Phila. School District Helps Students of Shuttered Charter School Find New Spots
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The School District of Philadelphia today held the first of three enrollment sessions for parents of students at the Walter D. Palmer Charter School, which shut down suddenly.
With the charter school's closing, parents such as Elaine Williams of North Philadelphia turned out at school district headquarters to find a new school for her second-grader. She says the charter near her was full, so her next choice was a district school -- Hackett Elementary.
But she's concerned about the extra expense:
"We're talking new uniforms, new school supplies, new shoes, new busing. New everything."
Danielle Parks, of Northeast Philadelphia, is considering several district schools for her twins.
"They opened it up to schools that are outside of our neighborhood," she notes. "Which is good, because the reason I had them in Palmer (was), I didn't want them to go to their neighborhood school."
She says her children won't be starting school when classes resume on Monday -- and she knows it'll be at least several days before they do.