Penn to fund additional kindergarten class at the Penn Alexander School

The School Reform Commission passed a project to expand the Penn Alexander School last Thursday night. Penn will fully fund a fourth kindergarten class of 18 students beginning next year.

“We’re pleased that the School Reform Commission has approved an amendment to the partnership between the School District of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and Penn to add an additional kindergarten class at Penn Alexander beginning this fall,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said.

PAS, founded in 1998 by Penn and Philadelphia at 42nd and Spruce streets, receives $1,300 for every student enrolled at the school per year for a total of $700,000.

Based on rough estimates, the increase in enrollment will cost Penn about $120,000 more every year, in addition to the one-time cost of converting the space into a classroom, according to Vice President for Institutional Affairs Joann Mitchell.

The school has seen overcrowding over the years, and in what has become an annual event, parents camp out overnight to wait in line for a chance to enroll their children.

Local resident Sam Falkoff, whose step-children currently attend the school, said this is only a short-term solution and believes some may get preference over others to be enrolled in the new class.

Mitchell said, however, that those who are Penn-affiliated will not have an advantage.

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