Save Philadelphia Public Schools

Dear Students, Parents, Educators, Political Activists and Philadelphia Community,

The time has come for us as a community to Rally and fight for our children and their education. Leadership in education wants to cut our children’s future short and deprive them of the essentials of life. The leaders are proposing to cut our children’s learning week down to four days instead of five and completely cut out Kindergarten. This is an outrageous proposal. Because extra curricular programs have been disposed of, allowing our children’s days to be cut are more than we the parents are willing accept.

Instead of the cuts, we as parents and community activists are demanding the following for urban inner-city schools:
• hiring more qualified teachers
• Text books
• implementing music, sports and science programs
• activating community service efforts
• increasing security perimeters round the school areas.

Our children are the ones who are suffering. They feel like no one cares enough to take time and interest. Sometimes it is important to look past the dollar sign and see the bigger picture. Instead of giving outrageous raises to leadership who does not have our children’s best interest at heart, we need to step up to the plate and take our children’s education back into our own hands. If the programs and days are cut, our children will be left with idle time on their hands to get into troubling situations.

It also infringes upon the working parents who do not have the liberty or the financial means to provide care for their children on the proposed off day, especially when most parents have to work a five day workweek. If cutting school days are going to go into effect, what relief will be given to the working parent? Ultimately, this could have a rippling effect not only on the children, but also on the economy as a whole. Parents could lose employment because they cannot afford the extra cost of childcare, employers could become short staffed which could ultimately effect Philadelphia's tax cash flow. There will be an increase of people on welfare and unemployment, which will handicap Philadelphia's financial state even more.

If this issue touches your heart as it did mine, please join me in an effort to stop throwing our children away, and invest in their future. Please sign this petition for our children, our neighborhood, OUR future.

Warm Regards,

Jorrae Beard
Philadelphia Resident