September 26, 2025 • 28 mins
Today we’re joined by Dr. Stacy E. Holland, Executive Director of Elevate 215. With 30 years of experience creating educational solutions for children, Dr. Holland is helping to align Philadelphia’s education community around a shared vision: ensuring every child has access to a quality school that prepares them to thrive. She shares insights on School Selection Month, the new Philly Schools Compass tool and important updates to the Apply Philly Charter system.
Connect with Elevate 215 & Resources
As part of our partnership with the Philadelphia Youth Network, we also hosted students over the summer for the WorkReady Program. In this episode, you’ll hear an interview conducted by student Jonathan Fulton with longtime community activist and current Philadelphia City Council member, Councilmember Anthony Phillips. Councilmember Phillips represents the 9th District and first joined City Council in a 2022 special election. Learn more about his work and background
Connect with Elevate 215 & Resources
- 🌐 Website: elevate215.org
- 📸 Instagram: @elevate_215
- 🌐 Philly Schools Compass: phillyschoolscompass.org
- 🌐 Apply Philly Charter: applyphillycharter.org
As part of our partnership with the Philadelphia Youth Network, we also hosted students over the summer for the WorkReady Program. In this episode, you’ll hear an interview conducted by student Jonathan Fulton with longtime community activist and current Philadelphia City Council member, Councilmember Anthony Phillips. Councilmember Phillips represents the 9th District and first joined City Council in a 2022 special election. Learn more about his work and background
- 🌐 Official City Council Profile: Councilmember Anthony Phillips | District 9
- 📸 Instagram (official): @phillipsdist9
- 📘 Facebook: Phillips Dist 9
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrel. As part of our
partnership with Philadelphia Youth Network, we hosted students over the
summer for the Work Ready program. We have an interview
conducted by one of those students, Jonathan Fulton, with a
longtime community activist now Philadelphia City Council Member, Anthony Phillips.
But first, there are some great resources for parents and
(00:22):
students in Philadelphia who need help navigating school selection season.
Finding the right school is always a challenge for parents
and students. So I am absolutely delighted to introduce doctor
Stacey E. Holland, executive director of Elevate two point fifteen.
She's going to be talking about schools and how we
can make the best decisions for our kids. With thirty
(00:44):
years of experience creating educational solutions for children, doctor Holland
is helping to align Philadelphia's education community around a shared
vision making sure that every kid has access to a
quality school that prepares them to thrive. She's here to
talk talk about the school selection season, the new Philly
School's Compass tool, and updates to the Apply Philly charter system. So,
(01:07):
doctor Holland, thank you so much for joining us here today.
And it's a very fraught process, I think, for parents
and for students. So let's see how we can help
them make the right decision for their kids. So you've
spent three decades shaping education in Philadelphia. Let's go back
into an origin story. What inspired your passion for the
work and how does Elevate to fifteen fit into that journey.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, well, thanks so much for having me, Lorraine. It's
always good to be with you. You know, what really
brought me into the field of education is my own
journey around education and the challenges I had as a
learner and wanting to really make sure that kids don't
have that level of struggle, and so much of it
(01:51):
is about really parents having access to a wide variety
of options, and so I have loved the journey orny
of building and talking and figuring out with kids and
their parents and administrators and system leaders, how can we
actually improve the quality of the experience for young people.
So that leads us to school selection season and the
(02:14):
work we do at Elevate two one five, which is
really focused on how do we make sure that there's
great schools, there's a great workforce. By honoring teachers and
school leaders, and that we're working with our system partners
to build tools that really help families and kids.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Well, doctor Holland, you talk about school selection season, Why
is this so important for Philadelphia families and how does
Elevate two point fifteen helping parents navigate this process?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, our tagline at Elevate two one five is Philly's
future starts at school, and school being able to choose
a high quality school that meets the need of your
individual young person is mission critical. So we are now
in what we call the recruitment season, and in that season,
it's the time in which you can apply to both
(03:02):
public schools, public charter schools, private schools, Catholic schools. So
you really have to be educated around one who is
my child, Let me understand all of their nuances, all
the things they like, all the things that won't work
for them. Then you have to have a set of
criteria about the school in which you're choosing. And Philadelphia,
(03:26):
we're fortunate to have over four hundred options, whether it's
a district charter, public charter, Catholic, and or private schools.
So there's lots to choose from, so you have to
understand your criteria. The third is then I got to
go out and find well which schools actually meet my
criteria based on my young person. And then last you
got to do the match right. The magic is in
(03:47):
the cookie. How can you make sure that I'm actually
choosing what makes sense for my kid. One of the
things that Elevates doing during this season is a couple
of things is one and we were building a website
called Philly Compass that will be a navigator. Parents can
go on and ask questions, Hey, may can I find
(04:08):
all the schools that have really good science programs? Or
can I have schools that actually have a great have
athletics programs or have a special needs programs? And it
will help navigate you to those schools that meet this
narrow down choice. It could be proximity. I only want
to go to schools within five miles or two miles.
(04:29):
I want to go to schools that actually are dual language.
I have a young person that speaks both Spanish and
English and I really want them to have an emergent experience.
So through this tool that will be available, you can
go on to phillyschoolscompus dot com and you will be
able to put in your selections and then up will
(04:50):
pop a series of schools that meet that criteria and
then it'll give you all your contact information. That's really critical.
The second thing we're doing is apply Philly Charter. So
in that Apply Philly Charter in application land as we
are in right now, you can go on the school
district's website philisity dot org and you're finding this function
(05:13):
called find Your Fit. That's the site that school that
individuals can go on and actually look for district schools.
