Vineland’s public school teachers are having an easier timewith the question of what to wear to work — at least for the final days of the school year.
In a move to boost morale in the South Jersey school system and make teachers’ lives easier this spring during a hectic testing period, the district eased its dress policy to allow denim jeans until the end of the school year on June 25.
Teachers love it and hope it will continue in September.
“It’s one small way to make the world of work a little friendlier,” said Vineland Education Association president Louis Russo, a social studies teacher. “It’s one small thing off of their shoulders.”
Teachers Andrea Ruiz (left) and Elaine Petrini (right) at Rossi Elementary in Vineland on June 9. The teachers are allowed to wear jeans until the end of the school year.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
School board president Cedric Holmes said the Cumberland County district notified employees when they returned from spring break in April that they could wear jeans any day of the week under a pilot program.
Holmes said there had been rumblings among staff because the district — the largest in Cumberland County, with 11,000 students — had to extend the school year to make up snow days. Vineland‘s June 25 last day of school isamong the latest in the region.
The months following spring break are among the toughest with students undergoing standardized state testing, Holmes said. There are also end-of-the year field trips and outings when it makes sense to allow more relaxed clothing, he said.
“It was important to the board that staff felt that we saw the stress of all of that of this as a practical way to give a morale boost for the end of the year,” Holmes said.
Teachers typically dress a bit more formally for school.According to Vineland’s policy, female teachers must wear skirts, slacks, skorts, or dresses with blouses or sweaters, or school uniform. The skirt, skort, or dress should not exceed three inches above the knee.
Male staffers can wear suits or slacks with jackets and ties, sweaters, school uniform, or sports or dress shirts. Deemed unacceptable for both are sneakers, flip-flops, bedroom slippers, combat boots, and work boots. There are exceptions for teachers attending field trips or who work in specialized areas such as health and physical education or arts.
The district also has a uniform policy for students, but Holmes said that has been relaxed and the board also plans to reexamine that policy.
New Jersey’s 600 school districts set their own policies for staff and students.
Steve Baker, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Education Association, which represents 200,000 teachers and support staff, said the union supports the efforts in Vineland “to develop policies that help create a positive learning and working environment for students and staff.“
On a busy morning last week at Anthony Rossi Elementary in Vineland, third-grade teacher Jeffrey Martine stood in front of the class dressed in khaki shorts, a button-down blue dress shirt, and slip-on loafers. As an added bonus, it was a dress-down day, which allowed teachers to wear casual attire beyond jeans.
Jeffrey Martine, a teacher at Rossi Elementary in Vineland, greets a student at the school last week.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“If you do your job well, you have to be able to move,” Martine said. “I’m all about comfort.”
Students in Martine’s gifted and talented class were spread around the room working on a project in small groups. Some sat at desks making posters, while others were stretched out on the floor.
“I don’t think professionalism and comfort are mutually exclusive,” Martine said. “Teachers should be judged more on how they interact with their students than the pants they select.”
Holmes acknowledged the dress code was outdated and revisions are needed. The board plans to review the changes implemented this spring and may allow teachers to wear jeans during the new school year, he said.
“It was time for a change,” said Kaitlynn Rossi, a long-term substitute teacher. “People don’t dress like that.”
Teacher dress codes have evolved nationally over the years, especially during the pandemic, when more casual attire was the norm.
Based on responses from teachers around the world, the website We are Teachers in 2024 compiled a list of “16 Ridiculous Dress Code Rules for Teachers You Won’t Believe Are Real.” The list included prohibiting hats, capri pants, pants with pockets, UGGs, hoodies, or dark underwear.
In Philadelphia, where classes ended last week, there is no system-wide dress code for staff. Arthur Steinberg, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which represents about 14,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, secretaries, and other workers, said employee dress typically does not come up as an issue.
School board president Cedric Holmes at Rossi Elementary in Vineland last week. Holmes said the teacher dress code policy was relaxed in an effort to improve morale at the end of the school year.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Holmes said teachers have responded well to the changes in Vineland and there have been few infractions, like torn or ripped jeans.
Before Vineland implemented the pilot dress code, teachers were allowed to wear jeans only for special days. The schools sponsor fundraisers that allow teachers to pay $2 to wear jeans. Students are allowed to wear jeans on dress-down days determined by their school principal, and they do not have to pay.
Fourth-grade teacher Andrea Ruiz said dressing more casually helps her students see her differently. A sign in her classroom says: “Be the best version of you.” She enjoys sitting with students on the carpet in her classroom or playing kickball on the playground.
“We’re meeting them where they are,” said Ruiz, who was wearing a gray T-shirt and striped pants. “It’s definitely something different for us.”
Teacher Kaitlynn Rossi with students at Rossi Elementary in Vineland last week.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Timothy Purnell, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, said a decision as simple as allowing jeans can have an impact on the learning environment.
“If jeans support a positive environment during testing, that’s a local call we respect,” Purnell said.
Russo believes a less-stringent dress code will help attract and retain younger teachers amid a national teacher shortage. He wants them to still dress in a manner that gets respect from students.
“We just have to find the right balance,” Russo said.
Staff writer Kristen A. Graham contributed to this article.
Plus, officials chose a design for a new Delaware River bridge linking Bucks and Burlington Counties, and more news of the day.
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Lawnside, originally settled by freed and runaway enslaved people, is known for being the first independent African American community to govern themselves above the Mason-Dixon line.
