Vandalism at CW Henry School

[babygrauke]

On Sunday evening, July 4th, at approximately 10:00 p.m., the Philadelphia Fire Department was called to a fire on the C.W. Henry kindergarten playground. The fire completely destroyed the train play structure and damaged both the rubber playground surface and several nearby trees. Designed for younger children, the playground is dedicated for use by the kindergarten classes during the school day and is used by many neighborhood families during the non-school hours. In response to the fire, C.W. Henry Principal, Caren Trantas expressed “Henry School is dedicated to ensuring that our students' grow academically, emotionally, and socially. It is devastating to know that this space, which is used by both our kindergarten children and neighborhood children to learn socialization and intrapersonal skills, has been destroyed by a thoughtless act.”

Anyone with information that will help to identify the vandals who committed this crime is asked to please contact the 14th Police District at 215.686.3140. The C.W. Henry School community is also asking for help from West Mt. Airy neighbors to help prevent future vandalism on the school ground by alerting the police of any suspicious activity near the school.

The president of the PTA, Robin Roberts, would like to see the playground repaired and the play equipment replaced prior to the start of the new school year in September. To ensure that this can happen, the PTA will be accepting donations in support of this effort. Donations can be mailed to C.W. Henry School, 601 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119, Attn: Amy Martin, PTA Treasurer. If you have questions about how you can support the PTA in this effort, or in regards to other issues affecting the school community, please contact Robin Roberts at 215.692.3677.

[jen]

any chance security cameras on the property caught anything?

[SQUARELEVELPLUM]

What security cameras?

Well i just got a email on facebook about the incident. DAMN SHAME!!!!

[azion]

The perps may have been the same people- or, at least, the same crowd- as the ones who vandalized GJC's building + playground last year. The acts do bespeak a similar mindset, after all.

-Z

[babygrauke]

Yes, that's correct -- there are no security cameras at Henry (at this time). As far as the horrible vandalism that was commited at GJC last year, I don't know if it was by the same individuals since the damage at Henry may have been due to fireworks.

[PortPennFerry]

I feel like CW Henry is a particularly good school (isn't it a magnet?) so I feel like it might attact the negative attention of the neighborhood kids that don't get in...

[Zeppoloveskafka]

I feel like CW Henry is a particularly good school (isn't it a magnet?) so I feel like it might attact the negative attention of the neighborhood kids that don't get in...

This isn't the way crime works. Even if it was a Magnet school, it seems highly unlikely that a child would destroy a Kindergarten playground as revenge for them not getting into the school. The most likely explanation is the obvious one... teens or young adults that lack values purposely or accidentally started the fire.

[Geno]

Agreed. It isn't a magnet school anyway.

[PortPennFerry]

I'm surprised to hear that CW Henry is not a magnet- the high school where I went to from 2002-2006- Bodine High School- itself one of the city's best magnets- took a lot of kids from previous magnet schools that I feel are underappreciated- we had a lot of kids from Conwell, largely because we were near Kensington, but we also had a lot of kids from CW Henry and they were some of our best kids. Since most of our white kids came from Port Richmond, Fishtown pre-trendiness, Bridesburg, or Pennsport, the white kids from CW Henry stood out for being much less working-class, and the black kids from CW Henry fulfilled the stereotype of the NW's black upper-middle classes.

That being said, I didnt mean that the kids were targeting CW Henry just because they didnt get in- but just because they might have a rivalry with the 'smart kids' there- which often happens when you have a standout school surrounded by less-than-stellar kids.

[SQUARELEVELPLUM]

I'm surprised to hear that CW Henry is not a magnet- the high school where I went to from 2002-2006- Bodine High School- itself one of the city's best magnets- took a lot of kids from previous magnet schools that I feel are underappreciated- we had a lot of kids from Conwell, largely because we were near Kensington, but we also had a lot of kids from CW Henry and they were some of our best kids. Since most of our white kids came from Port Richmond, Fishtown pre-trendiness, Bridesburg, or Pennsport, the white kids from CW Henry stood out for being much less working-class, and the black kids from CW Henry fulfilled the stereotype of the NW's black upper-middle classes.

That being said, I didnt mean that the kids were targeting CW Henry just because they didnt get in- but just because they might have a rivalry with the 'smart kids' there- which often happens when you have a standout school surrounded by less-than-stellar kids.

Not many kids outside the area will travel to HENRY just to set a fire. Its way to far.

[Yerkeskid]

I'm surprised to hear that CW Henry is not a magnet- the high school where I went to from 2002-2006- Bodine High School- itself one of the city's best magnets- took a lot of kids from previous magnet schools that I feel are underappreciated- we had a lot of kids from Conwell, largely because we were near Kensington, but we also had a lot of kids from CW Henry and they were some of our best kids. Since most of our white kids came from Port Richmond, Fishtown pre-trendiness, Bridesburg, or Pennsport, the white kids from CW Henry stood out for being much less working-class, and the black kids from CW Henry fulfilled the stereotype of the NW's black upper-middle classes.

That being said, I didnt mean that the kids were targeting CW Henry just because they didnt get in- but just because they might have a rivalry with the 'smart kids' there- which often happens when you have a standout school surrounded by less-than-stellar kids.

Both my Brother and Cousin graduated from Bodine High School (4th and George) back in 1988. I almost attended there myself. It is a great school. I visited the school many times