Events

The State of the Philadelphia Public School System

Thursday, September 6, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT)
at
Temple Contemporary
Tyler School of Art at Temple University
2001 N. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122

All Fall semester events at Temple Contemporary

Philadelphia's Public School System is in a tough spot. Going into this next academic year it's about $218 million in the hole. How do we dig ourselves out of this predicament while providing our children with the best public education money can't buy?

Dale Mezzacappa, editor and contributor of the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, will moderate a panel discussion designed to shed light on the options Philadelphians have to educate our children.

Panel participants include Nijmie Dzurinko, previously Executive Director of the Philadelphia Student Union, an organization that develops youth leaders by addressing school reform issues; Scott Gordon, CEO of Mastery Charter Schools, a growing non-profit charter school network recognized nationally for their work in school turnarounds and dramatic student achievement gains; and Miriam Hill, a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as the creator Raising Philadelphia, a blog focusing on the pleasures and challenges of raising a young child in the city.

This open discussion with the audience will address the ways charter schools are changing the public school system, how the closures of public schools affect the surrounding neighborhoods, and what are all the options young parents living in Philadelphia have for their children’s education.

To complement this discussion, Temple Contemporary has commissioned Philadelphia artist Katrina Ohstrom to take School Portraits of Drew Elementary, Fitzsimons High, and Harrison Elementary. These three schools were permanently closed this past summer as a result of the Department of Education’s restructuring. Ohstrom’s portraits will be on display at Temple Contemporary from September 5 – October 6, 2012

The first thirty people to register for this event through Temple Contemporary’s website will receive a limited edition School Portrait by Katrina Ohstrom.

Katrina Ohstrom has been photographing Philadelphia’s changing urban landscape for over a decade. Her photographs and essays have appeared in publications including Megawords Magazine, Hidden City Daily and East Village Radio.

This event has been produced in partnership with Hidden City Philadelphia.