The 2023-2024 school year begins Tuesday, Sept. 5. In anticipation of extreme heat conditions next week, with temperatures reaching mid-90’s, the School District of Philadelphia has issued an Extreme Heat Protocol for the public schools without air conditioning or inadequate cooling (see the list below).

These schools will follow the schedule below for Tuesday, Sept. 5 through Thursday, Sept. 7.

• Tuesday, Sept. 5 – Wednesday, Sept. 6: Students will attend schools in the morning and then be released on an early dismissal schedule.

• Thursday, Sept. 7: The District will continue to monitor heat conditions. Any decisions about Thursday or Friday will be announces by 12 p.m. on the day before.

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UPDATE (1/9/2022): Thirty-six more schools, in addition to the 46 schools announced on Friday, will shift to virtual learning from Monday, Jan. 10 through Friday, Jan. 14. The updated list is available here.

At the beginning of this week, the School District of Philadelphia temporarily shifted dozens of schools to virtual learning due to staffing challenges caused by the current spike in COVID-19 cases. Over 90 District-led schools reportedly switched to virtual learning by the end of the week. The District announced today that 46 schools will shift to virtual learning from Monday, Jan. 10 through Friday, Jan. 14.

The list of schools that will shift to 100 percent virtual learning starting Monday, Jan. 10 can be found here.

“It’s important to know that shifting any school to virtual learning is always a last resort,” Superintendent William R. Hite said in a statement. “Our schools are more than just institutions of learning.” Continue Reading

Two School District of Philadelphia schools – the West Philadelphia based Penn Alexander School and South Philly based Girard Academic Music Program School (GAMP) – have received the 2021 National Blue Ribbon designation, according to an announcement by the District. Both schools are among the nation’s highest performing based on all student scores, student subgroup scores and graduation rates. These are two of 13 schools in Pennsylvania – and the only two schools in Philadelphia – to achieve Blue Ribbon status this year.

Penn Alexander received the 2021 National Blue Ribbon designation for “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing.” The school was also recognized as National Blue Ribbon School in 2016. Penn Alexander serves just under 600 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and is the result of a historic partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and the District. Continue Reading

Philadelphia public schoolchildren returned to schools for full-time in-person learning on Aug. 31, first time since March 2020. Since the beginning of the current academic year, the School District of Philadelphia has been experiencing a shortage of school bus drivers, according to a recent announcement by Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite. This problem, actually, has been reported nationwide.

To mitigate this problem, the School District has launched a pilot program (Parent Flat Rate Program) that will offer a monthly payment to families who will opt out of bus, van or cab assignment and will transport their kids to and from school. All eligible families who will choose to enroll in this program will be offered $300 per month ($3,000 for the school year). Continue Reading

New Powel/SLAMS school building (photo from RogersArchitects.com)

A new public school building opened this morning in the Powelton Village neighborhood, as the 2021-2022 academic year begins and students return to full-time in-person learning for the first time since March 2020.

The new building, located at 3610 Warren St., houses the Samuel Powel Elementary School and the Science Leadership Academy Middle School (SLAMS). The 87,000-square-foot, two-story building is a joint project by Drexel University and developer Wexford Science and Technology.

To celebrate the opening of the new school building and the start of the new school year, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and School District Superintendent William R. Hite stopped by the school this morning. They greeted students and families and participated in the Opening Bell ceremony. Continue Reading

The School District of Philadelphia has announced updates to their Plan for Safe Return to In-Person Learning on August 31st. All students, staff and visitors, regardless of their COVID vaccination status, will be required to wear masks indoors, according to the revised plan, which follows newly revised guidelines from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) on Philadelphia Schools.

The School District will also have the following safety measures in place when the new academic year kicks off on Aug. 31: Continue Reading