Kennedy Crossan Elementary School principal Lynne B. Millard last week told members of the Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association that the building might be small and old, but it has a special charm.
There are about 375 children in kindergarten through fifth grade at Crossan, located at 7350 Bingham St. The school opened in 1922, and most graduates move on to Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
Millard has been principal for three years. She is a 24-year veteran of the School District of Philadelphia.
The principal welcomes members of the community to visit the school. She described Crossan as a clean, safe school with strong academics. Children speak 12 languages.
Students spread the word about the Town Watch/civic association meetings by taking home fliers to their parents.
Crossan held a career day on May 8, welcoming about three dozen professionals.
The school will hold its annual spring concert on May 24.
“They sound like a high school orchestra,” Millard said.
The principal said she is looking for corporate donations and community connections, in lieu of limited dollars from state government. She met recently with Nick Himebaugh, an aide to state Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-170th dist.).
Millard is concerned that, next year, budget cuts will limit the school to having a nurse only on Fridays.
“On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I will be the principal and the nurse,” said Millard, who is not a nurse.
Al Taubenberger, president of the Town Watch/civic association, is a Crossan graduate.
• Mark Mroz, community relations officer for the 2nd Police District, said vehicle owners who park the wrong way on a street deserve to get a ticket. Mroz said it can be dangerous for a motorist to pull out into oncoming traffic.
“You’re supposed to park with the flow of the traffic,” he said.
Mroz reported that there were 36 burglaries in a recent month’s time in the area of the district north of Tyson Avenue.
The officer also warned against people going door-to-door offering cash for gold and selling home alarm systems.
“Don’t let a stranger in your house,” he said.
The 2nd Police District and its advisory council will hold their annual community day on Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the parking lot of the Target store at Bustleton and Bleigh avenues. Activities will include a shredding machine, fingerprinting, bicycle registration and vehicle etching.
• The civic group sent a letter of support for Storybook Children’s Center, which is moving from a shopping center at 7722 Dungan Road to the Pentecostal Church of Philadelphia, at 7101 Pennway St.
The move is being made because a shopping center tenant has expansion plans. Storybook offers child care, preschool and before- and after-school care to 150 youngsters.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment approved Storybook’s move, but the civic group plans to continue a dialogue with the church on property maintenance issues.
• Gallo’s Pizza and Pasta, at 7400 Lawndale Ave. (at Bleigh Avenue), treated everyone to pizza and soda after the meeting.
• Burholme Community Town Watch and Civic Association will meet on Thursday, June 14, at 7 p.m., at United Methodist Church of the Redeemer, at Cottman and Lawndale avenues. The guest will be City Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez (D-7th dist.). ••
