Tag: Stetson Middle School

The People Have Spoken: Ditch the Facilities Plan

Board of Education Action Meeting:  March 26, 2026

by Lisa Haver

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Ludlow Elementary parent Shaakira Jones, with daughter, urges board to vote No on facilities plan and closing of Ludlow. (Photo: Lisa Haver)

“The truth is, this plan was created by too many people who are not from here and do not understand this wonderful and complicated city.” 
APPS Member Kristin Luebbert

Students, parents, teachers, graduates and community members returned to the board of education with one message: We love our schools. Do not close them. The board has heard this same message from hundreds of people at board meetings, town halls, City Council hearings, district community meetings, and from the thousands who responded to district surveys. Yet the board has still not said when it will take the vote. At the March 12 town hall, 125 people spoke against the recommendations in the plan; one parent from another school testified in favor of the changes recommended for Moffett Elementary.  At this meeting, one Masterman staff person endorsed the plan’s recommendation to expand Masterman; she didn’t mention that this necessitated the closing of Waring elementary to make room for the magnet school students. So perhaps it’s more accurate to say no one wants this plan–except for two people who want disruptions at schools other than theirs. The people have spoken: the board must reject this Facilities Master Plan. 

Read more about the March 26, 2026 Action Meeting here

Nobody Wants This, They Don’t Care

Board of Education Action Meeting: February 26, 2026

by Lisa Haver

Robeson High School teacher Andrew Saltz testifies at February action meeting. (Photo: Lisa Haver)

“Passing this facilities plan would be an egregious breach of trust by the board.”
West Philadelphia Community Member Leah Clouden

Not for the first time, Philadelphia students put the adults in charge to shame. They came with facts and data that disproved the district’s misinformation. They came with well-reasoned arguments about why closing their school makes no sense. They came with charts and maps that clearly illustrate their position that their schools should remain open. They presented data that showed that Black students would be harmed most by losing their schools. This in contrast to Superintendent Tony Watlington, whose rambling, tangent-filled 31-minute speech was one of the reasons this meeting did not adjourn until early Friday morning. Parents, educators, and community members packed the meeting. They were joined by elected officials including City Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier, Jeffery Young, Quetcy Lozada and Cindy Bass, along with State Senators Anthony Williams and Sharif Street and State Representative Daresha Parker. All spoke against the plan and any school closings. The board, for the second month in a row, violated its own by-laws by marking present one board member, Chou-Wing Lam, despite the fact that she was seen by the public on screen for less than half an hour total during the 8-hour-plus meeting. She was not present for the public testimony, yet she was allowed to cast a vote for all action items. APPS did score one victory: after repeated emails to the board, they restored to the auditorium the almost 100 seats they had removed last year.

Read more about February Board of Education meeting here.