South Philly Review

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Fate provided South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St., two chances last week to prove that it has busied itself with finding means of enhancing student achievement and parental involvement while also decreasing safety concerns. Three days apart, the opportunities revealed that the school’s community covets placing considerable distance between its spotted past and envisioned future.

First-year principal Otis D. Hackney III joined about 200 parents, teachers and staff members to plot the moves he hopes will rid his school of its four-year designation as a persistently dangerous facility 6 p.m. Nov. 30.

Following the national anthem and the presentation of the colors of the United States’ flag by the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Hackney lauded his assistant principals and teachers.

“People mention that they notice more enthusiasm in the building this year than they did months ago,” he said, indirectly referring to last year’s Dec. 2 and 3 attacks on about 30 Asian-American students that led many of their peers to hold an eight-day boycott and to the resignation of his predecessor, LaGreta Brown. “They try to attribute changes to me, but teachers and staff have had the most impact.”

Hackney convened the assembly to strengthen the dialogue on what children are experiencing within the school. The night coincided with the distribution of report cards, leading him to focus chunks of his delivery on the student body’s first instructors, the present parents.

“Your children need you now more than ever,” he said to the crowd, initiating his discussion of the school’s two newest ways to ensure that parents and their progeny simultaneously prosper.

Headed by best-selling author Solomon Jones, Words on the Street focuses on helping at-risk students to use writing as a deterrent to emotional and behavioral mishaps. With Art Sanctuary, 628 S. 16th St., as a partner, the literacy program that began last month will involve parent-child writing workshops and will look to assist 400 students in three schools, with Southern being the lone local institution.

The students’ work may appear in “The Daily News,” for which Jones writes a weekly column, and should the students at Southern have the greatest increases in standardized reading assessments, he will mention the school in his next novel.

With last year’s violence in mind, Hackney also announced a new parent resource center located right across from the auditorium.

“With many of our kids, we do have issues, but most of our kids don’t get in trouble,” he said.

Formerly a teacher mailroom, the first-floor resource space underwent a transformation to include computers, a play area with books and stuffed animals, as well as numerous other useful tools, because Hackney felt it was “underutilized.” He observed that the agreeable natures of most of the students have a paradoxical effect, keeping the school from developing bonds with many parents.

“This center will be a spot for meeting with me to address any issue. I’m excited about the potential of the room and what it’s going to represent in terms of putting a new face on the school,” he said.

His snip at the ribbon-cutting ceremony brought applause and cleared the way for inspections of the room that contains SEPTA schedules, self-help pamphlets, art work, a counselor’s corner and a Chinese alphabet scroll. As everyone mingled, Jones took registrations for the writing workshops.

“I have no writing background, but I have a story to tell,” Sharon E. Thompson said.

A North Philadelphia resident, Thompson has a 12th-grade son, Norman Wallace, who she said knows some of the alleged assailants from last December’s attacks.

“I see a difference this year with Mr. Hackney as principal,” she said, noting that her son is enjoying his senior year and is considering Florida State and Temple universities for graphic design. “This year I feel I can live and breathe easier.”

A year ago last Friday dozens of recent immigrants of Asian descent became targets inside and outside of the building in retaliation for incidents that occurred in the school’s hallways and a nearby drugstore the previous day. The attacks prompted a boycott until the School District of Philadelphia met certain demands laid out by students and Asian community activists who testified before the School Reform Commission, noting ongoing attacks, including October 2008 assaults on six Asian-American students outside the school and the district’s failure to take action after meeting with pupils. The attacks led to a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, an ongoing investigation with the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission and an independent report by the school district. At press time, the district was still interacting with federal authorities to address and settle the matter.

On the anniversary of the attacks, 100 people, including members of the Philadelphia Student Union, Youth United for Change and the South Philadelphia High School Asian Student Advocates, as well as Hackney, united by the school’s front gate. In a 90-minute Youth Power Rally, the Asian Student Association of Philadelphia commemorated the increased peace and progress within the building’s walls.

“I admire the level of transformation at this school from the young people,” Helen Gym, a volunteer with Asian Americans United, said. “They had a commitment to making things happen, to telling the administration of their concerns. They looked to guide and steer with a principled outlook.”