Inside this borough is the Peter Mott House, believed to have once been a refuge as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
For almost two centuries, it has remained resilient against potential threats such as the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike nearby in the 1950s, a developer’s desire to dismantle the structure in the 1980s, and a three-year closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its next challenge looks as if it might be the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s $2 billion expansion project that a group of Lawnside residents say could endanger the historic house.
Owner Danny DiGiampietro is opening a new branch of his famous pizza and cheesesteak shop.
Construction work has begun at the future location in the West Collingswood Heights neighborhood of Haddon Township. When finished — hopefully in the next few months, he says — it will become a full-service shop, with table seating and a counter overlooking the kitchen.
The first Angelo’s opened in Haddonfield in 2013 but DiGiampietro closed it in 2018 to pivot to the South Philly location.
The local wrestling community is mourning 16-year-old wrestler Chase Sudano. He died earlier this week while driving an electric bike that was involved in a crash with a UPS truck in Southampton Township near Route 70.
New Jersey U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, who has several years of career experience with national security issues in the Middle East, said he has “no confidence in any aspect” of President Donald Trump’s deal to end the war in Iran.
The officials of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes chose a design for a new $1.6 billion Delaware River bridge that will link toll roads between Bristol in Bucks County and Florence in Burlington County.
The New York Times reports that federal prosecutors charged a man after he hit an ICE agent with a vehicle in Ocean County. The criminal complaint says the suspect refused to roll down the window during a traffic stop and then struck the officer while driving away.
The Haddonfield Board of Education is grappling with how to balance screen time for district students, including the possibility of implementing screen time limits, according to South Jersey Media.
For the past 10 days, several peacocks have been wandering Berlin Borough. No one knows where they came from.
🧠Trivia time
The former owner of Famous 4th Street Deli in Philly has had success across the bridge with his new destination deli, Radin’s Delicatessen. It even made our list for the area’s essential restaurants, The 76. Where is it located?
Using the new Shore Line group chat, we asked readers if it’s alright to reserve spots on the beach by marking their territory with chairs and a canopy. Here are some of the responses:
Yes, good for them for motivating early in the day!
I hate when people do that. And 9 times out of 10 when they do it, they are obnoxiously large reservations. Putting up multiple beach cabanas, etc.
It depends on how long they’ve been gone. If they don’t show up for an hour, you could just fold their stuff up in a nice little pile. I’d be okay with that.
No problem with that at all. But those people can’t get upset if another group sets up close to them in their absence.
Where do you land? Are you pro or anti saving prime beach space? Or somewhere in between? Have another etiquette concern? Email Rosenberg at downtheshore@inquirer.com.
📸 Photo of the week
Amy and Zachary Bell of Hammonton sit in the backyard of their Ventnor beach home with Claire, a 3-year-old beagle, and Connie, a 14-year-old Yorkshire terrier.Tim Hawk / For The Inquirer
🐕 One last furry thing: When the Inquirer visits a local home every week, our lovely photographers meet the pets as well. Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.
Have a wonderful weekend! I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday.
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Think you know your news? There’s only one way to find out. Welcome back to our weekly News Quiz — a quick way to see if your reading habits are sinking in and to put your local news knowledge to the test.
Question 1 of 10
A rowhome hosting the only collaborative Keith Haring mural that still stands in its original location is up for rent. What neighborhood is it located in?
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On the corner of 22nd and Ellsworth Streets in Point Breeze, We The Youth stands on the facade of a 1,797-square-foot, three-story rowhouse that's up for rent. Its location was important to Haring. He didn’t want it to be somewhere too upscale or trendy, according to collaborators.
Question 2 of 10
Roxanne, the Michelin-recognized restaurant that an Inquirer report revealed lacked a restaurant license, has reopened. What new features does it have?
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With a license to operate and passed health inspection, Roxanne’s reopening comes with several new features, including a BYOB format and a lunch menu.
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Question 3 of 10
Philly’s Cathedral Basilica is the canvas for a new immersive light show. "Luminiscence" will bring the interior walls of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul to life through August with a light show set to classical music. Philadelphia is only the second U.S. city to host a production. Which city was the first?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
“Luminiscence” events — which are specifically designed for cathedrals and basilicas — began in France. Philadelphia is only the second U.S. city to host a production. The first was held at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis last year.
Question 4 of 10
A free giveaway item at FIFA Fan Festivals nationwide, including Philadelphia’s, has gone viral and is drawing hours-long lines. What is the giveaway item?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Mimicking a Pandora bracelet, Bank of America’s free Fan Bands are composed of a red, blue, or black woven band and an assortment of five metal beads that lace through. Available beads include numbers, flags, a FIFA World Cup trophy, and several city-specific designs that pair with World Cup host cities. The Fan Bands have prompted extremely long lines each day of Fan Fest.
Question 5 of 10
Royal Sushi & Izakaya Chef Jesse Ito was one of two Philaelphia-based James Beard Award recipients this week. Ito won for Best Chef, a title he said has been “a long ride.” Ito has been up for the award before. How many times was he nominated in total?
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The chef behind the Queen Village omakase counter and its more casual bar and restaurant has been nominated nine times for the award, which honors the top culinary talent across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington. This go-around, Ito beat out two-time finalist Amanda Shulman — whose Her Place Supper Club earned one of Philly’s first Michelin stars last year — and Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle, who transformed their cafe-market into a Michelin-recommended prix fixe restaurant in 2025.
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This big chain is implementing its own delivery drones across Philadelphia in an effort to battle with Amazon:
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Wing, the first company to offer commercial drone delivery to homes in the United States, announced this week that it will expand its partnership with Walmart to bring drone service to seven new cities, including the City of Brotherly Love, sometime in 2027. It’s the latest chapter in a high-speed delivery war between Walmart and Amazon.