You should start applying now. The window to apply actually
closes in October. I think it's October twenty third, so
really important. If you're looking for a charter school, you
(05:33):
can go to apply Philly Charter dot org that season
opens up. That application window opens up September the nineteenth
and will be open until January the nineteenth.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
They are also big updates to apply Philly Charter the
charter system this year. Can you talk about the new
ranking system, how that works and why it improves access
for kids?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Yeah, so, you know, one of the challenges is every
year we see about one hundred and thirty thousand applications
or about and that represents about thirty thousand families, but
we only have about eleven thousand opportunities available. So this year,
in order to try and make the process more transparent,
(06:18):
we actually went to a ranking system, so parents can
now go in, they can apply to a number of schools,
but they can say here's my top five. And that's
really important because now that ranking system will allow us
to try and match the young person closer to what
their choice is if a seat is available, and so
(06:40):
one of the reasons why we did that. It's also
important to note that the school district has also went
to a ranking system, so the goal is to create
efficiency in both systems and to expedite the match. How
I know that I actually how did I know I'm
closer to getting a school than I want? Well, if
you rate it one, two, three, four, five, or how
many many you're allowed to do, it'll allow the system
(07:03):
to try and sort out all the kids who don't
want that school and push you further up the line.
So what we're hoping it will do is actually reduce
the wait time, and that's really critical. Right, if I
know I want to go to this number one school
and I have an opportunity and there's a space available,
you'd want to know that sooner versus later.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, Well, for parents who want more information, what is
the best way to connect with Elevate to fifteen and
to learn about these resources? And finally, also maybe if
you could repeat all those many websites that people can
take advantage of.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Sure, so let me start with the school application websites,
because those are the most important in this conversation. If
you are applying to the school District of Philadelphia, you
want to go to philipsd dot org. If you are
applying to a charter school, go to apply Phillycharter dot org.
(08:00):
If you want to search for a school, you're going
to go to Philly Schools compus all one word dot org.
Those are your three the three areas, the three websites
if you really want to kind of sort your way
through it, and there's lots of instructional materials on all
three of those websites to actually help you in your journey.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
And will we have access to that through your website
Elevate too fifteen dot org.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Absolutely, if you remember nothing else, you can go to
elevate Elevate too fifteen dot org, and it will direct
you to both phillycompas. It will direct you to apply
Philly Charter as well.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
That's fantastic. It's such a challenging process finding the right
school for a student. These are tools that really assist
parents and students finding.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
The right fit.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Doctor Staceye Holland, Executive Director, elevate two fifty thirty years
of experience creating educational solutions for kids. Doctor Holland is
helping to align Philadelphia's education community around a shared vision,
making sure that every child has access to a quality
school that prepares them to thrive. Thank you so much
for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Thank you so much for having me Lorraine, have a
great day.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
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(09:40):
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Speaker 6 (10:29):
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Speaker 7 (10:30):
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Speaker 7 (10:50):
Hi, I'm joving food when they work. Ready student, I
heard media and today I have a very special guest
with us IS Council member Anthony Phillips. He represents the
night district and an education, youth adveracy, and community leadership.
Before co founded Youth Action, he worked titlesly to empower
young people across the city. Now, as a council member,
(11:12):
he continues to focus on education. So I'm pleased to
introduce Anthony Phillips. How are you today?
Speaker 6 (11:18):
I'm doing well, Jonathan, I'm better now I'm speaking to you.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Man.
Speaker 7 (11:23):
First, congratulations. I was excited to hear about you receiving
your doctor degree recently. I know I'm encouraged by your
accomplishments as a young black men in this city as
of today. So what was one of your career goals
to be a city council member in Philadelphia.
Speaker 8 (11:39):
I started off in doing community work when I was
in high school around thirteen, fourteen years age. I learned
about this program called the Tavis Valley Foundation when I
was a teenager and I went to a local conference
that taught students the importance of learning how to be
civically engaged in volunteering in their community. So, out of
(12:01):
this conference that I went to that was in Washington,
d C. I was able to found an organization with
the help of people I met from Philadelphia, including now
State representative Jordan Harris who was a teenager DN and
Jeanine Lewis who is a teenager INN and a few
other folks. We started organization called Youth Action, and that
was my way of entering the field of service. I
(12:24):
volunteered helping to get young people involved with leadership and
organizing projects and programs in the city. And then from
there people would say, if you love service so much,
why don't you think about running office a government office.
I had always read about government office in terms of
in high school and also like in middle school, because
like in middle school, I was a fanatic about the
(12:46):
civils movement, and once I started like getting a better
understanding of like the the rights movement, also like you know,
the history of people of Avenuercent, I got excited about
wanting to do more for others.
Speaker 6 (12:57):
So long story.
Speaker 8 (12:58):
Short, I always had government and politics in my mind,
but I always knew I want to do service. So
what I now know is that, you know, because I
was intimately involved with helping young people become more engaged
with service in the communities, I ended up making a
career out of what I started with you Action.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
When I was a teenager.
Speaker 8 (13:17):
Other people saw me, you know, doing work in the community,
including Schreel Parker.
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Who was running from mayor at the time.
Speaker 8 (13:24):
And I ended up becoming a committee person, an intern
first in our office, then a committee person, and I
took both of those positions very seriously. So i'd say
this to say to you, is that like, if you
start off volunteering, just interested in just doing service, you know,
all the other things like getting involved in politics starts
to come because people start to notice you and think
(13:46):
of you as potentially as someone that can be trusted
to be a leader.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
You know.
Speaker 6 (13:50):
That's how I got started.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
I got started because I was just doing service as
a young person, trying to make a real big difference
in my neighborhood. And next thing, you know, thought of
me to run for office. I was hesitant because politics
could be murky, but at the same time I really
was thinking about like you know, people saying to me, Anthony,
I know you can do this, and family and friends,
and I was just like, you know what, I decided
(14:13):
to run in twenty twenty two, and then next thing
you know, I'm in office.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (14:18):
That's amazing.
Speaker 6 (14:19):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 7 (14:20):
So you mentioned the youth action, So far. You've been
in this position for a little bit more than three years, right, yeah,
and what changes have you initiated and how can they
help the youth in the city.
