Mount Laurel public schools will start the next academic year with a new leader at the helm.
Neil Burti will take over as superintendent of schools starting Aug. 1, succeeding George Rafferty, who is retiring after leading the district for a decade.
After an extensive search, “Dr. Burti distinguished himself as the candidate whose experience, leadership style, and vision best aligned with the needs of the Mount Laurel School District,” Danielle Stuffo, president of the Mount Laurel Board of Education, said in an email.
Burti has more than 25 years of experience as an educator and administrator and is a longtime employee of the Cherry Hill Public Schools. While there, he served at all levels of leadership and was most recently the director of secondary education for the district.
Earlier this year, Burti also stepped in to handle the principal responsibilities during the second half of the school year at Cherry Hill High School East following a period of administrative upheaval in the school district.
The shake-up came after a lawsuit filed last September alleged that East’s former principal, alongside the Cherry Hill Board of Education and two other top administrators, subjected a former assistant principal to discrimination and retaliation.
“We are confident [Burti] will build upon the district’s many strengths, work collaboratively with our staff and community, and continue our focus on providing an exceptional educational experience for every student,” Stuffo said.
Stuffo said the district’s goals will largely remain the same under new leadership.
Like other districts, Stuffo said, Mount Laurel will work to continuously improve student experience and outcomes while adapting to evolving educational needs — and doing so within an increasingly limited budget.
“Fortunately, Mount Laurel is well positioned, with excellent staff and strong systems already in place. As Dr. Burti becomes familiar with the district, he will have the opportunity to evaluate our organizational structure and administrative leadership and, if appropriate, make recommendations to the Board for consideration,” she said in the email.
Burti was named the 2024 New Jersey Secondary School Principal of the Year during his time leading Cherry Hill’s John A. Carusi Middle School.
Burti holds a bachelor’s degree in movement studies and exercise science from East Stroudsburg University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Temple University, and a doctorate in innovation and leadership from Wilmington University.
Students in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education will face a 4.3% tuition hike — the largest percentage increase in a decade — if the system does not get a boost in state funding.
PASSHE’s board of governors voted unanimously Thursday on the plan, which would enact the tuition increase if the system does not receive a 5%, or $31 million, increase in its state appropriation, which currently stands at $625 million. Gov. Shapiro has proposed flat funding for the system, and budget negotiations are continuing.
Tuition would rise to $8,338 annually, up $344 from $7,994.
“We’re all disappointed to … have to make this motion,” board chair Cynthia Shapira said. “We hope we do get the increase.”
The 10 universities in the system are Cheyney, West Chester, Commonwealth, East Stroudsburg, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Millersville, Penn West, and Shippensburg. Collectively, they enrolled 83,005 students last academic year, when the system experienced its first enrollment increase in 15 years. About 90% of students are Pennsylvania residents.
The vote to increase tuition came one day after Temple University approved a budget thatincreased tuition an average of 3.4% for next year.
Rutgers University also on Thursday voted to increase tuition 3% for in-state and out-of-state students, which the school touted as its lowest increase in four years. Tuition for a typical in-state, full-time arts and sciences undergraduate will increase on average $448 for the year, rising from $14,933 to $15,381, the school said. Meals and housing on average will rise 4%, from $15,332 to $15,945.
Earlier this year, the University of Pennsylvaniaincreased its total costs by 3.8% for 2026-27. Pennsylvania State University, which approves tuition increases a year in advance, hiked tuition 2% for in-state students at University Park for 2026-27 and froze it for those attending Commonwealth campuses.
The resolution approved by the PASSHE board calls for the increase to be rolled back “if sufficient funding in state appropriation is received.”
System chancellor Christopher Fiorentino said the tuition increase would cover the $31 million gap if the system does not get the increase. The board of governors took the same action last year and did not roll back a 3.6% tuition hike because the state held its funding flat.
“We’re still really the most affordable four-year option that’s out there,” Fiorentino said in an interview before the meeting, comparing PASSHE schools to state-related universities like Temple and Penn State where tuition is more than twice that amount.
Until 2025, the system had kept tuition at the same rate for seven years; if it had enacted inflationary increases, tuition would be $1,800 higher now, Fiorentino said. Preceding the freeze, tuition hikes were 2.5% in 2016-17, 3.5% in 2017-18, and 3% in 2018-19.
Fiorentino said he continues to make the system’s case to legislators for more funding.