Question 7 of 10
Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has added a new limited-edition flavor to its summer menu. It’s called ‘mermaid’ and is only available for about a month. What’s one of its primary ingredients?
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Mermaid Italian Ice is a vibrant pink flavor that combines berry and marshmallow and comes topped with glitter. The Bensalem-born water ice purveyor is offering the flavor at all 600 Rita’s locations nationwide until Sunday, July 19.
Question 8 of 10
It’s believed this one gesture destined Ecuador to lose on Sunday against Ivory Coast in the FIFA World Cup game played in Philadelphia:
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Despite warnings throughout the day, Ecuador fans dressed the Rocky statue in a jersey and team flag, perhaps plaguing the team to a loss out of their control. The “Rocky statue curse” is a famous jinx that comes into effect when a team’s fans dress the boxer in an opposing team’s gear. Ecuador fans could be seen Monday leaving Rocky offerings in an attempt to reverse the curse. Brazil fans and Pennsylvania’s tourism office have also issued warnings about the curse.
Question 9 of 10
The Stonewall Riots in 1969 became a watershed moment in the fight for queer rights. But four years earlier, LGBTQ activists gathered at this Philadelphia spot for the first Remembrance March:
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On July 4, 1965, gay activists Frank Kameny, of Washington, D.C., Craig Rodwell, of New York, and Barbara Gittings, of Philadelphia, gathered 40 of their LGBTQ brethren in front of Independence Hall to demand equality. Held four years before the Stonewall Uprising in 1969, the march made history as the country’s first gay rights demonstration. That 1965 march became an annual protest, now known as the Remembrance March.
Question 10 of 10
A federal court reached a ruling this week involving exhibits at the President's House Site, which has been at the center of a court dispute regarding which agency controls the content the public sees. The exhibits discussed in the lawsuit primarily tell the story of:
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A three-judge Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously agreed Thursday to toss out an injunction issued by a Philadelphia district court judge in February that ordered the National Park Service to restore interpretive panels telling the history of the nine individuals who were enslaved by Washington at the President’s House. The judges further found that the federal government’s proposed replacement panels, which historians say whitewash Washington’s role in slavery, “are full of historical context.”
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LAWNSIDE — For nearly 200 years, the historic Peter Mott House — believed to have once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad — has managed to withstand the encroachment of the outside world.
In the 1950s, construction of the New Jersey Turnpike brought a heavily used trafficway within just a few hundred feet of the home.There was the time, in the 1980s,when a developer bought up a patch of surrounding land with plans to raze the structure and build housing units. And the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 left the home shuttered for three years — and its future temporarily uncertain.
Now, the New Jersey Turnpike Authorityplans to soon begin work on a $2 billion project to expand the turnpike, which would bring the highway — currently located just 220 feet from the Mott House — 12 feet closer to the building.
The plans have prompted a wave of pushback from a small but vocal group of Lawnside residents, who fear that vibrations from the construction could damage the nearly two-century-old structure and that already “deafening” traffic noise in the area could become unbearable.
Already, says Linda Shockley, the longtime president of the Lawnside Historical Society, which owns and maintains the Mott House, it can be difficult for visitors to hear over the hum of the turnpike. The back of the house, which boasts a quaint patio, is essentially unusable without the use of microphones, she said — and this is to say nothing of the potential environmental and safety implications of bringing a heavily traversed highway even closer to a residential area.
The expansion, which also includes plans to widen nearby Warwick Road, has become — in Shockley’s words — “like a sword of Damocles hanging over us.”
“What are you doing and when are you going to do it?” Shockley said. “And what say do we have over how it’s done?”
Traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike passes at the end of a cul-de-sac near the historic Peter Mott House in Lawnside, N.J. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Theconstruction arrives at a seminal moment for the historic borough, which this year is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its incorporation.
Originally settled by formerly enslaved people who escaped or were freedand considered the first independent, self-governing African American community north of the Mason-Dixon Line, Lawnside has long boasted a historical significance far outsizing its modest 1.4-square-mile footprint.
In the 1930s, it was home to a bustling entertainment district, drawing high-profile acts such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Three decades later, Lawnside’s school district became one of the first U.S. governmental entities to declare the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday.
No aspect of Lawnside’s history, however, has remained as vital to its identity than the Mott House, the onetime home of Peter Mott,a free Black farmer, preacher, and abolitionist, who, along with wife Elizabeth, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Built around 1845, the home is Lawnside’s oldest known house and is widely believed to have been a refuge for enslaved people traveling from the South — making it a strong symbol for the community at large.
“This town has been a beacon of hope for African Americans,” said Darryl Lee Dozier, 60, a longtime Lawnside resident. “To be able to walk outside and say, ‘Harriet Tubman came through this town’ — that’s iconic, man.”
At least 18 municipalities across Salem, Gloucester, Camden, and Burlington Counties will be affected by the turnpike project, but the proximity of the Mott House — as well as a neighboring housing development — to the construction has stoked fears that it will be uniquely vulnerable. State officials say they are working closely with local leaders to ensure that any adverse effects of the project are minimal.
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AECOM, the infrastructure firm handling the engineering work for the turnpike project, told The Inquirer recently that Lawnside qualifies for noise barriers to help alleviate the effects of the project, and that “vibration monitoring,” as well as inspections, would be conducted throughout the course of the project.
“Should the vibrations for any reason exceed a threshold that would cause concern, then the activities would pause and we’d figure out what’s going on,” said Matthew Rao, a project manager with AECOM.
