State declares fewer Philadelphia schools dangerous
Philadelphia Inquirer

Thirteen of of the 27 Philadelphia schools deemed "persistently dangerous" by the state in 2002 - and required under federal law to let students transfer out - improved sufficiently last year to come off the list, officials said yesterday.

Acting State Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak came to school district headquarters to "commend administrators, teachers, parents and students....for all the positive steps they have taken to make their schools safer."

Fourteen city schools still are deemed "persistently dangerous" by the state, based on the numbers of students arrested for aggravated assault, which includes weapons violations.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, states must compile a list of persistently dangerous schools each year, but can set their own standards for violent incidents to include.

Pennsylvania's standards were relatively stringent compared to the rest of the country, and Philadelphia particularly vigilant in reporting. As a result, half the "persistently dangerous" schools in the nation were in Philadelphia. New York, for instance, reported only two schools in that category.

Still deemed persistently dangerous by the state are nine high schools - John Bartram, Samuel Fels, Frankford, Germantown, Kensington, Lincoln/Swenson, Martin Luther King, Olney and Overbrook; two middle schools - Edwin Vare and Roberto Clemente; and two alternative schools - Daniel Boone and Shallcross.

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Todays guest will be Philadelphia Inquirer photographer David Swanson, who was embedded with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. David chronicled the final weeks of 12 U.S. Marines serving in Iraq and the impact of their deaths on their families back home. Since the conflict in Iraq began, Echo Company has lost 22 of its 185 men -- more than any other Marine or Army company -- and has had more than 40 wounded.

Philadelphia to Receive $91 Million to Help Homeless

PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ U.S. Senator Arlen Specter and Alphonso Jackson, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are in Philadelphia today with help for the city's homeless and poor.

At a West Philadelphia shelter for homeless women and their families, Specter and Jackson said that the city will receive approximately $91 million dollars in federal funds for homeless programs, affordable housing and economic development.

The city receives funds each from the federal government for housing and homeless programs. But this year's allotment is more than last year's funding of 88 (m) million dollars.