Philadelphia schools see progress: 2 new schools, rising scores

Philadelphia schools see progress: 2 new schools, rising scores

City and school leaders in Philadelphia are sharing their vision for the upcoming year, focusing on continued progress and new initiatives.

PHILADELPHIA - City and school leaders in Philadelphia are sharing their vision for the upcoming year, focusing on continued progress and new initiatives. 

Philadelphia schools show improvement 

Dr. Tony Watlington, Superintendent of Philadelphia Public Schools, highlighted the district's hard work during the State of Schools address. 

"This school district is working super hard, incredibly hard under the leadership of so many people in this room, with the support of so many people in this room to change the narrative," said Watlington. 

For the first time, all 55 traditional comprehensive high schools in Philadelphia are accredited. Watlington encouraged applause for the students' achievements. 

The district has seen improvements in student attendance, graduation rates, enrollment, and test scores in reading and math. 

However, Watlington emphasized the ongoing goal of ensuring all students read and do math at grade level.

"Even though the test scores have gone up, graduation rates are going up, the dropout rate has gone down we won’t be satisfied until all of our students read and do math on grade level," said Watlington. 

New schools and resources 

Two new schools are set to open in North Philadelphia this year, a K-8 and a high school, both featuring new resources. 

These schools will be the first in the U.S. to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone model, a nonprofit organization in New York that aims to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. 

"We’re going to be partners and opening these two state-of-the-art schools in existing facilities. They’ll be choice schools. We won’t make anybody go. Parents can decide to come or not come," said Watlington. 

Utilizing vacant buildings 

The district and city leaders aim to utilize vacant and abandoned school buildings in Philadelphia. 

Mayor Cherelle Parker expressed the city's commitment to developing a plan for these buildings to add value to the community. 

"We are going to find a way to do what has never been done in the city of Philadelphia before development a plan for those persistently vacant buildings so that they can add value to our great city," said Parker. 

What we don't know:

Details on how the new schools will specifically implement the Harlem Children’s Zone model are not yet clear, nor is the timeline for the development of vacant buildings.