PSS Community

MAPN School Discussion Group

The 2010 School Discussion Group sponsored by the Mt. Airy Parents’ Network (MAPN) will begin meeting virtually beginning in August. If you’re interested in participating this year, please send your name, email address, and the age(s) of your child(ren) to MAPN Moderator Catherine Collins at babygrauke [at] yahoo.com. Only current members of MAPN are allowed to participate, so if you would...

Len Lipkin

School Choices Retrospective

If you haven’t already taken a look, I suggest reading A Very Public Education, the blog of a mom who decided to send her children to a Philly public school.  In particular, I enjoyed reading a recent post of hers looking back on her decision to decide on the Philadelphia public schools.  A Very Public Education: Just Like Me.  Thus far, the focus of this blog has been the search for a school...

Len Lipkin

Improve a School, Improve a Neighborhood

Further support for my point about parental involvement being key to a successful school, The Inquirer recently published a story about Andrew Jackson Elementary in South Philadelphia, Parents Work to Rejuvenate a Public School.  Link corrected 12/28/2010.  Basically, the parents got together and created a list of things that they needed to do to improve the school.  Now, they are taking steps to enact...

Len Lipkin

Finding the Right Personality Match

When my son started school he was a wallflower.  He would arrive at school and sit on the sidelines watching the other kids played.  I am sure that once he warmed up, his sociability improved, but when I picked him up at the end of the day, he was often on the sidelines entertaining himself and rarely engaged with the other kids running around or in fantasy play.  It has always stuck with me, my...

Len Lipkin

Money Money Money Money

Conventional wisdom states that city living is more expensive, being that the cost of real estate per square foot is so much higher in general. But what about the hidden costs? When making a school choice, especially when it involves a possible relocation or private schooling, money is a big factor. When trying to calculate real living costs, there is a new resource out there that can be useful.  The...