School Year Ends For Phila. Public School Students As Some Schools Go Dark
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Today is the last day of school for Philadelphia public school students, and it's also the final day ever for 24 school buildings in Philadelphia that are closing for good.
With the help of a few of his students, life skills teacher Rob Sandy pushed a shopping cart full of his personal items out of Bok Technical High School for the final time (below). The 75-year-old art deco structure at 9th and Mifflin (top photo) is among 24 schools being permanently closed by the district this year.
"It's really a shame that the school is closing," Sandy said this morning. "It's like a family here -- the students, the staff, everyone looks out for each other. It's definitely going to be missed."
----
About 12,000 students district-wide will go to other schools in the fall.
"There's nothing really to think about -- it is what is it is," said one of them, Bok sophomore Maurice Burns. "The school is going to be shut down. Ain't nobody going to be in here. I ain't worried about this school, though."
Burns and Sandy both say they will be at South Philadelphia High School in September.