New Jersey Assemblyman William F. Moen Jr., who grew up in the area, said he has been engaged in conversations with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority about the project since 2020 and has been cognizant of the questions raised by Shockley and others.
“I’m acutely aware of her concerns, and I think they’re valid,” he said. “This is the time to be talking about those things, and making sure, to the extent that they can be, that they’re reflected in the final plan of what’s going to happen.”
Still, many in Lawnside remain wary.
Kia Jones at her home next door to the Peter Mott House in Lawnside, N.J. Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Plans to expand the nearby New Jersey Turnpike have left local residents concerned about how it could affect a beloved institution as well as neighboring homes.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Despite meetings with officials, said Kia Jones, 60, whose home sits near the proposed turnpike expansion, residents have largely felt powerless throughout the process.
“Their whole attitude seems to be, ‘It’s a done deal — we’re just talking to you because we have to, but nothing’s going to change,’” she said.
For some in this South Jersey borough of roughly 3,000 residents, meanwhile, the expansion raises unmistakable echoes of the 1950s, when construction of the turnpike left a profound impact on the community.
At the time, America’s vast network of highways was displacing — and often targeting — Black communities across the country.
Initially, Shockley said, only six homes in Lawnside were supposed to be affected by the turnpike’s creation. But by the time it opened in November 1951, she said, 27 families had been affected.
“Some people’s houses were purchased, some houses were condemned,” Shockley said. “I’ve seen pictures of houses on flatbed trucks, being moved.”
(It was not lost on some in Lawnside, Shockley points out, that the turnpike conveniently curves around the nearby Tavistock Country Club, a private golf club founded in 1920.)
Though few in Lawnside are old enough to remember the turnpike’s arrival, many have felt the ripples.
Lorraine Pollitt, 70, a lifelong Lawnside resident, grew up hearing about her great-grandparents’ farm, which, she said, had fallen in the turnpike’s right-of-way and, as a result, had to be sold.
Seventy-five years later, Pollitt said, the expansion project feels like more of the same.
“Just taking more from us here,” she said. “It’s always something.”
For Shockley, who has served as president of the historical society since 1994, the effort to preserve and protect the Mott House has been a nearly 40-year endeavor.
She first got involved in the late 1980s, when a local developer, Mark DeFeo, received permits from the borough to raze the house in order to build a small housing development.
A group of residents organized to try to stop the home’s demolition, and Shockley — who was raised in Lawnside and had recently moved back from New York — joined the effort.
It took three years and considerable legal wrangling, but the developer eventually agreed to sell the home to the group for $1.
For its efforts, Shockley later told the New York Times, the group found itself in possession of “a decaying, vacant house … in danger of collapsing.”
In the years since, however, the historical society, buoyed by a dedicated collection of volunteers, has turned the property into a gem that has garnered national renown. The group has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars toward upgrades and repairs through grants and donations.
The house opened to the public in 2001, and, today, it offers a variety of programming, including a weeklong summer camp for middle schoolers on the history of the Underground Railroad, sitting on both the national and state registers of historical places.
In her mid-30s when she joined the effort, Shockley is now in her 70s, her hair flecked with gray. She retired in 2021 from her job at the Dow Jones News Fund, a journalism nonprofit foundation.
“Don’t tell anyone,” she joked one morning recently, from a seat inside the Mott House, “but I’m getting older.”
Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, at the Peter Mott House in Lawnside, N.J. Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Shockley has served as president of the local historical society since 1994. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
But while there is still work to be done, she remains dedicated to doing it — one more battle in a long string of them.
“Ask anybody who’s trying to do anything with historic buildings, or restore history or culture, and you find that, yeah, there’s always something — and there are always threats to it,” she said.
There won’t be a Pride Night baseball game in York, Pa., but there was still a Pride Night at the ballpark.
Hours before the minor league York Revolution’s annual Pride Night game was slated to take place Thursday night, the team announced it was forfeiting to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
The decision stemmed from a dispute among several Revolution players who refused to wear the team’s special Pride edition jerseys, according to team officials.
“The club decided that hosting the event is more important than forcing players to wear jerseys they are not comfortable with and playing the game,” The Revolution said in a statement. The statement added that the event would pivot into a Pride Night celebration “out of respect for the Pride Community and the York community as a whole.”
The team said it’s treating the game as a rainout and ticketholders can redeem their tickets for another game of their choice this season. York plays in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent partner league of Major League Baseball.
Thursday’s game would have marked the York Revolution’s 11th Pride Night. As part of the celebratory game, the team would wear white jerseys with rainbow sleeves and side panels, nodding to the Pride flag and “Pride” written in script on the back.
According to NBC, the forfeit rose from “less than nine players” — the minimum number needed to fill a lineup card — on the 28-man roster being willing to play wearing Thursday’s Pride uniforms. The standoff led to an “unprecedented team meeting” where Revolution president and GM Ben Shipley told NBC he was unable to talk players into wearing the uniforms.
“I’m disappointed that we’re at this point and I recognize the players’ plight and their unwillingness to cross their line. I also think tolerance is not acceptance,” Shipley said. “I was just asking for tolerance from the team and they were unwilling to navigate that with me.”
In its statement, The Revolution added that the players’ action “is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York.” The team announced it would make a $10,000 donation to its local LGBTQ+ center, the Rainbow Rose Center, as a “small token of our regret” and show of continued support.
York, about an hour-and-a-half outside of Philadelphia, has a historic Republican stronghold. In 2016, it gave President Donald Trump his biggest county-level win margin in Pennsylvania. There is a limited but growing LGBTQ+ scene. The first York County Pride celebration took place in 2022.