“Our graduates earn 65% more over their careers than people without college degrees, which is about a million dollars in lifetime earnings,” he said. “Ninety percent of our students are from Pennsylvania, and 80% of them take their first job in Pennsylvania after they graduate. Investing in the PASSHE system … is truly an investment in the workforce of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
System to launch new ‘last dollar’ scholarships
The system also announced that beginning in fall 2027, it would provide “last dollar” scholarships to all Pennsylvania students who receive federal Pell and state Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency grants. For many students from the lowest-income families, the grants cover full tuition, but some families in the middle range who receive smaller amounts of aid are still on the hook for part of the cost, the chancellor said.
“They’re the ones that tend to get caught in a bind, and they’re the ones that we’ve been worried about,” he said. “We’re going to cover the balance of their tuition” and make sure they are not affected by future tuition increases.
Fiorentino said he hopes that donors will want to contribute to the effort so the level of aid can be expanded.
The new scholarship program, called the PASSHE Pledge, will not cover room and board or fees.
He did not have an estimate of how many students would qualify, but said system officials have been worried about losing them. And that would add to the enrollment decline at a time when the system, like other colleges, already is challenged by a shrinking pool of available high school students.
“We’re hoping this is going to increase our enrollment numbers,” Fiorentino said.
It is too early to predict fall enrollment, he said, but some of the system’s 10 universities are doing better with deposits than last year, some the same, and some a little worse.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that we’re going to be stable,” he said.
The system is partnering with community colleges to streamline the transfer process and concentrating on bringing students with some college credits and no degree back into the system, he said.
“We will continue to work hard to maintain and grow our enrollments,” he said.
Temple University approved a $1.3 billion operating budget Wednesday that includes an average 3.4% tuition hike for both in-state and out-of-state students and plans for about 40 layoffs.
Both the average tuition increase — which is for undergraduate and graduate students — and the number of layoffs are smaller than those implemented last year. The university raised tuition an average of 3.6% in 2025 and laid off 50 employees.
The layoffs, which will occur this week, constitute less than 1% of the university’s workforce. Temple officials did not elaborate on who was affected or which positions but said jobs across the university from senior levels to the operational ranks were considered. An effort was made to limit the impact on “student-facing” roles, said chief strategy officer and former interim provost David Boardman.
“The decision-making overwhelmingly was made at the local level, at the schools, colleges, and administrative units,” said Boardman, who is also dean of Temple’s College of Media and Communication.
Fry said last month that layoffs were “inevitable” as the university works to close a projected $85 million budget deficit for 2026-27. Temple, along with many peer institutions, faces enrollment declines and financial pressures as the available pool of high school students drops, public attitudes toward higher education change, and the number of international students declines following changes in federal policy.
The budget, approved without public discussion by the executive committee of Temple’s board of trustees, includes a projected deficit of $25.5 million.
“We have met our savings target, which is obviously imperative,” Fry said in an interview after the board meeting.
Fry had asked schools, colleges, and administrative units to cut a total of $60 million, a significant portion of which was accomplished through the elimination of 236 positions, he said. That is on top of 190 positions that were eliminated last year.
More than 80% of the positions cut this year came through voluntary retirements, including a faculty program that netted more than 70 takers, as well as resignations and the elimination of vacant positions. Layoffs accounted for the rest.
“Implementing these targeted budget reductions and undertaking other organizational realignments is a critical first step toward returning the university to a balanced budget over the next three years,” Fry said in a message to the campus community.
The university is working under a new budget model that will “allow us to better align our resources with our strategic plan,” Fry said.
While the majority of the $60 million reduction was due to the position eliminations, schools, colleges, and administrative units are implementing other efficiencies. Some of the colleges, for example, have reduced doctoral student admissions, Boardman said.
The university’s 27% decline in domestic enrollment since 2017 and increased financial aid costs have been the most significant factors causing the school’s budget pressures, Fry said. The loss of students has amounted to an average of more than $200 million in lost revenue annually, according to an internal Temple report obtained by The Inquirer in April.
That report said the school anticipated falling below an 80% retention rate this fall.
Temple’s U.S. enrollment stood at 29,503 last fall; projections for this fall are not yet available.
But Fry said in his campus message that the school has received a record number of deposits for first-year enrollment compared with last year and that deposits from transfer students are up over last year.
The school also plans to roll out a new “first-year experience” program to help improve the school’s freshman-to-sophomore retention rate, which fell from a high of 90% about a decade ago to 82% last fall.
Employees from student affairs, enrollment management, and academic affairs have worked on the redesign with support from the National Institute for Student Success diagnostic, Fry said.
“The teams have taken a comprehensive look at how students transition to Temple and identified where we can better support their success,” he said. “This work has helped us identify barriers and create a more coordinated approach to orientation, advising, communication, and student support.”
