Philadelphia students deserve safe schools | Editorial

The scene inside North Philadelphia’s Dobbins High School is shocking but not surprising.

Fights are frequent. Students roam the halls unattended. Marijuana aroma wafts from the bathrooms. Strangers come and go. Staff have been assaulted.

One parent described what he witnessed as “mayhem.” A staffer said students are “terrified.” A junior described going to Dobbins as “draining.”

Those were some of the comments from the dozen staffers, students, and teachers who came forward to speak with Inquirer education reporter Kristen A. Graham about the daily dysfunction at the school, which specializes in technical training for careers in cosmetology, computers, and culinary arts, among other fields.

It was a collective cry for help from a school community with no place to turn. Sadly, Dobbins is not an isolated case. Violence and disruption are the norm at many schools.

» READ MORE: At Dobbins High School, ‘a chaotic, unsafe environment.’ What is the district doing to help?

This is a big test for new Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. Will he take decisive action, or pay lip service like so many of his predecessors?

The safety of students, faculty, and staff is at stake. So is the education of another generation of Philadelphians.

For far too long, the district has tolerated out-of-control schools, allowing kids to pass through without receiving a basic education — and giving rise to charter schools as parents seek safer spaces.

Billions of tax dollars are spent each year to largely produce failure. The chaos tolerated in our schools leads to chaos on our streets. Too many students graduate with worthless diplomas. Unprepared for college or the workforce, some turn to crime and violence.

Watlington, who began his tenure in June, said raising student achievement was a top priority. The first order of business must be gaining control of the schools.

The picture painted inside Dobbins High is appalling. One parent described seeing four fights during a school visit. No one should have to send their child to a school where brawls, pot smoking, and disorder are accepted.

Tragically, this is not a new phenomenon at Philadelphia public schools.

The Inquirer won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for a series that detailed widespread violence in city schools that totaled 30,000 serious incidents over five years.

» READ MORE: Climate of violence stifles city schools

At the time, the School District issued a statement that read: “We are diligently working on new programs to increase safety in district schools, ensuring that every school in the district is a safe, high-performing school.”

A decade later, it appears little has changed.

A girl was stabbed during a series of fights that broke out at Edison High School in Hunting Park earlier this month. A teen running from a fight at Excel Academy South in Crescentville was hit by a car and killed in September. Last school year, students said fights were routine at George Washington High in the Northeast and an almost daily occurrence at West Philadelphia High.

The disarray makes learning difficult, if not impossible.

Indeed, the Philadelphia School District ranks near the bottom of big city schools in recent standardized test scores. Only 36% of district students met reading standards and just 22% were proficient in math.

That is an embarrassing record for a school district that spends $3.9 billion to educate 120,000 students.

Even worse, the ongoing violence at city schools often turns deadly.

One student was killed and four others injured during a shooting outside of Roxborough High School in September. A 17-year-old student was shot and killed near Bartram High in January. A 13-year-old was shot and killed walking to school in October 2021.

During the summer, the district added more security cameras at 19 schools most impacted by the rise in violence across the city. Dobbins plans to add three additional safety officers at the school.

Those are Band-Aids that will not solve a systemic problem. Leadership and a shift in culture are demanded.

The parent who witnessed four fights at Dobbins lacks confidence that anything will change: “I have zero faith in this school district,” he said. Watlington assured him the School District was on the case: “We hear you loud and clear.”

The superintendent’s actions will speak louder than his words. Frightened students and parents anxiously await real change.