School District of Philadelphia proposes closure of 20 schools to enhance educational opportunities

Published  January 22, 2026 1:47pm EST
FOX 29 Philadelphia
Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

The Brief

    • The School District of Philadelphia will close 20 school building as part of a pending proposal.
    • The plan is designed to "increase access to high-quality academic and  extracurricular programs."
    • The full list of schools included in the proposal can be found below.

PHILADELPHIA - The School District of Philadelphia is proposing the closure of 20 schools as part of a sweeping plan to "increase access to high-quality academic and extracurricular programs."

The district shared its "Facilities Master Plan" on Thursday, adding that the changes outlined in the plan still need to be approved by the Board of Education.

Which Philadelphia schools may close?

What we know:

The district's plan calls for nearly two dozen Pre-K-8 and K-8 grade schools to close or be phased out and students to be reassigned to other schools. 

The following schools will close under the district's pending plan: 

  • Robert Morris Elementary – students reassigned to William D. Kelley Elementary and Bache-Martin School
  • Samuel Pennypacker School – students reassigned to Franklin S. Edmonds Elementary School and Anna B. Day School
  • John Welsh Elementary School – students reassigned to John Hartranft School and William McKinley Elementary School
  • James R. Ludlow School – students reassigned to Paul L. Dunbar School, Spring Garden Schoo, ad General Phillip Kearny School.
  • Laura W. Waring School – students reassigned to Bache-Martin School.
  • Overbrook Elementary School – students reassigned to Lewis C. Cassidy Plus Academics, Guion S. Bluford Elementary School, John Barry Elementary School, and Edward Heston School.
  • Rudolph Blankenburg School – students reassigned to James Rhoads Elementary School, Edward Heston School, Martha Washington Academics Plus School/Middle Years Alternative School.
  • Fitler Academics Plus
  • Lankenau High School – merging the Lankenau program into Roxborough High School as an honors program
  • Motivation High School – merging the Motivation program into John Bartram High School as an honors program.
  • Paul Robeson High School – merging the Robeson program into William L. Sayre High School as an honors program with investments in CTE spaces and dual enrollment opportunities.
  • Parkway Northwest High School – merging the Parkway NW program into Martin Luther King High School as an honors program.

Additionally, the school will "phase out" five middle schools to "grow the bands of their feeder school where needed, as well as create amor predictable and supportive school pathways for students." 

  • General Louis Wagner Middle School – growing Prince Hall School, Joseph Pennell Elementary School, William Rowan School, Julia Ward Howe School, and Ellwood School.
  • Stetson Middle School – growing Lewis Elkin Elementary School and William Cramp Elementary School.
  • Warren G. Harding Middle School – growing James J. Sullivan School, John Marshall School, Henry W. Lawton School, and Laura H. Carnell School.
  • William T. Tilden's Middle School – growing Thomas G. Morton School, John M. Patterson School, and Joseph W. Catharine School.
  • Academy for the Middle Years at Northwest

Three high schools will be co-located as part of the district's pending plan.

  • Martin Luther King High School 
  • Workshop School at Overbrook High School
  • The U-School at Thomas A. Edison High School

What will happen to the closed schools?

What's next:

Part of the district's proposal includes plans for the shuddered schools, including converting some into district buildings and selling others. 

Welsh Elementary School and Laura W. Waring School are two buildings that will be "modernized and repurposed" to house new school buildings.

What we know:

The district's plan is carried by what they call Four Guiding Themes designed to improve learning opportunities through better use of space and travel for students.

Strengthening PreK-8 Programming, the district says, aims to improve school's with declining enrollment and weed out schools that operate in aging buildings to provide students and staff with better access to spaces, staffing and resources.

Reducing unnecessary school transitions for students will "create more predictable and supportive pathways for students" by eliminating transitions that between schools that the district says can be "disruptive to learning and community connection."

The district believes reinvesting in neighborhood high schools as community anchors will "ensure every neighborhood high school offers strong, engaging academic, extracurricular, and enrichment programs while providing welcoming environments for students."

The fourth theme, Expanding access to grades 5-12 criteria-based and CTE schools, tackles providing equitable access to consistent academic experiences. This part of the proposal is done through initiatives like adding classes, merging programs, and moving schools.

You can explore the district's entire proposal here.

School District of PhiladelphiaEducationNews