The Human Rights Campaign, which releases Municipal Equality Index scores nationwide on cities’ LGBTQ+ support, does not have a score for York.
The Revolution teammates’ refusal to wear Pride jerseys comes at a time when across the country, rights and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community remain a polarizing issue. More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced this year according to the ACLU, centering around topics including gender affirmation, sports participation bans, drag show bans, and overall LGBTQ+ erasure.
According to the minor league team, while Thursday wouldn’t have a game, attendees could still take tours of WellSpan Park, enjoy music, batting practice, and other activities. The now 32 unworn Pride jerseys were also listed on the team’s site Thursday night for auction with proceeds benefiting the Rainbow Rose Center.
The Philadelphia School Board voted Thursday to nonrenew a charter school run by a veteran former district administrator, pointing to poor test scores and operational problems.
The board voted 8-0 to nonrenew Global Leadership Academy Southwest at Huey, a charter run by Naomi Johnson-Booker, who operates another GLA charter in West Philadelphia. Board member Whitney Jones abstained, citing personal reasons.
Charter schools are publicly funded but independently managed. In Philadelphia, about one-third of public school students attend brick-and-mortar charters.
“We have a responsibility that is clear … to protect every child’s right, civil right, to a high-quality public education,” said the board’s president, Reginald Streater. He noted that GLA Southwest, a K-8 enrolling close to 600 students at 52nd and Pine Streets, has posted poor academic performance, with only 7% of students scoring proficient or advanced in math on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments in 2025.
The school also has poor student attendance, and has not met district governance and financial standards, with conflicts of interest in counsel representation, insufficient cash on hand, and “questionable financial payment plans,” Streater said.
Noting GLA Southwest’s status as a Renaissance school — a former district school handed over to charter management a decade ago as part of an initiative to turn around failing schools — Streater said it was the board’s obligation “to do everything we can to create seats or incentivize seats that truly support student achievement, and as a Renaissance school, to complete the turnaround.”
The board’s vice president, Sarah-Ashley Andrews, said the fact that the charter didn’t meet academic, operational, or fiscal standards on the district’s evaluation was “a clear red flag.”
The vote doesn’t mean GLA Southwest will close, but triggers public hearings on the school’s performance.
Supporters of the charter said the school’s test scores weren’t a full reflection of its value to students and the community.
Zenobia Story, the school’s principal, said students had been improving, with proficiency on the state’s English language arts tests growing from 9.6% in 2022 to 22.4% in preliminary 2026 results.
The results tell “a story of progress, not stagnation,” and “a school community moving in the right direction,” Story said. “The response should not automatically be closure.”
Nutina Martin, the school’s director of climate and culture, said the school had inherited “significant climate and safety challenges.” But she said it had transformed since it became a charter in 2016, when there were 147 out-of-school suspensions in a single school year, Martin said. Now, she said, there were fewer than 30.
Streater said the charter’s nonrenewal hearings would give the school “an opportunity under oath with evidence” to support statements made by staff Thursday.
Philadelphia Montessori’s executive director, Amanda Wilson, said the board had “created needless uncertainty” for the school’s families and staff.
Streater said the board was “simply trying to do our duty, in being responsible charter school authorizers” and fiscal stewards.
Spending on SEPTA
In other business, the school board agreed to spend up to $34 million on SEPTA fare cards for students in the 2026-27 school year. Officials estimate 62,000 district, charter, and parochial school students are eligible for free fare cards — but that money is reimbursed through a state transportation subsidy.
SEPTA, with district cooperation, is warning students that they have to use those cards. It’s launching a crackdown on student fare evasion in the coming school year.
Transit system officials, who said they’re losing an estimated $11 million annually on students not swiping their fare cards.
Under the new fare diversion system, any student caught not swiping their card — technically a theft of service offense — will begin receiving formal warnings that will also be sent to transportation liaisons at their schools.
After a student’s third warning, they would receive a theft of service citation and court referral.
Money for technology and to fix a closing school
The board also voted to spend $4.1 million on technology — an advanced Google system officials said was “foundational to the district’s educational and operational objectives” and GoGuardian, an internet-filtering service.
The contract for both services lasts through 2029.
Students, teachers and supporters rally before a community meeting at John B. Stetson Middle School on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Philadelphia. Stetson is one of 20 Philly public schools facing closure.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Stetson is getting a new roof and masonry repairs, work that’s necessary, according to board documents, “to preserve and protect the building’s structural integrity and long-term functionality.”
The board first moved to close Memphis Street in 2022 after the school missed the mark on meeting conditions it had previously agreed to.
To make the reabsorption of the school official, the board had to vote to report “Memphis Street Middle School” to the Pennsylvania Department of Education as a new district school opening in the fall. The school will serve students in grades 6 through 8; the current Memphis Street Academy also educates fifth graders.
In its first go-round as a district school, the building was known as John Paul Jones Middle School.
A 65-year-old man who allegedly threatened the staff of a Republican state legislator from Bucks County and attempted to trash her district office remained jailed Thursday after a judge ordered that his criminal case should proceed to trial.
Donald F. Ambrose, of Bensalem Township, was unable to post 10% of his $200,000 bail and was being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility on one count of terroristic threats and two counts each of disorderly conduct and harassment.
On June 9, Ambrose allegedly entered the district office of State Rep. Kathleen “K.C.” Tomlinson in Bensalem Township “aggressively shouting about an ongoing medical malpractice issue,” the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.