The efforts already are having an impact. Because of changes to orientation, 3,268 first-year students were registered for the fall as of July 5, compared with 560 students the same time last year, Fry said.
With the tuition increase, the new base rate for full-time students from Pennsylvania will rise to $20,376 annually and to $36,600 for out-of-state students. (Excluding Temple’s Japan campuses, 62% of students are Pennsylvania residents.) While the average increase is 3.4%, percentage increases fluctuate across Temple’s schools and majors, from a low of 2.9% to a high of 3.9%.
Tuition increases are typical; the University of Pennsylvania increased its total costs by 3.8% for 2026-27. Pennsylvania State University, which approves tuition increases a year in advance, hiked tuition 2% for in-state students at University Park for 2026-27 and froze it for those attending Commonwealth campuses.
At Temple, fees will rise $42, or 3.9%, to $1,098 annually. And room and board will increase 4%. Students in a typical double-occupancy room at Johnson and Hardwick residence hall with 12 meals per week will pay $15,094 for the year.
Temple said it also would increase its financial aid budget by nearly 7% over last year, to $196.1 million, to help students with need afford the university.
“We know that financial barriers can impact our students and prevent them from persisting,” David Marino, interim chief operating officer, said in a statement. “This year’s historic investment in financial aid is an investment in the success of our students.”
Numerous changes are afoot in the Philadelphia School District, with Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. promoting some staffers and shifting others around amid multiple departures from the system.
The changes took effect July 1.
Watlington, in an announcement sent to staff detailing the changes, said he was “confident this team will help us build on our momentum as we continue improving outcomes for students, strengthening support for our schools, and advancing our goal of becoming the fastest-improving large urban school district in the country.”
The personnel shifts include:
Brenda Elliott, who became interim deputy superintendent of academic services when Jermaine Dawson left Philadelphia to become Baltimore’s superintendent, got that job permanently.
Elliott came to Philadelphia a year ago as associate superintendent of student life and innovation. She’s a former Tennessee state superintendent for school turnaround who has worked in a number of urban districts, including with Watlington in North Carolina.
She also spent time as a teacher, principal, and officer in the U.S. Army.
Tomás Hanna, who was associate superintendent for secondary schools, is now associate superintendent for student life and school operations.
Noah Tennant, assistant superintendent for Learning Network 13, is keeping that job, but is also now interim associate superintendent for secondary schools while a search for a permanent administrator is completed.
Michael Farrell is now chief academic officer. He had been chief learning officer. The new title combines two jobs: chief of curriculum and instruction and chief learning officer.
Nathalie Nérée became chief of special education, diverse learners, and wellness. She had previously been chief of special education and diverse learners.
Nyshawana Francis-Thompson, who was chief of curriculum and instruction, became senior adviser for strategic initiatives and innovation.
Jamina Clay, who had been an assistant superintendent supervising a learning network, is now assistant superintendent of school management and organization.
Kelly Espinosa, who has served as the principal of Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary, is now interim assistant superintendent for Learning Network 4, replacing Clay. Janis Butler, a retired principal who often fills in as an interim principal in the district, will run Coppin.
Two more retired educators are now serving as interim assistant superintendents — Wilfredo Ortiz for Learning Network 8 and Lucy Feria for Learning Network 9. Ortiz replaces RenatoLajara, who’s now superintendent in Bethlehem; Feria replaces Ariel Lajara, who left Philadelphia to run the Vineland school system in South Jersey.
When a deal was struck to save 340 classroom-based jobs in the Philadelphia School District, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. declared it “Christmas in June.”
It’s July now, but manystaffers still don’t have clarity on exactly who’s allowed to come back to positions that were almost cut and how that affects vacancies system-wide.
“It’s a mess, and it’s getting messier,” said Alison Andrawos, a teacher at Potter-Thomas Elementary in North Philadelphia who accepted a job in another district after learning this spring that her position would be cut and still doesn’t know whether it will be restored.
Monique Braxton, the school district spokesperson, said the system is “moving forward with restoring the approximately 340 school-based positions approved in the revised budget,” but that staffing the positions is separate from restoring them.
“We have been meeting with our union partners on implementation and are now working with principals on school staffing,” Braxton said in a statement. “All approved positions will be restored in the district’s budget system by Wednesday, July 9.”
The complex process is causing additional uncertainty for teachers and staff members andprolonging an already tumultuous hiring season as the district deals with fallout from 17 forthcoming school closings and the back-and-forth over millions in cuts stemming from a $300million district budget deficit.
