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After four months of fact-gathering, Superintendent William Hite presented his action plan on Monday to improve Philadelphia schools. His plan has two goals: improving academics and stabilizing finances.
Strawberry Mansion High School is one of the 37 schools the School District of Philadelphia plans on closing.
Chanting "save our schools," an overflow crowd of parents and students packed the first School Reform Commission meeting since Superintendent William Hite announced the school closure plan last week.
Some schools that have received new equipment are now slated to be shut down by the Philadelphia school district.
"Corbett's budget hurt education around the state, not just Philadelphia. And we need to come up with a unified strategy with other districts around the state and restore the funding formula from 2008."
Local activist groups, students, parents and community members plan to come together Saturday afternoon to protest the recommended school closings announced on Wednesday.
Among the high schools to close are Germantown High, Strawberry Mansion High, University City High, and Bok Tech.
Several groups have filed a formal complaint, saying a privately-funded consultant's report for the Philadelphia school district amounted to lobbying.
The effort among Philadelphia's district, charter, and archdiocesan schools known as the "Great Schools Compact" has received a $2.5-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Complicating the matter is that the district hasn't yet named the dozens of schools it may be permanently closing next year.
The hearing lasted hours and was dominated by school parents and other advocates who object to the closure process.
Superintendent William Hite defended the salary increases, saying they coincided with additional responsibilities for employees in the district's IT, finance, and human resources departments.
The Educational Improvement Tax Credit is promoted as a way to provide a better education for poor children, but public education advocates say it actually takes away tax money that could be used to improve schools.
Expanding the program at a time when the state has slashed public school funding is infuriating public education advocates.
"BLOCS provides scholarships from your business taxes to students who not only want to attend a Catholic school but are most in need," says one advertisement.
State senator Tony Williams defends the program as similar to the GI Bill, but some of his Harrisburg colleagues see it as improperly favoring closed groups.
This round of grants gives cash to individual school districts using innovative tools to personalize learning.
The school district says its system of rating schools is flawed and it's looking for an outside firm to fix it.
SEPTA will remain out of service on Tuesday morning. Officials say it will take eight hours after the storm passes to make sure things aren't damaged.
As Hurricane Sandy approaches, the city of Philadelphia is closing government offices, court houses, mass transit and public and Archdiocesan schools on Monday. And Mayor Michael Nutter continues to urge residents to be ready.
Mayor Nutter says the city agreed to kick in $338,000 and the district will pay $800,000 to keep programs going.
Students ranged from kindergartners to 4th graders. And after a brief fitting session, there were many happy customers.
A 16-year-old high school student who says she was humiliated for wearing a Mitt Romney t-shirt returned to the classroom this morning.
Until this year, the Samuel Fels High School in Northeast Philadelphia was listed as a "persistently dangerous" school, as defined by the state. But the climate is changing there.
If kids don't feel safe, they're not going to learn. But now the victims of assaults in Philadelphia schools have someone going to bat for them.
The Philadelphia region is chasing 90 degrees with mostly sunny skies on Sunday.
Alex Smalley has a two-shot lead in the PGA Championship.
Dozens of people gathered for the 2nd annual Delaware County Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Festival.
Thousands of people across the country came together Saturday to remember the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
Cristopher Sánchez struck out a career-high 13 and earned his second career shutout as the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0.
The Philadelphia region is chasing 90 degrees with mostly sunny skies on Sunday.
About 100 officers responded to the King of Prussia Mall on Saturday after a crowd tried to enter the mall and the Swatch store.
Alex Smalley has a two-shot lead in the PGA Championship.
Dozens of people gathered for the 2nd annual Delaware County Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Festival.
Thousands of people across the country came together Saturday to remember the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
Dozens of people gathered for the 2nd annual Delaware County Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Festival.
The PGA Championship has bumped up its prize fund by $1.5 million.
About 100 officers responded to the King of Prussia Mall on Saturday after a crowd tried to enter the mall and the Swatch store.
Two people were injured after a shooting in a McDonald's parking lot in Allentown Friday night, police say.
The PGA Championship isn't just drawing crowds to the course, it's bringing a surge of business to communities across Delaware County.
Thousands of people across the country came together Saturday to remember the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
The PrideFest parade Saturday will cross state lines, starting in Lambertville and ending in New Hope, where a full festival celebrates the reason for the season.
A recent college graduate in New Jersey is warning others to look for these red flags after she received a fake job offer.
