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When first grader Louis Rodriguez dons his glasses, his classmates at Edwin M. Stanton School, 1700 Christian St., dub him “The Professor.”
He and the youngsters learned March 29 the nickname’s lifetime will extend beyond June, as the School Reform Commission decided to keep their South of South institution open after recommending its closure in Nov. 2’s Facilities Master Plan unveiling. The body’s announcement gave the students a joyous start to their spring recess, from which they returned Monday.
“I would have been mad,” Louis, of the 1800 block of Carpenter Street, said that day of his attitude had the School District of Philadelphia forced him and the 86-year-old site’s nearly 250 other pupils to find a new learning location.
Fury is absent from all classrooms, yet most learners are present, as Stanton has achieved a 95 percent attendance rate under first-year principal Stacey Burnley. She and community figures spent the last five months averting the shuttering of a facility whose academic record had made its inclusion on the 10-school closure list an oddity. The master plan avoided making individual itemizations in trying to take the district’s capacity rate from 68 to 85 percent by 2014, but its age and registration, the latter being 200 below the recommended citywide minimum, likely hampered Stanton. The student population, though, has obtained Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act for eight straight years, and 80 percent of the scholars registered advanced or proficient reading or math scores on ’10’s Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.
“I’m thrilled the SRC saw the glass as half-full and not half-empty,” Burnley said as Anne Olvera’s sixth-graders worked on writing projects.
Two especially ambitious scribes, Zafir Fuller and Yasir Harris, used their creativity March 3 to build Stanton’s case, which included a Nov. 12 letter-writing campaign at Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 744 S. 17th St. The boys joined other Supporters of Stanton at the commission’s Center City office for their last large-scale means to escape a forlorn fate. As their school led the occasion for the 10 spots to plead for reprieves, they figured music might make matters more poignant.
“We needed to take people from thinking they know about Stanton to knowing about Stanton because this is the best school in the district,” Yasir, of the 1500 block of Ellsworth Street said.
“This place is very important to us,” West Philadelphia’s Zafir said.
Their rap creation includes the lyrics “School is my second home/Without it, I’m all alone” and goes on to laud Stanton’s art programs. Sixteen cultural entities increase students’ aptitude in areas like dance, music appreciation and poetry, and Burnley oversees a curriculum so rich in writing, future novelists may be honing their crafts with each stroke. That their ink will still be flowing under her come September thrills the New Jersey resident.
“We are so sound instructionally,” Burnley said.
Even being a haven for bright minds could not afford Stanton safe designation in the fall. As many as 800 registrants used to make drawing families easy, but charter schools and demographic changes in ’03 almost caused the district to shed the school. It dodged dilemmas then, but the master plan projects district facilities will lose 10,000 students over the next decade and charters will welcome 9,000 learners by ’15, necessitating sacrifices. The Stanton clan ventured to hear the commission’s verdict, having presented arguments at 21 meetings, with three at South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St.
“There was no ‘yay’ or ‘nay,’” Burnley said of last month’s news. “The commission spoke highly of Stanton, so we inferred we would be continuing. We all felt relieved and redeemed.”
The commission released a statement on its process and plans for continued modification.
“This SRC has been very clear in its commitment to maintain its focus on student achievement while we work toward fiscal responsibility,” chairman Pedro Ramos said. “The decision to close a school is never an easy one, but we are doing what we need to do to improve the opportunities available to our students while working within our means. And we are doing it the right way, with a process that is open, transparent and inclusive.”
The release noted that although Stanton will survive, it will require alterations. Supporters of Stanton had known as much prior to the announcement, so the group presented the commission a 36-page report Feb. 10, knowing the master plan aims to reduce unused seats and shut old buildings. Though Stanton has only one space not in use, Burnley et al knew powerful evidence would be necessary to eclipse tiny rosters and an aging home.
Their in-school proposals call for converting classrooms to assist autistic learners, linking their mentoring program with the library to form one spot and converting small group learning space to a full-size locale, beefing up their utilization rate. Marketing will figure into enhancing enrollment, as the report, among other ideas, promises Stanton will target learners from low-performing charters; will trumpet South of South’s draws, which a Nielsen Solution Center real estate study noted will include a 4.59 percent population increase within a quarter-mile of the school by ’16; and will court pupils from closing or merging parochial schools. Those moves will try to spike class lists, which have increased 7.3 percent over the last five years. Having raised more than $330,000 over the last 14 years, Stanton and Bainbridge House, 1520 Christian St., will continue to be fervent fund finders.
Those measures will blend with an ambitious union involving 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson to sell Stanton’s mission to prepare students for success and to give the school a literally strong foundation.
“I was driven by Stanton’s strong academic record,” Johnson, of the 1800 block of Manton Street, said of involving Blue Bell’s The Goldenberg Group and MR Scott Development, 1530 Christian St., in a plan to provide construction management services for maintaining the infrastructure.
The facilities plan came out when he was the 186th District’s state representative, and he immediately engaged in assisting parents, seeing them as the leaders in the salvation process. As he had already interacted with Goldenberg president Ken Goldenberg and MR Scott owner Mark R. Scott in an ongoing Carpenter Square project that will convert a vacant parcel at 1001-35 S. 17th St. into a mixed-use development, Johnson sought the figures to see about funding the school. Three days before testifying before the commission, he received letters from both, with the two pledging at least $60,000 and as much as $65,000 from their Carpenter Square profits. Other sources have vowed at least $20,000, too.
“This public-private partnership is wonderful because it is community-driven,” Johnson said. “Now that E.M. Stanton has been given an opportunity to stay open, the real work begins.”
Burnley expects many meetings to discuss her site’s future. D’Asia Bourgeois knows one theme will dominate them.
“Our love of learning stands out,” the resident of the 2900 block of Oakford Street said. “Stanton students can do anything they set their minds to.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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