First day of school across School District of Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Thousands of students are heading back to class Monday across the School District of Philadelphia.
A former bus driver himself, Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington began the day at Shallcross Garage in Northeast Philadelphia to thank bus drivers before they started their routes.
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The superintendent said this year the district plans to roll out a parent app for families and launch a new parent ambassador initiative.
"The thing I love the most about the first day of school is all of us get a fresh start- students get a brand new fresh start, teachers get a fresh start, principals get a fresh start- guess what? School superintendents get a fresh start. So no matter what happened last year, all the bumps in the road, the adversity we had to overcome, we're going to begin the first day with the spirit of optimism and joy, which is one of our core values," said Dr. Watlington.
There has been adversity.
The application process for the school transition committees will begin next week, which will help families and staff through the district's $3 billion controversial facilities master plan, approved by the Board of Education, which includes permanently closing 17 schools, some as soon as the end of this school year. The plan also calls for modernizing 169 schools.
Some communities are still fighting the closure plans.
After leaving the bus depot, Dr. Watlington was slated to visit more than a half dozen other Philadelphia schools to welcome in the school year.