Speaker 8 (14:32):
So when I first came or filled office city Council,
I was adamant about doing one thing, making lives better
for young people, but also our most vulnerable citizens as well,
which include our adult citizens, which are seniors. And I
always believe that if you make life better for young
(14:53):
people as well as our seniors, that takes care of
every demographic in a city, because if you take care
of them, everyone's going to be really excited, right. And
so what that being said, when it came to young people,
one of the first things that you know, I was
able to do was I visited every school in our district.
Our district represents northwest Philadelphia, so that's like Mount Arie,
(15:15):
westoll Glane, you know a little bit of East o'glane,
al and the Fern Rock and lower Northeast. So I
was visiting every school and I came across a parent
at the Saint Anna Nation School in westoll Glane who
came to me during a school visit and said, hey,
our school needs speed bumps. I said, well, that's great.
(15:36):
I said, man, that's great. Maybe we could find a
way to work on it. You know, I say, I'm
just two months in. I was only two months into
the job, maybe a mile and a half at that.
I said, But what I do know is that the
city normally only works more closely with the Phildelphia public
schools when it comes to speed bumps at the time.
It doesn't mean the parochial schools and private schools couldn't
get them, but it just means, like the public schools
(15:57):
did come first. She says, well, what about our babies.
We need speed bumps here too, because our babies are
potentially going to be hit. And she said, what is
a study that you know that needs to be done?
And that's when it dawned to me. I was like,
she was like, I'm demanding for you to get a
speed bump in front of our school. And I'm talking
to her about a study that needs to be done
to put a speed bump in front of a school.
I'm like, why do you? And that Dawnam is like,
(16:19):
why does the city make people do a study for
an already vulnerable area and it's for its speed bump?
So I created a law that ultimately bypasses any study
for a speed bump to have to you know, be
done in order to get a speedbump in front of
a school.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
So now it's called Student Pedestrian Bill.
Speaker 8 (16:39):
So basically, if every school in the city of Philadelphia
is getting a speed bump with no particular bureaucratic study
as a result of me visiting neighborhoods, and so that's
helping young people stay safe. I also was the author
of the ski maps bill. Some young people were not
as excided about that bill because they thought it was
like a fashion trend, but we wanted to protect you
(17:00):
if we want to protect them, and made them feel
really good in terms of like we want to see
your face, we want to be excited about who you
are and your identity. Unfortunately, too much currental behavior has
been associated.
Speaker 6 (17:13):
With ski masks. So I was able to ban that.
Speaker 8 (17:17):
Mostly for everybody, but it was a thing that was
impacting a lot of young people in the city because
a lot of young people are being terrorized unfortunately wearing
ski masks, and then a lot of young people were
also being looked upon for wearing them.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
So we banded around all of our city properties.
Speaker 8 (17:32):
In addition to that, I created this opportunity for communities
to come together in our district. We have five major
festivals that are inviting young people and families to come together,
including our Wives Worth Day and we brought that back,
which was a historic thing that we were doing in
our community and it's a nice family fund festival. And
in addition to that, I ended up doing a program
(17:54):
called I just organized it. It now called Philadelphia After School Height,
myself and councilormb Isaiah Thomas, along with a couple of
nonprofit partners and cuting the Philadelphi Youth Basketball We're going
to be organizing the one of the largest at the
school programs the city is seen. So ultimately, we're trying
to dispel the myth that there's no youth programs in
(18:17):
a city. So we're trying to get one hundred or
so at the school programs to come together at the
Philadelphia Basketball Facility. We're inviting every student from Prokio public
and private schools to come to this event and sign up.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
We want parents to come sign your kids.
Speaker 8 (18:31):
Up for a program because we want to dispel the
myth that there's no programs for young people be involved in.
We believe that if there's a Karen and loving adult
in your life during the after school hours, that will
help us decrease crime and also put young people onto
positive tracks. Just like you, Jonathan, you're here getting an
experience as a young person here at iHeartRadio. So when
(18:52):
students have Carrien and love in adults like Lorraine Balamoro
or anything of that nature, what happens is that things
go well. So that's what we're doing September twenty seventh
from eleven to three pm at the Philadelphia Youth Basketball
six Man Center located off of with sakon Ad Avenue.
So more information to come on that, so hopefully everyone,
you know, we'll see people there. So yeah, I mean,
(19:14):
and then there's other stuff that we've done for young people,
including you know, other festivals, school festivals, We've we funded schools,
so just.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
There's there's more to go.
Speaker 8 (19:23):
But most importantly, when we make sure that streets are clean,
that's that's helping young people. We're making sure that young
people get opportunities for jobs and at school programs, that's
us helping.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
Young people, among some other stuff.
Speaker 8 (19:35):
So yeah, okay, yeah, oh I also offted the Parent
Task Force to help figure out how we can help
young people get involved parents being better engaged with their
young person, with their with their son and daughters. So yeah,
So that's because we've been talking about people have been
saying we're to parents. Where the parents? So this Parent
Task Force is giving recommendations on how the city can
(19:56):
do better to engage parents with their young people.
Speaker 7 (19:59):
Yeah, okay, all right, that's very good. Prior to this position,
you were the director of a youth organization. What can
we look forward to in the coming year in the
community from your office?
Speaker 6 (20:13):
Wow, I really look forward to this year a lot.
We have a fall.
Speaker 8 (20:20):
Festival in Northeast and on our office that's going to
focus on bringing together young people as I just talked
about in the community for like an October fest, like
right before Halloween, full of candy, fun activities in Northeast.
We have a concert that we're doing with young people
(20:41):
in December. It's called our Holiday Fest in Alane. We're
also opening up an office in Alani for the first
time in the history.
Speaker 6 (20:49):
Of Night District.
Speaker 8 (20:50):
There's going to be an office on fifth Street, which
is the center point near Alanie East o Glane Fern
Rock and Logan, and it's closer to northeast, so our
district is kind of like wide. So we now have
two locations on Wisrif Avenue, and then we're gonna also
have one on Fifth Street, so that's better serve our neighbors.
(21:10):
I'm also looking forward to what I just said earlier
about the Philly at the School Height program where we're
bringing all of these high school students and middle school students,
elementary school students and parents together to learn about after
school programs that are happening in our city. And I'm
also looking forward to doing some legislation that's going to
make sure that apartments you know, are better inspected, you know.
(21:34):
And I'm also looking forward to unveiling our Parent and
Engagement Task Force to make sure the city is really
engage with making sure that parents are involved with their children,
which people always been saying word to parents. This task
force report is going to give recommendations on what you
need to do, what the city can do the better
get parents involved with their children and to the better
(21:56):
support them so the kids can be a better outcome.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
So I'm looking for to.
Speaker 8 (22:00):
That and also in addition to that, I will be really,
I'm really excited about this council session because a lot
of us are working together to achieve.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
This year alone, we've done over one.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
Hundred or so driveways to a driveway program that I
help with the City of Philadelphia.
Speaker 6 (22:17):
I had fun.
Speaker 8 (22:18):
I was the person who initiated to push this over
the past couple of years to get the driveway program funded.
It was something that you know, married Tasko Cherl Parker
advocated for and then when I got there, you know,
conversations with councilor President Clark, and then further support by
Counsel President Kenyatta Johnson. We're now seeing people will get
their driveways fixed. It's taking a little time, but at
(22:40):
least we are able to pilot the program and we're seeing,
you know, a thing that the city normally didn't do,
they're now doing and people are super excited about the
city now doing that for them. And I just want
to say that, like, you know, this year, I'm just
looking forward to service. I'm being out in the neighborhoods,
being out a community. I know there's so many other
initiatives that I haven't even mentioned, but most importantly, we
(23:00):
need to make sure that we're handling the quality life
for our community. I'm constantly trying to come up with
new ideas, especially to protect our commercial quarters and get
more you know, restaurants and businesses in general that we
want on our commercial quarterers. We just got a new
sit down restaurant on wiserf Avenue in our district that
people are excited about, called the Pink Plate. My goal
(23:21):
is to continue to look for opportunities for businesses to
grow that people want to go to on our commercial quarder.
So yeah, I mean there's a lot, a lot to
look forward to, but those are just a couple of highlights.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
So you made all these great accountments, you did all
this great work. Who inspired you to be in this
role that you are right now?
Speaker 8 (23:44):
You know, honestly, I was inspired by my mom and grandmother.
I had to start with them. Plenty of people that
I look up to in terms of you know, mentorship,
but my mom and grandmother really set the foundation for me.
My mom was a single parent. I grew up in
North Philadelphia. We didn't have a lot of financial resources.
We stayed with my grandmother for many years until we
(24:07):
moved to Mount Area, where my mom staid up the
money to buy a house in the one five five
zero section of Mint area. And you know, my mom
sacrificed a lot for me and my sister. She took
on the extra job so we can have food on
the table at cow door and Walmart. My mom was
also in the State office building doing you know, public welfare,
you know, for many years.
Speaker 6 (24:27):
My mom was a hard worker, and she cared and
she loved.
Speaker 8 (24:31):
But she was also serious about me, you know, getting
an education, and she was serious about making sure I
had opportunities in life. My mom, you know, found you know,
ways to put me around decent people all the time
and made sure that I wasn't in the negative route.
So and my grandmother was instrumental because when my mom
wasn't there, my mom, my grandmother, you know, practically raised me.
(24:51):
I stayed at my grandmother's house all the time, and
she taught me about manners. She taught me about the
importance of like being respectful to other But they really
inspired me. I can't tell you how much their love
and the importance of what they did to sacrifice for others.
Like they were so selfless. They barely talked about themselves.
They didn't do a lot for themselves. It's always about
(25:13):
their children. And I think me watching them do stuff
all the time for other people indirectly kind of make
me understand the importance of like wanting to do for
other people, which, honestly, if you don't have that strong foundation,
I don't get to where I am today serving as
a member of Phildelphis City Council. I'm the youngest in
her Philip for city Council. I love the service, I
tell people that, but I said, a lot of times
(25:35):
I don't love is the politics behind stuff, because I
do recognize that some people don't have that foundation of
understanding the importance of giving back and being a servant.
And it's not about us as council members. We're not
meant to be kings or queens. We're meant to be
people to understand that, like when people ask us to
do something, is our responsibility to try our best to
(25:55):
navigate it and to do it in an efficient, effective
and powerful innovative way. And I think I see why
a lot of people think politics is murky is because
sometimes people ask for services to be done and they're
not getting done and they just is a distrust.
Speaker 6 (26:10):
But a lot of times what I've.
Speaker 8 (26:11):
Learned by coming into government is that there's a lot
of bureaucracy, is a lot of people who are in
this unfortunately for power and influence as opposed to service.
And I think that you the reason I say my
mom and grandmother inspiring the most is because there's one
thing people are not going to say about myself is
that I'm interested in power or influence because I have
(26:32):
a strong foundation and my grandmother and my mother who
were never interested in just themselves, They were interested in
the well being of others. And I think that's where
I get a lot of my inspiration from. And you know,
I had a lot of people in.
Speaker 6 (26:45):
My life, you know. You know I told you about,
you know, people that.
Speaker 8 (26:48):
I connected with that helped me get to where I
am right including how I got involved with Cheryl Parker
and her influence. And then I've had you know, inspirations
from mentors you know and high school you know, from
David Ford, Gus Tolsen, you know, Missus Toulson from she
used to work at the Parking Authority in the Sete department.
(27:10):
There's so many different people I can name doctor Michael Adams,
my school principal, my teachers that I worked with. So
I'm also inspired by people like that. I never even
met like David Richardson, because I always thought that he
was always about people and always bout serving people. And
Roxanne Jones, right, I always thought that she was a
person that always thought about people that were in the
(27:32):
working class and how we can elevate them and was
a tireless advocate for them and when she was a
state rep. And so when I think about these people,
I just say, you know what, you know, the foundation
was here and I just need to take it to
another level.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Oh.
