Catchment area a concern for locals

Many fear that they will be elft out of the region serviced by the school. Although the exact boundaries of the Penn-supported public school have not yet been drawn up, more than 150 concerned parents, residents and neighbors met last night to discuss the implications of the school to their community. The meeting of the University City Community Council came on the heels of Monday's Philadelphia School District decision to commit $20 million for construction of the pre-K-8 school on the Divinity School site at 42nd and Spruce streets. Members of the community came to voice their opinions in the Calvary Church at 48th and Baltimore streets. The evening's discussion centered mostly on the contentious issue of the as-yet-unannounced catchment area, which will decide who can attend the school. Expectations are high for the school, which University officials hope will serve as a model for neighborhood schools throughout Philadelphia. Penn has promised to provide curricular and instructional assistance from the Graduate School of Education and annual financial support of $700,000 for its expected 700 students. Many parents are afraid that the area they live in will not fall under the school district's borders. "To have [the school] right in the middle of your neighborhood and then not be able to send your kids there would get people upset," Squirrel Hill Community Association President Amy Williams said. And others, distrustful and wary of the University's motives, were concerned that the school would serve a Penn-affiliated, wealthy minority of the University City community. "I still feel very uncomfortable about this catchment situation. I still feel that this school is going to be an upper-middle class type of situation," Walnut Hill resident Andrea Maxwell said. "I think that the faculty of Penn will benefit more from this school than the actual public schools." The meeting recognized the necessity of being united in bringing their issues to the table with both the Philadelphia School District and University officials, UCCC President Frank Murphy said. "For the community groups to have any kind of an impact they have to put up a united front," Spruce Hill resident Robin Dorfman said. "Penn has proved in the past that if you don't throw an awfully big log in front of their machine, they just roll right over." However, other members of the audience called on the community to bite the bullet on self-interest and face the reality that though they might not be able to send their kids to the school, it would still have a positive impact. "Sometimes, if you want things to work you have to get out of the way," local resident and former City Council candidate Prentice Cole said. "My concern is that you cannot have major impact on an area such as University City if you spread it out too much." Since it was billed as a community meeting, some in attendance came with the belief that the University would not send a representative. But Penn's Director of Community Relations Glenn Bryan and Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official, were both at the meeting to listen to the community's concerns and provide information on the ongoing project. Bryan reiterated that although the University was committed to serving the neighborhood, there is no way to make everyone happy. "It will serve the neighborhood in which we're in and it will affect other schools in the neighborhood," Bryan said. Other concerns included the imminent loss of green space and a dog park used by many area residents.