Watlington this spring directed school principals to build their 2026-27 budgets factoring in the cuts, including about $50 million in school-based trims and the elimination of 340 classroom jobs. Parker then proposed a $1-per-trip rideshare tax she said would cancel the classroom cuts, but City Council balked, and for a time, the position losses appeared inevitable.
But restoring the positions was always going to be complicated.
Schools’ hiring timeline means that many of the teachers, counselors, and climate staff who were told they were going to be force-transferred because of the cuts sought and found new jobs over the past few months, either inside the district or elsewhere. Now, those workers eithermust rescind their acceptance of those new jobs or say “no thanks” to returning. Either way, that creates new vacancies in July, months after most schools have filled jobs and when many people are on vacation.
“We haven’t heard whether our positions are going to be reinstated, we don’t know what positions are available, and we don’t know what we’re doing in a few short weeks,”said Andrawos, an English as a second language specialist who began teaching in Philadelphia schools in 1997.
‘I’m pretty sure I’m going to be leaving’
Andrawos saidshedidn’t want to leave the city, but amid the worry of the past few months, she felt she had to explore jobs outside the district. Andrawos has been offered a position at a Delaware County school that comes with a raise and a shorter commute.
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to be leaving the School District of Philadelphia because of this,” Andrawos said.
Shesaid the decision is tough — she’s forged real bonds with her students’ families, and has been fielding messages saying they hope she stays at Potter-Thomas.
It’s not clear whether Andrawos’ position at Potter-Thomas, in North Philadelphia, will be restored because of the complicated way budgets are built, and the latitude principals have to shift positions based on school need and their own judgment calls.
Jobs are filled in city schools two ways — first, by a process called site selection, where principals hire any candidate they choose for open positions. Once the site selection window closes, district staff without positions choose from among open jobs in seniority order. Site selection closed weeks ago; force transfers without jobs have had their hiring sessions pushed back multiple times so far, and are still waiting.
Jane Roh, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said the union notified members June 19 that all positions cut due to the deficit would be restored; the PFT was told that district notifications to affected employees would immediately follow. So far, that has not happened.
That leaves staff sweating andfrustrated by a lack of answers, some said.
A roller coaster
One K-8 teacher, who asked that his name be withheld because he feared repercussions, was on the force transfer list because of budget cuts. With no notice that’s being walked back, he’s left with the possibility of having to get emergency certified to teach in another subject area, which would mean taking more courses.
The uncertainty is tough, and the answer to every question posed to the district and the union so far has been, we don’t know yet.
“For this whole summer, where teachers are supposed to have the space to reflect and rest and plan, we can’t do that to any degree,” the K-8 teacher said.
A teacher at a district high school, who also asked to remain anonymous because her employment situation is not settled, is in a similar boat. When her position was cut because of the deficit, she site selected into a job at another district high school.
The process has been frustrating, she said. She once got an email saying her transfer was canceled, but that turned out to be incorrect, though she never got official notice from the district about its error and had to make calls herself to figure it out.
When Parker and Watlington made their good-news announcement, she had no idea what to make of it. She still doesn’t, the teacher said.
“I’m on this roller coaster; I literally don’t know which school I’m going to work at in the fall,” said the high school teacher, who would be teaching different classes, depending on where she lands. “I want to prepare for the upcoming school year, and that’s impossible if you don’t know what you’re teaching.”
The school had been overstaffed four years ago as it navigated a complicated, unprecedented transition from a charter school back to a district school. It has soared, adding programs and opportunities and building a strong school culture; the community fears weathering steep staff cuts would jeopardize its progress.
Sarah Apt, a longtime Olney teacher active in the pushback against cuts, said Wednesday that the school was told it’s getting back three of its 17 staffers.
“We’re happy about that, but still fighting for more,” said Apt.
Among those still in limbo is Eric Baker, an Olney English teacher who’s been struggling with the back and forth, and the possible implications for the school he’s come to love — the school recruited students for a college prep track that’s potentially losing most of its teachers, including Baker.
“Because of this uncertainty, I’ve had to interview other places. I don’t know where I’m going to go. I would rather have the certainty of knowing where I’m going to work than having to deal with this,” said Baker. “It’s been frustrating.”
When Jasmine Thach began high school four years ago, she wanted to balance academics and extracurricular activities to pursue her college dreams.
By sophomore year, Thach was enrolled in her first college course. She began taking as many as five classes a semester — enough credits to obtain an associate’s degree in May from Camden County College.
Thach picked up her second diploma when she graduated in June as valedictorian from Camden County Technical Schools in Pennsauken.
