Move it
Let Fels move.
It’s that simple.
Having a crown jewel of a high school in Summerdale is something all residents should embrace.
Granted, the community has been kept in the dark, and that is terribly unfair to them, but the plans that were supposed to be revealed on Monday night showed the School District of Philadelphia wants the old JFK Hospital site to be a beacon in a fading neighborhood.
Supposed to be revealed, because residents, who were acting more childish than any of the students they fear would attend this new school, drowned out any voice that tried to explain what the Fels move would entail.
Here it is folks — Paul Vallas and Co. want to build a $40 million high school mecca, with a pool, library, state-of-the-art computer lab and a recreation facility, all of which would be available for the community’s use.
And the school district wants students in there — real students, who come wanting to learn, not cause trouble. Students who see school as an opportunity for greater things, not just a daily chore to bide their time.
Don’t write off the current crop already in Fels, either. As much as the teachers and administrators try, that building is not conducive to learning. It’s dilapidated, dark and overcrowded in a facility that was built as a middle school, not a high school.
Its lack of amenities, like a science lab and a football team, have most in that building thinking they’re second-class students, and that’s unfair. Every student and teacher deserves to feel like they matter; the new Fels would do wonders to invigorate a student body that feels let down by the district.
The “not in my neighborhood” attitude must stop. The logistics will be worked out. Summerdale would be foolish to let this opportunity pass out of fear of the unknown.
Fels High School principal Jeffrey Petty said it best: “My kids deserve better than what they’ve got.” ••
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