Activism
Two communities develop new high school designs
Student activists attend youth research camp
More 'opt out' from military recruiter lists
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Activism around the city
Two communities develop new high school designs
After months of meetings to help determine the design of new buildings for Kensington and West Philadelphia High Schools, community participants in both neighborhoods expect to finalize their design options in December.
Since June, an average of 40 people participating in a “steering committee” at each high school have shown up to meet monthly with Concordia LLC – a nationally recognized planning and architectural design firm – to develop ideas for the schools.
The committees include parents, students, educators, clergy, business leaders, and others. They have met with representatives from the design firm to learn about the school planning process, to identify assets and needs in the school community, and to analyze various design options.
With dozens more schools slated for construction or renovation under the District’s capital improvement plan, the Philadelphia Education Fund is working with Concordia in those two neighborhoods to develop a blueprint for how a community-based school-planning model can be implemented.
Concordia’s participatory approach reflects a commitment to develop schools that foster a sense of ownership, inclusion, and empowerment in the schools’ communities.
In these two neighborhoods, activists from the Philadelphia Student Union in West Philadelphia and Youth United for Change in Kensington have been engaged in a multiyear campaign to lobby for new high schools that reflect a “small school” philosophy. The involvement of Concordia responded to the student organizations’ push for a voice in the design of new buildings.
The School District’s current capital budget includes $81 million over four years for a new West Philadelphia High, and $12 million for small schools conversion at Kensington. A new, small high school building in Kensington is also planned.
Evening meetings to discuss design options will take place October 11 for Kensington, and October 12 for West Philadelphia. A meeting on “Building Consensus” is scheduled for November 15 for Kensington, and November 9 for West Philadelphia. A final report and celebration is scheduled for December 15 for Kensington and December14 for West Philadelphia.
For more information, call Tia Keitt at the Philadelphia Education Fund, 215-665-1400.
Student activists attend youth research camp
When Jerry Zuviri observed his “teacher” raising her voice at his friend Malcolm Seawright, he knew just what to do. He quickly rose from his seat, loudly called out “Pause!” and stopped the entire “classroom” mid-frame. He then turned towards the video cameras and read from his field notes, “Here we see....”
School? Not exactly. Zuviri and Seawright, classmates at Olney High School and members of Youth United for Change (YUC), were performing a skit in which they demonstrated the field observation skills they learned as part of Research for Action’s (RFA) second annual Youth Research Camp.
For five days in June, Zuviri, Seawright, and 40 other youth activists spent their days learning research skills that they can use to support the work of their organizations.
In addition to YUC, young people from the Community Leadership Institute, Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Nu Sigma Youth Services, Philadelphia Student Union, Sigma Beta Club of West Philadelphia, and Youth VOICES at Vare Beacon participated. Students tackled a variety of issues, ranging from abuse of eminent domain to college access for African American males to teacher quality.
Diane Brown, senior research associate at RFA and Director of the Youth Research Camp, said she was excited about the camp’s potential: “I thought the students were intriguing, authentic, diverse, and complicated. The plans are that we will bring the groups back together to re-connect, do some skill-building, and increase their visibility.”
For information on plans for Research Camp 2006, contact Diane Brown at Research for Action, 215-823-2500 x507.
More 'opt out' from military recruiter lists
A controversial provision of the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to turn over lists of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of their juniors and seniors to the U.S. military for recruiting purposes. The law trumped privacy policies in many school districts restricting the release of student information to outside parties.
But the federal law also said parents can “opt out” – and organizations in Philadelphia and nationally have mounted visible public education campaigns about the right to sign a form telling the school district to withhold students’ contact information from military recruiters.
“Opt-out” forms must be submitted by late October to avoid having student information turned over to the Pentagon.
Locally, groups such as American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Global Women’s Strike, the Green Party, and Veterans for Peace are conducting coordinated information campaigns on the opt-out provisions, while raising concerns about aggressive military recruitment in Philadelphia’s public high schools.
“Students and parents have been very grateful to get the information,” said parent Pat Albright of Global Women’s Strike, who has leafleted at high schools before and after school. “The military recruiters are all over these schools, so our effort really strikes a chord.”
Over 3,000 Philadelphia students opted out last school year. Nationally, a coalition called “Leave My Child Alone,” which maintains that military recruiters should not contact children without the consent of their parents, has had almost 20,000 students opt out via their website.
The coalition is also monitoring how well school districts are complying with the opt-out provisions of the federal law. Spokesperson Josh Sonnenfeld said that the School District of Philadelphia “met the bare bones requirements for being on our ‘honor roll,’ but there’s a lot more they should be doing to have a strong notification policy and protect students’ privacy rights.”
Sonnenfeld said the School District sends all 11th and 12th graders a letter notifying them of their right to opt out, but said there could be more communication with parents. He pointed out that lists provided to the military by the School District include students’ school and grade – more information than the law requires them to release.
For more information on “opting out,” go to www.leavemychildalone.org or contact AFSC at 215-241-7176.