This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
District officials will hold a series of 17 community meetings over the next four months in order to solicit response to the facilities changes the District has recommended.
Acting Superintendent Leroy Nunery invited reaction from the community at a press briefing Wednesday morning, but stressed that the District needs to make tough decisions to address the estimated 70,000 "empty seats" in schools across the city.
“You have to do something, so tell us what we should be doing,” Nunery said.
District officials do not know the form these meetings will take, but said they’ll likely resemble the parent and community engagement sessions held from December 2010 to May 2011. Those meetings helped inform the current facilities master plan and featured breakout sessions where community members could express concerns.
Either Nunery, Deputy for Strategic Planning Initiatives Danielle Floyd, or another senior District official will be on hand at each meeting to present the plan. School Reform Commission members will attend as many sessions as their schedules permit.
Unlike SRC meetings, parents and community members do not need to register in advance in order to speak.
The meeting schedule:
- Saturday, November 19, Roxborough HS, 10 a.m.-noon
- Wednesday, December 7, West Philadelphia HS, 6-8 p.m.
- Thursday, December 8, Martin Luther King HS, 6-8 p.m.
- Saturday, December 10, South Philadelphia HS, 10 a.m.-noon
- Tuesday, December 13, Julia de Burgos ES, 6-8 p.m.
- Thursday, December 15, Strawberry Mansion HS, 6-8 p.m.
- Saturday, December 17, Lincoln HS, 10 a.m.-noon
- Tuesday, January 10, Northeast HS, 6-8 p.m.
- Wednesday, January 11, HS of the Future, 6-8 p.m.
- Tuesday, January 17, Bartram HS, 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, January 19, Wednesday, January 18, South Philadelphia HS, 6-8 p.m.- Tuesday, January 24, Kensington CAPA, 6-8 p.m.
- Thursday, January 26,
Dobbins HS, EW Rhodes HS, 6-8 p.m. - Tuesday, January 31, Turner MS, 6-8 p.m.
- Thursday, February 2, South Philadelphia HS, 6-8 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 7, Frankford HS, 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, February 16, Wednesday, February 15, Ben Franklin HS, 6-8 p.m.