Delayed School Opening

[Please see the following letter from Dr. Shawn Bird, Chief of Schools.]

Dear Parents and Guardians:

I write today to provide an update on the building renovations that are being completed at the Ben Franklin – Science Leadership Academy Complex.  Our crews have made significant progress since my last communication. However, elevators that were being used to transport construction materials, classroom furniture and other items are now offline, significantly impacting our construction schedule. As such, we have made the decision to delay school opening for Benjamin Franklin and Science Leadership Academy until Thursday, September 5, 2019.

We are doing everything humanly possible to keep the construction process moving forward while we actively try to get the elevators back online.  This includes hiring additional construction workers to manually transport materials using the stairways throughout the weekend.

We realize this is not an ideal situation and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and your family. Please know that our ultimate goal remains creating a safe, welcoming and dynamic new learning environment for our students.

In the meantime, students and families are welcome to come to the school from 8 to 10 a.m. on both Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4 to pick up TransPasses. Breakfast will also be available for students from 8 to 10 a.m. both days.

Thank you again for your patience throughout this process. We will provide another update on Tuesday, September 3. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 215-400-4820 or by email at sbird@philasd.org.