Perhaps the most difficult test for kids at the School District of Philadelphia’s first back-to-school event was deciding which toppings to get on their ice cream.
The district’s third annual “Ring the Bell PHL” bus tour kicked off Monday morning at Martin Luther King High School, and a free Bassetts ice cream stand was among the most popular tables, at least among students.
“The start of the school year is one of my absolute favorite times of the year,” said Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr., who is beginning his second academic year in charge of the district. “We get a chance every single year to have a do-over, to have a fresh start.”
Six pop-ups and four “mega events” are planned in the coming weeks to help families prepare for Tuesday, Sept. 4, the first day of classes.
At all of the stops, children can get free backpacks with school supplies, and parents can enroll new students and sign up for the district’s online portal.
Free state-mandated immunizations and sports physicals are available at the mega events, which also feature food, music, face painting, balloon animals and other activities for children at no cost.
The mega events are set to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 4 at George Washington High School’s football field; Aug. 8 at the Gratz Supersite; Aug. 12 at the School of the Future; and Aug. 18 at Roosevelt Mall.
Pop-ups are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Aug. 2 at J. Finnegan Playground; Aug. 7 at Hillside Recreation Center; Aug. 9 at South Philadelphia High School; Aug. 11 at Bridesburg Recreation Center; Aug. 14 at Overbrook Educational Center; and Aug. 16 at Willard Elementary School.
“We’re going into the new school year with a bit more momentum,” Watlington said, noting a 3% increase in student attendance last term and 265 fewer high school drop-outs compared to the prior year. “We know we can do much greater work together this school year.”
Educators will also be adapting to new math textbooks and instructional materials, part of a $70 million investment the Board of Education approved to purchase what Watlington called “the very best curricula available in reading, math and science anywhere in the United States.”
The new English curriculum will be implemented in the 2024-25 school year, with science and special education to be phased in later, district officials have said.
“Teachers are hard at work getting trained,” Watlington said. “They’ve been acclimated to that new curriculum. It will take us some time to get really good at it.”
Mayor Jim Kenney, who also spoke at Monday’s event, encouraged families enrolled in the city’s PHLConnectED internet program to switch over the Affordable Connectivity Program, a similar federal initiative.
His administration launched PHLConnectED to get families access to the internet to allow for remote learning when in-person classes were suspended at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The program, which provided free service, ended Monday.
Households who participate in ACP can receive a maximum of $30 off their internet bill and $100 toward a laptop or other device. Anyone with a child in Philadelphia public schools is eligible for the program.
Those interested in applying can go to getacp.org/phl or call 211.
