Activism
Activist pursue limits on sales of handguns
Education Law Center celebrates milestone
Parents, staff protest child care center closings
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Activism around the city
Activists pursue limits on sales of handguns
In recent months, community groups and elected officials concerned about gun-related violence in Philadelphia and its effect on school children have been taking aim at gun trafficking in Pennsylvania.
Community and antiviolence groups in April participated in a motorcade and walking procession that concluded at Colosimo’s Gun Shop, at 9th and Spring Garden streets, which data show is the leading seller of guns recovered from Philadelphia crime scenes.
Sponsored by the Philadelphia Area Interfaith Peace Network, the event included participants from CeaseFire PA, Mothers in Charge and the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP.
Antiviolence activists contend the city remains a hot market for gun-selling, drawing buyers from New York and New Jersey.
Groups like Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project (EPOP) have been trying to amass support from the region’s clergy for legislation that would limit handgun purchases in Pennsylvania to one per month.
Pennsylvania State Rep. John Myers (D-Phila.) has introduced such legislation in Harrisburg.
Meanwhile, EPOP leader Fran McFadden said organizers have been meeting with local elected officials to encourage the city to pursue additional federal funding for the police presence around schools.
She said the city had been particularly hard-hit by the inability to fill vacant positions that must be held for about 100 local police officers on active military duty.
“Homeland security starts at home,” McFadden offered. “The safety of our children is at stake.”
Contact EPOP at 215-634-8922.
Education Law Center celebrates milestone
The Education Law Center (ELC) is marking its 30th anniversary with a Center City celebration. But the most telling measure of the center’s milestone may be the tens of thousands of lives made stronger by the legal battles ELC has won for vulnerable children.
Today, foster children no longer have to wait two months to enroll in a new school, and kindergarteners with Down syndrome can attend regular kindergarten, where they’ve been found to thrive.
For children with disabilities, there are fewer barriers to education, and for English language learners, there are more opportunities for learning.
Meanwhile, the number of families who have contacted ELC to speak with a “real lawyer” for advice on “everything from residency problems to graduation requirements, special education to charter schools, teacher-quality issues to Title 1 dollars,” now counts well over 100,000.
“What we’ve done is fought for those populations of kids and made a difference in ensuring that the system set up to protect those kids is respected, and the special services needed by them to learn and reach higher levels are made available,” Janet Stotland, ELC co-director, said during a recent interview.
The nonprofit legal advocacy organization, based in Center City, has offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh.
ELC’s 30th anniversary celebration will take place Thursday, June 9, at 5:30 p.m., at Montgomery, McCracken, Walker, and Rhodes, 123 South Broad Street.
The evening’s agenda includes honors for disability rights advocates the Landsman Family, local student groups Philadelphia Student Union and Youth United for Change, and finally Stotland and Len Rieser, the organization’s co-directors. For more information, go to www.elc-pa.org or call 215-238-6970.
Parents, staff protest child care center closings
Saying the all-day services have proven to be a saving grace for working parents who can’t afford quality, private child care and for teen mothers struggling to stay in school, dozens of clients and staff members in May spoke out against a District plan to phase out its 45 Comprehensive Early Learning Centers.
As some parents and staff picketed outside the School Administration building, others pleaded in emotional testimony to the School Reform Commission to vote down a District proposal to suspend a section of the school code that prohibits closing of the centers.
“We believe Comprehensive Early Learning Centers are a winner,” said Sharon Ward, director of child care policy for Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth. Pointing to studies documenting the effectiveness of these services, Ward added, “The School District operates the finest early child care in the city.”
Vallas stated that the centers, serving 1,400 children, are costing $19,000 per child and that centers are losing children to private providers. The District seeks to get out of the expensive infant and toddler business, while expanding its school-day services to three- and four-year-olds, which would allow it to provide services to an additional 2,000 children, Vallas said.
Vallas said its replacement program, called Bright Futures, was modeled after the Head Start program. It will serve 3,400 children, employ certified staff, and contain a parenting component.
The 200 or so infants and toddlers now served will be directed to private providers, with reimbursement from the state, Vallas said. About 200 employees will be displaced by the closings.
What the Bright Futures program won’t do, affected parents argued, is open at 6:30 a.m. and stay open until 6 p.m., extended hours that allow parents a schedule that accommodates both work and school.
Before voting on the phase-out, the School Reform Commission sought more information on the impact of the shorter hours, as well as on the locations of the District's current and planned centers.