Our Mission

PHSI’s mission is to raise public awareness about the scale and scope of crumbling school infrastructure and environmental hazards in Philadelphia’s K-12 schools.  Our goal is to shine a bright light on the real impacts dangerous condition pose to student and staff health and safety, to academic opportunity, on educational & racial justice and equity,  and on environmental and fiscal sustainability. We believe that it is critically necessary to actively engage the public in the process of helping ensure the School District of Philadelphia take the immediate and ongoing actions required to address the threat of dangerous conditions in too many of our schools.

We know that our collective voices matter and we know that only if we work together with direct and near direct stakeholders, and other public advocates,  fully involved in front end planning, decision-making and priority setting, can we make sure that all of Philadelphia’s schools are healthy and safe places for our children to learn and for our school staff to work.

WE BELIEVE THAT:

Every room in every school, in every neighborhood and zip code, should be safe, healthy & supportive to the educational mission.

That althougPeople have a right to life and security; to a sustainable livelihood; to be heard; to have an identity; and to have access to basic social services. We subscribe to all international covenants on rights, and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In poverty, people have little power and are denied an effective voice. Poverty means little income, too few assets, lack of access to basic services and opportunities, deep inequalities, ongoing insecurity and little opportunity for development.

Poverty is rooted in inequality, and in human action or inaction. It can be worsened by natural disasters, human violence, oppression and environmental damage, and maintained by institutions and economic means.

Women and girls are often the most oppressed by poverty; their needs and rights must be central to eliminating it.

We face unprecedented changes and challenges this century, including climate change, famines and food price crises, increasing humanitarian crises, energy limitations, proliferation of weapons, urbanization, and natural resources shortages. To meet these challenges, we need global co-operation and cohesion.

Governments should be accountable to their people, and all society’s institutions –corporations, organizations and groups including us – should be accountable for the impact of their actions.

We are secular, open-minded and pluralistic. We welcome all beliefs that advance human rights.