Back to School and Job Fair Read more
Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, is applauding $21,456 being awarded to Add B. Anderson Elementary School to make fresh fruits and vegetables available to its students. Read more
Our upcoming Southwest Philadelphia Youth Literacy Extravaganza is THIS FRIDAY! Read more
After she became the Speaker of the House in Pennsylvania, we sat down with Joanna McClinton to learn all about it. Read more
Each year, kindergartners enter the William Penn School District full of the energy and optimism that only five-year-olds can bring. They are risk-takers who believe they can do anything. And they are right. Those same joyful children often enter our schools with significant needs. They regularly come to us without a pre-kindergarten experience, and need extra help to learn to read, succeed in math, or to deal with their emotions. They often cannot count to 20, or name most of the letters in the alphabet. Educators know these barriers are not insurmountable: tried and true educational strategies allow children to flourish. And mixing the optimism of children with the skill of professional educators is the perfect recipe for a flourishing democracy, a strong economy, and a just society. However, hiring professionals takes funding. At the William Penn School District, like in Philadelphia, and in low-wealth communities across the Commonwealth, we simply do not have enough of it. That means children are too often in overcrowded classrooms, deprived of the very resources we know can change the trajectory of their lives. In a district of nearly 5,000 students, for example, we don’t employ a single reading specialist. But it isn’t just staffing. William Penn borders on Southwest Philadelphia, and like our Philadelphia neighbors, our aging schools need serious repair. The same barrier—funding—prevents us from Read more
In 2022, Pennsylvanians were frustrated by “business as usual” in Harrisburg. Read more
Neighbors – come out Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., for a FREE shredding event AND Curbside Resource Fair at the Woodland Village Shopping Center parking lot, 6100 Woodland Ave. Read more
SCRANTON, Aug. 4 – Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, joined Governor Josh Shapiro and several state officials at the United Neighborhood Center in Scranton today, as the governor signed an expansion in the state’s popular Property Tax Rent Rebate Program. The PTRR benefits hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania seniors, widowed people 50 or older, and people with disabilities 18 or older by providing them a rebate on their property taxes or rent paid, if their income is below a specified threshold. Under the expansion nearly 175,000 additional Pennsylvanians will qualify, and the rebate amount is being increased. “Far too often I hear from my wisest neighbors that they no longer qualify for their property tax rebate because they have received modest increases in their Social Security payments over the years,” Speaker McClinton said. “But they still need the rebate money to help them pay bills, put fuel in the car, or purchase medication. “Expanding the income eligibility for the Property Tax Rent Rebate program and the increased rebate amounts, will provide our seniors more security as our economy continues to recover.” McClinton added that the income eligibility limits hadn’t been increased in nearly two decades. Under the new guidelines, eligible Pennsylvanians earning up to $45,000 a year will qualify for a rebate, and Read more
The House Majority leadership team and Policy Committee wrapped up the statewide “Save Our Schools” tour Thursday morning with a stop at Carrick High School in Pittsburgh to tour the building, discuss the need for fair funding for public education and rally with education advocates. Read more
“As we’ve visited communities around Pennsylvania, one thing is clear: every community – rural, urban or suburban – they all want the best opportunities for their students,” Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Phila/Delaware, said. “And as a state we owe them that much. It is enshrined in our Constitution. We need to start living up to the promise we make our students and the promise we’ve made in our state’s future.” Read more
Every day I am grateful to serve as my neighbors’ voice in Harrisburg. It is a privilege to advocate for the issues you care about and to advance policies that not only strengthen the communities in Philadelphia and Delaware County that I represent, but that will benefit neighborhoods across the commonwealth. For the past six years, I’ve also have had the tremendous honor to serve my colleagues as a member of the House Democratic Leadership Team. First, when I was elected to serve as the caucus chair in 2018, then as Democratic leader in 2020, and now as the first woman Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. While I’ve been in the position for nearly six months, some mornings I still pinch myself that my colleagues have entrusted me with the distinction of serving in the state House’s highest position. And I am very proud of what the House has been able to achieve in the time since I was elected Speaker. My colleagues and I have focused on putting the needs of our students, seniors and working families ahead of politics and passing bills that improve the quality of life here in Pennsylvania. And we’ve been delivering on our promise to put people first. First, we’re delivering by returning money to our seniors by expanding the Property Tax Rent Rebate Program to make 150,000 more seniors eligible, and we increased the maximum rebate for the first time since 2007! We’re also safeguarding our Read more