“I knew that I could do it,” said Thach, 18, of Pennsauken. “I didn’t know how lucky I was.”
Thach is among a record group of 367 students enrolled in New Jersey’s 21 county vocational-technical schools who graduated withassociate’s degrees this yearwhile attending high school. That amounts to30 more than the previous year, said Jackie Burke, executive director of the NJ Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools.
“It’s a great outcome,” said Burke. “This is really an attractive option that more people are looking at.”
Once considered an option mostly for students to pursue skilled trades, vocational-technical schools have become increasingly competitive and are attracting students who want a different pathway to college or careers.
In a tough economy, the vocational-technical schools make it easier and more affordable for students to earn credit for college-level work. Many have partnerships with county colleges and other nearby two- and four-year colleges, Burke said.
“It’s a reflection of students seeing the value of getting a head start,” Burke said. “This is really a way to save on those costs.”
Of the 367 students graduating this year, 31 are from Camden County Technical Schools, which has campuses in Gloucester Township and Pennsauken. The Gloucester County Institute in Deptford has 17 graduates. Burlington County Institute of Technology has students who earned some credits, but none who obtained the full associate’s degree. Cumberland County Technical Education Center in Vineland had the second-highest in the state, with 60 graduates.
For the 2024-25 school year, more than 35,000 students were enrolled in New Jersey’s county-vocational schools. The schools are selective; only about 12,000 of the nearly 30,000 who apply annually statewide are accepted.
Students may study a wide range of disciplines, from traditional vocational fields like cosmetology and construction to engineering and health science.
Under the Early College Associate Degree (ECAD) program, counselors work with students to meet their high school requirements while earning an associate’s degreeand attending some of their classes on college campuses.
In most cases students earn credits at a significantly reduced cost or free. Students can enter four-year colleges as sophomores or juniors, amounting to big savings in time and money.
Here are the stories of a few of this year’s graduates:
Jasmine Thach: Wanted to help fund college
With two siblings already in college, Thach wanted to help ease the financial burdens for her parents. She volunteered as a tutor and participated in performing arts and the newspaper club, all while maintaining her grades.
She graduated from Camden County College with an associate’s degree in liberal arts and sciences, and from Camden County Technical Schools in Pennsauken.
In a nod to her Cambodian heritage, she learned to play the kong thom, a traditional Cambodian musical instrument consisting of gongs, and the violin. Every Sunday she travels with her family to Arlington, Va., to take lessons, part of their quest to preserve their culture.
Jasmine Thach as she graduated from Camden County Technical Schools’ Pennsauken campus last month. Thach, who also received an associate’s degree from Camden County College, plans to attend Johns Hopkins University as a math major.
While her mother and sister learned traditional Cambodian dances, Jasmine discovered a passion for music. “I have two left feet,” she quipped.
Jasmine received a full scholarship to attend Johns Hopkins University where she plans to major in applied math and statistics.
She wants to become an actuary and eventually obtain a doctorate and become a college professor.
“I’m very big on math,” she said.
Yeheira Acosta: `I’m just really grateful’
Education has become a family affair for Yeheira Acosta, with her parents and younger sister following in her footsteps to make a better life.
Yeheira Acosta of Vineland, N.J., (third from left) shown with her family, graduated from Cumberland County Technical Education Center and obtained an associate’s degree in computer science from Rowan College of South Jersey. She plans to attend Vanderbilt University in the fall.
A first-generation college student, Acosta has inspired her family. A younger sister is also on track to earn an associate‘s degree while in high school. Her father recently enrolled in a DeVry University online cybersecurity program, and her mother is pursuing a GED.
Acosta, 18, of Vineland, plans to study AI at Vanderbilt University, where she earned a full ride. A Yankees fan, she wants to work in the sports industry.
Although she is excited about the next chapter, Acosta said she will miss her family and her church, the Life of Faith in Vineland, where she provides technical support.
“I‘m just really grateful, not everyone has the same opportunity,” she said. “I don’t take it for granted.”
Max Yeung: An aspiring lawyer
The youngest of three siblings, Max Yeung has set his sights on becoming a personal injury lawyer and a public service advocate.
He obtained an associate’s degree in prelaw from Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell. Yeung said following a computer science track at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology and an internship he got along the way helped him realize that law is his passion.
Yeung said he landed an internship at an Audubon law firm with assistance from a college professor. His top priority was completing as many credits as possible.
Max Yeung, 17, of Sewell, poses with his mother, Li Khoo, after receiving an associate’s degree from Rowan College of South Jersey.