Ambrose allegedly had been to Tomlinson’s office before several times, “making outlandish comments before leaving,” the district attorney’s office said.
“On this occasion, Ambrose became aggressive, grabbing paperwork off the desk of one of the employees and then scattering the papers while continuing to scream and yell. Ambrose was told by staff that law enforcement was being called, and he allegedly pointed at a staff member and stated, ‘you’re dead,’ before exiting the building,” the district attorney’s office said, citing the criminal complaint.
“Once outside, Ambrose retrieved a gasoline can from his vehicle and began walking around the perimeter of the office building, causing employees inside to fear he intended to set the building on fire,” the district attorney’s office said.
On Friday, Tomlinson posted a statement on social media acknowledging the incident, saying she was in Harrisburg when Ambrose allegedly “began trying to destroy the [Bensalem Township] office and then proceeded to threaten the life of a member of my staff.”
Tomlinson added: “We live in a very unsettling time, especially as public servants. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have experienced a hostile encounter in just a few short months which is completely unacceptable.”
Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said in a statement Thursday: “Public servants should never have to fear for their safety simply for doing their jobs. My office takes these actions incredibly seriously, and we will continue to hold accountable anyone who uses fear or threats to disrupt our community and target those who serve the public.”
Tomlinson, 37, was elected in 2020 and is the daughter of former State Sen. Robert M. “Tommy” Tomlinson.
President Donald Trump’s administration sued Philadelphia and some of its top officials Thursday over a new ordinance that bars law enforcement officers from concealing their identities and effectively bans federal immigration agents from wearing masks.
The law, part of City Council’s recently adopted “ICE Out” package of legislation imposing some of the nation’s toughest local restrictions on immigration agents, is “blatantly unconstitutional,” the lawsuit said.
“Such an ordinance also undermines the principles of federalism that underlie our entire constitutional order by seeking to prevent effective federal law enforcement within Philadelphia,” according to the complaint.
The ordinance makes it a crime for any law enforcement officer, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, to wear face coverings or conceal personal identifiers like badges and nameplates while carrying out their official duties in the city, and it requires officers to identify themselves. It also prohibits the use of unmarked vehicles.
The bill includes exceptions allowing officers to wear masks in certain circumstances, such as medical emergencies or SWAT operations.
An officerwho violates the ordinance could be prosecuted, and risks up to 90 days in jail plus a fine.
The suit, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names as defendants the city, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and City Solicitor Renee Garcia. It asks a federal judge to find the bills unconstitutional, warning that federal agents could suffer irreparable harm if the policy remains in place.
“Protecting officers’ personal identities is particularly important during high-risk enforcement operations involving individuals with violent criminal history, gang affiliations, transnational criminal organizations, and known or suspected terrorists,” the suit says.
The lawsuit marks the Trump administration’s most significant action targeting Philadelphia’s immigrant-friendly policies to date.
“Today we regrettably had to sue the birthplace of this great Nation,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement. “But we will not sit by while Philadelphia flagrantly violates our Constitution, seeking to criminally punish our Nation’s law enforcement heroes merely for doing their job.”
Philadelphia has long been known as a sanctuary city primarily because it does not comply with ICE-issued detainers, in which federal agents ask local jails to facilitate the arrest of undocumented immigrants in their custody.
But Parker has largely avoided direct confrontation with the White House over the issue, a reversal from the combative stance of her predecessor, former Mayor Jim Kenney.
Parker’s supporters credit her with careful, crafty management of the city’s relationship with Trump, noting Philadelphia has been spared from the surges of federal agents the president has sent to other cities. But immigration advocates say Parker has backed away from a fight at a time when strong action is most needed.
The tension surfaced when Parker decided to let the mask bill became law without her signature, after Garcia warned the mayor that the provisions might not be legally enforceable.
Council members, however, wanted to take a more proactive stance against Trump’s nationwide deportation campaign. And they seem to have gotten his attention.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks, who coauthored the “ICE Out” package, said she “will not back down from this fight.”
“Philadelphia doesn’t like bullies. And we certainly don’t like masked PPD officers or ICE agents terrorizing our neighbors,” Brooks said in a statement. “The people of this city expected our leaders to fight back against Trump’s invasion. That’s what we did when we passed ICE Out.”
Brooks noted that the lawsuit cites the Parker administration’s publicly aired concerns about the bill, and said other jurisdictions targeted by Trump after they passed legislation restraining ICE have not had to deal with that dynamic.
“Other lawsuits aren’t dealing with the City’s own words about the laws being used against them,” Brooks said.
The Parker administration declined to comment.
The Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition condemned the lawsuit as a political effort to undermine local policies that keep families safe, strengthen public trust, and ensure city resources serve Philadelphians.
“Once again the Trump administration is using the courts to wage a political campaign against immigrant communities, instead of addressing the real needs of our country,” coalition executive director Jasmine Rivera said in a statement. “Pennsylvanians have been clear, they do not want more immigration enforcement and detention centers, they want affordable education, healthcare, and housing.”
Councilmember Rue Landau, the legislation’s other coauthor, criticized Trump for “targeting Philadelphia because our city dared to stand up and say that masked federal agents should not be able to operate in our communities and target our vulnerable neighbors without accountability.”
‘We will arrest you’
In addition to banning officers from concealing their identities, the “ICE Out” package, which in April passed Council with a veto-proof supermajority, prohibits federal immigration agencies from staging raids on city-owned property, bans discrimination on the basis of citizenship status, and prohibits the city from engaging in most forms of information-sharing with ICE.
