Philly School Search

Goodbye

Len Lipkin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:31:52 +0000

After more than 2 years and 300 articles, I’m stepping away from the keyboard. Philly School Search was always about documenting my process of searching for a school for my son. As you may know, my son started kindergarten last September. Since then, I have written about our transition into kindergarten, but I feel like I have gotten to the point where I have run out of new things to say.

I intend to leave Philly School Search up for future generations of Philadelphia parents. I’ll try to keep publishing the open house calendar and school selection reports submitted by parents. Other than that, don’t expect much new here.

If you are a parent embarking on the school selection process, you should begin at the Start Here page. There, you will be able to see a school search timeline and links to key articles and resources for parents considering Philadelphia-area public, private, or charter schools. Of course, if you have a specific topic or school in mind, you can use the search box or peruse our site tag index.

I do want to leave the door open in one way–I have a lot of great ideas for how an organization can expand upon my original vision for this blog. If your organization is interested in taking over Philly School Search, please contact me.

Who knows… In eight years maybe I’ll resurrect this blog and write about the process of applying for special admission high schools….

Acknowledgments

If you thought that this has been the effort of one crusading dad, you are mistaken. There are a lot of people without whom this blog would not have been possible. First and foremost, my wife has been a saint tolerating the time I have dedicated to this project and the inevitable lack of privacy that it has brought on. She has been a great editor, preventing me from publishing certain posts that I am sure I would have regretted. After her, I’d like to thank, in no particular order:

The parents of ECP class of 2011. As the parents of the closest friends of my to-be-kindergartner, their (anonymized) stories have been frequently and unabashedly co-opted for this blog. My conversations and interactions with them inspired probably half of the posts on this blog. Most directly, they inspired Birthday Party Retrospective, and No Room for PC in School Choice.
Anil Bridgpal, for opening my eyes to some simple and effective ways to modify the presentation of the blog to make its content more accessible and user friendly. This nice layout and the “popular posts” widget among many other enhancements were thanks to his input and encouragement.
To the contributing authors who so generously shared their own experiences and expertise. They are Barbara Klaus-Blackeney from ADVIS, Lisa Machiano, Marta Rowh. We also had numerous anonymous contributions as well.
Miriam Hill and Kristen Graham of The Philadelphia Inquirer. From articles about and links to this blog to advice on topics and writing, their input was tremendously influential in the style and popularity of this site.
To the parents at Rodeph Shalom, Judy, Deborah, Brett, Holly, Kate, David, Jamie, Andy, Colleen, Lysa, Sarah, Vicki, Ivy, Matt, and several others who encouraged my public speaking and gave me lots of ideas and referrals.
Catherine Collins, for basically letting me build on much of the work she already created for the Mount Airy Parent’s Network
Ryan Bowers of Frontline Solutions and Philly School Match, for spending so much time brainstorming ideas with me.
The many folks who fed me story ideas, especially Amara and Ellen, who really kept me on my toes.

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The Single Most Important Thing To Know About a School Search

Len Lipkin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:19:30 +0000

One of the goals of this blog is to help people lower their anxiety level related to school selections. Unfortunately, due to the paradox of choice, sometimes I feel like the impact that I make is quite the opposite. Last week I spoke to a group of moms about the school choice process, as I have done several times in the past. More and more when I lead these discussions, I am finding that at times people are actually getting whipped up into more of an anxious frenzy. On the one hand, parents are hearing about the complex process of identifying schools for the first time, which is anxiety inducing by itself. Pepper that with a few folks in the crowd floating horror stories (often rumors at best and downright false at worst), and I feel the tension in the room rising each passing minute.

Well this post is a reaction to that. If you read this blog, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll say that again. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. Seriously.

How can I say this?

First and foremost, it is widely documented that the best predictor of a child’s educational success is their family, not their school. I feel confident in saying that since you are reading this blog, you are dedicating energy to your child’s education before it even begins. You are an involved parent. Once your child starts school, you are more likely to pay attention to you child’s school. You are more likely to check homework assignments. You are more likely to reach out to your kids’ teachers. You are more likely to show up for parent teacher night. You are more likely to call the principal if you feel that there is a problem in the school. This is critical to your child’s success, whether you are at the most resource-strapped public school or the richest private school.

