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44-567: Started in 1960 by Dr. William G. Moser, who served as the district's first superintendent, the district was carved out of the nearby present-day Chester-Upland School District and was instrumental for the building of the Sun Valley Senior High School and administration building on land donated by the Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco). In addition to the regular curriculum, in 1976, the U.S. Marine Corps Jr. ROTC (MCJROTC) program

88-460: A high school (on two campuses) and five elementary schools. High school students may choose to attend Delaware County Technical High School for training in the construction and mechanical trades. The Delaware County Intermediate Unit IU25 provides the district with a wide variety of services like specialized education for disabled students and hearing, speech and visual disability services and professional development for staff and faculty. In 1953,

132-483: A number of selective-admission magnet schools . As of 2023 the headquarters are at 232 W. 9th Street. At one point the district headquarters were on the first floor of Chester High School. In 2011, nearly 45 percent of Chester Upland School District resident's children attend public charter schools. Many of the community's elementary students attend the K-8 Chester Community Charter School,

176-699: A picket line outside Franklin Elementary; 130 more joined them within two days. The day after a mass meeting of community members on November 11, 400 people blocked the doors to Franklin Elementary School, which forced the cancellation of school for the day by early morning. After closing the school, protesters marched to the Mayor's chambers and the Board of Education. Protests outside of Franklin Elementary continued on November 13 and 14. Some participants lay down in front of

220-681: A result, in 1953, five elementary schools in Chester were almost completely black. Yet each of those five schools had white students living within its district that were allowed to attend all-white schools in other parts of town. From November 1963 to April 1964, the Chester school protests were initiated by the Committee for Freedom Now and the Chester branch of the NAACP to protest the de facto segregation of schools. In April 1964, almost nightly protests against

264-433: A series of demonstrations that occurred from November 1963 through April 1964 in Chester, Pennsylvania . The demonstrations aimed to end the de facto segregation of Chester public schools that persisted after the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka . The racial unrest and civil rights protests were led by Stanley Branche of the Committee for Freedom Now (CFFN) and George Raymond of

308-645: A two-month period of civil rights rallies, marches, pickets, boycotts and sit-ins. A 1964 hearing from the Pennsylvania Human Rights commission reported findings from investigators sent into Chester schools that concluded there was "maintenance of all-one color schools, assignment of Negro teachers to all-Negro schools, inferior educational standards in nonwhite schools, failure to appoint Negroes to supervisory and administrative positions and gerrymandering of boundary lines defining school zones in order to perpetuate all Negro schools". In 1994, Chester Upland

352-759: A two-month period of civil rights rallies, marches, pickets, boycotts and sit-ins. On May 4, 1964, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission began hearings to determine the state of de facto segregation in Chester. The hearings included testimonies from multiple civil rights leaders in the area, including a testimony from Branche, a testimony from the school board president, Frances Donahoo, and reports from Commission investigators. The Commission finally released its verdict in November 1964, saying Chester public schools "had committed and continues to commit unlawful discrimination practices in violation of

396-589: The Ches-Mont League . Until 2007, Sun Valley was part of the Del-Val league, and prior to 2006, had played inter-league games with schools in the Ches-Mont and Southern Chester County Leagues. It became an associate member of the new unified Ches-Mont League starting in the 2007–08 school year, with full membership starting in the 2008–09 year. Its ice hockey team has no school sponsorship and is an independent affiliate of

440-721: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP). The protests intensified from February to April 1964, featuring civil rights rallies, marches, pickets, boycotts, and sit-ins. More than 600 people were arrested. National civil rights leaders such as Dick Gregory , Gloria Richardson , and Malcolm X came to Chester to support the demonstrations. Things came to a head in April 1964, when almost nightly protests brought chaos to Chester. The city deputized firemen and trash collectors to help handle demonstrators and

484-623: The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act " and requiring the city to develop a desegregation plan for six predominantly African-American schools by January 31, 1965. The city appealed the ruling, delaying its implementation. In June 1964, Chester city leaders formed the Greater Chester Movement (GCM), an umbrella organization intended to coordinate activities of groups working toward the improvement of Chester. When President Lyndon B. Johnson initiated his War on Poverty ,

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528-559: The Swarthmore College chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and disgruntled parents. Branche became frustrated with the gradualist approach taken by Raymond and the NAACP and proposed more militant protest techniques. Substantial activism concerning school conditions took about a year to incubate in Chester after the establishment of the CFFN. On November 4, 1963, 20 protesters formed

572-543: The United States Supreme Court rendered its decision in the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka declaring state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The Chester Board of Education technically met the requirements of integration; however, board policy allowed students to request transfers to schools outside their neighborhood. The board approved most transfers for white students but few for black students. As

616-430: The 1950s and 1960s, most of Chester's labor force worked in low-paying service positions or industrial work. White and educated residents of Chester fled to suburban Delaware County to pursue better jobs and housing as more black residents moved into Chester. From 1950 to 1960, the white population decreased by 19% and the black population increased by 53%. The white exodus fortified residential segregation, until 80% of

