Ronnie Polaneczky: School closing may strengthen E. Falls

THURSDAY NIGHT I had one of those moments when I thought, "Maybe the stuff we call bad news actually gives good news a chance to happen."

As in, maybe the sorrowful closing of St. Bridget's parish school will wind up strengthening its East Falls neighborhood in ways no one could have imagined.

The epiphany hit as I visited Thomas Mifflin Elementary School, which sits one block from St. Bridget, on Midvale Avenue. Mifflin principal Leslie Mason was hosting an open house for families of St. Bridget.

As practically every East Fallser knows, the Philadelphia Archdiocese has ordered St. Bridget's School to merge in September with Manayunk's Holy Child School, to be renamed St. Blaise.

But many St. Bridget parents haven't signed on. According to the St. Blaise website, only 148 students have registered for the new school, out of a projected enrollment of 325 (deadline for registration was Monday, so those numbers might change).

There are myriad reasons for St. Bridget parents' reluctance. And they've been scrambling for an alternative since the merger was announced.

That's how about 40 of them wound up at the open house at Mifflin, a place that some admitted they'd never seen from the inside, even though they have lived in East Falls for years.

They seemed astonished by what they saw.

It's a clean, bright and colorful school whose old-fashioned marble columns and wooden auditorium seats mesh easily with a dazzling new gym and a cozy-yet-high-tech media center, both added in 2006. Kids' artwork and essays paper the walls, and the kindergarten classrooms alone make you want to pick up a crayon and create something fabulous.

Parents were all ears as Mason crowed about the school's enriched academic programs for gifted kids and supports for struggling ones. Its award-winning track team. Its partnership with Philadelphia University, whose students are helping Mifflin kids create a sculpture for the front entrance. Its free breakfasts and lunches for all kids.

Then there were Mifflin's energetic-looking teachers, who smiled broadly as Mason introduced them.

And parents really perked up when Mason spoke about the school's lack of serious behavioral problems - a surprise, given the Philadelphia School District's reputation for violence.

But not every school deserves to be painted with that brush, said Mason.

"That's why the district took away our school police officer," she said. "We don't need one."

She invited parents to return when school is in session to get a better sense of Mifflin's vibe.

"Ask us anything at all. We love Mifflin. We're so proud of it," Mason said as parents drifted down the hallways, clutching information packets and sandwiches that had been prepared for the evening.

One who lingered behind was St. Bridget's Chris Caporellie, who was so blown away on a prior tour that he encouraged other St. Bridget parents to attend the open house.

"This seems like a great school, but you don't know that until you come inside," said Caporellie, who is "seriously considering" sending his two kids to Mifflin in the fall. "St. Bridget's closing could be what we needed to make this our neighborhood school."

To be fair to parents who shunned Mifflin in the past, the school went through a miserable phase before Mason's arrival in 2009. Charges of racism split the school, and principals came and went almost too quickly for anyone to learn their names.

But Mason's tenure has brought emotional calm and academic excitement, said East Fallser Linda Norris, a Mifflin aide whose eight children, all grown, attended the school.

"The school is just excellent, all around," said Norris.

Wouldn't it be ironic if St. Bridget's closure wound up being a boon for East Falls? For decades, the neighborhood population was large enough to sustain both a public and parochial school. As the population shrank, both schools lost families, weakening both.

Now, Mifflin might add enough neighborhood families that it becomes a true neighborhood school - one that functions as a community center, as well as an educational one.

The notion intrigues Paul Levy, head of the Center City District and a believer in the power of strong schools to unify and strengthen Philly neighborhoods, and to keep young families here.

"Our schools were built to educate neighborhood children, but once the population shrank, they had to admit kids from outside the neighborhood," he said. "We're seeing a trend of families reclaiming the schools for their original purpose - educating children right where they live. It's really exciting."

It would be something of a miracle if, after they've finished grieving the loss of their school, St. Bridget families thought so too.