I am back from my vacation and from my week helping Radio Times out. The big story this week locally has got to be the racial discrimination allegations related to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley. This is just outside of Philadelphia.
Here’s what we know. 65 kids from a summer camp were properly registered as [...]

By Jason Kleinman
This morning Dr. Arlene Ackerman, School District of Philadelphia Superintendent, appeared as a guest (mp3) on WHYY’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. Ackerman primarily discussed her vision for Philadelphia’s school system, including her new five-year plan to improve city schools. Imagine 2014, which Ackerman referred to as a no frills plan, is still [...]

One week ago, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman released the draft of “Imagine 2014″ a new five year plan to improve the city’s schools.
This Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Ms. Ackerman will be a guest on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane to discuss the plan’s methods and goals.
One thing to keep in mind is this [...]

by Tom MacDonald, WHYY News
A new report gives high marks to schools managed by for-profit companies in Philadelphia, and much lower grades to schools run by non-profit agencies.  WHYY’s Tom MacDonald reports.
As part of a school district reform effort in 2002, two for-profit management companies took over 25 of the worst performing Philadelphia public schools [...]

By Tom Ferrick
Talk about mixed emotions.
Imagine you are Mayor Michael Nutter reading the results of the public opinion poll released last week.
First, there’s good news. Your approval rating is 71%, despite the bumps and bruises you have taken over the budget cutting done so far.
Now, some bad news: Most folks hate the steps you’ve taken [...]

By the end of the month, it’s likely Philadelphia’s 54 libraries will be open three or four days a week according to library officials, who are still tweaking the numbers. The Central branch, however, will remain open seven days a week because Pennsylvania’s state library law mandates the city keep open its main branch at least 65 hours a week. If [...]

Mayor Nutter defends 10-year property tax abatement program:
I’m way behind on my reading of the Sunday Inquirer, but I finally got around to the piece by Patrick Kerkstra that Alan says was so prominently discussed at last night’s town hall meeting.  Clearly there are some vast differences of opinion between the backers and opponents of [...]

A thin elderly man sits on a stool by the door inside the Charles L. Durham library in Mantua, or as the locals call the area “The Bottom.” He chit-chats with the clerk at the check-out counter, and asks her to put on some Christmas music. The clerk returns with a cd and pops it into a boom box. A [...]

Thanks to all 189 of you who participated in our recent poll. In case you missed it, we asked our readers to weigh in on the issue about whether Philadelphia high schools should hand out free condoms. An overwhelming majority, 98%, voted YES. To get some national perspective on the issue, we looked around to see how our local poll [...]

Guest Commentary by K.Sayford-Wilson
In today’s economy, volunteering at schools and charitable organizations
is more important than ever, and can add up to “federal dollars earned”
but ironically has become increasingly impossible for many families for
the same reasons that it’s most needed.
Take Head Start for example. This federally funded school readiness program, which is designed to benefit low-income [...]