Turmoil at West Philadelphia High could leave 50% teaching posts empty

    At first it was due for a major overhaul and then it wasn’t

    West Philadelphia High School could face a shortage of teaching staff this fall following a proposal to overhaul the troubled institution. West Philadelphia High School made headlines several years ago for incidents of student violence against teachers.

    While it’s made incremental improvements in both academics and school climate, West Philly was one of a handful of schools designated a Renaissance school for 2010-2011. Under the designation, the school would be run by an outside organization, and only 50 percent of the teachers could return next year.

    After a perceived conflict of interest involving the group slated to take over the school, district officials put off plans to overhaul West Philly. But by then, some teachers had found jobs at other schools.

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    School District Spokesman Fernando Gallard says 13 teachers have said they won’t return, and another 18 could leave as well.

    “We hope we don’t have that many vacancies, but there’s a potential that these 18 teachers can tell us one way or the other.”

    The school has a total of 76 teaching positions.

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