someone in the media should talk to the Black kids involved here. When I talk to Black kids from Southern, they say that the Asian kids aren't necessarily so innocent. They fight, curse and smoke like many kids Black and white at the school. When I was in school, there were white vs. Black fights all the time. No one was suspended. No adult community leaders organized student boycotts. Why is everyone bending over backwards for these Asian kids now?
- IREPCHRIST, you make some very valid points that I wholeheartedly agree with. However, this is not the time or place to start blaming Black men for everything that is wrong with life.
- @Chris from SP, Im definitely not blaming black men, but truly feel that it would be beneficial to have them in the classroom. Because we have to give an account for ourselves and not blame orthers period. Just feel that it would be beneficial to have black male teachers in the classroom. (my explanation would be extremely long) I have a friend who is teacher (who I might say is an excellent teacher) it is really evident that his black students really gravitate towards him, it's a fact. I did the same thing in college the only black female professor, truly befriended each other, which helped me endure to the end to graduate. Im NOT saying that is the answer to end all problems, because it's not, but feel that it could help more on an individual level. These problems didnt happen over night and won't be solved overnight. I also agree with your previous statement, because I have worked with some kids in SPHS who were really out-of-control (Asian, black, white, male, female, etc) It's these kids mindset that needs to be changed, that's what Im blaming.— IREPCHRIST
- sorry for the typos :(— IREPCHRIST
- I have moved out of S Philly about 18 years ago. I grew up around 5th and Mifflin. I will never go back there. Unfortunately I do visit some family members living in Philly. In my opinion, there is more than just a coincidence that that the neighborhood getting worse because more and more black people have moved in. It is a reoccurring trend, when black people move in; white people move out, the neighborhood gets worse. Look at the worst districts within the city and you will see they are all black. Successful black people even move away. They know they cannot have anything without being ridiculed, their kids picked on, and their things stolen for being successful. Anyone who doesn’t see that is turning a blind eye.— bigd_from_philly
1
Popular Posts
About this blog
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns. E-mail tips to brennac@phillynews.com
Follow Chris on Twitter
David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
Follow Chris on Twitter
David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
Search this blog:
Blog Roll
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners: