Philly schools asbestos update: Universal Vare students can’t return this year; Mitchell students to come back in September
Vare, on South 24th Street, closed in April, as did Mitchell, at 55th and Kingsessing.
Asbestos will keep students out of a South Philadelphia charter for the entire 2023-24 school year, officials said Thursday.
Universal Vare, a charter operating in a district building, had closed in late April because of damaged asbestos. The school’s 173 students learned virtually until classes finished in June.
But Vare students will report to a new location on Sept. 5, the first day of school, and for the entire school year. Next week, the Philadelphia school board is expected to consider approving moving Vare students into the McDaniel Annex Building at 1901 S. 23rd St. (That building is separate from the Delaplaine McDaniel School, a district school at 1801 S. 22nd St.)
Students will, however, be able to return to Mitchell Elementary, the Southwest Philadelphia school that was also closed for months last year because of damaged asbestos.
Six Philadelphia School District buildings — district schools Building 21, C.W. Henry, Mitchell, Frankford, and charters Universal Vare and Mastery Simon Gratz — were closed in the 2022-23 term because of asbestos. At the end of the school year, just Frankford, Mitchell, and Universal Vare remained closed.
Officials had announced earlier plans for Frankford, which was closed for in-person learning since April, with all but the school’s special education students learning remotely. In the coming school year, the high school’s ninth graders will move to Roberto Clemente Middle School, on West Erie Avenue in North Philadelphia, while the 10th through 12th graders will learn in the school’s annex.
It’s not clear whether Frankford’s main building will be remediated and reoccupied or torn down and built new.
But school district officials confirmed that Mitchell, also closed since April, will return to the school at 55th and Kingsessing. Students had been temporarily relocated to McMichael Elementary, in West Philadelphia.
Oz Hill, the district’s chief operating officer, said the building will re-open for staff on Aug. 29, “even if we still are completing the final touches of paint and non-environmental work,” and students on Sept. 5.
“Teams from the Office of Environmental Management & Services and Facilities and Maintenance have been working tirelessly on the necessary repairs and preparing the space for students and staff,” Hill wrote. “Upon your return, you will also find brighter welcoming learning spaces with fresh coats of paint, new ceiling tiles and LED lighting, as well as three new hydration stations and improved doors.”
The asbestos work, Hill said, is nearing completion.
“Air samples are taken to confirm the spaces meet health standards to reopen,” Hill wrote.
Hill thanked Mitchell’s staff “especially for their extraordinary efforts during the challenging relocation at the end of last school year.”