Neighborhood Schools and Community Development: Revealing the Intersections through the Philadelphia School Closure Debate

This article reveals intersections between schools and community development through analysis of a school closure debate in Philadelphia. Despite their interconnection, efforts to improve schools and neighborhoods have remained substantially siloed. Empirically, the article explores the ways neighborhood stakeholders framed the implications of recommended school closures in terms of the social, institutional, economic, and physical domains of their neighborhoods. The data include video records of community meetings held during the closure debate during winter 2012–2013 and subsequent interviews conducted with neighborhood stakeholders. The analysis outlines an agenda for community development scholars and practitioners to proactively engage with neighborhood schools.

Where Are You From?

This chapter describes the author's experiences as a student and teacher in the context of the various relationships and backdrops of my development, including rural South Carolina, the suburbs of Long Island, and Center City Philadelphia. School was the one constant that she could count on between frequent moves to new places throughout her life. She quickly developed a desire and a need to fit in to her surroundings wherever her family was located. This awareness helped her see past the differences of those around her, forge relationships, and adapt to the variety of cultural and physical environments despite any struggles. Throughout all of her homes and schools, her goals were always the same: be a good person, try not to be too competitive or bossy, and one day become a teacher. Now that she is a teacher and teacher coach, she uses these experiences and memories to help foster her new goal: to make sure her students and their families feel comfortable in the school community.