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Today's newsletter is 1.107 words, a 4-minute read.

Teacher turnover in Philadelphia district schools rose last year for the first time since 2022.

Why it matters: Losing teachers can hurt school climate, teacher quality and student outcomes while driving up staffing costs for districts.

Driving the news: Teachers and staff return to classrooms this week ahead of the first day of school next Monday, following a year in which 506 full-time teachers resigned or retired, per district data.

• That's up 5.4% compared with the previous year and marks the first increase in departures in years.

By the numbers: The rise was driven by resignations.

• ⬆️ 316 teachers resigned last school year, up from 285 during the year before.
• ⬇️ 190 retired, down 2.5%.

Context: The district employs roughly 9,000 full-time teachers.

• But the district has had a severe teacher shortage for years.

Zoom in: The schools with some of the highest turnover rates included:

• George Washington High School: 15 teachers left last school year
• Northeast High School: 8
• Roberto Clemente Middle School: 8
• Thomas Edison High School: 8
• Olney High School: 7

Zoom out: Pennsylvania is seeing a decline in teacher attrition at public schools (at least through last year), which had risen sharply during the pandemic.

• The teacher attrition rate was 6.2% from the 2024-25 school year to 2025-26, which has been sliding from 7.7% in 2022-23, per a forthcoming analysis shared with Axios from Penn State University education expert Ed Fuller.

Between the lines: The district is entering a new school year after a tumultuous summer for hiring, when a budget gap threatened to eliminate hundreds of school-based jobs, including teachers.

• The city ultimately came to the rescue in June, boosting funding by $48 million to stave off around 340 cuts.
• But the money arrived after the district began planning cuts, leading to a chaotic attempt to restore the positions.

🔮 What they're saying: Fuller expects teacher attrition to remain elevated in Philadelphia and nationally, driven in part by forces beyond local districts' control.

• The main reasons: Stagnant pay amid high inflation, increasingly difficult working conditions and a decline in the profession's prestige post-pandemic, Fuller says.
• "Teachers are being asked to do more with less and expectations increase every year," he says.

Keep reading

Philly parents are back-to-school bargain hunters, but their kids often persuade them to splurge on those must-have new kicks or fun tech toys, per a new Deloitte survey.

Why it matters: Philly parents consistently spend much more on back-to-school shopping than the national average, the consulting firm found — driven partly by unplanned purchases they'll make while hunting for deals.

The big picture: Back-to-school spending in Philly has remained relatively stagnant over the last three years, reaching a three-year high of $761 in 2024, per the report.

• Parents are expecting to spend only $37 less this year, but that's still well above the national average of $557.

Zoom in: Nearly half of Philly parents surveyed were considered "hyper-value seekers," compared with 31% nationally. Those are people who adopt at least four money-saving strategies, such as buying cheaper brands or shopping at more affordable stores.

• 81% of Philly parents said they would take advantage of summer promotions to save some money.

Yes, but: A lot of the money saved from bargain shopping is put toward other unplanned buys, the survey found.

• 66% of parents say they end up making impulse buys — often at their kids' urging.

Keep reading

Funeral services were held yesterday for Philly police officer Alhassane Barry, who was killed in an off-duty shooting on Sunday.

• Barry, 29, served in the military before joining the Philly police force two years ago. (NBC)

🚧 'Tis the season for college student move-ins. Plan for West Philly traffic closures for UPenn students along Spruce Street between 34th-38th streets today, Friday and Saturday from 7am-6pm.

• Plus: Ongoing work on the University Avenue Bridge will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction through mid-December. (West Philly Local)

🤖 The blowback against automatic license plate cameras has reached Pennsylvania.

• State lawmakers recently said they want to establish new oversight and privacy safeguards for the tech, per a news release.

Google searches for "solo travel" hit a nationwide record high in 2026.

Why it matters: Solo travel is booming as more people embrace the freedom of going wherever they want, whenever they want — without waiting for someone else's PTO to line up.

By the numbers: In Hostelworld's recently released 2025 survey of more than 3,300 solo travelers, 64% said freedom and spontaneity were among the best parts of traveling alone.

• But solo doesn't necessarily mean lonely: 58% said they wanted to meet new people, up from 43% in 2024.
• And 63% of first-time solo travelers said they planned to do it again.

Zoom out: The trend isn't just for 20-something backpackers, either.

• While younger travelers are driving much of the boom, tour operators like Collette are also seeing a growing demand from older travelers — particularly among women 50 and over.

Keep reading

LeBron James got Philly so gassed up about his arrival that a lot of people forgot about this guy, Jaylen Brown.

Why it matters: Turns out, this brainy, All-Star jawn can hoop pretty well, too — and he's already a baller at breaking down Philly lingo.

Driving the news: Even though he's ceded some of the spotlight to the King, Brown has kept a busy itinerary this offseason, appearing last week on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where he talked about parachuting over the Egyptian pyramids as a way to conquer his fear of heights.

• Rising to new heights, he also carved out time to show off his lighter side to Philly fans still getting to know the former Boston super star, including showing off a pretty deep understanding of the region and Philly accent.

Zoom in: Wooder. Norf. Young Boul.

• The Sixers' PR staff couldn't trip up Brown, who's among the league's smartest players.

Brown told fill-in host Anthony Brown that he aspires to one day study astrophysics at MIT, saying he loves "the stars."

The bottom line: If it's stars that Brown seeks, let's just say youse in the right place.

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📚 Isaac finished "Dopamine Nation" over the weekend. Now he's reading "Walden." NGL, Henry David Thoreau could have slimmed this book down a bit.

🤔 Mike is taking this survey about how Pennsylvania's regions should be defined.

Today's newsletter was edited by Alexa Mencia Orozco.