Robbing Peter to pay Paul: 'Leveling' Philly schools in the time of budget crisis
by thenotebook on Oct 10 2013 Posted in Latest news
Photo: Kimberly Paynter/WHYY
Dismissal time at A.S. Jenks elementary in South Philly. Parents say their children are suffering as the district "levels" their school.
by Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks
It's gone from bad to worse.
Packed classrooms. Lack of a full-time guidance counselor. No education in arts or music.
Those were the complaints of parents at South Philadelphia's A.S. Jenks elementary school through the first month of school.
And now this.
On Monday, parents received word that that the District was removing another teacher from their school – this in addition to the teacher they lost to layoffs in June. As a result, the K-4 school will now serve its 1st through 4th grades only with classes that combine multiple grade-levels in one classroom.
Every 1st-grader will be in a class with second-graders. Some third-graders will be combined with 4th-graders; others will be with 2nd-graders. Only the school's kindergarten students will not be affected.
"I'm so disgusted. When I got the letter, I just cried. I can't believe this is the education I need to give my children," said
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