Philadelphia City Council is considering ways to make schools equitable for all Philadelphians. This month’s council education meeting held hearings on two issues. One looked at students of color and students with disabilities being excluded and expelled from preschools. The other explored the fact that not every eighth grader in the city has access to an Algebra One course. Councilman Isaiah Thomas is chair of City Council’s Education Committee, and he is joining us live in the studio, along with Symbol Lai, policy director for Children First.
Author Archives: Sophia Mattia
Sophia Mattia graduated from Drexel University in June 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in English, minors in communication and linguistics, and a certificate in Entertainment Writing and Publishing. She currently works as an Editorial Assistant at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and as a Research Assistant at Drexel.
During her senior year, Sophia was the Editor-in-Chief of Drexel’s independent student newspaper, The Triangle. She also co-founded a STEM & Humanities journal called Lit Lab.
Sophia has experience writing news and entertainment stories, but is excited to explore radio journalism! In her free time, she enjoys writing short stories, poetry, and songs.
Posted inAround the Block
August 16, 2026 (Around the Block)
This episode features a story about efforts preserve the character of Philadelphia’s historic buildings and neighborhoods from unchecked development, and an interview with Philadelphia City Council Education Chair Isaiah Thomas and Children First Policy Director Symbol Lai about pre-school pushout and the impact of only some Philadelphia schools offering Algebra I classes to eight grade students.