Interracial couple seeks safe south Philly neighborhood

[1ondoner]

If my spouse, who shares my last name made a hotel booking and I went to check-in, they would do the same. Actually, we both share the same last name and whoever makes the booking is usually the person who checks-in while the others wait in the car as you did. We've done this so many times. This has nothing to do with your husbands race.

Regarding schools, there are no good public schools in Philly, within the city limits.

Originally Posted by Chewbacca4

Can anyone tell me where they might suggest good schools and area for an interracial family same as the originator of this thread? We have 2 in highschool and one in elementary. I am white and my husband is of mixed ancestry (black, white and American Indian) making him a "light skinned" man. We visited Philly in March to check the scene out and it was ok. We stayed in Center City. Although we like the city, it did seem like people stared alot in my opinion.

We arrived at our hotel at the Convention Center/Marriot and the manager would not let my husband check in because even though he had the itinerary with our last name and my first name on it. So, it was freezing and I stayed in the car with the kids until he came back with the luggage cart only for him to come back saying they needed me to check in. So, I went in with the whole fam at 11pm, to show my id, and explained to the manager that we had never had this happen and we are from the South. He looked not to be phased. I noticed that people do act different and there is a level of hospitality that seemed to be missing that we do have here in the south even if you are an interracial couple. I asked myself if I was being paranoid but honestly I don't think so. We finally got the key cards while the kids were ready to go on to the room and me husband called me back and said he would need one of the cards to go back and get the luggage we hadn't brought in yet. After in the room, we had to call down to the help desk for the wi-fi code and ironically, the manager gave us the code free because we "had a hard time with check-in".

[PhilliesPhan2013]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

Regarding schools, there are no good public schools in Philly, within the city limits.

No good public schools within city limits? Julia R. Masterman High School is the highest ranked school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as #44 in the nation according to U.S. World and News! Central High School is also really good.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan2013

No good public schools within city limits? Julia R. Masterman High School is the highest ranked school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as #44 in the nation according to U.S. World and News! Central High School is also really good.

There are also several very good elementary schools: Meredith, Penn Alexander, McCall, Powel, Greenfield.

Others are improving with the support of newly active or reactivated parent support groups.

And several of the academic magnets also perform well (CAPA, GAMP, Bodine, for instance).

[1ondoner]

You guys are talking about public schools that enroll exceptional students. These are not your usual public schools.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

You guys are talking about public schools that enroll exceptional students. These are not your usual public schools.

Meredith, Penn Alex, McCall, Powel, Greenfield, and I'll add Bache-Martin, are all neighborhood elementary schools. They are the "usual" public schools in their neighborhoods.

[1ondoner]

I don't have the time to look up the schools, but I just picked up Penn Alex because of it's unique name and sure enough, students are admitted via a lottery system.

For most city residents, the students go to crappy schools. And like I said before, the problem is usually the communities. No amount of funding will fix these schools.

Admission to coveted Penn Alexander now by lottery

Originally Posted by kyb01

Meredith, Penn Alex, McCall, Powel, Greenfield, and I'll add Bache-Martin, are all neighborhood elementary schools. They are the "usual" public schools in their neighborhoods.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

I don't have the time to look up the schools, but I just picked up Penn Alex because of it's unique name and sure enough, students are admitted via a lottery system.

For most city residents, the students go to crappy schools. And like I said before, the problem is usually the communities. No amount of funding will fix these schools.

Admission to coveted Penn Alexander now by lottery

It was not always that way with Penn Alexander. The success of the surrounding University City communities, over the last 15 years, is, most likely, what forced it into needing a lottery system for entry.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

I don't have the time to look up the schools, but I just picked up Penn Alex because of it's unique name and sure enough, students are admitted via a lottery system.

For most city residents, the students go to crappy schools. And like I said before, the problem is usually the communities. No amount of funding will fix these schools.

Admission to coveted Penn Alexander now by lottery

As kyb01 pointed out, Penn Alexander implemented the lottery because there are more kids in its catchment area than the school was built to accommodate. All the other schools are regular neighborhood schools where the only thing you need to do to attend them is live in their attendance zone.

(BTW, that unique name was a community demand. University City High School was supposed to be a University of Pennsylvania-supported laboratory school, but Penn walked away almost the moment its doors opened in 1972. I understand that this was in part because the School District opted to make it a geographically-based high school rather than a magnet, but maybe kyb01 can confirm or refute this. The school's full name - the Sadie Tanner Mosell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School - is intended to cement Penn's active role in the school's operation. Ms. Alexander, btw, was one of the first African-American women to graduate from Penn Law School, if not the first, and had an illustrious career in private law practice.)

I don't disagree with that statement about communities making a difference - and suggest that you therefore keep your eye on Chester Arthur in Graduate Hospital, which has acquired a growing and highly activist parent "Friends of" group. (A similar group recently formed to support Kearny in Northern Liberties.) But the fact that parents in some of those communities, like the one I live in, welcome charter school operators (as they did at Francis Pastorius two blocks east of me) suggests that there are parents concerned about the education their kids get in the crappy schools too. So if you don't have time to join the HSA or PTA because you're too busy earning a living, does that mean your kids should pay the price?

[Saketsiamese]

Originally Posted by NY to Chicago

Italians and Blacks and Puerto Ricans disliked each other intensely back in the day.....Nowadays it is much less tense/blatant through I think the groups still kind of don't like each other....I know some Italians in the North East that are still racist towards minorities (not all but some)......

I hope in 2021 you still aren't naive enough to think "Italians" (I didn't realize immigration was still happening from southern European countries) are any worse than any other white???? Minneapolis has a very small Italian population, 45 wasn't Italian and young black men and women aren't being gunned down by predominantly italian cops. Italians aren't gentrifying neighborhoods driving out minorities. They don't run the educational system, this country, the healthcare system, or companies that discriminate and exploit. Affirmative action was not implemented due to Italian racism. Open your eyes. Stop trying to push off racism to one group. If all Italians or those with Italian ancestry was deported, do you really believe the United States would become one big, tolerant nation! Lol