Over on the corner of 42nd and Locust streets, Penn and the City of Philadelphia are engaging students in a whole new kind of learning.
But high-tech laboratories, library stacks and PennCard readers are nowhere to be found. Their replacements -- miniature desks, construction paper and lots and lots of crayons.
Last Thursday, the much-anticipated Penn-assisted public school finally opened its doors to the 35 first-graders that make up its inaugural class. Soon, a group of kindergarteners will start classes. And by this time next year, the school will be fully-functioning -- serving 700 local pre-kindergarten through eighth-graders.
The opening of the school is undoubtedly a great achievement for both Penn and its partner, the Philadelphia School District. It represents a very tangible result of the University's attempts to foster a better relationship with the neighborhood it calls home, and may one day serve as the model for similar partnerships between urban universities and municipalities around the nation.
The students at the Penn-assisted school will likely be treated to a level of education unmatched by Philadelphia's other public schools. And Penn's financial aid -- as well as the intellectual resources provided by counsel from the Graduate School for Education -- should help distinguish the school, its students and this neighborhood from all others in the city.
Certainly, that kind of learning environment will help the students and this neighborhood of West Philadelphia grow and prosper. But it also highlights several pressing challenges -- most notably, the poor quality of other Philadelphia public schools.
During this time of turmoil in the city's public school system, the Penn-assisted public school has a unique chance to become a model for efficiency, quality and truly beneficial cooperation between the government and non-profit sectors. In a city more accustomed to hearing only bad news about its public education system, we hope it's a harbinger of the bright future ahead for the children of Philadelphia.
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