Bartram High School’s Missing Voices Are Its Parents

BY TONY WEST/ Plagued by episodes of violence over the past couple of years, the fate of Bartram HS in Southwest Philadelphia has become a flashpoint of community concerns. As the only neighborhood high school left in that part of town, its woes compound the problems of poverty, poor employment and crime that afflict its homes and businesses.

2^nd Dist. Councilman Kenyatta Johnson has held two meetings with a cross-spectrum of School District leaders and community activists to search for solutions to Bartram’s problems. Three dozen people attended Monday’s meeting at the Health Annex on Woodland Avenue.

A prominent presenter was Bartram’s new principal Abdul-Mubdi Muhammad, who took over this year from Ozzie Wright. Wright was a troubleshooter who had been brought in to quell rampant violence on campus after a student knocked out a teacher.

Assaults are down so far this year, but under Muhammad’s administration the school has been seething with discontent among both students and teachers, each side claiming the other is failing to respect them.

STAKEHOLDERS gathered around table to look for solutions to Bartram HS’ continuing disciplinary issues where teachers have been targeted violently by students. From left are S.W. Phila. activist Mark Harrell, Principal Abdul-Mubdi Muhammad, convener Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and alumna Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell.

The biggest problem, Mr. Muhammad said, is these conversations have been playing out with little involvement by a crucial third party: the parents.

“We have these students for months, for a few years. The families have them for the rest of their lives,” he stated.

Parental involvement is weak at Bartram. A typical home-school meeting may draw 18 parents – for an enrollment of 1,000 children.

A parental liaison at the school reported in frustration that her efforts at reaching out to parents – even with door-knocking – have not been yielding much fruit.

She was not alone. Speaker after speaker said the culture of child-rearing has changed for the worse in their beleaguered part of town. Key problems are single mothers, or two parents both of whom work, leaving them scant time to monitor their children’s behavior and whereabouts on school days. They don’t have much time for after-school consultations either.

“It isn’t like what it was in my time,” one community activist lamented. “When I was young, if I messed up at school, my parents knew all about it by the time I got home and I would have to pay for it.”

The result, said Mr. Muhammad, is a powerful minority of kids who cut school with impunity and don’t feel beholden to outside authorities. “They tell me, ‘I don’t have to listen to you, you’re not my mama,’” he related.

Johnson implored everyone to speak up with ideas for interventions to change this unwholesome dynamic. Alumni, neighborhood CDCs, business leaders and School District workers made many suggestions.

Also sitting in on the meeting was 3^rd Dist. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. Although Bartram does not lie in her District, she is an alumna of the school and expressed her deep concern. She also chairs City Council’s Education Committee.

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