HOMES
Row homes surround the school and make up a majority of the neighborhood. One teacher at Furness described the neighborhood as “a predominately white area”. Much of the historical architecture and infrastructure of the neighborhood remains in present day Pennsport. For example, over 23,000 homes in Pennsport were built earlier than 1939 and are still being used today. Many of the homes have porches and stoops. As we walked around, there were people sitting outside their houses. When we approached a woman and asked about the neighborhood, she did not have a negative thing to say. She described it as safe and had pride for where she was from. We could sense there is a strong neighborhood identity. However, when we asked about the relationship between Furness and community, the woman avoided the answer. She mentioned that kids from the area choose to go elsewhere and she did not seem interested in talked about the school.
BUSINESSES
There are many neighborhood bars, there is a pharmacy, flower shop, & delis. Many are located on Snyder Avenue, which is a busy, commercial corridor for the area. Most of the businesses are not/do not appear to be kid friendly. We spoke to a bartender at a local pub who was born and raised in South Philadelphia. He, like most neighborhood children, did not attend Furness. He commented on the limited interaction between the school and neighborhood, but he does not have a negative opinion of the school. Recently, the school seems more stable to him. The students cause no horrible problems. Some teachers do come to his pub nearby at 2nd and Snyder, and from seeing them interact he believes the school within itself has a strong community.
There are many neighborhood bars, there is a pharmacy, flower shop, & delis. Many are located on Snyder Avenue, which is a busy, commercial corridor for the area. Most of the businesses are not/do not appear to be kid friendly. We spoke to a bartender at a local pub who was born and raised in South Philadelphia. He, like most neighborhood children, did not attend Furness. He commented on the limited interaction between the school and neighborhood, but he does not have a negative opinion of the school. Recently, the school seems more stable to him. The students cause no horrible problems. Some teachers do come to his pub nearby at 2nd and Snyder, and from seeing them interact he believes the school within itself has a strong community.