This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
by Elizabeth Fiedler for NewsWorks
Residents of one up-and-coming Philadelphia neighborhood say something’s missing. Pennsport, which borders the Delaware River a bit south of Center City, does not have an important feature that families with children seek: a neighborhood school.
"Pennsport is probably one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the city right now," said Pennsport Civic Association president James Moylan. He said the surge of new businesses and new homes, plus the neighborhood’s accessibility, all make it desirable.
But there’s a problem: "We currently have no elementary educational options within the boundaries of our community. No Catholic, no private, no public, no charter," Moylan said.
This is the outcome of a confluence of trends and factors that have touched just about every neighborhood in Philadelphia, but few as hard as Pennsport. Pennsport’s anxiety is an early warning sign of the impacts that the city School District’s money woes and school closings may have on various city neighborhoods’ growth and vitality.