Philly schools are churning through teachers; Is there hope for Penn Book Center? | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
As the weather warms up, students may already be counting down to the end of the school year. But, considering this morning’s Inquirer investigation on educator turnover, maybe some Philly teachers are, too. My colleagues’ report on turnstile teaching is a must-read about the effects of educator retention in city schools. In other, happier news, it may just be possible that a beloved independent book store planning to close in University City could survive.
And I have some news of my own: this morning will be my last writing this newsletter. I’ve so enjoyed chatting with you all each day and I leave you in the brilliant hands of my fellow newsletter writers. Be sure to send them your good vibes, thoughts and questions, and thank you for reading!
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— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Experts say a stable teaching staff is crucial to a school’s academic success, so why does Philadelphia churn through teachers? An Inquirer investigation has found that 26 district schools have turnover rates that far exceed a cause for alarm.
In other school news, for the past several years the district has prohibited school nurses from excluding unvaccinated students. Now the move worries nurses, given the recent local outbreak of mumps.
A move that is getting love: two Main Line school districts just opted to let teens get a later start to their school days.
There’s a hidden crisis lurking in Pennsylvania for the severely sick and mentally ill.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services has struggled to reduce wait times for care at the last two state forensic psychiatric hospitals, where people with serious mental illness are cared for until they are competent for trial.
Those hospitals won’t accept individuals with acute medical needs, which means they’re effectively stranded in jail.
Earlier this month, the owners of Penn Book Center, a long-standing independent book store on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, announced they were closing.
The wave of support that followed has been “quite overwhelming,” they say. But it’s more than just goodwill and shared memories.
As the store’s sales struggle in the age of Amazon, there might be hope of students, professors, and even the university stepping in to make it profitable again.
What you need to know today
Former Vice President Joe Biden officially announced his campaign for president this morning with a video arguing that “we are in a battle for the soul of this nation.”
Philly’s Democratic Party has endorsed Sherman C. Toppin for Common Pleas Court, despite the fact that he owed $119,000 in unpaid taxes to the IRS.
A veteran Philadelphia police officer has been reassigned and stripped of his gun after a Roxborough man said the off-duty cop held him at gunpoint because he placed some ripped-up mail in a recycling bin outside the officer’s house.
There’s a surprising reason autism in girls often isn’t diagnosed, a new study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has found: it’s the way they tell stories.
Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections has halted its decision, for now, to start enforcing a 2015 law that would upend Temple University’s food truck scene, thanks to outcry from the vendors and campus community.
Remember that proposal for a high-rise complex along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia that was put on hold two years ago following public opposition? Well, it’s back.
Many Philadelphia residents mistakenly believe that the city’s tap water is unsafe, or they think it doesn’t taste good. So the city is on a mission to change their minds.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
What a way to rise and shine, @thephillychecklist!
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s Interesting
The NFL draft starts tonight. Get a feel for the moves the Eagles could make with from our writers on the beat.
The Sixers’ Eastern Conference semifinal series begins Saturday evening in Toronto. At 7:30 p.m. Or maybe 8 p.m. It’s a long story.
Your next Instagram obsession is a many-hued tulip farm in New Jersey that’s full of two million blooms. But they won’t last long.
Get out your goggles and lab coats: the Philadelphia Science Festival returns this weekend.
The Pennsylvania state amphibian is officially a hellbender. But ... what the heck is it? And why can’t there be a state toy?
Marvel and Disney’s 23-picture superhero cycle ends this weekend with the release of Avengers: Endgame. Movie critic Gary Thompson has given his final verdict.
Opinions
“'Free college’ simply means that people who don’t attend college pay for those who do — because that’s what happens when the government raises taxes to make college ‘free.’ The plain truth doesn’t sound nearly as righteous or magnanimous as Warren’s version of the story.” — Antony Davies of Duquesne University and James R. Harrigan of the University of Arizona on Elizabeth Warren’s tuition plan.
A Washington state senator’s comments last week suggesting nurses just “play cards” shows why we need safe staffing laws, writes Maureen May, RN, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.
After the Kate Smith statue was removed from Xfinity Live!, Philadelphia could learn a lesson from Taiwan, writes Thomas J. Shattuck, an Asia Program research associate at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
What we’re reading
A growing number of scientists and activists are drastically changing their lives to do their part to fight climate change but, BuzzFeed asks, is it enough? It’s a question that deserves your attention this morning.
Billy Penn took a dive into how the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is looking for a fix to its lack of diversity and it’s a revealing read.
Another gripping story about our region comes from WHYY, which reports that civil asset forfeiture (and abuse of it) has spread across Pennsylvania.
It’s hard to describe Philadelphia Magazine’s behind-the-scenes look at South Philly’s secret bagel guy, let alone the bagel guy himself, so you should just read it.
Social media has changed a lot of things, including child labor laws, The Guardian reports in a chilling look at the “kidfluencer” industry.
A Daily Dose of | Painted Pups
When Jay McClellan’s mother died, he gave up a career in advertising to pursue his passion: painting. Now you can see his vibrant portraits of man’s best friend at Anthropologie and White Dog Café.