Which brings me to my second point. Please don’t get sucked into the sensationalist headlines (yes I am guilty), because those headlines often jump the gun (guilty again). In other cases, they focus on negativity instead of real progress that is being made all over the region. You read this blog, so I think that means you can think for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Visit schools. Talk to teachers and administrators. Connect with grassroots parents’ organizations working to improve schools. Once you are comfortable that any given school will be a safe environment, I think that you’ll find that there are a LOT of good teachers and good administrators out there, in all types of schools. The reality is that there are also problems that will come up at your school. Even the wealthiest private school will have issues that arise. And, going back to the first point, as an involved parent, you will work actively to get that issue resolved.

So let yourself relax a bit. Yes, this is anxiety inducing process, but if you bookmark this site (*wink*), you and your kid(s) are going to be just fine.

Photo by Liza Lagman Sperl

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Schools in Decline = City In Decline

Len Lipkin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:55:35 +0000

There is a lot of buzz recently in the local media about how parents really really really want to stay in the city but that the school district is making it harder and harder. I had written about it many many times before, and then Philadelphia Magazine’s blog got in on the act late last month. The provocative article from Joe Mathis ran with the tagline:

“If you’re a young, college-educated professional parent—the kind Philadelphia is so proud to welcome—the message is this: Run.”

And that article led to others, including a follow-up in the Philadelphia Magazine blog, where Gene Marks responded that fixing the city’s schools would fix the city.

Everyone … everyone … wants what’s best for their kids. They want to send their kids to the best schools possible. They want their kids to do better than them, to go on to college, to be educated. Educated people succeed more in life than non-educated people.If Philadelphia were to have a world-class school system, what would happen? People would move into the city because they’d want their kids to go to those schools. Big companies would be drawn into town because their employees could live in a place where they could send their kids to a great school system. Small businesses, like restaurants, dry cleaners and clothing shops would pop up all around to serve this growing population. Real estate prices would go up. Construction would increase. Balloons and confetti would rain down from the sky! And tax revenues would increase too. So the city could then pay for its infrastructure and its “business growth” initiatives, whatever they may be. No need for the Economy League to be doing all that. It’s the schools, stupid.

It’s a compelling argument, and one that. as a parent and life-long Philadelphian, I hope is taken to heart by our city’s and school’s leaders.

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Come See Me Next Week @ Philly Mothers of Preschoolers [EVENT]

Len Lipkin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:42:09 +0000

Philly Mothers of Preschoolers invites you to their February EVENING meeting presenting ME!, Here’s the event description:

Len Lipkin, founder of the blog and information website PhillySchoolSearch.com, will lead a discussion

with parents of young children on the topic of identifying, visiting, evaluating, applying for,
and ultimately choosing a school for your child.

February 16th (please RSVP by 2/13/12)
7:30 – 9pm

Pilgrim Church
3815 Terrace Street
Manyunk

SORRY NO CHILDCARE PROVIDED

More Info and how to RSVP…

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Co-Operative Homeschooling

Len Lipkin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:29:05 +0000

I wrote before about co-operative schools being sort of a bridge for families who like the idea of homeschooling but for various reasons want a more traditional classroom environment for their kids. Closer to the the homeschooling side of that continuium are homeschooling co-ops like The Mt. Airy Homeschooling Co-op. Whereas a co-operative school allows (expects) parents to get involved in school and curriculum management, homeschool co-ops are designed to provide opportunities for broader social engagement and collaborative learning for homeschooling families.

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New Jersey Bedevils Philadelphia Parents

Len Lipkin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:16:57 +0000

I am a Jersey boy. I was born in Philly, but my parents moved to the NJ suburbs before I started kindergarten (I’ll give you one guess why). I had a great education at one of the best districts in the region. I had a pretty good experience and I have good memories of the place. In fact, I drove by my old house last month for pure nostalgia. Still, when I was engaging in my school search, and I considered moving to the suburbs, NJ never really made it onto my radar. Miriam Hill, on her Inquirer blog, had the same lament earlier this month. Sure, Lower Merion is considered one of the top districts in the country, but some of the nearby Jersey districts are just as good, and relatively free of spying scandals and allegations of systemic racism. So why not NJ? It wasn’t the commute–that wasn’t going to be any different for my family in deciding between the NJ and PA ‘burbs. I think personally it had to do with my perception (founded or unfounded) of the relative urbanity of the near-PA suburbs. Families who want to stay in the city are doing so because they appreciate what the city has to offer to their lifestyle and their kids social and cultural environment. If they are reluctantly moving to the suburbs, PA simply is simply more palatable than NJ, where the Cherry Hill Mall is a center of life and sprawl is the norm. In PA there is of course the KOP Mall, but the KOP Mall is simply a destination, not a hub. PA burbs have several highly respected colleges and universities, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, the Keswick Theater, and Milkboy; NJ has little higher education (save for Rutgers Camden), the Cherry Hill Mall, the Moorestown Mall, and Ponzios Diner. Need I say more for any urbanite parent?

