Recent improvements have brightened up Southwark Elementary
Jackson Elementary isn’t the only school in South Philly getting updates this fall. Southwark Elementary at 1835 S. 9th Street has also seen some recent upgrades.
Southwark has gotten a lot more colorful with new murals on each floor of the 3-story school, bright colors painted in the hallways and a freshly painted front door, featuring a new sign and logo. Plus, there’s a now refurbished garden outside.
In addition to new fresh pops of color in the school, the garden outside has received some upgrades in memory of Southwark’s longtime chief of maintenance, Al Huber, who passed away last year.
Southwark has seen a renewed level of support from the community, including active support from the East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association (you can help out with their education committee) and a popular principal who started last fall, Andrew Lukov. And the school yard is set to be reimagined thanks to a desing grant from the Community Design Collaborative and the celebrated landscape architect firm Olin.
It’s also kind of a big time for this little section of the neighborhood. Just across the street from Southwark is the former Bok Technical School, which is being planned for redevelopment into a new mixed-use community with art studios, retail, apartments and more.
— Taylor Farnsworth, @tfarnsworth3
Thank you Taylor for the terrific article on Southwark!
Beth Dougherty
Chair
EPX Education Committee
Back in the early 2000s I worked at a non-profit organization that was running a school-wide behavioral program at Southwark. There were a lot of issues at the time (fights, tardiness, etc) and it sounds like the school has really turned itself around. I left the organization in 2004 while the program was still running and I hope that we were able to contribute to its success and turnaround 🙂 I actually moved into the neighborhood in 2011 and really do see a difference from the previous decade when I had worked with Southwark.
Looks good all around! Any update on the OLIN project?
Special thanks for local marketing agency Digitas Health for brightening up Southwark! Every year, their team of talented designers and artists volunteer time to sprucing up local elementary schools.
Here’s another fabulous article in the South Philly Review:
http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/cover-story/East_Passyunk_School_gets_the_gift_of_paint_color-274751591.html