PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia students who ride SEPTA are still struggling to get to school on time since SEPTA’s deep service cuts took effect the day before the start of classes. Superintendent Tony Watlington said attendance has been up and down.
“We found a bit of a mixed bag,” he said. “There are schools that reported significant declines in first-day attendance.”
Instead of attendance in the typical 90% range, Furness High School, for example, saw about 70% attendance. At Girls High — a magnet school that draws students from all over the city — the principal said some parents are considering transferring their daughters because they couldn’t make it to school on time.
Watlington said while attendance is a key factor in student performance, remote learning is not being considered as a way to make up instructional time.
“I personally, as an educator and as a parent myself, don’t believe that virtual education is a viable option,” he said. “One of the big lessons from the pandemic was that virtual learning was not the best mode of learning for most students. There are some that do really, really well, but for most students, they need an in-person experience.”
As more people will return to work and school after Labor Day, Watlington acknowledged that the situation will only get more challenging.
“More individuals coming to school, being on the roads in Philadelphia after the Labor Day holiday, and perhaps some increases in fares — those would absolutely have the potential negative impact on student daily attendance,” he added.
On Aug. 24, 32 bus routes were eliminated and 16 were shortened. SEPTA also reduced service on 88 other bus, Metro and Regional Rail lines, though the latter won’t take effect until Sept. 2. The base fare will increase to $2.90 starting Sept. 1.
Should the service reductions drag into next week after Labor Day, Watlington expects the attendance challenges to get worse before they get better. He suggests parents arrange alternate transportation plans, like carpools, to get students to school on time.