660-415: The 1954 Brown decision, the school board created "neighborhood schools" that purported to eschew racial discrimination, but which reflected the surrounding residentially segregated neighborhoods. Just one of Chester's 16 public schools was substantially racially integrated. When local church and civil rights leaders confronted the school board about the de facto segregation, the school board acknowledged

704-498: The 77-member Chester police force. On April 20, The CFFN, the NAACP , and the Chester School Board met to discuss the legal charges brought against protesters who were arrested. Raymond presented the school board with a list of 10 demands including teacher transfers, transportation of students to schools in other neighborhoods, hiring blacks for supervisory positions and hiring more black secretaries. The next day, April 21,

748-454: The Chester School Board policy were marked by violence and police brutality. George Raymond , president of the NAACP Chester branch presented the school board with a list of 10 demands including teacher transfers, transportation of students to schools in other neighborhoods, hiring blacks for supervisory positions and hiring more black secretaries. Over six hundred people were arrested over

792-572: The GCM became a conduit through which federal dollars were distributed in Chester with Branche serving on the steering committee. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled on February 15, 1966 that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission did not have the authority to force Chester schools to integrate. In response, the CFFN, NAACP , and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) announced new demonstrations. Branche attempted to reinstate another school boycott beginning on April 1, 1966, but most students ignored

836-702: The ICSHL Chester-Upland School District The Chester Upland School District (CUSD) is a midsized, urban public school district serving the City of Chester , the Borough of Upland and Chester Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania . The Chester-Upland School District administrative offices are located in Chester. According to 2000 federal census data, it served a resident population of 44,435. In 2009,

880-597: The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, 76.4% of the district's pupils lived at 185% or below the Federal Poverty Level [1] as demonstrated by their eligibility for the federal free or reduced price school meal programs in 2012. In Delaware County, the median household income was $ 61,876. By 2013, the median household income in the United States rose to $ 52,100. Chester-Upland School District operates

924-460: The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission admitted that it failed to bring the civil rights groups and the school board to a compromise. The school board closed all Chester public schools indefinitely on April 22, claiming the purpose of the closures was to prevent violence. That night, 300 protesters rallied at the police station; after they refused to disperse, some were violently beaten by 40 Chester police officers. On April 23, another protest at

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968-521: The Pennsylvania Human Relations Committee to hold hearings on school desegregation. In November 1964, the committee concluded that the Chester School Board had violated the law. The Chester School District was ordered to desegregate the city's six predominantly African-American schools. The city appealed the ruling, which delayed implementation, but eventually desegregated the schools. As manufacturing in Chester declined during

1012-509: The State of Pennsylvania deployed 50 state troopers to assist the 77-member Chester police force. The demonstrations were marked by violence and police brutality ; activist James Farmer dubbed Chester the " Birmingham of the North". The protests came to an end on April 26, when Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton convinced protestors to obey a court-ordered moratorium on demonstrations by forming

1056-629: The black population lived in a cluster of census tracts in central Chester. White families that remained in Chester had a higher average income than black families: the median income for white families was $ 5,880 and the median income for black families $ 4,059. Black families constituted half of the impoverished population in Chester; white families, 25%. Majority-black schools suffered from low funding and overcrowding. The buildings were generally old and made of weakening wood and plaster, with inadequate heating and bathrooms. Classrooms were small and stocked with secondhand books. Franklin Elementary School

1100-411: The boiler room and coal bin, and repair school grounds. On the evening of November 14, the school board agreed to repair schools and reduce overcrowding by transferring 173 students from Franklin Elementary School. Still, the following day, hundreds of demonstrators crowded the doors of the school. Protests relented for a couple of months while the CFFN established a better structure and added goals to

1144-399: The de facto segregation of public schools. All protests were discontinued while the commission held hearings during the summer of 1964. Judge John V. Diggins granted the requests of the Chester School Board on April 28 to place an injunction that would prohibit demonstrators from protesting on or near public school property, allowing the schools to reopen. Over 600 people were arrested over

1188-605: The district residents' per capita income was $ 13,521, while the median family income was $ 30,900. In the Commonwealth, the median family income was $ 49,501 and the United States median family income was $ 49,445, in 2010. By 2010, the district's population declined to 41,173 people. The educational attainment levels for the Chester Upland School District population (25 years old and over) were 79.8% high school graduates and 10.2% college graduates. According to

1232-437: The district's students have chosen to attend charter schools. By 2011–12, charter attendance at a charter school had risen to over 45%. of the district's pupils. In 2011–12, 2,697 Chester Upland SD students attend CCCS, while 329 attend WPCS. The Chester Upland School Board rejected the establishment of several charter schools: Chester Charter School for Theater Arts and Excel Charter School, which intended to focus on dropouts,

1276-427: The doors. On the morning of November 14, 83 protesters were arrested. Later that day, 50 state troopers arrived to assist the 77-member Chester police force. After media coverage of the mass arrests drew public attention, the mayor and school board negotiated with the CFFN and NAACP . The Chester Board of Education agreed to reduce class sizes at Franklin school, remove unsanitary toilet facilities, move classes held in

