Science Leadership Academy at Beeber students led peers from Parkway West High School on a tour of their historic Overbrook building Monday morning.
At the end of the current academic year, Parkway West will close and merge into SLA Beeber as part of the School District of Philadelphia’s controversial consolidation effort. Students from the schools have already begun interacting, in just the second week of the new term.
A similar process will play out across the city as the school system prepares to implement a 10-year, $3 billion initiative to shutter 17 schools and reinvest in upgrades at other facilities, district leaders say.
Some of that work will happen through School Transition Committees, which are being set up at schools that will be closing or beginning a phase-out at the end of the year, as well as those receiving new students next year. Such groups are being established at 50 schools over the coming weeks.
Administrators say they are hoping to find a mix of teachers, staff, parents, students and community members for each committee. Applications opened Monday.
“Why are the School Transition Committees important?” Superintendent Tony Watlington said. “Successful transitions are more than a plan. It's about people and their lived experiences and their ideas about how to make these transitions work well.”
Watlington told reporters in remarks at SLA Beeber that the district wants to “wrap our arms around every single family” affected by the changes. He said his team will maintain an internal dashboard to track the needs and academic performance of every impacted student.
In June, the district hired Assistant Superintendent and former Philadelphia principal Shakeera Warthen-Canty to head up a transition office within the district.
She said the committees will discuss transportation, safety, athletics, building projects and other topics. Families will have the chance to visit their new school, and events will be held to engage the community, Warthen-Canty added.
Parkway West Principal William Brown said he began meeting with his SLA Beeber colleague, Christopher Johnson, last school year, shortly after the facilities master plan, known as “Accelerating Opportunity,” was released.
“I'd be lying if I said this was an easy time for the Parkway West community,” Brown said Monday. “The word merger makes this seem pretty easy, pretty simple, but there's a lot of uncertainty out there.
“But Principal Johnson and I, we do call on the district to provide the necessary resources to be able to make sure that this is a smooth transition for our young people.”
Up to 20 people will be selected for each School Transition Committee, and interested individuals must apply before Sept. 18, according to Warthen-Canty. The committees will start up in mid-October and meet at least once a month, she said.
Online applications are available at philasd.org/fpp, and members of the public can also submit general input on the transition process through that website.
MORE: Superintendent Watlington talks academics, cellphone bans and school closures
