Philadelphia schools violence doesn't deter volunteers

Philadelphia public schools reported significantly higher crime rates in 2007 than in previous years, but some say those statistics distort the actual environment in the schools.

Penn officials and students who have worked in Philadelphia schools are worried that the latest round of statistics might deter potential mentors from volunteering.

Although overall enrollment dropped by 1,000 students between 2006 and 2007, Philadelphia schools reported a 5-percent increase in dangerous incidents, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's recently released annual report.

The number of reported arrests rose to 3,253 - up 20 percent from a year ago. The number of "persistently dangerous" schools, or those reporting at least one incident for every 50 students enrolled, went from 12 to 20.

West Philadelphia High School - where Penn students often tutor - has been on the list of "persistently dangerous" schools for the past six years.

But Samantha Foster, who directs a University-outreach program there through Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships, said her experience with the school has been "nothing but positive."

"Focusing on West being a 'persistently dangerous' school does no good for the students," Foster said. "I would hate to think that labeling schools that way would deter someone from working at one."

The label certainly hasn't deterred College senior A.J. Schiera. He has volunteered in multiple public schools throughout Philadelphia over the past three years, assisting teachers and tutoring kids.

"There's myths and truths in what statistics reveal about school life on a day-to-day basis," Schiera said.

He said he thinks stereotypes of West Philadelphia schools need to be broken down, especially among aspiring Philadelphia community school volunteers.

"If some Penn students think they're walking into a violent arena of chaos, that's not true," he said.

Schiera acknowledges that some of his fellow volunteers "have been intimidated by the atmosphere."

But he has only ever witnessed one dangerous incident in a West Philadelphia school: a student fight at University City High School, which moved off the "persistently dangerous" list last year.

"It's not that students want to fight," Schiera said. But teachers aren't always around to control student interactions, he said, so small fights can escalate into more dangerous incidents.

Foster also said the government should invest more energy into understanding the deeper reasons that drive PhiProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0

delphia students to crime, such as an unstable home environment, and fund more proactive solutions - such as outreach volunteer programs.

"A punitive disciplinary system doesn't necessarily address those issues," she said.

An alternate solution, she said, might be found in a pilot program she ran, which gave students who would otherwise be suspended the option of coming to school on Saturdays and doing community service or receiving mentoring.

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