Admission to coveted Penn Alexander now by lottery

Submitted by Dale Mezzacappa on Fri, 01/18/2013 - 17:33 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

After dozens of parents had already camped out in the freezing cold for the better part of a day outside the Penn Alexander school, District officials decided to change the process and conduct a lottery to determine who would get a coveted spot in September's kindergarten class.

"We're making the change for equity and safety," said Karyn Lynch, the District's chief of student services. She said that a lottery would "bring fairness to the process," and that officials had "great concern about people remaining outside for three days in cold weather."

By Friday afternoon, 68 people were lined up outside the school in freezing weather, hoping for one of the 72 kindergarten seats. The first parent arrived early Friday morning, setting off a scramble. Registration starts Tuesday morning and was on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Ethics complaint questions legitimacy of BCG reform plan, school closures

Submitted by thenotebook on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 14:06 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Bill Hangley, Jr.

With the shadow of dozens of possible school closures looming in the background, a group of public school advocates has formally filed an ethics complaint challenging the legitimacy of the dramatic reform plan developed for the School District of Philadelphia by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the William Penn Foundation.

Reaching out in print and online

by Wendy Harris Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

Notebook readers can still find the bimonthly print publication at 750 distribution sites throughout the city, including all District and charter schools. But to increase access to the paper, the Notebook has contracted with the delivery company CCN to set up honor boxes at strategic spots on the streets around town. 

District creates new office to address student concerns

by Charlotte Pope Posted in December 2012 Edition | Permalink

Since coming to Philadelphia, Superintendent William Hite has emphasized the importance of community input and involving students in decision-making. This fall, Hite created the Office of Student Services to tackle student issues and ensure that their voices continue to be heard, and he brought in a former colleague to lead it.

“If you really want to focus on curriculum, instruction, and what’s happening in the classroom, it is critical to pull out the student services,” said new Chief of Student Services Karyn Lynch.