Philadelphia schools focus on academics and community ties as district navigates closures
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- School District of Philadelphia leaders say they are focused on three priorities this school year: improving academic performance, strengthening customer service and building community relationships.
As more than 100,000 students return to classrooms during the first week of school, Superintendent Tony Watlington said he has seen positive signs across the district.
"I've seen clean schools, good-looking grounds, shiny floors and lots of smiling faces," Watlington said.
The district is also moving forward with its plan to close 17 schools beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. Watlington said the plan, which has generated controversy, is necessary because of uneven enrollment patterns across the city.
"There are some schools that have a very high number of vacant seats, and there are other schools in other parts of the city that are literally bursting at the seams," he said.
Watlington said the district formed a transition team over the summer to support families affected by the planned closures and encourage them to remain in the school system.
"They will get red carpet, white glove treatment. We want every one of those families to stay in the school district," he said.
The district is also dealing with disruptions related to Kensington High School, which has been closed indefinitely because of an asbestos issue. Students are currently being bused to another high school in Mayfair while work continues.
Watlington said there is no timeline for reopening the building.
Top Stories
"We don't have any firm guarantees. I've asked the team to take as much time as needed to do it right and do it well," he said.
Meanwhile, some students are still awaiting school selection decisions because the Pennsylvania Department of Education has not yet released last year's PSSA and Keystone exam scores. District officials said the data is required for applications to criteria-based schools.
"Since we won't have those two years of consecutive test data, specifically not the school year 25-26 data, it's requiring us to develop a workaround," Watlington said.
He said he hopes to announce details of that workaround by next week.
The district is also tracking vaccination rates, particularly for measles, as kindergarten classes begin Thursday. Watlington said district officials have not identified any immediate concerns but are monitoring the situation closely.
"Not been made aware of any immediate concerns for us as we start our beginning of the first week of school, but it's being closely watched by our medical officer," he said.
Health officials say schools typically need a 95% vaccination rate against measles to help prevent outbreaks. The district said it has a vaccine clinic planned for this week.
