Two Philly schools celebrate staying open

The sun was shining, and that seemed fitting for a parade - 280 children marching down Howard Street and over Lehigh Avenue in West Kensington, waving signs and shouting with joy because their school had been saved.

"We did a lot of work, and we are a good school," 8-year-old Frangel Rodriguez said. "We all said, 'Leave Sheppard open!' "

The School Reform Commission listened, keeping high-achieving Isaac A. Sheppard and E.M. Stanton but shutting eight other schools. SRC members said that although they can't afford to keep all the buildings they have, they realize they must find ways to support, keep, and replicate strong schools.

And now everything feels different.

"We are going to be competitive," James Otto, Sheppard's longtime principal, said Friday, the day after the SRC vote. "In our minds and hearts, we've always been competitive, but it's always been, 'Newer buildings are better. Charters are better. Catholic schools are better.' Now, we've taken a few steps up the food chain."

For a small neighborhood school that has survived until now by flying under the radar, that's quite a change.

Stanton, at 17th and Christian Streets in South Philadelphia, has a mostly low-income population but is in a gentrifying neighborhood. Private donors pledged $66,000 to help its cause in the week leading up to the SRC's decision.

But Sheppard, at Howard and Cambria Streets, has no rich uncle. In one of the city's poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods, it has the same kind of community partnerships Stanton has, but so far no money to help the cause.

Otto said he was heartened by the SRC's public statement that it must provide better support to successful schools. With several rounds of budget cuts, he has been stretched especially thin this year. Although teachers and parents have stepped up to fill in gaps, he said he needs more help to keep the school going.

Its building also remains a question.

The school was built in 1897 and has no gym, library, or real auditorium.

SRC Chairman Pedro Ramos called Sheppard a "high-performing school in a bad building," and he and other commissioners signaled that Sheppard and Stanton's old, small structures cannot be sustained.

Changes are coming, Otto said: "They are keeping Sheppard the concept, not necessarily the building."

Regardless, Friday was a day of celebration at the school - a parade, an assembly, treats. Students made banners ("Thank you SRC for keeping Sheppard open. You rock!") and marched through the neighborhood, shouting "Let's go, Sheppard, let's go" while drivers honked and neighbors waved.

Walking at the back of the parade was Jose Villafane, whose six children have attended Sheppard. He spends hours at the school every day, volunteering his time wherever he's needed.

It was a stressful week, Villafane said, and he thought Sheppard was done when he heard the SRC announce it must close a $186 million budget gap for the 2012-13 school year.

But ultimately, the community's hard work and determination to show the SRC what Sheppard was capable of was enough.

"This was a really good lesson for the kids," Villafane said.

Sandra Arnett, an aide at the school for the last 22 years, wore a purple wig for the occasion - through months of meetings on the planned closures, Sheppard supporters wore their school color, purple.

"I knew we had to stay open," Arnett said. "You can't throw away something that's good."

The mood was similarly jubilant at Stanton, which celebrated with assemblies, drum and violin performances, and two giant sheet cakes ordered Thursday night, just after the SRC had voted.

Sixth grader Yasir Harris said he still couldn't believe the good news.

"When I found out, I was going crazy, like the Eagles just won the Super Bowl," Yasir, 11, said.

Yasir and his friend Zafir Fuller, also 11, said they knew why the SRC had decided it couldn't lose their school - it's good academically, Yasir said.

For eight years running, it has met standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind law. It has good teachers, students, and a wealth of extracurricular activities, the boys said.

"I'm not bragging," Zafir said. "But I'm bragging a little."

Seventh grader Rasheea Jones read the speech she had written to help save her school.

She has been at Stanton since kindergarten, and "every year, it has gotten better and better," said Rasheea, whose great-grandmother attended Stanton with opera singer Marian Anderson.

Zafir and Yasir performed the rap they wrote about school. A classmate recited a Shakespeare soliloquy. Some students waved flags with "S" printed on a yellow background, Stanton's color.

Violinists played "We Shall Overcome" and when the African drum circle played, parents and students were dancing in the aisles of the school's makeshift auditorium.

Members of Stanton's large, active supporters group, which has met every Sunday since August, said they would continue to raise money, cultivate partnerships, and market the school.

They have a very solid foundation - in the last week, the Junior League donated $1,000 to help the school garden, developer Ken Goldenberg pledged $50,000, and developer Mark Scott will give $15,000.

Principal Stacey Burnley, who Friday wore a perpetual smile and flip-flops so she could better run around the building to coordinate celebrations, said the spotlight had helped, but she's looking forward to things settling down.

"We can go on to our primary purpose," Burnley said. "Learning."