Philly Free School winds down second year of Democratic Education


By Nicole Contosta Staff Reporter


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ertain steps mark the normal progression from infancy forward. Kids learn how to crawl, walk, speak and use utensils to eat. “It’s very diffi cult for them to learn how to do those things,” explained Michelle Loucas, one of the founders and directors of the Philly Free School, 2001 Christian Street. “But they learn how to do those things because they want to be eff ective in their environment.” Loucas’s above statement en- capsulates the educational philos- ophy of the school. “The students


are responsible for educating themselves,” Loucas explained, adding, that they’re also respon- sible for “making and enforcing its rules.”


Expecting kids to educate them- selves while simultaneously creat- ing and enforcing their school’s rules may seem far-fetched to some. But according to Loucas, the Democratic Free School model has proved eff ective since the English Summerhill School opened in 1921. The model came to Massachusetts in 1968 when the Sudbury Valley School opened. Both schools remain open today. Moreover, more than 30 schools operate on the free, democratic


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OF COMMUNITY NEWS years


Philly Free School Students rock out: Archangel Torres (guitar) and Desmond Lee (drums). Photo: Michelle Loucas.


June 12, 2013


Former Old City Civic Association members search for solutions for


SLAPP Lawsuits By Nicole Contosta Staff Reporter


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Children’s Hospital celebrates the birth of its 1,000th fetal Surgery patient Experienced fetal diagnosis and therapy team hits record-breaking milestone


By Haywood Brewster Staff Reporter


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ighteen years after opening its internationally prominent Center for Fetal Diagnosis


and Treatment, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) celebrates 1,000 fetal surgeries – highly complex surgical interven- tions to repair birth defects in the womb. Approximately 4,000 fetal surgeries have been done world- wide, meaning a quarter of them have been performed at CHOP, the largest number of any hospital in the world.


“Although birth defects remain the leading cause of infant mortal- ity in the United States, we have been able to develop and share in- novations that help advance treat- ment for these defects, relying on tools, techniques and experience not available 30 years ago,” said fetal surgery pioneer and pediatric surgeon N. Scott Adzick, M.D., medical director of the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at CHOP, where he is also Surgeon-


Audrey Rose Oberio, the 1,000th fetal surgery patient at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, pictured with her parents Jackie and Gideon.


in-Chief. It took a small group of medi-


cal professionals, committed to treating life-threatening birth de- fects before birth, to dramatically expand the capabilities of fetal medicine. Today, having provided eff ective treatments for thousands


of babies worldwide, fetal therapy is recognized as one of the most promising fi elds in pediatric medicine.


Established by Dr. Adzick in 1995, CHOP’s Center is now the largest and most comprehensive fetal program in the world, having


welcomed nearly 15,000 expect- ant mothers from all 50 states and more than 50 countries. Each week at CHOP, highly sophisticated sur- gical teams repair spina bifi da and other birth defects in the womb, place fetal shunts to treat life- threatening congenital conditions, or perform minimally invasive procedures in the mother’s uterus to treat complications in fetal twins. The Center staff also man- ages pregnancies complicated by birth defects, in which newborns need immediate specialized medi- cal care or surgery after delivery. “This is our mission and our passion, and our multidisciplinary team is constantly working to improve care, treatment and out- comes for these fragile babies and their families,” said Lori J. Howell, R.N., M.S.N., executive director of the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment. “The high volume of patients we see with incredibly complex, rare conditions makes all the diff erence. Our experienced


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tunned. That remains the most accurate term to de- scribe how the public reacted to the disbanding of the Old City Civic Association (OCCA). As previously reported in both


the Philadelphia Daily News and Plan Philly, the OCCA was forced to close because developers fi led three Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) on it in re- cent years. Developers fi led these lawsuits in response to comments the OCCA made regarding projects requiring zoning variances. The OCCA never had a judg-


ment fi led against it. And the OCCA never paid a fi nancial settlement to any plaintiff . Re- gardless, the OCCA’s insurance carrier assigned counsel to the organization each time a SLAPP lawsuit was fi led. The number of lawsuits in recent years made the organization unattractive to its former insurance carrier. Now defunct, former members of the OCCA do not have any immediate plans to re-open the civic association representing Philadelphia’s oldest neighbor- hood. Instead, former members are looking for ways to prevent what


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SUNDAY, JUNE 16TH


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