Eric Hitchner News Today

In 2020, Egypt Luckey graduated from Building 21, a high school in Northwest Philadelphia affiliated with the Learning Innovative network, which emphasizes real-world learning experiences. For the entirety of her high school career, Luckey never had a public school library available to her, and she thinks it put her at a disadvantage during the transition […]

The number of school librarians in the district declined over the past decade, from about 57 in the 2012-2013 school year to just one in 2023-2024. The post Many Philadelphia

Since the pandemic, Philadelphia School District reports a decline in student participation in its free breakfast program.

A heat wave along the East Coast and in the Midwest leads to closings, shorter school days.

Amid sweltering heat waves, classes have resumed in many districts around the country that have outdated heating and cooling systems — or no air conditioning at all.

Amid sweltering heat waves, classes have resumed in many districts around the country that have outdated heating and cooling systems — or no air conditioning at all.

Amid sweltering heat waves, classes have resumed in many districts around the country that have outdated heating and cooling systems — or no air conditioning at all.

Eric Hitchner, an English high school teacher in Philadelphia, regarding the lack of air conditioning in his fourth-floor, 111-year-old classroom and how COVID-19 relief funds were spent on education tech, like smartboards, instead of cooling systems. Last September, when it was in the low 70s outside, Hitchner’s classroom was 86 degrees inside. Hitchner’s Philly school is one of the estimated 36,000 public schools nationwide that do not have adequate air conditioning. (NPR — Aug. 28, 2023...

Based on information shared with staff Tuesday, it seems unlikely that students and staff will be able to return to Building 21 this year. More asbestos has been discovered.