University supports West Philadelphia and surrounding community with elementary school

Since the idea for Penn Alexander School began in 1998, the Graduate School of Education has helped to prune the K-8 public school in West Philadelphia in Penn’s backyard.

Penn Alexander, located on 42nd and Spruce streets, was created from a partnership between Penn, the School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

In 2010, Penn Alexander graduated its first class of students who had been at the school for all nine years.

“It was part of the University’s effort to reach out to West Philadelphia,” said GSE professor James Lytle, who has been involved in projects for Penn Alexander.

He explained that the relationship between Penn Alexander and the University is fairly informal, since Penn Alexander is not “literally owned by and operated by the University” in the way the Laboratory Schools in Chicago are operated by the University of Chicago.

Penn mainly contributes to Penn Alexander through subsidies, Lytle said.

The University leased the land where Penn Alexander is located and gives approximately $750,000 a year to fund staff, provide books and other teaching materials.

Other than financial assistance, “Penn provides support through voluntary collaborations, ranging from undergraduates who tutor there to professors who come and work with some of the teachers at school,” Lytle said.

GSE contributes by “providing Penn student teachers in the classrooms, professional development courses and workshops for staff, and enriched curriculum in literacy, and math and science,” Ann Kreidle, who manages K12 partnerships at GSE, wrote in an email.

The Philadelphia Writing Project — a teacher network that offers literacy support, now in its 25th year — is another professional development project that allows GSE professors and students to collaborate closely with teachers at Penn Alexander.

If there is a specific project required, Penn Alexander requests support from professors at GSE. After receiving the request, GSE professors launch projects suitable to the school, Lytle said.

Kreidle said that GSE and Penn Alexander also look at the school’s academic record to measure the effectiveness of their programs.

GSE and Penn Alexander will continue their partnerships this year through some projects. These include a project led by GSE professor Yasmin Kafai, professional development assistance in math with GSE lecturer Caroline Ebby and field placements for several teacher education programs.

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