About Robin…

Robin Lowry lives in Germantown and teaches Health & Physical Education at Wister Elementary.  In her 22 years with the Philly School District teaching all grade levels she has experienced the daily joys and frustrations that teaching in large schools systems can bring. She looks forward to sharing those experiences with all who are interested.  She is also a Certified Iyengar Yoga instructor with a Ph.D. in Kinesiology. 

Follow Robin’s fight for Wister at EastFallsLocal.com, and on “Save Wister Elementary,” a Facebook community of 300+ who share pics & info from the latest rallies, plus updates on upcoming votes, meetings, more.  

POST QUESTIONS & COMMENTS FOR ROBIN HERE, or email her directly for a private response.

When it comes to School District tactics, Robin Lowry’s seen ’em all in her 22 years in the Philadelphia School system. Including in 2011 when Mastery Charter Schools angled for and “won” Simon Gratz Public High School in North Philly, causing mixed feelings in the community.

For instance, a recent NPR report featured Simon Gratz as a shining example of how a city’s most violent & underachieving school can blossom with just the kinda innovative, outside-the-box efforts charter schools are known for.  Sounds great so far…

But the report also revealed for every “turn-around” school like Simon Gratz(whose improvements depended on independent donations, btw), there arescores of “dumpster” schools where under-achieving students founder in mediocrity while bleeding our tax dollars to the private sector.

No one is arguing that charter schools can’t work — but the current charter school model creates an unfair, publicly-funded system that too often fleeces neighborhood resources for corporate profits.  So suggested the NPR report, and so echo calls from educators, advocates, parents, and news sources citing surveys, studies,legislation…  Not just in Philadelphia, but all over the US.

Robin’s commentary seeks to provide readers her personal viewpoints along with links to articles and websites for further illumination. As a teacher, she sees her struggles at Wister as an opportunity to educate as many people as possible about important issues being discussed and voted on today.

What’s happening in Germantown could happen here in East Falls, where Mifflin faces its own performance challenges.  Robin shares her story in the hopes of getting public school kids & teachers the support they need to build the best possible future for all of us.

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