The Black Lives Matter protests have also ignited new discussions and demands over the use of Native American images, symbols and mascots.When Stephanie Mach leaves her Center City home, she often passes the Swann Memorial Fountain, with its three bronze Native American figures, in the heart of Logan Square.What many people don’t know — but she does, as a scholar and activist of Diné, or Navajo, descent — is that the square’s namesake, James Logan, was not just a colonial statesman and Philadelphia mayor. He was an architect of the infamous “Walking Purchase,” a scheme in which out of...…The Black Lives Matter protests have also ignited new discussions and demands over the use of Native American images, symbols and mascots.When Stephanie Mach leaves her Center City home, she often passes the Swann Memorial Fountain, with its three bronze Native American figures, in the heart of Logan Square.What many people don’t know — but she does, as a scholar and activist of Diné, or Navajo, descent — is that the square’s namesake, James Logan, was not just a colonial statesman and Philadelphia mayor. He was an architect of the infamous “Walking Purchase,” a scheme in which out of...WW…

Around the region and across the country, educators are pushing back, voicing fears about their leaders’ ability to keep them safe if any in-person instruction happens, and in some cases, making contingency plans. “You could bring home death, and that’s just unacceptable to me,” one teacher said.Sharahn Santana dreams of a September return to her classroom at Parkway Northwest High School. But after absorbing the Philadelphia School District’s — which would bring students back for in-person instruction two days a week — the English teacher is terrified at the thought of classrooms without...…Around the region and across the country, educators are pushing back, voicing fears about their leaders’ ability to keep them safe if any in-person instruction happens, and in some cases, making contingency plans. “You could bring home death, and that’s just unacceptable to me,” one teacher said.Sharahn Santana dreams of a September return to her classroom at Parkway Northwest High School. But after absorbing the Philadelphia School District’s — which would bring students back for in-person instruction two days a week — the English teacher is terrified at the thought of classrooms without...WW…

The outrage, violence looting and vandalism that shattered Center City on Saturday waited a day to spread to West Philly. This time, though, the damage came to a business corridor that serves a predominantly black neighborhood, one that had been in the midst of finding its footing.Tear gas wafted through her neighborhood and helicopter rotors roared overhead as Pamela Blanding-Godbolt waited anxiously Sunday for her daughter to come home.» LATEST: “I’m on pins and needles for her,” said Blanding-Godbolt, who lives on Lindenwood Street, about a block away from 52nd Street, one of the centers...…The outrage, violence looting and vandalism that shattered Center City on Saturday waited a day to spread to West Philly. This time, though, the damage came to a business corridor that serves a predominantly black neighborhood, one that had been in the midst of finding its footing.Tear gas wafted through her neighborhood and helicopter rotors roared overhead as Pamela Blanding-Godbolt waited anxiously Sunday for her daughter to come home.» LATEST: “I’m on pins and needles for her,” said Blanding-Godbolt, who lives on Lindenwood Street, about a block away from 52nd Street, one of the centers...WW…

Teachers taking leave coupled with an already short supply of substitutes poses a challenge for schools seeking to reopen.On what was supposed to be the third day of his school operating in person since the pandemic hit last March, Cheltenham High School principal Renato Lajara woke at 3 a.m. and saw that nearly a quarter of his teachers would be out.Lajara had known staffing would be a challenge: 18 of the school’s 130 teachers had taken leave rather than return when the building reopened Feb. 4. He was able to find only one long-term substitute. So when additional teachers then called...…Teachers taking leave coupled with an already short supply of substitutes poses a challenge for schools seeking to reopen.On what was supposed to be the third day of his school operating in person since the pandemic hit last March, Cheltenham High School principal Renato Lajara woke at 3 a.m. and saw that nearly a quarter of his teachers would be out.Lajara had known staffing would be a challenge: 18 of the school’s 130 teachers had taken leave rather than return when the building reopened Feb. 4. He was able to find only one long-term substitute. So when additional teachers then called...WW…

What began five years ago with the made-for-TV announcement of Donald Trump’s presidential ambitions from the escalator of his ritzy Manhattan high-rise ended Saturday with his aging lawyer shouting conspiracy theories and vowing lawsuits in a Northeast Philadelphia parking lot, near a sex shop and a crematorium. In hindsight, the president’s personal lawyer, just minutes after Joe Biden had been declared the victor of the 2020 race, delivered a fitting end to a campaign that had been at times characterized by its slapdash techniques. But the question of how a landscaping company in...…What began five years ago with the made-for-TV announcement of Donald Trump’s presidential ambitions from the escalator of his ritzy Manhattan high-rise ended Saturday with his aging lawyer shouting conspiracy theories and vowing lawsuits in a Northeast Philadelphia parking lot, near a sex shop and a crematorium. In hindsight, the president’s personal lawyer, just minutes after Joe Biden had been declared the victor of the 2020 race, delivered a fitting end to a campaign that had been at times characterized by its slapdash techniques. But the question of how a landscaping company in...WW…

PFT President Jerry Jordan said the district had engaged in “a reprehensible ploy to try to get us to swiftly agree to a half-baked safety plan.”Philadelphia teachers have a tentative one-year contract.Jerry Jordan, president of the 13,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, told members in a Wednesday night meeting that the union had come to terms with the Philadelphia School District.» READ MORE: Members will receive a 2% across-the-board wage increase retroactive to Aug. 16, and pay increases for years of experience and education, effective Jan. 4.“This was a significant win for...…PFT President Jerry Jordan said the district had engaged in “a reprehensible ploy to try to get us to swiftly agree to a half-baked safety plan.”Philadelphia teachers have a tentative one-year contract.Jerry Jordan, president of the 13,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, told members in a Wednesday night meeting that the union had come to terms with the Philadelphia School District.» READ MORE: Members will receive a 2% across-the-board wage increase retroactive to Aug. 16, and pay increases for years of experience and education, effective Jan. 4.“This was a significant win for...WW…

A petition signed by more than 500 faculty and staff members calls on the university to "address the root causes of racial inequality, which include systems of public finance that enrich wealthy, private, majority-white institutions" while under-funding public institutions.More than 500 faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania have signed a petition calling on the school to make payments in lieu of taxes supporting the Philadelphia public schools — a campaign that has escalated in light of national protests demanding attention to racism and inequality.“Every institution...…A petition signed by more than 500 faculty and staff members calls on the university to "address the root causes of racial inequality, which include systems of public finance that enrich wealthy, private, majority-white institutions" while under-funding public institutions.More than 500 faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania have signed a petition calling on the school to make payments in lieu of taxes supporting the Philadelphia public schools — a campaign that has escalated in light of national protests demanding attention to racism and inequality.“Every institution...WW…