PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — At its annual “State of the Schools” address on Wednesday, the School District of Philadelphia announced plans to launch two new year-round schools in North Philadelphia.
Superintendent Tony Watlington said the year-round K-8 and high schools would be modeled after schools in the Harlem Children's Zone in New York.
“We're going to be partners and open these two state-of-the-art schools in existing facilities. They'll be choice schools. We won't make anybody go,” he said.
Speaking at Edison High, Watlington said the year-round schools would be set up in what he called the “North Philadelphia Promise Zone” — and that they would be staffed with the best principals and teachers to ensure that students perform better and faster, from kindergarten to college.
The K-8 school is scheduled to open first. Watlington said Bethune Elementary School Principal Aliya Catanch-Bradley will be a special administrator to oversee the two new schools.
However, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Art Steinberg said after the event he was surprised to learn of the year-round proposal. “Any changes in working conditions must be negotiated with the PFT,” he said in a statement. “We will not agree to anything that requires members to work additional days or hours.”
Also at the event, Mayor Cherelle Parker spoke of her desire to use 20 vacant school buildings for her housing initiative.
"For the city school district to allow these buildings to be persistently vacant in these communities for so long that they become public health and safety hazards right here in our city,” she said, “not on my watch."
The Board of Education approved a resolution last month directing the district to look into transferring the vacant school buildings to the city.