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The first floor of The Ethical Society building in Rittenhouse Square was packed with Helen Gym’s friends and family, media, and public school supporters on Monday afternoon as Gym announced she would run for an at-large City Council seat. The founder of Parents United for Public Education is seen as one of the most vocal advocates of public education in Philadelphia. Enthusiasm and an endorsement from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers’ president Jerry Jordan were emphatic.
“The Federation of Public Teachers enthusiastically endorses [Gym]. We will support her campaign with the same energy and commitment that she has shown in her fight for quality public education in Philadelphia,” Jordan said. “Helen is by far the most qualified to speak to the challenges facing public schools.”
Sadie Sprague-Lott, a 2014 South Philly Review Rising Star and resident of the 700 block of South Ninth Street, was there to vouch for Gym, too. The senior at Science Leadership Academy said “I’m here today to tell you about one of Philadelphia’s most dedicated, fierce and tireless advocates – she’s passionate about making things better for all of Philadelphia and puts her whole heart into everything that she does.”
Sprague-Lott was at South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St., in solidarity for the Asian-American students who were targeted with race-based violence in 2009-’10.
“The youth trusted her and admired her, and they knew that she had their best interests at heart. And that is why I’m so honored to cast my first vote ever for Helen,” the Bella Vista dweller said, with the crowd screaming its support.
Gym’s three children stood at the podium on a full stage to introduce their mother. Carina, 17, Aimon, 15, and Taryn, 12, are students at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School and Central High School. The family resides near 21st and Arch streets in Center City.
“Ever since we were little, she’s taken our family to rallies, to farmers’ markets, she was always there with us and stressed the importance of our education,” Aimon, the middle child, read. “We think it’s about time she expands her influence to a citywide level – our mom, the remarkable Helen Gym.”
In her speech, Gym cited her experience growing up in Ohio with Korean immigrant parents, who stood beside her on stage, and all of the public benefits she reaped as a child (libraries, parks, rec centers and schools). She taught at Lowell Elementary in Olney, has partnered with Asian Americans United and helped found the Philadelphia Public School Notebook. But the best part of her speech was when she responded to a common question she fields.
“You know, people sometimes ask me if I am angry. You know what? I am. Aren’t you? We live in a city with a crippling rate of poverty. We live in a city where teachers are being demonized and scapegoated,” she said.
“We live in a city where a child died of asthma in a city school where no nurse was on duty, and where college applications plummeted amongst our most vulnerable students because we laid off school counselors,” Gym elaborated. “We live in a city where we incarcerate at rates that shock the senses, where family lives are destroyed, families torn apart and young lives upended by a school to prison pipeline that is as toxic as it is immoral. As the saying goes, if you are not angry, you are not paying attention.”
Gym told SPR she had recently attended a cultural event at Southern that inspired her and encouraged her belief that the fight she’s taken on is worth it.
“This past weekend, I was at South Philadelphia High where hundreds of families had gathered to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year in a Lunar New Year celebration hosted by [Boat People SOS Delaware Valley]. BPSOS, along with Asian Americans United, responded to the violence at South Philly High in 2009,” Gym explained. “Many of the original organizations involved in ’09 were now there to celebrate and support a vibrant multicultural community. We took a situation in which the School District and school administrators viewed wide-scale school violence as normal and worked hand in hand with new leadership to turn that around and at least have a chance to work on a new, welcoming and inclusive culture that benefits everyone at the school.”
Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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