At his high school, Yeung, 17, of Sewell, founded a nonpartisan civics group that registered students to vote. He was also president of the National Honor Society.
“It was a lot of juggling. There were a lot of moments when I had to huddle down,” he said. “It helped me understand what the college environment looked like.”
Yeung plans to attend Rowan University as a law justice major. Depending on how many credits transfer, he may graduate in a year or two and then hopes toattend Rutgers-Camden Law School.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has promised “white-glove treatment” for families and schools affected by a facilities master plan that will close 17 schools and modernize 169 over the next decade. And he appointed a Philadelphia School District veteran to lead the charge.
Shakeera Warthen-Canty, formerly assistant superintendent of school operations and management, was recently named head of the new School Transition Office, tasked with implementing the $3 billion plan remaking schools across the city.
Warthen-Canty and four other employees will work in the new office, which will also pull in as-needed help from departments across the district — school safety, transportation, student placement, facilities, and more.
“We know that this is going to be a big task, but it’s going to be met,” said Warthen-Canty, who’s spent decades in the district as a teacher and principal. “We know there have been some challenges, but we want to make sure our communities and families know that we have a place where you can get answers.”
Warthen-Canty officially assumed the new role Wednesday ahead of the 2026-27 school year, which Watlington has designated as a planning year for schools affected by closures and other major shifts.
Experts in their communities
Initially, the office will focus on schools closing, merging, and undergoing major renovationsin the 2027-28 school year; other projects are slated to happen in subsequent years.
Watlington announced the office’s formal launch at Patterson Elementary in Southwest Philadelphia, a school set to undergo a $45 million renovation as it grows from a K-4 to a K-8. It will take in some students from nearby Tilden Middle School, which is slated to close.
The transition office will be key as the complex work moves along, said Warthen-Canty. Patterson is slated to get 13 additional classrooms, a new gym or cafeteria, and an elevator.
“Some of the pieces of what that looks like, what elements need to be there, we need the Patterson team to work alongside of us,” she said.
Folks on the ground “know their communities, they’re experts in their communities. And that’s a part of the planning,” she said.
System-wide, how many projects can be completed and in what time frame is not assured.
The district will allocate $1 billion of its capital budget over the next 10 years to complete some of the projects, but it’s also banking on $2 billion from philanthropic and state sources — money that’s not guaranteed.
And while Warthen-Canty believes the facilities plan will ultimately expand opportunity and better position the district to advance students’ academics, she knows some of its transitions — particularly the closures — will be tough.
“My heart goes out” to affected families and schools, Warthen-Canty said. “Even people that are being co-located or merging, those are major changes.”
Part of the work, Warthen-Canty said, is going to be convincing families in schools where those major changes are happening that should they shouldremain in the district.
In the case of the school system forcing families to leave their schools and go elsewhere, “we want to make sure that there’s extracurriculars in these schools they’re going to. We’re increasing the art and music,” Warthen-Canty said. “What are the resources we can put in place so that we’re ensuring that when the students get there that they’re going to have that well-rounded education, increased opportunities?”
Those attending the FIFA World Cup game at Philadelphia Stadium on July Fourth will be treated to more than just soccer.
The Roots and the Philadelphia Boys Choir are among those who will perform at the event, marking both Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of the nation, according to a spokesperson for FIFA.
Before the match, Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel will sing the national anthem, while the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale will offer “America the Beautiful.” The Roots, a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop band founded in Philadelphia, also will perform.
Miss Pennsylvania Stephanie Skinner will be on hand to join the celebration, and the VFA-11 and VFA-81 squadrons from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., will do a flyover.
At halftime, Grammy Award-winner DJ Jazzy Jeff will entertain the crowd.
The Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff are also slated to play the One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Saturday night, which will be broadcast on NBC10.
Seventy-five Philadelphia students thought the stakes were high when they debuted 1776: The Musical in front of a crowd that included former President Joe Biden, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at Philadelphia’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts last week.
Then came the hate — racist, bigoted comments on social media posts about the production, which was dreamed up by Rendell, who wanted students to learn about the “sacrifices and compromises” that went into building the nation as it celebrates its 250th birthday.
Racially incendiary and antisemitic comments were made under social media photos of the diverse cast, which includes students of color and women playing the Founding Fathers as they debate forging a new nation and ultimately adopt the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson (played by Maxwell Henderson, left) and John Adams (played by Jackson Preisser, right) argue during a scene from the opening night of 1776: The Musical at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
The comments, which have since been deleted, rattled some of the young actors’ families enough that over the weekend, one of the leads withdrew from the production over fears for his safety.
