Long-Standing Education Advocate to Run for Philadelphia City Council
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| Helen Gym is on the right. |
One of Philadelphia's most recognizable education advocates has announced her candidacy for City Council.
Helen Gym, co-founder of Parents United for Public Education, held a kickoff event Monday at the Ethical Society of Philadelphia surrounded by parents, students and union boosters.
Gym, a former elementary school teacher who was selected by the Obama administration last year for a Cesar Chavez Champions of Change award, has been a stalwart voice for education equity and government transparency for more than a decade.
"We're rejecting a punishing narrative of blame and failure," said Gym, "and instead we're making sure that the mentality around our children and our schools and this city comes through a framework of human dignity, justice and love for our children and those who care for them."
In her speech, Gym highlighted a string of accomplishments including helping parents fight the district's plans to turn two of its elementary schools into charters last spring; pushing the Philadelphia Parking Authority to direct more resources to schools; and, recently, compelling the district to release the Boston Consulting Group's initial framework for school closures.
"Over the years, we've fought to make this city a better place where we all can live," she said. "We might not have been in the halls of power, but we've organized, we have fought, and we have actually achieved real victories.
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