School Closings- School Openings- School Closings

The state of public schools in Philly is in limbo. When I heard that so many schools were closing in Philly, I felt like public schools were being done a disservice. While there are serious issues plaguing our schools, I do not think giving up on them is the way to go. Some of the arguments in favor of closing schools (i.e. many of these schools are underpopulated and underperforming) seem quite valid. Considering that the consequence of closing public schools is opening charter schools, one is inclined to raise an eyebrow.

I recall all of the anger and disgust held by many teachers and members of the community when school closings were announced about a month ago. Being that this is my first time formally living in Philadelphia, it was interesting to see (and feel) the emotions that I had read about in The Notebook or that I saw in protests on new programs. I found myself in solidarity with the students and teachers who challenged the decision to close schools. I also found myself upset with the mergers. I just thought it was interesting which closed schools and open schools are going to be merged... I will leave it at that.

The recent decision to keep some schools open made me slightly happy, but when I didn't see University City High School on the list, I still held mixed feelings. To an extent, my attachment with Philadelphia Schools (outside of SLA) is UC High School. I know that a lot of UC students are upset with the recent announcement because their school is not on the list. I really feel for these students, many of whom are losing the community that they had grew to love over the years.