{"id":101111,"date":"2026-01-30T21:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/101111\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T21:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:55:18","slug":"how-to-give-feedback-on-philadelphias-school-closure-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/101111\/","title":{"rendered":"How to give feedback on Philadelphia\u2019s school closure proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter<\/a> to keep up with news on the city\u2019s public school system.<\/p>\n

Do you have thoughts on the Philadelphia school district\u2019s proposal to close 20 schools? School leaders say they want to hear from you.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s school closure plan<\/a>, which officials released last week, would result in nearly 5,000 students having their schools closed and several others schools being relocated or co-located to other buildings.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Tony Watlington has said the plan will result in better educational opportunities for students, including more access to AP classes, more pre-kindergarten seats, and more capacity in some of the district\u2019s most-desirable schools. It would also help move students out of deteriorating buildings.<\/p>\n

But Watlington has not yet officially presented that plan \u2014 which has quickly become controversial<\/a> \u2014 to the Board of Education, which will ultimately decide which schools close. Before he does so, district leaders have said they want to meet with students, educators, families, and community members connected with each school they want to close.<\/p>\n

The district plans to host virtual and in-person community meetings with each school it proposes closing. Meetings will begin on Feb. 2 and go until Feb. 21. <\/p>\n

Two district-wide town halls are planned for President\u2019s Day, Feb. 16. <\/p>\n

Watlington has said he will formally share the plan with the board on Feb. 26. <\/p>\n

Several board members said during their meeting Thursday that they plan to attend some of the meetings and hope others do as well. \u201cThe community has a right to speak out,\u201d said board member Cheryl Harper.<\/p>\n

Anyone can register for the community meetings, including virtual options, on the district\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where and when they\u2019ll be: <\/p>\n

Week 1 \u2014 Monday, Feb. 2 to Saturday, Feb. 7<\/p>\n

Feb. 2: Russell Conwell Middle School, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m, Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 2: Warren G. Harding Middle School, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 2: Robert Morris Middle School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 2: Paul Robeson High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 3: General Louis Wagner Elementary, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 3: John Welsh Elementary, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 3: Penn Treaty High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 3 Lankenau High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 4: Parkway NW High School, 6200 Crittenden St., 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 4: Lankenau High School, 201 Spring Lane, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 5: Russell Conwell Middle, 1849 E. Clearfield St., 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 5: AMY at Northwest, 6000 Ridge Ave., 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 6: Laura Waring Elementary, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 6: Overbrook Elementary School, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 7: Blankenburg Elementary, 4600 W. Girard Ave., 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 7: William T. Tilden Middle School, 6601 Elmwood Ave., 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 7: Paul Robeson High School, 4125 Ludlow St., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 7: Parkway West High School, 4725 Fairmont Ave #2, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Week 2 \u2014 Monday, Feb. 9 to Thursday, Feb. 12<\/p>\n

Feb. 9: Blankenburg Elementary School, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 9: Fitler Academics Plus Elementary School, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 9: James R. Ludlow Elementary, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 9: Motivation High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: John B. Stetson Middle, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: William T. Tilden Middle, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: Parkway West High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 10: Parkway NW High School, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Pennypacker Elementary School, 1858 Washington Lane, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 11: Motivation High School, 5900 Baltimore Ave., 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 12: Penn Treaty High School, 600 E. Thompson St., 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 12: John B. Stetson Middle, 3200 B St., 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Week 3 \u2014 Monday, Feb. 16 (President\u2019s Day) to Saturday, Feb. 21<\/p>\n

Feb. 16: Community-wide Town Hall, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Location TBD<\/p>\n

Feb. 16: Community-wide Town Hall, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 18: General Louis Wagner Elementary, 1701 W. Chelten Ave., 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 18: John Welsh Elementary, 2331 N. 4th St., 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 19: Overbrook Elementary School, 2032 N. 62nd St., 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 19: James R. Ludlow Elementary School, 550 Master St., 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 20: Pennypacker Elementary, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 20: Academy for the Middle Years at NW, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Virtual<\/p>\n

Feb. 21: Laura Waring Elementary School, 1801 Green St., 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 21: Fitler Academics Plus Elementary, 140 W Seymour St., 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 21: Warren G. Harding Middle School, 2000 Wakeling St., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Feb. 21: Robert Morris Middle School, 2600 W Thompson St., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., In-Person<\/p>\n

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter to keep up with news on the city\u2019s public school system.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7623,539,28,69,71,70,7625,4525,16381,3315,3316],"class_list":["post-101111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-chalkbeat","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philly","tag-protest","tag-school-closures","tag-students","tag-teachers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}