The legislation also codified some of Philadelphia’s long-standing sanctuary city policies that had been established only through executive order — most notably a ban on city jails honoring ICE detainers not accompanied by judicial warrants.
Parker did not sign the bill after Garcia expressed concern about the ban’s “significant legal and operational challenges,” the suit notes. The mayor’s signature would signal the Parker administration’s intent to enforce the requirement, the solicitor said, and would send an inaccurate signal that the prohibition was enforceable.
While Parker might have attempted to distance herself from the requirement by not signing the bill, the lawsuit quotes Krasner threatening federal agents with prosecution.
“We will arrest you. We will put handcuffs on you. We will close those cuffs. We will put you in a cell,” Krasner said in January. “We will do everything in our power to convict you and we will make sure you serve your entire sentence because Donald Trump has no power whatsoever to pardon you.”
Larry Krasner shown here during a press conference at City Hall to announce a package of bills aimed at pushing back against ICE enforcement in Philadelphia, January 27, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Philly case could have national stakes
The complaint makes clear that by bringing this lawsuit, the Department of Justice is not closing the door on challenges to other ICE Out ordinances.
Around the country, more and more Democratic-led communities are attempting to regulate what ICE can and cannot do within their jurisdictions. And doing so with the support of immigrant communities.
“In all the ways that ICE agents terrorize and violate the rights of our community, masked kidnappings are ones we consistently see and hear about,” said Erika Guadalupe Núñez, executive director of Juntos, the South- Philadelphia-based immigrant advocacy organization.
She said, however, that “we’re part of a strong local movement organized to fight back, and we all embody the spirit of this city, we will not back down easily.”
In March, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution that restricted the agency from using county property or resources for civil investigations.
Issues around masks and identification have been particularly contentious.
Activists in Philadelphia and elsewhere say ICE arrests often look like kidnappings or muggings, where men in ordinary clothes, with no visible identification, suddenly descend on their target. The people being arrested may think they are being attacked by criminals.
Several states, including New Jersey and New York, have passed laws to ban law enforcement officers, including ICE, from wearing facial coverings while on duty.
In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s injunction on a California law that required federal agents to “visibly display identification.” The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that the requirement violated the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which bars the states from regulating federal government activities.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed bills in March that essentially banned ICE agents and police from wearing masks on the job, drawing pushback from Republican lawmakers. The Trump administration sued New Jersey in federal court in April, and the New Jersey Monitor and others reported that ICE agents continued to cover their faces during recent clashes with demonstrators outside the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark.
The Trump administration says federal immigration officers wear face coverings to protect themselves and their families from anti-ICE activists who may seek to identify and harm them. Assaults and death threats are on the rise, the administration said.
The city does not have a right to dictate the content of the panels, the court found.
The judges further found that the federal government’s proposed replacement panels, which historians say whitewash Washington’s role in slavery, “are full of historical context.”
The proposed panels “highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park,” Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, a President George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the opinion. “They acknowledge the evil of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the story of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity.”
It was not immediately clear what would happen next at the site. The federal government did not immediately outline its next steps, and there are conflicting court rulings over the Trump administration’s push to remove displays from national parks that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
But the ruling does bring to a close a chapter in the President’s House litigation, the first courtroom clash between Trump and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration. Any further review of the injunction is at the discretion of the three judges, the full Third Circuit, or the Supreme Court and is not guaranteed.
Mijuel Johnson, a guide with The Black Journey: African-American Walking Tour of Philadelphia, leads District Court Judge Cynthia Rufe (right) as she visits the President’s House in Independence National Historical Park in February.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The city was unable to convince the Third Circuit panel it has joint decision-making power with the federal government over the entirety of Independence National Historical Park because of the local ownership of Independence Hall.
Philadelphia has standing to argue in court that the federal government violated the contract signed when the city donated the President’s House to the National Park Service, Hardiman wrote. The agreement included a guarantee the federal agency would maintain the site.
But the city had to prove it could win based on that argument to keep the injunction alive, and the judges disagreed.
“The duty to ‘maintain’ is better understood as a general management obligation that accompanies ownership, not a promise that the exhibits will forever remain in place regardless of the owner’s wishes,” the opinion said.
The city’s claim that the removal was “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act also did not find purchase. The federal law allows challenges only to “final” agency actions, but the newly proposed panels show the January removal was not the Trump administration’s “last word on the matter,” the opinion said.
Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, one of the advocacy groups leading efforts to protect the President’s House, said in a statement that the group was disappointed by the decision but would persevere. The coalition was consulting its legal team to consider potential next steps.
“This is definitely not the end of this fight, nor does it diminish the importance of ensuring that the full truth of our nation’s history is preserved and presented accurately,” the organization said.
In a video statement Thursday, Parker said, “I will pursue every legal action possible in efforts to reverse this decision.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior simply said: “Trust in Trump.”
Debate over history
A worker cleans the glass on the panel for Oney Judge after re-hanging it at the President’s House in Independence National Historical Park in February.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The ruling is an inflection point in the tumultuous legal saga over whether the federal government has power to determine which version of U.S. history is displayed for public viewing — an issue even more salient ahead of the country’s 250th birthday on July Fourth.
The Trump administration ordered the removal of the President’s House exhibits in January after almost a year of scrutiny of the site. Months later, the government offered its own vision for how those panels would be replaced, quietly uploading them to the National Park Service website in April.
An Inquirer review of the panels found that the federal government had softened Washington’s role as an enslaver.
For instance, one proposed panel argues the people who were enslaved at the President’s House “experienced a greater modicum of autonomy than elsewhere in the South such as to explore the city and sometimes even attend the theater, with Washington buying the tickets.”
