Letters to the Editor | June 16, 2026

My response to the recent article about allegations of grade inflation, based on my experience as a teacher in Philadelphia public schools, is that the number of children in the classroom with one teacher matters. With a limit of 30 to 33 children assigned to a classroom with only one teacher working without an assistant, there is often not the possibility of meeting the academic needs of students who struggle to learn, even when they show up regularly. Without another adult in the classroom to help address the learning remediation and the behavioral needs of some students, classroom lessons, even when well planned, are affected by the variety of learning abilities of students in that one classroom. Situations arise that require the attention of a capable adult, while the regular classroom teacher continues the lesson with the rest of the class.

It would be interesting to compare student performance in schools that can afford to have fewer than 30 students in a classroom with our Philadelphia city public schools. Some suburban public schools have the resources to keep class size closer to the low to mid-20s. The ratio of teachers to the number of students matters. That is why special education class sizes are deliberately kept small. And reducing class size in our city schools would require paying for many more teachers — or hiring assistants to help in the regular classrooms.

Mary A. McKenna, Philadelphia

Last week, City Council passed a bill authorizing Philadelphia’s Parks and Recreation Department to lease the newly renovated Welcome Center at FDR Park to the Fairmount Park Conservancy for a term of up to 26 years, for “nominal” rent and with no apparent financial benefit to the city except savings on maintenance costs.

According to a recent analysis, the average cost of Philadelphia retail rentals was about $20 per square foot. Based on that figure, even conservative estimates put the value of such a lease in the eight figures. Fairmount Park Conservancy is a nonprofit, which means the city will likely not even see tax revenue from the concessions and events the conservancy plans to operate there.

Parks and Recreation has funding issues. In passing this bill, City Council seems to have missed an opportunity to create an ongoing revenue stream through a request for proposals to qualified concession managers.

Emily Bell, Devon

Installing 800 electric vehicle chargers is a good start, but as the shift to electric accelerates, the city should have higher aspirations. Why not consider changes to the building codes that would set goals for obvious locations like parking garages and new construction? It should be feasible to equip 20% of garage spaces in about three years and 50% within about eight years. In addition, any new construction should be designed to accommodate EVs. Deliberately phasing this in over a decade would ensure we aren’t constantly behind the curve.

Frederick Jones, Philadelphia

Donald Trump, after abruptly walking off during a Meet the Press interview with NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker, said he is willing to reschedule the interview. Past behavior suggests he is more likely to push NBC to fire Welker. This most distinguished correspondent must not be added to the list of those struck down by the president.

Joel Chinitz, Philadelphia

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.