The Philadelphia School District is one of the most troubled in the state.
Results from the 2004-05 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment Test -- which is given to students in the third, fifth, eighth and eleventh grades -- showed that math and reading test scores worsened as students got older.
By the time they reach eleventh grade, 60.1 percent of Philadelphia public-school students have below-basic math scores and 55 percent had below-basic reading scores, the lowest possible ranking.
But with the disappointing test scores and discouraging statistics has come an effort by both the city and private organizations like Penn to improve its struggling school system.
The new high school Penn is helping to create will form the latest chapter in this long running saga of charter schools, magnet schools, and other efforts to better educate the children of Philadelphia.
The school may be little more than a dream at this point --it doesn't even have a firm name yet -- but the University thinks it could have major effects on the city's lackluster school district.
The school was originally to expected to begin classes this fall but is now slated to open next year. When it does open, it will mark a major departure both for the school district and Penn.
Penn's New Plan
Penn has begun searching for a site for an international-studies high school in West Philadelphia in a partnership with the school district.
The new school will feature a curriculum rich in the study of foreign cultures, perspectives and languages, said Nancy Streim, associate dean for Educational Practice at the Penn Graduate School of Education.
"The educational vision is to ensure that this next generation of high-school students in West Philadelphia is prepared to be successful in a global society and economy," she said.
She added that this vision will be carried out by infusing the curriculum with global issues. She hopes that students will read foreign memoirs, study weather patterns and learn languages such as Spanish and Mandarin.
In January, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission approved Penn's proposal for establishing the 400-student high school.
Administrators have focused on a site at the east end of campus, in the recently purchased postal lands, as a potential location for the school.
The creation of an international high school falls in line with several other community-outreach programs with which Penn has been involved in recent years.
An example is the collaborative effort between Penn and the school district to create the Penn-Alexander School, which opened its doors to West Philadelphia students from kindergarten through eighth grade in 2002.
Ira Harkavy, the director of the Center for Community Partnerships, said that the new high school has the potential to become a major part of Penn's involvement with its community.
"The school has powerful value to be seriously and significantly engaged with the local environment," she said. "The key issue is that our current efforts need to continue and grow."
Charting their own paths
The school district has taken many approaches in an attempt to improve poor test results in the past, including developing charter schools, magnet schools and partnerships with education management organizations.
Charter schools operate independently and select their own curricula and students, though they must still take standardized tests and fulfill the No Child Left Behind Act requirements.
Currently, over 26,000 students attend 55 charter schools in the Philadelphia area.
One such school is the Charter High School for Architecture & Design.
Students who attend the school have a two-period design class in addition to a standard college-preparatory high-school curriculum.
Tiffany Zimmerman, the school's head guidance counselor, said the school is currently conducting third-round interviews on Saturdays to screen potential candidates for admission. All students must undergo an interview as part of the selection process.
"We look at the whole student, the whole package," she said on selecting the 80 to 100 incoming freshmen.
Magnets for smart students
Joe Lyons, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, said that magnet schools are secondary schools that are public, but selective. According to Reginald Speir, assistant principal of Central High School, a prestigious magnet school located in North Philadelphia, magnet schools like his tend to have minimum requirements for national test scores and grades and expect applicants to have good attendance and behavior records.
He said that there are 9,194 students enrolled in 13 magnet schools across Philadelphia.
A magnet school is a public school that focuses on one particular academic area in teaching.
Lyons added that many magnet schools are located near public transportation because many students must travel large distances to attend them.
Central High School holds the distinction of being the second-oldest public school in the United States.
"The typical comprehensive high school has to try to do everything for everyone. We make no pretense to do that," Speir said. "We have that combination of being a large school, but with a narrow focus" of getting students into college.
Central is extremely selective. Speir said that the number of students applying to Central ranges from 3,500 to 5,000, but only 600 are admitted each year.
Taking care of business
The management of a number of Philadelphia schools has been taken over by EMOs, which are either for- or non-profit organizations and universities that the Philadelphia School Reform Commission approved in 2002 for the management of 45 of the district's lowest-performing schools.
Edison Schools, a prominent EMO, manages 22 Philadelphia schools.
Laura Eshbaugh, a company spokeswoman, said that Edison uses a benchmark assessment system that helps teachers evaluate the progress of their students on a monthly basis rather than using year-end tests that she says don't benefit the learning process.
EMOs like Edison "bring with them their own techniques and their own theories about how to make schools better," Eshbaugh said.
Penn's Potential Impact
According to Columbia University education professor Hank Levin, the model for Penn's new high school is a novel way of approaching international education.
More traditional methods of introducing this type of education include the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program -- a college-preparatory program used in over 100 countries -- and schools that are geared toward international students.
But even if the resources and support are available to build the school, achieving a truly international curriculum will rely on the commitment of the faculty and administration.
Regardless of any red tape that the school's founders could face, Streim said that "Penn has a long history and tradition of working with area schools," referring to other successful education projects that Penn has led.
Levin echoed Streim's optimism, saying that with Penn at the helm, he was confident that the school would be a success.
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