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The Big Stories of 2013

The Big Stories of 2013

FOR PHILADELPHIA, 2013 was filled with crushing lows and euphoric highs, but the biggest stories shaped us, made us better, and united us in ways we could never have imagined.

A Philadelphia teacher protests budget cuts during a rally outside School District Headquarters (Photo by Solomon Jones)

A Philadelphia teacher protests budget cuts during a rally outside School District Headquarters (Photo by Solomon Jones)

School Closings – Facing a $304 million structural budget deficit, the School District of Philadelphia closed 24 public schools in 2013. In a city with at least 40,000 vacant parcels, the closings placed large abandoned buildings in communities that could ill-afford more vacant structures.

We can’t know how these closures will affect our children’s futures. We do, however, know this. In the schools that closed, over 90 percent of the students were economically disadvantaged. That means our most vulnerable students suffered the greatest losses.

Adults, meanwhile, spent much of the time casting blame.

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