From rodents to a ribbon-cutting: How a Philadelphia community united to build a school

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When Philadelphia student Chelsea Mungo wrote to her state senators pleading for renovations for her rodent-infested, century-old elementary school, she never imagined she would one day receive thunderous applause while cutting the ribbon on a $62 million building.

“I’m just so happy right now,” Mungo said at last week’s official opening of the new Lewis C. Cassidy Academics Plus School in West Philadelphia’s Overbook neighborhood.

The old Lewis C. Cassidy building — the one Mungo told her elected officials in 2017 felt like “prison” — was crumbling. The new version, ready for students to start on Aug. 26, would fit in on Google’s campus. The walls are almost blindingly white. The classroom seating is modular and adjustable for even the wiggliest students. There’s a new playground, a sensory room for pre-kindergartners, a “maker’s space,” and an innovation lab.

“Success Starts Here” is emblazoned in the front entryway, in a font bigger than many of the school’s youngest students.

Cassidy is the second new building the Philadelphia district opened this calendar year, and officials said they hope there will be many more to come. Philadelphia schools are 73 years old on average, with some buildings constructed as far back as 1878. Crumbling infrastructure, damaged asbestos , and lack of air conditioning has closed some schools recently.

As Mungo told senators, aging and unsafe school buildings make it tough for students to learn or envision themselves working in modern office buildings and workspaces. Mungo, now 17 and a Central High School student, has her eyes set on New York University and a biomedical engineering degree. Imagining that future was challenging when she had been learning math in a school with leaky pipes and a mouse infestation.

Despite that dire situation, seven years and a pandemic passed between Mungo’s letter and the opening of the new Cassidy building. Facing a nearly $8 billion estimated price tag to make all of the necessary improvements to the city’s schools, district officials, and state lawmakers say Philadelphia needs more money to build more schools like the new Cassidy.

The district’s capital improvement plan allocates $3.3 billion for fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2030. Of that, $766.9 million is set aside for new construction, $544 million for major renovations, and the rest is split between projects like HVAC updates and electrical work. The plan is funded mostly with proceeds from the district’s bond sales and some limited reimbursement funds from the state .

Philadelphia students “absolutely deserve this,” Superintendent Tony Watlington said, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“There are so many communities that are suffering as a result of the years of disinvestment,” said Democratic state Rep. Morgan Cephas at the event. “We have to ensure that Cassidy is not the last school that we are rebuilding.”

At the ribbon cutting ceremony, students dressed in suits and ties posed for photos with their family members — many of whom had a hand in designing the school itself.

Yaszmeen Muhammad, an autistic support teacher at Cassidy since 2009, said she and other teachers and community members were very involved with the architectural process, which was led by the Black-owned construction company Perryman Shoemaker. (District officials said Cassidy is the first school in the history of the district to be developed by a Black-owned construction company.)

Muhammad said she, other educators, and Overbrook residents wanted to make sure the front vestibule could accommodate students running in from the rain, and advocated for enough space to have class outside on warm spring days.

“We really take pride in the new building and I’m so glad that we were a part of this,” Muhammad said.

She said she cried when she entered the building for the first time.

“I can’t believe it finally got done,” said Tamara Young, a grandparent from the neighborhood who also helped guide the design process.

The building will accommodate over 600 pre-K-8 students this year in 26 classrooms, with a new playground and basketball court.

Joshua Harris, 9, is about to start fourth grade at Cassidy next week. His favorite part of the new building? The gym. His simple verdict: “I like it.” He said he’s also looking forward to incorporating his love of art and painting into his classwork this year.

Outside, there’s a bench dedicated to Marcus Yates, a 5-year-old who was shot and killed before his first day of kindergarten at Cassidy in 1988. His mother, Rochelle Yates-Whittington, had attended school in the old Cassidy building as did her siblings and her other children. She spoke passionately about what Cassidy has meant to her family at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

She’s also donating a copy of her book — “ Can You Fix My Heart ” — to the school’s new library.

Yates-Whittington said she hopes her family’s story will help other families and young people who’ve been impacted by ongoing gun violence in the city .

“I love Cassidy because you loved on us,” Yates-Whittington said to the current and former Cassidy teachers and school leaders at the event. “You nurtured my kids back to health. You protected them … no matter what was going on in their life, you were here for them.”

Now, she hopes the new school building will do the same for future generations.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org .