PSS Community

Green Woods Charter Chestnut Hill Community Meeting

Green Woods Charter School is meeting on March 15th at 7:30PM at Chestnut Hill Hospital's first floor conference room to present our updated building designs to the CHCA-Design Review Committee.

PSS Community

Why I Chose St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Philadelphia

The primary reason why I choose Catholic school for our daughter was that she was not going to meet the public school age limit for Kindergarten. We were coming from Canada where the age limit for Kindergarten was 5 by December 31st and we were only moving to Philadelphia for a couple of years so when looking for places to live, I asked in a couple of Catholic schools to see if they would take her, and St Francis Xavier said they were happy to. This ultimately brought us to live in Fairmount! I think the Catholic schools have a little more flexibility than the public schools in that regard. Overall I was very happy with the Catholic school experience (specifically St Frannies) for the following

Len Lipkin

Going Local for Education Movement Escalates to…Lawn Signs?

Last month I wrote about lawn signs that had popped up all over my neighborhood for private schools advertising their open houses.  As I have been following and struggling with our neighborhood “Going Local” movement, the fact that our local public school has gotten into the lawn sign act has been an interesting development. I contacted a member of the Jenks Home and School Association and...

Len Lipkin

No Room for PC in School Choice: Being Honest With Yourself

I was speaking to an ivy-educated friend (and parent) the other night about Philadelphia elementary school choices.  He halted the conversation when he said (I’m paraphrasing), ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but I essentially am looking at one thing in a school.  How likely is it that my child will be able to get into an ivy or near-ivy level college?’ The politically correct side of me was...

Len Lipkin

Grassroots Efforts in Philadelphia Creating an “Edutopia”?

It turns out that I am not alone. You may read this and realize that you, too, are not alone. Edutopia, the website of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, recently published an article on how, in Philadelphia, more and more affluent families are choosing city public schools. The article focuses on Society Hill/McCall and Mount Airy/CW Henry schools, but the movement has been catching on throughout...

Len Lipkin

New West Philly Parents Movement Launched

In part inspired by the efforts of the parents of Andrew Jackson Elementary in South Philly, a group of West Philly Parents has formed the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools to start the conversation. A post on the PhiladelphiaSpeaks forum stated As a West Philly parent of an infant, toddler or preschooler, are you concerned about your choices for kindergarten and beyond? Do you want for your...

Len Lipkin

School Choice Based on Parental “Qualities”?

One of the things that I have noticed during my school search are the parents sitting next to me in open houses.  It occurs to me that one of the factors that has emerged as important to me indirectly are the parents of the children at the school I choose.  This point cuts across many themes that I have written about on this blog over the last 8 months, most directly parental involvement in the...

PSS Community

Why I Chose Andrew Jackson: 2010-05-24 School Selection Report

Tell PSS and our readers about your school choice! Date Submitted: 5/24/2010 What school did you decide on? Andrew Jackson Calendar year your child entered/will enter 2010/2011 Grade your child entered/will enter kindergarten What neighborhood are you in? South Philly What schools did you consider? I considered International [PSS-I think this was supposed to be Independence?] Charter School, Christopher...