The hatred was a low point — “completely dehumanizing,” said Wyatt Wynne, 17, who plays John Hancock.
But it has galvanized the remaining students: actors, technicians, and musicians from public, private, and charter schools around the city.
Growing up in North Philadelphia, Dhonte Hawkins-Durante, 16, said he was extra conscious of the importance of positive Black male role models. He was thrilled that a fellow Black actor was one of the play’s John Adams. (1776 is double cast, with two actors sharing most roles.)
Losing a Black lead — especially because he was driven out by hate — was crushing, said Hawkins-Durante.
“But instead of losing hope, I turned it into this motivation,” said Hawkins-Durante, a student at Mastery Charter-Lenfest. “If they’re not hating, we’re not doing anything right. It gave me more weight to carry, but the best weight.”
Luciana Jean-Louis, 14, who plays Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, said the social media hate “broke my heart” and felt personal, she said.
But it turned into a “way to empower myself, and a moment where I felt very proud of where we all come from.”
Cast members posed with guests before opening night of 1776: The Musical at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
Officials with Celebrating 1776!, the organization producing the play at CAPA and at other sites throughout the city through Aug. 15, condemned the posts in a statement.
“Our production makes a deliberate and proud choice to present a diverse cast telling one of America’s most defining chapters,” the statement said. “The founding of this nation is rooted in human struggle, idealism, and ambition, and it deserves to be told by the full breadth of human talent. Our cast does exactly that, with exceptional skill and commitment.”
‘You constantly have to prove yourself’
Suhaila Madison‘s first reaction to the hateful comments was fury, she said.
“It really fried me,” said Madison, 15, who’s homeschooled. Madison is relatively new to the stage, and has fallen in love with the process, and with working with a group of students from different parts of the city, different backgrounds, different races. The blowback first felt like it was diminishing the story and the young people working hard to tell it.
Then she gathered with her castmates and felt a new sense of purpose.
Brooklyn Weaver, 17, a CAPA student, felt like she had a lot on her shoulders playing Thomas Jefferson. As a person of color, “you constantly have to prove yourself to these different people who might not support you being at this higher level,” she said.
Seeing racist comments on social media isn’t especially shocking, Weaver said, but it hit differently when it targeted her castmates.
“It gave me a different passion for the show,” said Weaver.
“Some people weren’t taking it as seriously before, but they are definitely taking it very seriously now,” Weaver said.
And the show — which chronicles a fractious, imperfect but ultimately history-making Continental Congress wrestling with questions of liberty and freedom — also takes on a different meaning, Weaver said.
“This is what America’s supposed to be: everyone in this land coming together to retell these stories of our forefathers,” she said.
Shepherding a cast and crew of 75 youth, Phillip Brown, executive producer of Celebrating 1776!, was prepared for a lot of contingencies.
But the social media vitriol, and having to replace a principal actor in less than a day, wasn’t on the list of things he was prepared for, Brown said.
(Student Walddys Fernandez, who had played a more minor part, stepped up to take the John Adams role on very short notice, blowing the producing staff and cast away with his preparation and verve.)
Former Mayor Ed Rendell meets cast members (from left) Abigail Adams (played by Chloe Chau), John Dickinson (played by Gregory Rist) and Ben Franklin (played by Jayden Duvene) during opening night of 1776: The Musical at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
But helping the students process and heal what happened has been humbling and powerful, said Brown.
“It created a wonderful kind of opportunity to really teach the students the power of art, theater, and how to use their voice,” said Brown. “When you’re doing something this powerful and provocative, people are going to have strong opinions. It was almost like this was the ire and the fuel that everyone needed to really dig in — they’re taking the anger that they feel about this situation, and they’re using it to strengthen their voice, not to soften it.”
Bill Wine, 81, of Philadelphia, three-time Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award-winning film and TV critic, retired tenured associate professor of TV and film at La Salle University, onetime freelance TV critic for the Daily News, freelance writer, playwright, and popular lecturer, died Sunday, June 14, of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Chestnut Hill.
The son of two part-time amateur actors and a lifelong devotee of theater, film, TV, writing, and teaching, Mr. Wine was a film critic for WTXF-TV, Channel 29, for 12 years and KYW radio for 17 years. Known for his pithy, witty, and often acerbic reviews, and a breezy conversational style of writing, he worked at Channel 29 from 1990 to 2002 and KYW from 2001 to 2018.
“Bill Wine was a character out of a Neil Simon comedy, more Oscar than Felix,” said Carrie Rickey, former Inquirer movie critic. “You didn’t have to wait long for the punchline.”