What do you think? Are you considering a move to NJ? Why or why not?

Photo “Ben Franklin Bridge at Sunset” provided courtesy of Doug Stewart a.k.a. @zamoose

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Why I Chose Frankford Friends: 2012-01-01 School Selection Report

PSS Community — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:12:56 +0000

This is a snapshot of one parent’s school choice. You can read other parent testimonials and help other parents. Take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to tell PSS and our readers about your school choice!

What school did you decide on? Frankford Friends

Calendar year your child entered 2009

Grade your child entered Pre-k

What neighborhood are you in? South Philly

What schools did you consider? Friends Select, Meredith, The Philadelphia School, Independence Charter

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Reputation, School Performance (test scores, success of graduates), Teacher Quality, Diversity

What first attracted you to the school? Small size, the welcoming atmosphere, quality of education & affordability

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? Quality of education & affordability

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be Liberal

Please share anything else about your experience Frankford Friends is to our family the perfect school. My son is in a class of 14 students, each recognized and appreciated for their own individuality. This school is more affordable than most private schools and I believe that leads greater diversity as well as more parents that make a conscious sacrifice to send their children here and are very involved in the school. It’s like the little school that could… and does.

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Here We Go Again

Len Lipkin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:41:47 +0000

Penn Alexander catchment parents once again forced to camp out in the insane weather to secure a seat… PAS kindergarten line started this morning | West Philly Local.

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Recycle Your Way to a Better School

Len Lipkin — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:38:36 +0000

Recyclebank is a rewards programs that has partnered with the city of Philadelphia to promote recycling. They accomplish this by rewarding participants with points for recycling, which are redeemable for goods and services like gift cards or coupons. Last year, Recyclebank introduced its Green Schools Program, allowing schools to propose projects and recyclebank members to donate their points to local schools for those projects. From the Recyclebank website…

The Recyclebank Green Schools Program is designed to promote green education and encourage innovative thinking. Schools can raise funds for their projects by getting point donations, which will be converted into dollars and awarded to fund the project. Green education is so important, and that’s why Recyclebank will match every $1 earned.

Thanks to a groundswell of support from The West Philadelphia Coalition for Neighborhood Schools WPCNS, the Lea Elementary project has raised the most funds of any Recyclebank Green Schools in the country! Close behind is the C.W. Henry Elementary project with with $192 still needed. Several other local schools also are raising money this way.

Although this effort is cool, the impact is negligible. What is really cool are the breadth and scope of all of the projects being taken on by WPCNS of other parent organizations across the city. Parent grassroots efforts are gaining momentum.

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Why I Chose Friends Select: 2011-11-20 School Selection Report

PSS Community — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:08:05 +0000

What school did you decide on? Friends Select School

Calendar year your child entered 2007

Grade your child entered K

What neighborhood are you in? Center City

What schools did you consider? French International School

What factors were most important to you? Tuition, Reputation, Teaching Philosophy, Public Eduction, School Performance (test scores, success of graduates), Teacher Quality, Principal Quality, Special Programs (language immersion, music, etc.)

What first attracted you to the school? The way my kids reacted. They begged me to let them go.

What were the critical factors that led to your choice? the kids are kind to each other and the teachers are nice too. The kids have never gotten below A+.

Did you relocate in order to choose this school? No

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be liberal

Please share anything else about your experience it was wonderful. I have no words to describe it.

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Philly School Search

Goodbye

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The Single Most Important Thing To Know About a School Search

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Schools in Decline = City In Decline

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Why I Chose Frankford Friends: 2012-01-01 School Selection Report

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