Education in Philadelphia

Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a rich and storied history. This history began with Benjamin Franklin's founding of the University of Pennsylvania as European styled school and America's first university. Today's Philadelphia region is home to nearly 300,000 college students, numerous private and parochial secondary schools, and the 8th largest school district in the country.

Public schools system: School District of Philadelphia

Philadelphia is served by the School District of Philadelphia, which operates 242 of the city's public schools, including 163 elementary schools, 23 middle schools, and 56 high schools.

The school district is governed by the five-member School Reform Commission. The commission was established in December 2001, when oversight of the district was taken over by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Governor of Pennsylvania appoints three of the members, and the Mayor of Philadelphia appoints two members of the commission.

There are 84 independently operated charter schools, which make up the remainder of the public schools in Philadelphia. Charter schools are authorized by the School District of Philadelphia, and are accountable to it.

Parochial schools

Philadelphia is home to the most extensive Catholic education system in the United States.^{[citation needed]} Along with hundreds of parish-based elementary schools, there are also twelve Catholic high schools within the city ranging from Archdiocesan high schools to private Catholic high schools. All of the Catholic schools are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Private schools

• William Penn Charter School was founded by Penn in 1689, is the oldest Quaker school in the nation, under the care of the Board of Overseers.

• Girard College (a primary and secondary educational institution) was endowed by French-American merchant, mariner and banker, Stephen Girard, opening its doors to disadvantaged youth in 1848.

• Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, (formerly Springside School and Chestnut Hill Academy, respectively) a school grades PK-12 located in the Chestnut Hill section of the city

• Friends Select School, a Quaker school grades PK-12, under the care of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting and the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia

• Germantown Friends School, a Quaker school grades PK-12, school under the care of Germantown Monthly Meeting

• Greene Street Friends School, a Quaker school grades PK-8, school under the care of Green Street Monthly Meeting

• Frankford Friends School, a Quaker school grades PK-8, under the care of Frankford Monthly Meeting

• Philadelphia Free School, a Sudbury school PK-12

• Philadelphia Mennonite High School, a Mennonite high school in the Fairmount neighborhood

Friends School League

The Friends' School League (FSL) is an athletic league made up of student athletes from several private high schools in the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. As the league's name suggests, it consists primarily of Quaker schools, though in recent years several other schools have become part of the league as well.^[1]

Member schools

Member schools include:

• Abington Friends School
• The Academy of the New Church
• Friends Central School
• Friends Select School
• George School
• Germantown Friends School
• Moorestown Friends School
• The Shipley School
• Westtown School

Higher education

Philadelphia is one of the largest college towns in the U.S., with over 120,000 college and university students enrolled within the city limits and nearly 300,000 in the metropolitan area.

References

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