The Academy at Penn will launch this spring.
Credit: Alekha ChokseyTwo Philadelphia high schools have been named inaugural participants in The Academy at Penn, a college and career readiness program for students from underserved communities set to launch this spring.
High School of the Future and Horace Howard Furness High School — both within the School District of Philadelphia — were selected to participate in The Academy at Penn, a five-year educational initiative designed to support first-generation college students. Participants will receive year-round support in academics, social and emotional services, career exposure, and postsecondary transitions.
The program is designed to serve up to 200 students. As of March 28, an initial cohort of 25 students was selected based on their performances during their first year of high school.
Director of Penn Graduate School of Education’s Office of School and Community Engagement Caroline Watts emphasized that the program seeks students who are academically “in the middle" in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“We have always wanted to target this program to students … who may be academically competent, but [are] not getting support that would help them as first-gen students and as students who … might benefit from a different kind of opportunity,” she said.
The Academy at Penn was developed in collaboration with GSE, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, the School District of Philadelphia, and the nonprofit Foundations, Inc. The program is fully funded by philanthropist Robert Schwartz, who serves as president of the Schwartz Creed Foundation. Foundations, Inc. was awarded $3.5 million to develop the initiative, and CPRE was granted $1 million to evaluate its success.
Once selected, students will engage in a variety of activities, including programs aimed to promote academic success, well-being, and college and career readiness. During the school year, students will attend Saturday classes and summer programming on Penn’s campus. The program will also offer project-based learning, personalized mentorship, and internship opportunities.
To further support students, participating schools will be assigned a program counselor to assist with the demands of high school and the transition to college or the workforce. GSE representatives will also oversee the program’s social services support, summer and Saturday programming, and college and career initiatives.
Watts described the process for selecting the two inaugural schools, noting that “a group of 20 schools were identified that then was honed down to six and six schools.” The process also focused on city-wide and comprehensive schools rather than selective or special-admission institutions.
While not a direct pipeline to studying at Penn, The Academy at Penn equips students with the skills, resources, and networks to pursue higher education and various career pathways.
“We’re excited to open the campus and open our experiences, to learn from and with these young people,” Watts said. “We hope that the Penn community, equally, will be excited about welcoming them here, getting to know them, and opening all of ourselves up to thinking about the future for youth in our city.”
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