Historians argued the original panels were accurate, well-researched, and site-specific. The development of the site in the early 2000s was the product of collaboration across various disciplines including historians, artists, architects, and advocates.
But Thursday’s ruling says the Trump administration’s proposed displays offer a nuanced view on Washington’s and John Adams’ roles in or opinions on slavery, adequately highlight the stories of the nine people enslaved at the President’s House, thoroughly acknowledge the horrors and brutality of slavery, and uplift key figures in Black history.
“One panel … explains that Washington ‘often expressed discomfort with the institution and a desire to see it abolished,’ but, ‘as a Virginia plantation owner, his wealth and livelihood were deeply tied to it,’“ Hardiman wrote. ”Other panels provide an even broader overview of slavery and the struggle to extirpate it.”
The ruling landed just less than three weeks before the 250th anniversary celebrations, and one day before Juneteenth. Attorneys for the federal government said the new panels had been manufactured and were ready to be installed.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia), whose district includes Independence Park, said in a statement that Thursday’s ruling highlighted the urgency of passing his Protecting American History Act, which would shield historical displays at the park from government censorship.
“Just a block away from where our nation was founded, Donald Trump is choosing the path of tyrants who rewrite history instead of learning from it,” Boyle said. “As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, we must tell the full truth of our nation’s history — the good and the bad.”
The administration has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
There is not a prescriptive way to resolve such conflicting rulings, which is why some legal scholars argue against so-called universal injunctions, in which one district judge’s ruling affects the entire country. The Supreme Court signaled its discomfort with those types of orders last year.
Conflicting rulings have become more prevalent during Trump’s tenure, as his administration has issued drastic measures that take immediate effect, said Michael Foreman, a professor at Penn State Dickinson Law.
Which order ends up prevailing will depend on whether the Massachusetts ruling is stayed, or if the issue escalates to the Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON — Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, including top national security figures, were voicing strong reservations Thursday — and some outright condemnation — of the Trump administration’s agreement to end the fighting in Iran.
The memorandum of understanding signed by President Donald Trump started a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. While Trump allies noted the agreement is not final, the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran’s sale of oil and the plan for a $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran and its economy were met with criticism from Republican leaders and conservative influencers, including some close Trump supporters.
“President Trump has pursued peace through strength. I hope the intermediaries working on this deal are not undermining that objective,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the chairperson of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who has urged Trump to keep up the pressure on Iran and last month warned against striking a bad deal.
“The $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran — though not funded by U.S. taxpayers — would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Wicker said, referring to the Democratic administration’s Iran agreement that Trump withdrew from during his first term.
The criticism from within Trump’s own party — though hardly unanimous — comes as he is trying to bring an end to the unpopular war fewer than five months from midterm elections, where Republicans are facing headwinds in their effort to hold their narrow majorities.
Trump calls his critics “fools”
Wicker’s points were backed by a number of his colleagues, many of whom supported the war when it began.
“History demonstrates giving billions of dollars to the theocratic lunatics who want to kill you is an exceptionally bad idea,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a staunch supporter of the war. “And so I hope we don’t do that.”
Trump on Truth Social called his critics “fools” and said the $300 billion payment to Iran by the United States is “fake news.” The interim pact promises a $300 billion fund for postwar reconstruction. It’s not clear where that money will come from — but Trump said, as Wicker noted, the U.S. would not contribute.
“All there is for the U.S. is Success, Lower Oil Prices, and Victory,” he posted.
Some senators question financial provisions
As the memorandum was released to Congress on Thursday, several Republican senators said it left them with questions, many of them about its financial provisions.
Majority Leader John Thune and fellow South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds were seeking clarity on how financial incentives to Iran and conditions barring funding terrorism would be enforced, because “right now, a lot of money’s going to go to Iran,” Rounds said.
To be sure, there were Republicans more closely aligned with Trump’s America First policies in the Senate and elsewhere who were giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Sen. Roger Marshall stressed the point in the memorandum that supporters say gives the U.S. the upper hand. In a social media post, the Kansas Republican said one of the most important provisions “lays out a key commitment that strengthens regional security and ensures that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
Louisiana GOP Senate candidate John Fleming, who has focused on Trump’s most loyal supporters ahead of a June 27 Republican primary runoff, said that means Trump has suggested that the U.S. will strike Iran again if it does not live up to the agreement.
“The criticism may be worthy if there isn’t follow-through,” Fleming said. “He’s using the speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick in offering them plenty of help, but at the same time he’s got that stick ready if they don’t live up to their agreements.”
MAGA voices send a warning
Still, some of Trump’s strongest supporters in conservative media have warned against the agreement.
Conservative radio host Mark Levin suggested a strategic rethinking to hold off on an agreement with Iran until after the midterms.
“We should consider slow-walking the enemy, building up our munitions, our oil reserves, get the price of gasoline down, get through the midterms, then knock them out,” he said in a social media post. Instead, the U.S. seemed to be “rushing to a deal, building up their oil industry” and agreeing to governments “transferring billions to them.”
Right-wing social media influencer Laura Loomer, who has long supported Trump while also promoting conspiracy theories, was more pointed in her criticism.
“Who is giving the President tainted, pro-Islamic intel?” she posted on X.
What all the critics shared is an abiding distrust of the Iranian regime, no matter their relationship to Trump.
“It does smack of the kind of appeasement,” said former Vice President Mike Pence, whose relationship with Trump was fractured after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. “Bottom line. I don’t trust the Iranians.”
