A Center City family chooses public school
A Philadelphia family with options chooses the local public school.
A Center City family chooses public school
Miriam Hill
Is momentum for public schools building in Philadelphia? Or will families largely continue to flee to the suburbs once their children reach school age?
This story by my colleague Kristen Graham about Jill and Mark Scott and son Henry offers hope that for the first time in decades, families will stay in the city and send their children to the local public school.
The Scotts could have afforded private school. They even won the lottery to get into Independence Charter, a school so popular that hundreds of families apply for a small number of seats there every year.
But they will send him to E.M. Stanton, their local public school. The Scotts say they were impressed by quality of the school and by the parents there who have rallied to paint and otherwise fix up Stanton.
I'm guessing that even a few years ago, a family like the Scotts would not have chosen their local school. Conventional wisdom was that it was too risky. But parents of young children seem more committed to staying and making their local school work than past generations. They seem more willing to at least try public school, rather than just assume it would never work.
Will it last? Will Philadelphia, like New York before it, suddently become a city where people develop confidence in at least some of their public schools?
If the parents and the communities get involved with their schools, then yes, some philly schools will suceed and produce quality schooling. Otherwise, they will fail. Privatize and charter schools aren't always the answer.— flyers2thecup- Hey Miriam and kristen, charter schools are public schools also. We need to improve public education, but also realize that the current system is a dinosaur and must change for the future.— northeastnaysayer
- Charter schools are NOT public schools, they are private organizations taking public money to run a public school. They are a fleeting fad that is beginning to pass from the Reform movement because the public has realized how corrupt and incompetent its leadership really is.— slugo
- slug: obviously you work at a government run school. there are 80 charters in philly. Most outperform the neighborhood schools, and with the same kids. charters are not all of equal quality and there have been some leaders whose behavior has been criminal. they're either in jail or heading for it. but, your blanket accusations are not close to the truth. how many district teachers have their kids in a charter school? more than you would want to admit. how many charter teachers have kids in a district school? virtually none. you already lost the argument. the src is not debating whether or not to expand charters. their trying to decide what kind of charters. unless you and your union agree to a whole new way of doing business, the charter onslaught will continue. wake up and smell the coffee!— pointguard
- slug: obviously you work at a government run school. there are 80 charters in philly. Most outperform the neighborhood schools, and with the same kids. charters are not all of equal quality and there have been some leaders whose behavior has been criminal. they're either in jail or heading for it. but, your blanket accusations are not close to the truth. how many district teachers have their kids in a charter school? more than you would want to admit. how many charter teachers have kids in a district school? virtually none. you already lost the argument. the src is not debating whether or not to expand charters. their trying to decide what kind of charters. unless you and your union agree to a whole new way of doing business, the charter onslaught will continue. wake up and smell the coffee!— pointguard
- I've seen Mark and Jill in action and one of the things that sets them apart from a lot of city parents is their involvement with E. M. Stanton long before their son was ready to go to school. They're not going to be unknowns to each other, which is going to make a lot of difference. The same thing is happening one catchment down, where the Friends of Chester Arthur School are involved in fundraising, tutoring, and planting/cleanup activities. By the time some of the infants and toddlers whose parents form part of that group are ready to enroll, the school and its faculty and students will be familiar to both parents and children. This is a heartening trend; my husband and I are proud Friends of Chester Arthur and look forward to continuing to support them.
A community gets out of its school what it puts into it -- and that doesn't just mean tax dollars. If the community cares about its school that is reflected in the pride of students, staff and faculty.— lbphilly - lbphilly, I'm with you on that.I am also in agreement with slugo who is calling the charter movement what it really is- private schooling with public money. The only thing worse would be vouchers. I love my President and I'll support him, but watch out for him on this issue. Keep your eyes open and follow the money trail as well as the attempt to dismantle teacher's unions (and no I'm not kidding).— Filly5
But only one topic has become a passion: the pleasures and challenges of raising a young child in the city.
Not too long after her son was born four years ago, she started hunting around for day care, which triggered her ongoing search for a good primary school. Public, private or charter? Stay in the city or move to the suburbs?
And then there are the more mundane questions, such as how many games can you play while sitting on a stoop?
Please join her in the conversation about raising children in Philadelphia and about making this city better for kids. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, but her only personal obsession is not football, but Bruce Springsteen. As he might have said, it’s hard to be a parent in the city.
You can also follow Miriam on Twitter here.