Speaker 8 (27:44):
I got to mention John White Junior because John White
Junior has been such an incredible mentor to me of
late and I really appreciate it. He's a former council
member of our district in the ninth district.
Speaker 7 (27:55):
Okay, thank you so much, mister counsel member Anthony Phillis,
Thank you for being here with us so much.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (28:01):
I'm John the Folman entering Heart Radio. Thank you for
joining us today.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app yey Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
What will you stand for?
Speaker 1 (28:26):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrel. As part of our
partnership with Philadelphia Youth Network, we hosted students over the
summer for the Work Ready program. We have an interview
conducted by one of those students, Jonathan Fulton, with a
longtime community activist now Philadelphia City Council Member, Anthony Phillips.
But first, there are some great resources for parents and
(00:22):
students in Philadelphia who need help navigating school selection season.
Finding the right school is always a challenge for parents
and students. So I am absolutely delighted to introduce doctor
Stacey E. Holland, executive director of Elevate two point fifteen.
She's going to be talking about schools and how we
can make the best decisions for our kids. With thirty
(00:44):
years of experience creating educational solutions for children, doctor Holland
is helping to align Philadelphia's education community around a shared
vision making sure that every kid has access to a
quality school that prepares them to thrive. She's here to
talk talk about the school selection season, the new Philly
School's Compass tool, and updates to the Apply Philly charter system. So,
(01:07):
doctor Holland, thank you so much for joining us here today.
And it's a very fraught process, I think, for parents
and for students. So let's see how we can help
them make the right decision for their kids. So you've
spent three decades shaping education in Philadelphia. Let's go back
into an origin story. What inspired your passion for the
work and how does Elevate to fifteen fit into that journey.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, well, thanks so much for having me, Lorraine. It's
always good to be with you. You know, what really
brought me into the field of education is my own
journey around education and the challenges I had as a
learner and wanting to really make sure that kids don't
have that level of struggle, and so much of it
(01:51):
is about really parents having access to a wide variety
of options, and so I have loved the journey orny
of building and talking and figuring out with kids and
their parents and administrators and system leaders, how can we
actually improve the quality of the experience for young people.
So that leads us to school selection season and the
(02:14):
work we do at Elevate two one five, which is
really focused on how do we make sure that there's
great schools, there's a great workforce. By honoring teachers and
school leaders, and that we're working with our system partners
to build tools that really help families and kids.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Well, doctor Holland, you talk about school selection season, Why
is this so important for Philadelphia families and how does
Elevate two point fifteen helping parents navigate this process?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Well, our tagline at Elevate two one five is Philly's
future starts at school, and school being able to choose
a high quality school that meets the need of your
individual young person is mission critical. So we are now
in what we call the recruitment season, and in that season,
it's the time in which you can apply to both
(03:02):
public schools, public charter schools, private schools, Catholic schools. So
you really have to be educated around one who is
my child, Let me understand all of their nuances, all
the things they like, all the things that won't work
for them. Then you have to have a set of
criteria about the school in which you're choosing. And Philadelphia,
(03:26):
we're fortunate to have over four hundred options, whether it's
a district charter, public charter, Catholic, and or private schools.
So there's lots to choose from, so you have to
understand your criteria. The third is then I got to
go out and find well which schools actually meet my
criteria based on my young person. And then last you
got to do the match right. The magic is in
(03:47):
the cookie. How can you make sure that I'm actually
choosing what makes sense for my kid. One of the
things that Elevates doing during this season is a couple
of things is one and we were building a website
called Philly Compass that will be a navigator. Parents can
go on and ask questions, Hey, may can I find
(04:08):
all the schools that have really good science programs? Or
can I have schools that actually have a great have
athletics programs or have a special needs programs? And it
will help navigate you to those schools that meet this
narrow down choice. It could be proximity. I only want
to go to schools within five miles or two miles.
(04:29):
I want to go to schools that actually are dual language.
I have a young person that speaks both Spanish and
English and I really want them to have an emergent experience.
So through this tool that will be available, you can
go on to phillyschoolscompus dot com and you will be
able to put in your selections and then up will
(04:50):
pop a series of schools that meet that criteria and
then it'll give you all your contact information. That's really critical.
The second thing we're doing is apply Philly Charter. So
in that Apply Philly Charter in application land as we
are in right now, you can go on the school
district's website philisity dot org and you're finding this function
(05:13):
called find Your Fit. That's the site that school that
individuals can go on and actually look for district schools.
You should start applying now. The window to apply actually
closes in October. I think it's October twenty third, so
really important. If you're looking for a charter school, you
(05:33):
can go to apply Philly Charter dot org that season
opens up. That application window opens up September the nineteenth
and will be open until January the nineteenth.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
They are also big updates to apply Philly Charter the
charter system this year. Can you talk about the new
ranking system, how that works and why it improves access
for kids?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Yeah, so, you know, one of the challenges is every
year we see about one hundred and thirty thousand applications
or about and that represents about thirty thousand families, but
we only have about eleven thousand opportunities available. So this year,
in order to try and make the process more transparent,
(06:18):
we actually went to a ranking system, so parents can
now go in, they can apply to a number of schools,
but they can say here's my top five. And that's
really important because now that ranking system will allow us
to try and match the young person closer to what
their choice is if a seat is available, and so
(06:40):
one of the reasons why we did that. It's also
important to note that the school district has also went
to a ranking system, so the goal is to create
efficiency in both systems and to expedite the match. How
I know that I actually how did I know I'm
closer to getting a school than I want? Well, if
you rate it one, two, three, four, five, or how
many many you're allowed to do, it'll allow the system
(07:03):
to try and sort out all the kids who don't
want that school and push you further up the line.
