Hello All:
What you see before you is a flyer announcing a community meeting that takes place on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, AT 4:00 pm TO SUPPORT TRANSFORMING THE NOW CLOSED GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL INTO GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL
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Click "ADD YOUR NAME" and sign the petition. It's about doing something GOOD for our future generation....
Stalwart Germantown Residents Work to Transform Defunct Germantown High into Germantown Charter School
By Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Almost since it was announced the
esteemed old school was being closed, a small group of community
stalwarts have been actively working on how to prevent it from
happening. If their enthusiasm and dedication could have been
bottled, it would have been an energy pill for the entire city of
Philadelphia.
However, a melange of community apathy
saw their efforts go down in defeat, and indeed the school was closed
and put on the chopping block for sale in 2013.
Most others would
have been discouraged, and have thrown their hands up in despair by
now, but not this steadfast and devoted little cadre of educators,
community leaders, activists and artists. Their devotion to the
community of Germantown has not been dampened. Even when the SRC
turned down their initial proposal to transform the school into a
Senior High School which offered Academic and Career educational
opportunites in the original building, while transforming the annex
building into a combination retail, restaurant, boutique hotel and
residential complex, the revenues from which would have been recycled
back into the school, to augment teacher salaries as well as provide
for equipment, materials and supplies for the students.
Developer, Ken Weinstein, who had
worked with them on the plans, had presented the offer to do the
development for a minimal amount of funds, if there had been a way to
obtain the building from the school board. It was a brilliant and
creative concept, which would have reinstated the only high school in
Germantown back to the community, and simultaneously provide a
broader range of career and academic opportunites for the students.
For some unknown reason, the SRC turned the proposal down. The group, not to be thwarted by this
setback, queried what alternatives there could be to transforming the
site, and, in the midst of negotiations were summarily informed that
the building had been sold to Concordia College. It was later learned that
Concordia did not want the building, but the SRC insisted on their
taking it as part of a package deal for obtaining the other buildings
they did want.
Even with this new twist of fate, the
Germantown High School Coalition – as they have now become known –
continued to work. This time, in negotiation with Concordia for a
possible lease/purchase of the property, with a view towards possible
refinance at the end of a three year period, giving them sufficient
time to raise the revenue, while simultaneously providing much needed
educational programs in the Germantown community.
Faced now with having to come up with a
proposal for a Charter School, which is tentatively named the
Germantown Community Charter School, this steadfast crew, headed by
Julie S. Carroll, Lisa Hopkins, Sherrine Wilkins, Craig Fulmore, Joe
Budd, Vera Primus, Michael Hickson, Bob Seeley, Gloria Dulan-Wilson, among others, has been meeting round the clock, all over
Germantown, wherever space allowed – but most consistently at Rose
Petals Restaurant on Chelten Ave., to hammer out a curriculum,
proposal and a plan that will be both innovative, creative,
comprehensive, and compliant with the rules set down by the board.
And
while they are doing a yeoman's job, they need the help of the
community to make it happen. This is no time for apathy, wait and see or
negative predictions. This no time for fence sitting or sidelining.
Our youth, our children need us to take a stand for them - through our
signatures, our support, our voice our votes. Our children, our youth
are the most precious thing we have - they are 100% of our present and
our future. What we do or don't do now will affect them (and us) for
the rest of their lives.
You can
sign this petition whether or not you live in Germantown, or have
attended Germantown High School. This goes way beyond territory and
strikes at the heart of so many issues assailing our communities as a
whole - who does the community belong to? What do you want for your
future and the future of your children? A system that is responsive and
respectful of you and your rights? This is the time to stand up and be
counted.
Above and below are copies of the petition which is being
circulated at community and civic gatherings, as well as churches and other places of worship; it is also on FaceBook Germantown High School Coalition, and can be signed online.
Your support and signatures are urgently needed. We are also looking for letters of support from individuals and community groups
that need to be addressed to the School Board. You can either originate your own, or go on line and register your support for the
transformation of Germantown High School into Germantown Community
Charter School.
For those who are interested, or who
want to become involved in this endeavor, there will be a meeting on
Saturday, October 25 at 4:00 PM at
THE DANIEL E. RUMPH II RECREATION CENTER (formerly known as the Mallery
Recreation Center), Philadelphia, PA (corner of Morton & Johnson
St. Please come out and
show your support. Refreshments will be served.
We Support a Charter School in the Germantown High School Building
To be delivered to Charter Schools Office, School District of PhiladelphiaPetition Background
In June 2013, the School District of Philadelphia closed
Germantown High School and put the property up for sale. The
closure hurt students, who were left with fewer school choices, the
neighborhood, which lost a beloved institution, and a shopping
district poised for revival. It left a spiritual, physical, and
emotional gap in the Germantown community.
The Germantown High School Coalition, a partnership of community groups and concerned residents, has been working to fill that gap. We propose a high school serving 1000 students from the neighborhood. Using a project-based approach, the school will provide a strong academic foundation, along with career and technical skills.
We need your support as we apply for recognition as a charter school. Our school would be the major tenant in a restored historic Germantown High School building. With a new school and a transformed building and campus, Germantown High School, now empty and lifeless, can become a center of neighborhood revitalization. - We need 1000 signatures!
MoveOn.org for additional information call: 215.828.5176
The Germantown High School Coalition, a partnership of community groups and concerned residents, has been working to fill that gap. We propose a high school serving 1000 students from the neighborhood. Using a project-based approach, the school will provide a strong academic foundation, along with career and technical skills.
We need your support as we apply for recognition as a charter school. Our school would be the major tenant in a restored historic Germantown High School building. With a new school and a transformed building and campus, Germantown High School, now empty and lifeless, can become a center of neighborhood revitalization. - We need 1000 signatures!
MoveOn.org for additional information call: 215.828.5176
Sign this petition
I, the undersigned, support the Germantown High School
Coalition's application for a charter school in the historic
Germantown High School building, which was recently purchased by
The Concordia Group. Germantown needs its own high school to serve
students from the neighborhood.
Click "ADD YOUR NAME" and sign the petition. It's about doing something GOOD for our future generation....
In this realm of the 21st Century, when so many are suffering loss after loss; it's heartening to know that there are still those who are willing to take a principled stand for the future of our community's children. It's even more encouraging when whole communities band together to be the transformation they're always talking about. This is the opportunity to be part of greatness. Sign the petition and come to the meeting. Your voices and your support are essential.
ADDITIONALLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE EITHER IN NEED, OR KNOW OF THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED OF A WARM COAT FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER MONTHS
MEN WHO CARE OF GERMANTOWN
ARE HOSTING A WINTER COAT DISTRIBUTION AT DANIEL RUMPH II PARK JUST PRIOR TO THE MEETING -
FROM 10:00AM TO 4:00PM.
THIS IS TO PROVIDE THE NEEDIEST WHO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD
A WARM WINTER COAT
FOR THEMSELVES OR THEIR CHILDREN WITH FREE, NEW COATS.
THERE ARE SO MANY POSITIVE THINGS OCCURRING IN THIS COMMUNITY - COME BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
www.gloriadulanwilson.blogspot.com/ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS
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