Over a dozen Pennsylvania state representatives visited a Centre County school to shine a light on issues rural educators are facing. Read more
The House Democratic leadership team and Policy Committee joined students, teachers, and education advocates in Reading Tuesday morning for a tour of two local high school buildings and a discussion on education inequality in Pennsylvania. Read more
“This is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue, and it is not a city issue or a rural issue – it’s a Pennsylvania issue,” Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, said. “Equitably funding schools is about investing in Pennsylvania’s future and ensuring that every student regardless of the neighborhood they live in has the tools to thrive academically, socially, and civically. Our state’s future starts now, and it’s time to equitably and adequately fund our public schools.” Read more
Building off of last year’s landmark successes of state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and state House Speaker Joanna McClinton, Pennsylvania women have continued to make waves in 2023. In addition to seven women serving in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s cabinet - including Laurel Harry, the first female leader of the state Department of Corrections, there are a record number of women serving in Congress, and a host of committees in both the state Senate and House now being chaired by women as well.The honorees profiled on the following pages – researched by City & State staff and written by journalist Hilary Danailova – include female public servants, business executives, nonprofit leaders, advocates, academics and others who meet at the intersection of politics and policy. Read more
Next Wednesday is our National Night Out event, located at 60th and Woodland Avenue! Read more
NEIGHBORS – Our office has moved! We are now located at 149 S. 60th St.! We will resume normal business hours on Monday, July 24. Read more
PHILADELPHIA, July 15 – State and city officials gathered in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood today to unveil a newly renovated basketball court in the renamed Sgt. Robert Wilson III Park. The park bears the name of fallen Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III of the city’s 22nd Precinct who was murdered while protecting civilians during the course of an armed robbery in 2015. Wilson grew up in the neighborhood and played basketball at the park. The basketball court was refurbished using a combination of state and city funds and will provide local youth a place to play, exercise and socialize. “When we invest in recreational spaces for our youth and families, we are investing in the health, wellbeing and future of our communities,” said Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, “Today’s event not only commemorates the lives of several community heroes, including Sergeant Wilson, but also demonstrates how people from across the community can work together to improve the lives of all our neighbors.” “I am proud to invest in this new and improved basketball court, the latest in a string of new world-class public resources we’re delivering to Cobbs Creek! Not only will this facility empower Cobbs Creek to gather, play and build community, it will serve as a monument to the legacy and ultimate sacrifice of Sergeant Robert Wilson,” Councilmember Read more
Don’t miss the Sgt. Robert Wilson III Basketball Court ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, July 15! Read more
HARRISBURG, July 7 – Today, legislation ( H.B. 1448 ) introduced by state Rep. Anthony Bellmon, D-Phila., and Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, passed the House and is headed to the Senate for consideration. The bill would r equire public schools to provide instruction on conflict resolution to all students. The instruction would include topics such as skills of conflict resolution; respect for different cultures, races, and beliefs; effectively managing emotions; and how to resolve differences peacefully. The bill also would require the instruction to be age-appropriate and incorporated into an appropriate area of study. The Department of Education would compose a list of evidence-based model programs schools could use to provide this instruction to students. Bellmon said that teaching conflict resolution in schools can help reduce violence. “In areas across the commonwealth, such as Philadelphia, we’re seeing far too many young lives taken by gun violence,” Bellmon said. “It’s imperative that our children know that conflicts can be resolved in a non-violent way, and that’s why I introduced this bill that can help prevent unnecessary violence and even save lives.” McClinton echoed Bellmon’s sentiment. “Everyone has a role in keeping our communities healthy and safe, and by equipping our youngest Read more
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