So what we're hoping it will do is actually reduce
the wait time, and that's really critical. Right, if I
know I want to go to this number one school
and I have an opportunity and there's a space available,
you'd want to know that sooner versus later.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, Well, for parents who want more information, what is
the best way to connect with Elevate to fifteen and
to learn about these resources? And finally, also maybe if
you could repeat all those many websites that people can
take advantage of.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Sure, so let me start with the school application websites,
because those are the most important in this conversation. If
you are applying to the school District of Philadelphia, you
want to go to philipsd dot org. If you are
applying to a charter school, go to apply Phillycharter dot org.
(08:00):
If you want to search for a school, you're going
to go to Philly Schools compus all one word dot org.
Those are your three the three areas, the three websites
if you really want to kind of sort your way
through it, and there's lots of instructional materials on all
three of those websites to actually help you in your journey.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
And will we have access to that through your website
Elevate too fifteen dot org.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Absolutely, if you remember nothing else, you can go to
elevate Elevate too fifteen dot org, and it will direct
you to both phillycompas. It will direct you to apply
Philly Charter as well.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
That's fantastic. It's such a challenging process finding the right
school for a student. These are tools that really assist
parents and students finding.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
The right fit.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Doctor Staceye Holland, Executive Director, elevate two fifty thirty years
of experience creating educational solutions for kids. Doctor Holland is
helping to align Philadelphia's education community around a shared vision,
making sure that every child has access to a quality
school that prepares them to thrive. Thank you so much
for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Thank you so much for having me Lorraine, have a
great day.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Teaching is more than a profession. It's a calling, a
calling that is strengthened by community. Join your peers at
the eighth National Black Men in Education convening in Philadelphia
this November. Come see what it means to be part
of a powerful community dedicated to driving positive social change
(09:40):
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Speaker 3 (10:16):
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Speaker 5 (10:20):
My son, Ricky, took his life by the use of
a firearm. It broke me and I contemplated suicide my grandson.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
I was gonna have.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
To be here for him.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
I still own my firearm. I keep it in a
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Speaker 7 (10:50):
Hi, I'm joving food when they work. Ready student, I
heard media and today I have a very special guest
with us IS Council member Anthony Phillips. He represents the
night district and an education, youth adveracy, and community leadership.
Before co founded Youth Action, he worked titlesly to empower
young people across the city. Now, as a council member,
(11:12):
he continues to focus on education. So I'm pleased to
introduce Anthony Phillips. How are you today?
Speaker 6 (11:18):
I'm doing well, Jonathan, I'm better now I'm speaking to you.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Man.
Speaker 7 (11:23):
First, congratulations. I was excited to hear about you receiving
your doctor degree recently. I know I'm encouraged by your
accomplishments as a young black men in this city as
of today. So what was one of your career goals
to be a city council member in Philadelphia.
Speaker 8 (11:39):
I started off in doing community work when I was
in high school around thirteen, fourteen years age. I learned
about this program called the Tavis Valley Foundation when I
was a teenager and I went to a local conference
that taught students the importance of learning how to be
civically engaged in volunteering in their community. So, out of
(12:01):
this conference that I went to that was in Washington,
d C. I was able to found an organization with
the help of people I met from Philadelphia, including now
State representative Jordan Harris who was a teenager DN and
Jeanine Lewis who is a teenager INN and a few
other folks. We started organization called Youth Action, and that
was my way of entering the field of service. I
(12:24):
volunteered helping to get young people involved with leadership and
organizing projects and programs in the city. And then from
there people would say, if you love service so much,
why don't you think about running office a government office.
I had always read about government office in terms of
in high school and also like in middle school, because
like in middle school, I was a fanatic about the
(12:46):
civils movement, and once I started like getting a better
understanding of like the the rights movement, also like you know,
the history of people of Avenuercent, I got excited about
wanting to do more for others.
Speaker 6 (12:57):
So long story.
Speaker 8 (12:58):
Short, I always had government and politics in my mind,
but I always knew I want to do service. So
what I now know is that, you know, because I
was intimately involved with helping young people become more engaged
with service in the communities, I ended up making a
career out of what I started with you Action.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
When I was a teenager.
Speaker 8 (13:17):
Other people saw me, you know, doing work in the community,
including Schreel Parker.
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Who was running from mayor at the time.
Speaker 8 (13:24):
And I ended up becoming a committee person, an intern
first in our office, then a committee person, and I
took both of those positions very seriously. So i'd say
this to say to you, is that like, if you
start off volunteering, just interested in just doing service, you know,
all the other things like getting involved in politics starts
to come because people start to notice you and think
(13:46):
of you as potentially as someone that can be trusted
to be a leader.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
You know.
Speaker 6 (13:50):
That's how I got started.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
I got started because I was just doing service as
a young person, trying to make a real big difference
in my neighborhood. And next thing, you know, thought of
me to run for office. I was hesitant because politics
could be murky, but at the same time I really
was thinking about like you know, people saying to me, Anthony,
I know you can do this, and family and friends,
and I was just like, you know what, I decided
(14:13):
to run in twenty twenty two, and then next thing
you know, I'm in office.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (14:18):
That's amazing.
Speaker 6 (14:19):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 7 (14:20):
So you mentioned the youth action, So far. You've been
in this position for a little bit more than three years, right, yeah,
and what changes have you initiated and how can they
help the youth in the city.
Speaker 8 (14:32):
So when I first came or filled office city Council,
I was adamant about doing one thing, making lives better
for young people, but also our most vulnerable citizens as well,
which include our adult citizens, which are seniors. And I
always believe that if you make life better for young
(14:53):
people as well as our seniors, that takes care of
every demographic in a city, because if you take care
of them, everyone's going to be really excited, right. And
so what that being said, when it came to young people,
one of the first things that you know, I was
able to do was I visited every school in our district.
Our district represents northwest Philadelphia, so that's like Mount Arie,
(15:15):
westoll Glane, you know a little bit of East o'glane,
al and the Fern Rock and lower Northeast. So I
was visiting every school and I came across a parent
at the Saint Anna Nation School in westoll Glane who
came to me during a school visit and said, hey,
our school needs speed bumps. I said, well, that's great.
