Marta Rowh

Types of Philadelphia Elementary Schools

We may remember a time when kids just went to their neighborhood school. But this isn’t Kansas anymore. There are lots of options and lots of different application processes for parents nowadays. We started school hunting at the dining room table and finally I threw my hands up...what are ALL the options?! Every time I thought I knew it all, another school popped up! I wanted to have all my options before deciding which schools to look at and which open houses to attend, so here is a brief Elementary School Options 101.

Len Lipkin

Nutter, Ackerman Wait for Superman [Video]

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and School District Superintendent attended a November 29th screening of "Waiting for Superman" at the National Constitution Center and participated a panel discussion.

Len Lipkin

Philadelphia Education Leaders Debate “Superman” [Video]

Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Dr. Arlene Ackerman; Scott Gordon, CEO of Mastery Charter Schools; Rob Broderick, from the Pennsylvania State Education Association; and Dom Giordano, 1210-AM radio talk show personality discussing school reform and the film "Waiting for Superman"

Len Lipkin

Activists Like Me

Thomas Friedman, columnist for the New York Times wrote in a recent column entitled Steal This Movie, Too that “there is a movement stirring in this country around education.”  I like to think that I have not only noticed this movement myself (in South Philly and West Philly, specifically) and, in the creation of this blog, been an active participant.  I also wrote a story about an upcoming...

Len Lipkin

School Choice Influenced by… the Movies?

Two films will be coming out over the next several months that will put my school search into a much broader perspective. The first is a documentary called “The Lottery” (out now in limited release, not sure of the Philadelphia release) In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system...