Building unity with
hopes and dreams

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

As they stood on the flat blacktop, students at the New Foundations Charter School found it easy to envision the high peaks of the Himalayas beyond their school parking lot.
The colorful Tibetan prayer flags strewn around the perimeter of the lot caught the slight breeze and sent the messages written upon them out into the world.
Fifth-grader Arianna Rivera’s read: "To have peace and be happy."
"My dream is to have people turn their frowns upside down," said Kelcie Toomey, 10.
"My goal is to help kids learn and not get picked on," said Alyssa Bangert, 10.
Last week’s project represented the school’s annual unity builder, an activity developed as part of its Caring School Community model to set a positive tone for the school year. This year’s theme, Hopes and dreams, coincides with the meaning behind the Tibetan prayer flags, which are said to bring happiness, long life and prosperity.
This year, one of NFCS’s dreams is already coming true.
Not only has the school, at Torresdale Avenue and Rhawn Street, made Adequate Yearly Progress for the third year in a row, but students’ high test scores placed NFCS in the top 7 percent for reading proficiency in the School District of Philadelphia. The number of NFCS students who scored proficient or advanced on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests for reading increased from 63.7 percent in 2006 to 73.5 this year. Many of the other top schools are also in the Northeast.
"We did beyond well," said Shira Woolf Cohen, the school’s director of service learning. "Our percentages keep going up."
In math, the school’s scores improved by 5 percent, which puts them in the top 13 percent in the district.
The school continues to thrive because teachers, administrators and support staff focus on more than just their students’ academic progress, Cohen said.
"We’re addressing the social and emotional needs of the kids," she said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com