Area schools prompt concerns

Limited options thwart efforts to draw faculty back to the area. The University's attempts to draw faculty back to the area have encountered problems unrelated to oft-stated security concerns: West Philadelphia's lack of adequate public and private schooling options. Faculty and staff -- both those considering relocating to the area and those already residing in West Philadelphia -- are discouraged by the poor reputation of local public schools. And private schools are also not a likely option for many faculty parents because of the higher costs and since there is only one private school -- the University City New School -- in the neighborhood. Questions about the school system have presented major impediments to attempts to bring faculty back to West Philadelphia. "We know that this area will not thrive as a place for faculty and other homeowners to live unless there is a good school system," Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman said. "[The importance of school options when making housing choices] is true for faculty and it's true for everybody," she said. "Schools are the most key issue." Scheman added that she chose not to live in West Philadelphia because she does not want to send her children to private schools and because the area's public schools are inadequate. Although Scheman stressed that the University is working with the community and the school district to improve the public school system, some faculty members expressed concern that the University is not doing enough. History Professor Walter Licht said he is glad to have raised his 15-year-old daughter in West Philadelphia, but explained that he did not find the area's public school system adequate after pre-school. "Like many faculty members, I love this neighborhood and chose to stay here but sent my child to a private school," he said. Licht said that while the University has made attempts to improve the school system, there has not been the "necessary sustained level of commitment" to make concrete improvements to the system. Licht believes the University needs to adopt a relationship with one school and to focus its efforts on offering guidance "not in an imperial manner but in offering services and help." He said that if the University's effort were focused on establishing or improving one school -- either public or private-- there would be a viable option for faculty and community members. "The stability of the neighborhood rests on increasing home ownership," Licht said. "One way to increase this is through good school options and in terms of schools, the University has not done enough." Social Work Professor Dennis Culhane, a West Philadelphia resident with two sons, also expressed concern that there are not enough adequate school choices in the area. Culhane's two sons attend a "desegregated" preschool program in the Wilson school which he helped to create with other neighborhood members. He added that the small program -- made up of half African American students and half non-African American students -- has been highly successful. Culhane is now working to establish a similar program at the primary school level. If this is not successful, he said that he will choose to send his sons to private school because there are not attractive public school options after the fourth grade. "We've seen a lot of people leave the neighborhood when their kids reach the primary school level," Culhane said. He stressed that the University needs to focus on creating a strong school plan for the community -- "one that goes beyond just sending undergraduates to public schools for tutoring." Culhane added that if the University hopes to have a thriving community there must be a school option for the middle class in the neighborhood.