West Philadelphia Parents Wait In Line For Hours To Get Kids Into Neighborhood Public School
By Pat Loeb and Dray Clark
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Parents waited in line for 24 hours for Monday's kindergarten registration at a West Philadelphia public school, but many of them got turned away.
The demand for a slot in the school has grown steadily over the last several years.
"The opportunity to get our children here is basically the equivalent of a private education," said Patrick Videll, a parent.
Penn-Alexander opened 10 years ago, a partnership between the school district and the University of Pennsylvania. But, in the last few years -- even as families abandoned other public schools -- entrance to Penn-Alexander became a competition, with the line forming earlier each year.
This year, the line started forming at 9 a.m. Sunday and savvy parents had a phone tree to alert each other.
"It was a long night, but hey, it was a sacrifice for getting your child into a great school and we'd do it again if we had too," said Kris Love.
Unee Lee arrived at 9:30 and was 41st in line. "We got a phone call by 9:10 from my wife's friend. She said there was already 15 ahead of us, so I just rolled up my bed and got out of my place. Already 25 filled in."
Lee was happy; he'll probably get one of the 60 slots, but some in the community are angry. Spruce Hill neighbors passed a resolution saying every child in the drawing area has a right to attend the school. The school district spokesman, though, says spots are limited to avoid overcrowding.
