School rallies for yellow buses
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
School rallies for yellow buses
Kristen Graham
The mood was tense, but the music was beautiful.
Officials at GAMP — Girard Academic Music Program, the city’s elite, public magnet for gifted musicians — have been notified they will lose the yellow school buses that transport its middle school students from points around Philadelphia to the school at 22nd and Ritner.
So on Thursday night, dozens gathered in the GAMP auditorium for a concert and rally to voice their displeasure to the Philadelphia School District.
The message, set to acts as diverse as a cellist playing Tchaikovsky and a middle school jazz combo rocking Stevie Wonder, was clear: “Save Our School, Save Our Buses!”
Parents, students and Jack Carr, a GAMP founder and school principal, fear that eliminating busing would create a dangerous situation for students. Many, they say, would have to leave GAMP.
“Imagine a 9-year-old child on a SEPTA bus, carrying a $20,000 bassoon,” said Carr. “That’s a real safety problem.”
Some parents have already indicated that because they can’t drive their children to school every day and don’t feel comfortable with middle schoolers on long SEPTA rides, they will have to pull their children out of GAMP, Carr said.
“It would eliminate GAMP as an option for some families,” he said. “We would lose some of our diversity.”
The 500-student school, which educates fifth through 12th graders, is about 50 percent white, 28 percent African American, 15 percent Asian and 4 percent Latino.
Yes, the district’s financial problems are severe, organizers acknowledged. (The School Reform Commission this week floated $300 million in bonds just to keep schools open for the rest of the year, and there is more pain ahead.)
But parents said cutting yellow school buses for 173 middle schoolers isn’t the way to make ends meet.
Every day, fifth grader Micah Way gets on the yellow bus with his heavy bookbag and his trumpet. He takes a long ride from Northern Liberties to GAMP.
If he had to take SEPTA, that would be at least a three-bus ride, said Gwen DeVeaux-Way, his grandmother.
“It would be terrible,” DeVeaux-Way said. “He’s a short little guy.”
GAMP had retained its yellow school buses because of a decades-long court battle over desegregating Philadelphia schools, but that case was settled in 2009. Some desegregation routes stayed, but others have been eliminated.
District officials have said they could save as much as $1 million by ending all desegregation busing.
The GAMP community took their case to a School Reform Commission meeting last month, and vowed Thursday night to keep up their campaign until officials found a way to pay for their school buses.
It's unbecoming to these talented musicians to have to beg for something as basic as bus service.— DarnelX- A White face...Interesting.
PUBLIC Health
PUBLIC Education
PUBLIC Transportation
In the most surprising places it is clear that everyone likes government...People simply cannot, to this day, digest July 2, 1964.
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"They will never admit it"...Alistair Cooke, 1972.
'To support the least of us, elevates the whole of us'
...Some guy in a wheel chair, 1932.— Cuddles - Pay your taxes Grandpa Tank. Because you have not paid your taxes these children have lost bus services.— DarnelX
Apparently the PSD can run an effective school. GAMP is one example. Masterman (where the Mayor dropped Olivia in that iconic TV spot), Girls, Central, Greenfield, Greenberg are others. It would seem that these successes could be replicated throughout the City. I find it distressing that no one will address the real issues that condemn certain schools in Philadelphia to failure.I often hear the concern that those who eschew public education for alternatives such as charter, parochial or private schools are denying the School district "the best & the brightest". Are not the caregivers of these "special admit" students doing the same thing to their neighborhood schools...If you are resourceful enough to enroll your charges in this System within a System...make arrangements to get them to school...— TomTheCork
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
