Philadelphia Turnaround Plan Sparks Community Protest

The Philadelphia Daily News (5/1, Simon) reports, "About 200 people attended a quickly convened town-hall-style meeting at a church Sunday night to decry a Philadelphia School District plan that would close dozens of schools and shift thousands of students into charter schools." The piece notes that the plan calls for some 67 schools to be closed over the next five years, and for the central office being "dismantled." "In spirited speeches at the Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, speakers encouraged listeners to let public officials know that they believe the proposed plan would not benefit the city's public education system."