(15:36):
I said, man, that's great. Maybe we could find a
way to work on it. You know, I say, I'm
just two months in. I was only two months into
the job, maybe a mile and a half at that.
I said, But what I do know is that the
city normally only works more closely with the Phildelphia public
schools when it comes to speed bumps at the time.
It doesn't mean the parochial schools and private schools couldn't
get them, but it just means, like the public schools
(15:57):
did come first. She says, well, what about our babies.
We need speed bumps here too, because our babies are
potentially going to be hit. And she said, what is
a study that you know that needs to be done?
And that's when it dawned to me. I was like,
she was like, I'm demanding for you to get a
speed bump in front of our school. And I'm talking
to her about a study that needs to be done
to put a speed bump in front of a school.
I'm like, why do you? And that Dawnam is like,
(16:19):
why does the city make people do a study for
an already vulnerable area and it's for its speed bump?
So I created a law that ultimately bypasses any study
for a speed bump to have to you know, be
done in order to get a speedbump in front of
a school.
Speaker 6 (16:37):
So now it's called Student Pedestrian Bill.
Speaker 8 (16:39):
So basically, if every school in the city of Philadelphia
is getting a speed bump with no particular bureaucratic study
as a result of me visiting neighborhoods, and so that's
helping young people stay safe. I also was the author
of the ski maps bill. Some young people were not
as excided about that bill because they thought it was
like a fashion trend, but we wanted to protect you
(17:00):
if we want to protect them, and made them feel
really good in terms of like we want to see
your face, we want to be excited about who you
are and your identity. Unfortunately, too much currental behavior has
been associated.
Speaker 6 (17:13):
With ski masks. So I was able to ban that.
Speaker 8 (17:17):
Mostly for everybody, but it was a thing that was
impacting a lot of young people in the city because
a lot of young people are being terrorized unfortunately wearing
ski masks, and then a lot of young people were
also being looked upon for wearing them.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
So we banded around all of our city properties.
Speaker 8 (17:32):
In addition to that, I created this opportunity for communities
to come together in our district. We have five major
festivals that are inviting young people and families to come together,
including our Wives Worth Day and we brought that back,
which was a historic thing that we were doing in
our community and it's a nice family fund festival. And
in addition to that, I ended up doing a program
(17:54):
called I just organized it. It now called Philadelphia After School Height,
myself and councilormb Isaiah Thomas, along with a couple of
nonprofit partners and cuting the Philadelphi Youth Basketball We're going
to be organizing the one of the largest at the
school programs the city is seen. So ultimately, we're trying
to dispel the myth that there's no youth programs in
(18:17):
a city. So we're trying to get one hundred or
so at the school programs to come together at the
Philadelphia Basketball Facility. We're inviting every student from Prokio public
and private schools to come to this event and sign up.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
We want parents to come sign your kids.
Speaker 8 (18:31):
Up for a program because we want to dispel the
myth that there's no programs for young people be involved in.
We believe that if there's a Karen and loving adult
in your life during the after school hours, that will
help us decrease crime and also put young people onto
positive tracks. Just like you, Jonathan, you're here getting an
experience as a young person here at iHeartRadio. So when
(18:52):
students have Carrien and love in adults like Lorraine Balamoro
or anything of that nature, what happens is that things
go well. So that's what we're doing September twenty seventh
from eleven to three pm at the Philadelphia Youth Basketball
six Man Center located off of with sakon Ad Avenue.
So more information to come on that, so hopefully everyone,
you know, we'll see people there. So yeah, I mean,
(19:14):
and then there's other stuff that we've done for young people,
including you know, other festivals, school festivals, We've we funded schools,
so just.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
There's there's more to go.
Speaker 8 (19:23):
But most importantly, when we make sure that streets are clean,
that's that's helping young people. We're making sure that young
people get opportunities for jobs and at school programs, that's
us helping.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
Young people, among some other stuff.
Speaker 8 (19:35):
So yeah, okay, yeah, oh I also offted the Parent
Task Force to help figure out how we can help
young people get involved parents being better engaged with their
young person, with their with their son and daughters. So yeah,
So that's because we've been talking about people have been
saying we're to parents. Where the parents? So this Parent
Task Force is giving recommendations on how the city can
(19:56):
do better to engage parents with their young people.
Speaker 7 (19:59):
Yeah, okay, all right, that's very good. Prior to this position,
you were the director of a youth organization. What can
we look forward to in the coming year in the
community from your office?
Speaker 6 (20:13):
Wow, I really look forward to this year a lot.
We have a fall.
Speaker 8 (20:20):
Festival in Northeast and on our office that's going to
focus on bringing together young people as I just talked
about in the community for like an October fest, like
right before Halloween, full of candy, fun activities in Northeast.
We have a concert that we're doing with young people
(20:41):
in December. It's called our Holiday Fest in Alane. We're
also opening up an office in Alani for the first
time in the history.
Speaker 6 (20:49):
Of Night District.
Speaker 8 (20:50):
There's going to be an office on fifth Street, which
is the center point near Alanie East o Glane Fern
Rock and Logan, and it's closer to northeast, so our
district is kind of like wide. So we now have
two locations on Wisrif Avenue, and then we're gonna also
have one on Fifth Street, so that's better serve our neighbors.
(21:10):
I'm also looking forward to what I just said earlier
about the Philly at the School Height program where we're
bringing all of these high school students and middle school students,
elementary school students and parents together to learn about after
school programs that are happening in our city. And I'm
also looking forward to doing some legislation that's going to
make sure that apartments you know, are better inspected, you know.
(21:34):
And I'm also looking forward to unveiling our Parent and
Engagement Task Force to make sure the city is really
engage with making sure that parents are involved with their children,
which people always been saying word to parents. This task
force report is going to give recommendations on what you
need to do, what the city can do the better
get parents involved with their children and to the better
(21:56):
support them so the kids can be a better outcome.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
So I'm looking for to.
