Moffet is a 50-year neighborhood anchor. It is diverse, high-performing, and stable. Decisions of this magnitude deserve full transparency and meaningful community participation.

 

Moffet is not mentioned meaningfully in the written Facilities Plan, yet 185 K–4 students would be displaced, and one of Philadelphia’s most diverse and well-performing elementary communities would be dismantled. We deserve to be part of the public discussion, not absent from it.

I. The Proposal Does Not Meet the District’s Four Pillars

Strengthening PreK–8 Programming Through Better Use of Space
 Moffet already provides PreK programming and is a successful PreK–5 school. We already meet this pillar. The proposal does not strengthen early childhood access — it breaks apart an elementary community that is functioning well.

At the same time, Hackett would experience a projected 48% K–4 enrollment surge, reaching 567 K–4 students in a building already growing organically at 13% annually. That is not better use of space. It is concentration without demonstrated capacity.

Reinvesting in Neighborhood High Schools as Community Anchors
 The plan does not strengthen Old Kensington’s pathway to high school. With the proposed closure of Penn Treaty and redrawn boundaries, our students face greater instability in both middle and high school progression. There has been no clear reinvestment strategy presented for our corridor.

Reducing Unnecessary School Transitions
 This proposal increases transitions. Students who enrolled expecting continuity through fifth grade would be forced to move earlier than planned. Research — and our lived post-COVID experience — makes clear that unnecessary transitions have academic and emotional consequences, particularly for students with IEPs.

Expanding Access to Grades 5–12 Criteria-Based and CTE Schools
 The proposed catchment redraw separates Moffet from its natural neighborhood and shifts families toward longer, less walkable routes. Accessibility is not theoretical — it is about whether families can realistically reach and trust their catchment schools. When boundaries feel gerrymandered or impractical, families leave the system. They choose magnet, private, cyber, or suburban schools. That weakens enrollment and the tax base rather than strengthening opportunity.

II. This Decision Breaks Up a Unique and High-Performing Community

Moffet serves one of the most racially and economically diverse student populations in Philadelphia. There is no single racial majority. Our students are Asian, Black, Hispanic, Arab, Muslim, White, and multi-racial. More than five languages are spoken in our homes. We are 100% free-lunch eligible and outperform the District average in both Math and ELA.

You are not closing a struggling school. You are dismantling one that works.

That diversity is not incidental — it is rare in Philadelphia. It should be preserved, not disrupted.

III. Accessibility and IEP Concerns Have Not Been Addressed

• Walking distances increase for a majority of families.
 • Catchment boundaries disconnect students from their immediate neighborhood.
 • Hackett’s K–4 enrollment would surge by 48% without a published building capacity analysis.
 • No comprehensive IEP transition plan has been provided.

Federal precedent requires documented review and parental involvement when placement changes affect students with disabilities. A one-year timeline without public capacity assessment is insufficient.

Accessibility is not only distance — it is stability, familiarity, and readiness.

 

IV. We Are Ready to Work on Viable Middle School Alternatives

The District has presented one option. We are presenting multiple good-faith alternatives and are willing to work collaboratively on them:

Designate higher-performing K–8 schools such as H.A. Brown, Hunter, or William McKinley as formal middle-grade feeders for Moffet students. 

Expand Moffet to a K–8 model. If modernization is part of the District’s vision, then build us out in alignment with that goal rather than closing us. Moffet’s academic performance and community stability make it a strong K–8 candidate.

Each of these options deserves enrollment modeling, building capacity analysis, and a public conversation before dismantling a successful elementary school.

Our Requests

• Publicly release full building capacity data for Moffet and Hackett prior to any vote.
• Commit to a transparent discussion of alternative middle school pathways serving Old Kensington.
• Stop omitting Moffet from the language of the Facilities Plan when our school is directly impacted.
• We are not resisting change reflexively. We are asking for thoughtful, data-driven planning that preserves what is working while addressing middle-grade needs responsibly.