As the Delaware Valley happily leaves a snowy winter behind, many can hardly wait to hit the Jersey Shore for Memorial Day weekend.
For the first time ever, the World Cup final will host a Super Bowl-style halftime show, with megawatt headliners Madonna, Shakira and BTS.
A Delaware man is in custody after he barricaded himself and started a fire inside a Wawa store on Limestone Road, police say.
A New Castle County, Delaware, refinery is starting repairs that could increase its sulfur dioxide emissions levels past permitted limits.
At 108 years old, Susan Young Browne still exercises, drives and visits the Dover, Delaware, senior center she's been a member of for more than 50 years.
Delaware State University students are taking off from Chandelle Airport in Dover as they work to become future Army aviators.
Crews were called out to the 2000 block of North Harrison Street for a reported blaze at a three-story building.
NAMI Montgomery County is hosting a mental health awareness and fundraising walk for the organization's free mental health programs.
The head of the World Health Organization says "our work is not over" to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness.
Doctors in New Jersey say an illness known as CHS that affects cannabis users is on the rise.
An American on the repatriation flight began showing symptoms of hantavirus and another "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," the Department of Health and Human Services says.
More than 100 people from a cruise ship dealing with an outbreak of the rare and deadly hantavirus are set to be disembarked.
The 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club is a huge boost for Pottstown, Pennsylvania-based Lessen the Loads.
Bars and restaurants in Newtown Square are gearing up for an influx of customers as the 2026 PGA Championship is here.
If you dine out in Philadelphia during the 2026 FIFA World Cup events, you could end up paying more.
Bimbo Bakeries USA employs over 20,000 people and has been headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania, for the past 17 years.
Photos by HughE Dillon
A Delaware woman died in a multi-vehicle crash on I-95 in South Philadelphia Tuesday night while her 4-year-old daughter was in the backseat, state police said.
A serious crash in Hainesport, New Jersey, forced Route 38 to close Thursday night.
The ramp from Front Street to northbound I-95 and the ramp from southbound I-95 to Front Street will reopen the afternoon of May 8 until the morning of May 11.
Breeze Airways launched its first flights out of Atlantic City International Airport just days after Spirit Airlines shut down suddenly.
The sudden shutdown of Spirit Airlines is having an outsized impact on Atlantic City International Airport, where the budget carrier accounted for about 75% of all flights.
Alex Smalley has a two-shot lead in the PGA Championship.
Cristopher Sánchez struck out a career-high 13 and earned his second career shutout as the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0.
The PGA Championship has bumped up its prize fund by $1.5 million.
Kyle Schwarber is on a hot streak and so are the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kyle Schwarber hit his majors-leading 19th and 20th home runs of the season and Philadelphia rallied past Pittsburgh 11-9 in 10 innings.
Uzo Aduba and Darren Criss announced the 2026 Tony nominees for select categories on "CBS Mornings" on Tuesday.
If you dine out in Philadelphia during the 2026 FIFA World Cup events, you could end up paying more.
Call Your Mother, a Washington D.C. based bagel and deli chain, now has the keys to Metropolitan's Rittenhouse Square location.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is embracing a statue it once kept at arm's length.
The "Dog Days Are Over" for the Flyers, but their return to the playoffs comes at the cost of the Florence + the Machine concert.
Ukee Washington reports.
Natasha Brown reports.
Natasha Brown reports.
Natasha Brown reports.
Ukee Washington reports.
Middle school students in Philadelphia got the opportunity to do hands-on learning during the school district's five-day career and technical camp.
With her Girl Talk mentoring program, one Philadelphia teen turned her camp days into a safe space to discuss social issues young girls face every day.
Recent high school graduate Sylvain Farrell says his temporary position at a local clinic is the pathway to a full-time career.
A Philadelphia student won an award from NFL Films for his documentary on bringing back sports teams at his Kensington school.
A group of East Norriton eighth graders took what started as an Earth Day project and made a whole initiative.
Shorts, sandals, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Sums up Sunday! Andrew Kozak reports.
Fans at Aronimink saw some great golf on Saturday. But they also experienced a special tribute in honor of National Armed Forces Day. Ryan Hughes reports.
The Swatch store at the King of Prussia Mall will remain closed Sunday after police say large groups of people stormed the property for a highly anticipated watch release. Eve Andersen reports.
As the third round of the PGA CHampionship wraps up, it's hard to not notice the chants from Eagles fans in attendance. Ryan Hughes reports.
Dozens of people gathered for the 2nd annual Delaware County Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Festival.