Speaker 8 (22:00):
That and also in addition to that, I will be really,
I'm really excited about this council session because a lot
of us are working together to achieve.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
This year alone, we've done over one.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
Hundred or so driveways to a driveway program that I
help with the City of Philadelphia.
Speaker 6 (22:17):
I had fun.
Speaker 8 (22:18):
I was the person who initiated to push this over
the past couple of years to get the driveway program funded.
It was something that you know, married Tasko Cherl Parker
advocated for and then when I got there, you know,
conversations with councilor President Clark, and then further support by
Counsel President Kenyatta Johnson. We're now seeing people will get
their driveways fixed. It's taking a little time, but at
(22:40):
least we are able to pilot the program and we're seeing,
you know, a thing that the city normally didn't do,
they're now doing and people are super excited about the
city now doing that for them. And I just want
to say that, like, you know, this year, I'm just
looking forward to service. I'm being out in the neighborhoods,
being out a community. I know there's so many other
initiatives that I haven't even mentioned, but most importantly, we
(23:00):
need to make sure that we're handling the quality life
for our community. I'm constantly trying to come up with
new ideas, especially to protect our commercial quarters and get
more you know, restaurants and businesses in general that we
want on our commercial quarterers. We just got a new
sit down restaurant on wiserf Avenue in our district that
people are excited about, called the Pink Plate. My goal
(23:21):
is to continue to look for opportunities for businesses to
grow that people want to go to on our commercial quarder.
So yeah, I mean there's a lot, a lot to
look forward to, but those are just a couple of highlights.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
So you made all these great accountments, you did all
this great work. Who inspired you to be in this
role that you are right now?
Speaker 8 (23:44):
You know, honestly, I was inspired by my mom and grandmother.
I had to start with them. Plenty of people that
I look up to in terms of you know, mentorship,
but my mom and grandmother really set the foundation for me.
My mom was a single parent. I grew up in
North Philadelphia. We didn't have a lot of financial resources.
We stayed with my grandmother for many years until we
(24:07):
moved to Mount Area, where my mom staid up the
money to buy a house in the one five five
zero section of Mint area. And you know, my mom
sacrificed a lot for me and my sister. She took
on the extra job so we can have food on
the table at cow door and Walmart. My mom was
also in the State office building doing you know, public welfare,
you know, for many years.
Speaker 6 (24:27):
My mom was a hard worker, and she cared and
she loved.
Speaker 8 (24:31):
But she was also serious about me, you know, getting
an education, and she was serious about making sure I
had opportunities in life. My mom, you know, found you know,
ways to put me around decent people all the time
and made sure that I wasn't in the negative route.
So and my grandmother was instrumental because when my mom
wasn't there, my mom, my grandmother, you know, practically raised me.
(24:51):
I stayed at my grandmother's house all the time, and
she taught me about manners. She taught me about the
importance of like being respectful to other But they really
inspired me. I can't tell you how much their love
and the importance of what they did to sacrifice for others.
Like they were so selfless. They barely talked about themselves.
They didn't do a lot for themselves. It's always about
(25:13):
their children. And I think me watching them do stuff
all the time for other people indirectly kind of make
me understand the importance of like wanting to do for
other people, which, honestly, if you don't have that strong foundation,
I don't get to where I am today serving as
a member of Phildelphis City Council. I'm the youngest in
her Philip for city Council. I love the service, I
tell people that, but I said, a lot of times
(25:35):
I don't love is the politics behind stuff, because I
do recognize that some people don't have that foundation of
understanding the importance of giving back and being a servant.
And it's not about us as council members. We're not
meant to be kings or queens. We're meant to be
people to understand that, like when people ask us to
do something, is our responsibility to try our best to
(25:55):
navigate it and to do it in an efficient, effective
and powerful innovative way. And I think I see why
a lot of people think politics is murky is because
sometimes people ask for services to be done and they're
not getting done and they just is a distrust.
Speaker 6 (26:10):
But a lot of times what I've.
Speaker 8 (26:11):
Learned by coming into government is that there's a lot
of bureaucracy, is a lot of people who are in
this unfortunately for power and influence as opposed to service.
And I think that you the reason I say my
mom and grandmother inspiring the most is because there's one
thing people are not going to say about myself is
that I'm interested in power or influence because I have
(26:32):
a strong foundation and my grandmother and my mother who
were never interested in just themselves, They were interested in
the well being of others. And I think that's where
I get a lot of my inspiration from. And you know,
I had a lot of people in.
Speaker 6 (26:45):
My life, you know. You know I told you about,
you know, people that.
Speaker 8 (26:48):
I connected with that helped me get to where I
am right including how I got involved with Cheryl Parker
and her influence. And then I've had you know, inspirations
from mentors you know and high school you know, from
David Ford, Gus Tolsen, you know, Missus Toulson from she
used to work at the Parking Authority in the Sete department.
(27:10):
There's so many different people I can name doctor Michael Adams,
my school principal, my teachers that I worked with. So
I'm also inspired by people like that. I never even
met like David Richardson, because I always thought that he
was always about people and always bout serving people. And
Roxanne Jones, right, I always thought that she was a
person that always thought about people that were in the
(27:32):
working class and how we can elevate them and was
a tireless advocate for them and when she was a
state rep. And so when I think about these people,
I just say, you know what, you know, the foundation
was here and I just need to take it to
another level.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Oh.
Speaker 8 (27:44):
I got to mention John White Junior because John White
Junior has been such an incredible mentor to me of
late and I really appreciate it. He's a former council
member of our district in the ninth district.
Speaker 7 (27:55):
Okay, thank you so much, mister counsel member Anthony Phillis,
Thank you for being here with us so much.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (28:01):
I'm John the Folman entering Heart Radio. Thank you for
joining us today.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app yey Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
What will you stand for?
Speaker 1 (28:26):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you
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