It was the first day back to school in a week for many students across the region, and though a snowstorm Monday night into yesterday morning left little accumulation, the leftovers from last week's storms still made for tough going in some neighborhoods.
For most of the short walk through their Pennsport neighborhood, Santiago carried 10-year-old Cameron's cello. And when he waved goodbye to Cameron and 8-year-old twins Christian and Julian at the front of Vare, Santiago advised his oldest to be careful.
'I recommended he leave his cello at school,' Santiago said. 'I don't want him falling in the snow because of it.'
Like most district students, the Santiago boys live close enough to school to walk. About 10 percent of the district's 161,000 pupils ride yellow buses and an additional 53,000 use SEPTA to get to school, though that figure includes charter- and private-school students as well."