1320-519: The entire Chester police force. On March 28, some 200 protestors staged midday sit-down demonstrations at key intersections to disrupt downtown traffic. The protest was met by a violent police response with officers "swinging riot sticks" and arresting all protestors. The violent response by Chester police resulted in even larger demonstrations with ordinary citizens outraged by the images of peaceful protestors being dragged and beaten by police. Branche called for massive civil disobedience in response to

1364-538: The lack of integration but blamed it on residential issues over which they had no control. Stanley Branche arrived back home in Chester in 1962 after participating in activism in the Cambridge movement in Dorchester County, Maryland . Branche recognized the dire circumstances of the Chester school system, especially Franklin Elementary School, and created the Committee for Freedom Now (CFFN) in Chester along with

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1408-400: The leader of the Chester branch of the NAACP in 1942 and began to implement programs to end racial discrimination . He worked with J. Pius Barbour , the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, to adopt a gradualist approach to civil rights. In 1945, Raymond and the NAACP desegregated movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses in Chester through non-violent protests and

1452-430: The organization's agenda, including improving more Chester public schools, increasing the availability of jobs, improving housing and medical care, and generally ending discrimination. Protests resumed on February 10, 1964, after the CFFN planned a boycott of Chester's public schools to begin the next day. The boycott drove absentee rates in some majority black-attended schools up to 55%. The "Freedom Now Conference"

1496-466: The part of an Edison employee, and policies such as not allowing students to bring home books, led to the state's decision to break its contract with Edison. The district has regained local public control, but remains one of the lowest-performing in Pennsylvania. 72% of district students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, as compared to the state average of 33%. In recent years it has opened

1540-477: The police station devolved into a rock-throwing melee that hospitalized six police officers and eight protestors. Demonstrators held a rally against police brutality and linked arms to block a downtown intersection on April 24, which also ended in police violence. On April 25, James Farmer dubbed Chester the "Birmingham of the North," in reference to the harsh treatment of protesters in Birmingham, Alabama around

1584-712: The police violence and the nightly standoffs between protestors and police overshadowed the original intent of the protests. The height of the Chester School Protests occurred in April 1964. On April 2, Branche led 350 protestors in front of the police headquarters. On April 3, the mayor of Chester, James Gorbey , issued "The Police Position to Preserve the Public Peace", a 10-point statement promising an immediate return to law and order. The city deputized firemen and trash collectors to help handle demonstrators. The State of Pennsylvania deployed 50 state troopers to assist

1628-501: The same time. Some of the white residents of Chester created the Chester Parents Association as a counter response that aimed to keep the neighborhood schools policy. The group held a rally of 2,000 people on April 26, 1964. On April 26, Governor William Scranton convinced Branche to obey a court-ordered moratorium on demonstrations. Scranton created the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to conduct hearings on

1672-462: The state's largest, which as of 2012 academically outperformed the district’s schools. Students in the district may also opt to attend a variety of public charter schools, including Chester Charter School for the Arts , Chester Community Charter School (K–8), Widener Partnership Charter School (K–8) (operated by Widener University ), or one of the statewide cyber charter schools. In 2006, over one third of

1716-406: The threat of legal action. In 1946, a student strike organized by the NAACP and a committee of black parents led the school board to formally consent to integrating Chester's public schools. But more than two decades would pass before this seeming victory produced real change. White parents did their best to inhibit integration, and many moved their children to predominantly white schools. After

1760-502: Was a prime example of decrepit school conditions; the facility was constructed in 1910 for 50 students, but over fifty years later in 1963 it served over 1,000 students, almost all black. The library at Franklin Elementary was merely a few piles of books, the gym an empty coal bin, and the playground a cement area with a dangerous 4-foot drop on one side. The school's average class size was 39, twice that of nearby all-white schools. The school had just two bathrooms. George Raymond became

1804-455: Was held in Chester on March 14, 1964. More than 60 delegates and visitors from eight states attended the conference, including Dick Gregory , Gloria Richardson , and Malcolm X . During the conference, some 200 protesters from the CFFN marched to present demands to the mayor. On March 27, 1964, 300 protestors marched from the West End of Chester to the downtown business district, escorted by

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1848-477: Was named by the state as the worst-performing school district in Pennsylvania. The district had a multimillion-dollar deficit and its decision-making ability was taken over by the state. A for- profit company, Edison Schools , was hired to try to improve the struggling district's test scores in 2001. After four years it was determined that Edison was not successful in turning the district around. A number of incidents, including an allegation of sexual misconduct on

1892-573: Was offered for the first time and was only one of three MCJROTC units in the Delaware Valley area – the others being in nearby Chester City and in Bensalem . The Penn-Delco School District operates the following schools: The following schools were once operated by the district, but have been closed and/or demolished: The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. The Sun Valley High School Vanguards play all interscholastic games in

1936-661: Was rejected in fall 2011. In July 2012, the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board approved the school to open for the 2012–13 school year. The Chester Upland School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive, publicly funded sports program. The district funds: Chester school protests CFFN member Stanley Branche NAACP member George Raymond Mayor of Chester James Gorbey Governor of Pennsylvania William Scranton State of New York State of Pennsylvania The Chester school protests were

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