William Penn High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

William Penn High School
Location
1333 N Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
United States
Information
Type Public high school
School district School District of Philadelphia
Principal Patricia Randzo[1]
Faculty 65.3 (on FTE basis)[2]
Grades 9 to 12
Enrollment 1204[2]  (2005-06)
Student to teacher ratio 18.4[2]

William Penn High School was a public high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school served about 900 students in grades 9 to 12 in the School District of Philadelphia.

In 2009 Penn had 633 students.[3] That year, the school district proposed closing Penn. If the closing is approved, it would close on June 30, 2010. The district argued that the school needed to close because its declining enrollment was far below the building capacity and because the building was in a poor condition.[4] The school district proposed rezoning Penn zone residents who were also in the Clymer School zone to Simon Gratz High School, and it proposed rezoning Penn zoned residents who were also in the zones of Dunbar, Ferguson, Harrison, and Hartranft to Benjamin Franklin High School.[5]

Some individuals opposed to the closing argued that if Penn was closed and its students were moved to Franklin, students would engage in "turf warfare" and the abandoned school building would become a haven for criminal activity.[6] The closing was approved.[3]

References

Philadelphia portal
Pennsylvania portal
Schools portal
  1. ^ "School Profile". School District of Philadelphia. https://sdp-webprod.phila.k12.pa.us/OnlineDirectory/Directory. Retrieved 2008-02-03. 
  2. ^ a b c "Penn William HS". National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolID=421899003858&ID=421899003858. Retrieved 2008-02-03. 
  3. ^ a b "Ackerman plan would revamp and reimagine failing schools, close others." Philadelphia Daily News. February 19, 2009. 06 Local. Retrieved on October 2, 2011. "William Penn, at Broad and Thompson streets, in North Philadelphia, has 633 students and will close at the end of next school year."
  4. ^ "Public Hearing on the Proposed Closure of William Penn High School." School District of Philadelphia. 4. Retrieved on October 2, 2011.
  5. ^ "Public Hearing on the Proposed Closure of William Penn High School." School District of Philadelphia. 11. Retrieved on October 2, 2011.
  6. ^ "Fears on school closings." Philadelphia Daily News. March 12, 2009. Retrieved on October 2, 2011. "Closing William Penn High and shifting some of its students to nearby Benjamin Franklin High could result in bloody turf warfare, city residents warned the School Reform Commission yesterday during a meeting to discuss the closure plan."