Mr. Wine’s film reviews on Channel 29 were often funny and entertaining.
At Channel 29, Mr. Wine was nominated for eight regional Emmy Awards for commentary and writing, and won three. He appeared regularly on the station’s Ten O’Clock News, in primetime movie preview and review programs, and later on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Good Day Philadelphia.
By 1990, he had already written hundreds of freelance film reviews for the Daily News and Courier-Post, done radio reviews for WPEN, and taught a variety of classes about film and writing for a decade at La Salle. So, despite no previous TV experience, he was hired at Channel 29 over 60 other film critic applicants.
“I had never been on TV, but I wasn’t nervous,” he told the Daily News in 2001, “because I had been standing in front of 100 students for 10 years.”
Mr. Wine worked at at WTXF-TV, Channel 29, for 12 years.
He started at KYW radio in 2001 and usually aired reviews and reports on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Sometimes, he watched three movies in one day. He left Channel 29 in 2002 and KYW in 2018 only after both companies eliminated their local film critic position.
“When I started [writing film reviews], it was before the internet,” he told The Inquirer in 2018. “A lot of people [now] feel like, ‘Who the heck is a movie critic to come on in a minute and to dismiss something that took hundreds of people and millions of dollars to create?’”
In the 1970s and ‘80s, he wrote articles and reviewed films, TV shows, books, and plays for WPEN, The Inquirer, Courier-Post, Philadelphia Magazine, and other outlets. In 1975, he wrote dozens of freelance TV columns called “On the Air” for the Daily News.
Mr. Wine wrote dozens of columns as a freelance TV critic for the Daily News in 1975.
He spent three years in California in the 1970s working on plays and film and TV scripts. He hobnobbed with famous writers, producers, and actors in Los Angeles, staged one of his own plays, and was a winning contestant on a new TV game show.
He wrote 11 plays over the years, and several made it to the stage. “Now the people who disagree with my reviews can come and find out if I’m as dumb as they think I am,” he told The Inquirer in 2002.
He aired reviews on WIP radio and lectured often at libraries, schools, community centers, theaters, and other venues about his favorite films, adapting books to film, and other topics.“He could be wickedly funny, especially when delivering a pan of a movie,” his family said in a tribute. “One of his favorite quotes was: ‘I had a bad seat. It was facing the screen.’”
Mr. Wine was a prolific playwright who enjoyed table readings with family and friends.
Mr. Wine earned a bachelor’s degree in math at Drexel University and a master’s degree in communications at Temple University. He helped design La Salle’s nascent Communication Department in the 1980s, and school officials called him one of their “Founding Fathers.” He also taught briefly at Drexel, and came close to earning a doctorate at Temple.
In 2001, he was featured in a Daily News story about “celebrity professors” and said: “You have to remind yourself that this is television, not the classroom. You mention, say, ‘film noir’ on TV, and you get a memo.”
William David Wine was born June 21, 1944, in Germantown. He grew up in West Oak Lane and Cherry Hill, attended Central High School, and graduated from the old Cherry Hill High School.
A story and this photo of Mr. Wine about his time as a professor at La Salle appeared in the Daily News in 2001.
As a boy, he devoured newspaper movie reviews and fell in love with film after seeing Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller Rear Window. He got positive reviews of his own freelance movie review when he was at Temple, and he knew then, he said later, that writing about movies was his creative niche.
He married Dina Lichtman, and they divorced later. He married Suzanne Monsalud in 1981, and they had daughters Simone and Paulina, and lived in Germantown, Wyncote, and Chestnut Hill.
Mr. Wine and his wife, Suzanne, married in 1981.
Together, Mr. Wine and his family traveled to Paris and London, and he and his wife honeymooned in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He doted on his daughters and sometimes took them to his La Salle classroom, the Channel 29 TV set, and movie screenings.
Friends, former colleagues, and former students called him “a force of nature,” “smart and gifted,” and “a rare combination of kindness, professionalism, and humor.” His daughter Simone said: “His humor, warmth, and presence made life brighter.”
Mr. Wine played tennis, third base on adult softball teams, and pickup basketball into his 70s. He followed the Phillies, 76ers, and Eagles closely, and hit tennis balls with Hall of Famer Rod Laver at a publicity event in Los Angeles.
Mr. Wine and his family made memorable trips to Paris, London, and elsewhere.
“He was a wonderful father and a dedicated teacher,” his wife said. “He was a real Philadelphian, and we complemented each other.”
His daughter Paulina said: “Dad, I think you cracked the code. We’ll see you at the movies.”
