a   |   a   |   a   |  Site Map  |  Contact Us

[aau logo]

Home » Campaigns for Justice » South Philly High School » SPHS Media Coverage

 

SPHS MEDIA COVERAGE

(from most recent to oldest)

Students Prepare to Return to School – Update on South Philly High

top

S. Phila. High School Principal LaGreta Brown Resigns

top

Little Has Changed at South Philly High

16-year-old Lin De Liu arrived at South Philadelphia High School post-Dec. 3 and was assaulted in the school’s bathroom March 16. Since then he has suffered serious injury including memory loss and blurred vision. The School District however calls it a “careless” accident, and has failed to investigate. The incident shows how little has changed at S. Phila. High School.

top

Student cleared of gang charges

It took three months of work, the tearful testimony of a committed grandmother, dozens of supporters and front page media coverage to clear the name of a young immigrant student falsely accused of contributing to the violence at South Philadelphia High School. He was a convenient scapegoat for a District looking to avoid responsibility.

Read about it!

top

School District Investigation

Download the full report (pdf)

Earlier this week, Judge James Giles released the findings of a District investigation into the violence on Dec. 3 at South Philadelphia High School. Among the findings was confirmation of widespread violence at the school starting before 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day on Dec. 3rd with clear knowledge of that violence by school officials. The violence was acknowledged to have some relationship to race. The report also revealed that it could not substantiate a highly publicized charge that Asian students had beaten up a disabled African American student the day before. That allegation was based on hearsay, according to the report, and the Judge could not determine whether the African American student was a victim or an attacker in that situation.

At the same time, Asian Americans United and advocates who have worked on addressing violence at South Philadelphia High School for more than a year raised serious concerns about the inadequacy of the Judge’s report, including:

  • the report’s focus on two dates, Dec. 2 and 3, ignoring a much longer pattern of anti-Asian/anti-immigrant violence at the school;
  • the failure to interview the majority of student victims as well as a number of witnesses on the scene Dec. 3;
  • limited attention paid to racial bias and language access concerns with regard to official school action; and
  • short-sighted recommendation that are mostly punitive towards students and fail to address how to build a more supportive and inclusive academic and social environment for all students at South Philadelphia High School.

The gravest concern, however, is that the report essentially absolves the District and school leadership of any responsibility. In fact, the report seems to imply that if we were to revisit that day on December 3rd the administration of SPHS could have made the exact same choices – and that is a frightening analysis. Without some measure of accountability and understanding of what could and should have been done differently, we have no way to move forward, as we have been urged by District officials. In fact, the refusal to address responsibility is part of the reason we have seen repeated violence at South Philadelphia High School. The report underscores that we still need an independent and thorough investigation by the Department of Justice and other entities to responsibly understand and address the violence at SPHS.

You can read a copy of the report here as well as a more extensive analysis of concerns detailed by AAU Board member Helen Gym at the Public School Notebook website: http://thenotebook.org/blog/102271/no-resolution-violence-south-philly-hs

top

Listen to Here and Now

Feb. 9th: Boston’s “Here and Now” radio show features Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jeff Gammage discussing the South Philadelphia High School situation. Find it here and scroll to the story at 25:50 »

Other Phila. schools handle racial, ethnic tensions

By Kristen A. Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 4, 2010
Mia-lia Kiernan makes a strong appearance in The Philadelphia Inquirer front page story on February 4, 2010, showing that one of the first steps to addressing racial violence is to recognize it then tackle it. Read the full story »

Tepid response to attacks against Asians is nothing new

By Gustavo Martínez Contreras, The Philadelphia Public School Notebook, Feb. 2010
The Public School Notebook features a retrospective on anti-Asian violence in the District, featuring Debbie Wei. Read the full story »

Philadelphia Human Relations Commission holds its first citywide school violence hearing.

  • Frustration with District failures marks public hearing on school violence
    by Helen Gym, The Philadelphia Public School Notebook, Jan. 28, 2010
    Helen Gym writes about a hearing that is a “damning indictment of the School District.” Read the full story »
  • HRC Hearing on School Violence Held in South Phila.
    By Pat Loeb, KYW1060, Jan. 28, 2010
    Fels student, Vu Le, testifies. Read the full story »
  • Commission hears of violence in many city schools
    By Kristen A. Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 28, 2010
    Read the full story »
  • Violence has students attending in fear
    By Dafney Tales, Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 29, 2010
    Read the full story »
  • Stories of Violence in Philly Schools
    NBC Philadelphia, Jan. 29, 2010
    Read the full story »

AALDEF Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Philadelphia School District

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) filed a complaint on January 19, 2010 for civil rights violations with the U.S. Department of Justice charging the School District of Philadelphia and South
Philadelphia High School (SPHS) with discrimination against Asian students on the basis of race and national origin in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Read the full press release by downloading the PDF.

MLK Day: A Call to Witness and Action
Monday, January 18, 2010

march for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Action

Student Rally and March Against Violence, hosted by Philadelphia Student Union and including co-sponsorships by AAU, Boat People SOS, and Cambodian Association, brought together more than 600 marchers to stop school violence.

top

The Struggle for Safe Schools Continues

Media Coverage from Dec. 16, 2009 to Jan 22, 2010