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O
nce there was an idea for a school where walls would not be boundaries, where students would not have to color in the lines, where the city was a classroom, where the country was a classroom, and where the classroom was unlike any other.
In 1972, that idea became The Philadelphia School (TPS). Since then, the school has become nationally recognized for its outstanding and innovative educational program for boys and girls in preschool through 8th grade. Preschoolers, in their study of plants, design an irrigation system for their community garden, 3rd graders learn American history through language arts, visual arts and performing arts, and 6th graders take an interdisciplinary approach to the philosophical question “what makes me who I am?” Our hands-on educational program takes our students throughout our historic city, to a nearby nature center, and even to Puerto Rico. Our children are as likely to hear “what do you think?” as they are “take out your laptops.” Our students are as likely to learn about percentages from a visit with a local shopkeeper as they are through story problems. Our children are as likely to learn about alternative energy sources by designing and racing solar cars as they are through Internet research. The Philadelphia School is a joyful place where students grow intellectually, emotionally, morally, socially, creatively and physically. Our students benefit from a school community that recognizes the richness that arises when people of different cultures, histories, and worldviews teach and learn from one another. The school is a safe and comfortable place where students emerge as lifelong learners, creative thinkers, bold problem solvers, and engaged citizens. It is the place where students say:
“Here I learned to be the best possible me.”
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“I love the emphasis on spanning boundaries and encouraging children to discover the world without regard to buckets like reading, history, science, music, and art. I am amazed at how the combination of peer interactions and teacher guidance generates so many learning moments for the children, their teachers, and their parents.� – W I T O L D H E N I S Z , parent
WELCOME TO
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A
s the founders of The Philadelphia School intended, Philadelphia is more than our location; it is an extension of our classrooms, a topic of study, and an inspiration for civic engagement. In the early grades, our students take walking tours of the neighborhood, sharpening language skills by interviewing the local florist, applying math skills at the neighborhood grocer, and learning about simple machines at the bicycle shop around the corner. As our older children consider such complex ideas as fairness, sustainability, and the role of the arts in society, they meet city officials, social workers, scientists, journalists, architects, artists, actors, and musicians—all working in the city of Philadelphia. These experiences are authentic connections to academic work in math, language arts, science and history, as well as preparation for our students to take active roles in their communities and in our global society.
OUR CITY
Trips in the City Academy of Natural Sciences African American Museum Barnes Foundation Fairmount Water Works Franklin Institute Independence Mall Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church National Constitution Center Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Philadelphia Museum of Art Rosenbach Museum and Library
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“What sets The Philadelphia School apart from other schools for me is the outdoor education. I believe that children need to connect with nature in order to best find their way through life.” – M I C H E L L E N I E D E R M E I E R , parent
WELCOME TO
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N
oting observations in science journals. Classifying trees. Studying habitats. Building forts. These are the days at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, the 340-acre education site that serves as our school’s “country classroom.” Students take weekly trips in the fall and spring to the Center’s woodlands, meadows, and streams in northwest Philadelphia.
OUR COUNTRY These educational expeditions present hands-on learning opportunities in an energizing and beautiful natural setting. Days at the Schuylkill Center incorporate science, math, exploration, discovery, art, and writing, among other academic opportunities.
National Recognition The Philadelphia School’s environmental education curriculum has earned the President’s Environmental Youth Award and the National Science Teachers Association Award for Excellence in Science Education.
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“Throughout my time at The Philadelphia School, what I have learned has become more complicated, but the excitement of coming to school, where I was valued as an individual, was a constant.” – B O B B Y H Y L A N D , ‘ 1 0
WELCOME TO
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W
hat does learning look like at The Philadelphia School? For our youngest students, it looks like an alphabet dictionary, which the children design and write together. By 3rd grade, it reads like the characters and plot of an original fiction story, worked out over multiple drafts. And in our middle school, it turns into scholarly research, using both primary and secondary printed and online sources.
OUR CLASSROOM Inspired by passionate, dedicated teachers and an ever-evolving interdisciplinary curriculum, our children stretch themselves throughout the school day as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, artists, and athletes.
Specials All students attend “specials”—classes in art, music, physical education, and Spanish. These classes build on the concepts and content the children are studying in their classrooms. For example, when our students studied ancient Greece, they made Greek pots in art class and composed a “soundtrack” for the Orpheus myth in music. Students also designed their own Olympic Games with the help of their physical education teachers.
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“I watched my children grow up and grow together over their years at TPS. They conquered the hard trip to the West in covered wagons, successfully completed a mission to Mars, wandered through enchanted forests, and put on plays within plays as only the Bard could have envisioned. Students here learn what it means to be lifelong learners— and are imbued with confidence to succeed at TPS and beyond.” –HARRY
R O T H , parent
of three TPS alumni
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At The Philadelphia School Progressive Education Means…
learning that is collaborative
relationships that are reciprocal and strong between students, teachers, and administrators
children who create meaning and understanding through access to experts, experiences, data, and other learning tools
teachers who serve as guides—meeting students where they are—as they build active learning communities
a depth of understanding that comes from exploring and discovering, from making mistakes and achieving success, and from testing opinions and generating ideas in a safe environment
a place where questions and wondering aloud lead to new investigations and learning
a curriculum that is sequenced to build on a child’s developing perspectives as a member of a family, a classroom, a school, a city, a nation, and a global community in the age of information
a program that nurtures creativity and imagination through multiple modes of expression to demonstrate understanding. We read, we sing, we write, we dance, we solve problems, we draw, we act, and we build models.
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“We chose TPS because the faculty and staff speak the language of inspiration, pure and simple. They inspire with affection and sincerity.” – E D WA R D B O N E T T , parent
LEADERS IN
PRE S
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Our faculty members are experts in early childhood, elementary, and middle school education, and they love what they do. It is in the pre-secondary years that a child’s academic strengths, interests, and learning styles take shape. We dedicate our resources to supporting students through these critical developmental stages.
E S C H O O L – 8 E D U C AT I O N
A
preschool through 8th grade school program allows our learners to connect in extraordinary ways. Time is set aside for our students to work in “family groups,” our traditional grouping of children of different ages that ensures that each child has a core of schoolmates and teachers across the grades whom they know well. Family groups, led by a middle school student, work and celebrate together throughout the year, forging a sense of connectedness across the school. They encourage older students to be positive role models whom younger students respect and admire. It is not uncommon for kindergartners to start their day with a high five or a hug from an 8th grader in the schoolyard.
All-School Theme Each school year opens with a topic of study that brings us together as a community of learners. Unveiled after great secrecy, the all-school theme carries into the classrooms and curriculum throughout the year, creating opportunities for students from all age groups to work on a common subject. Past all-school themes include Empathy, Earth Day Every Day, 1492: Clash of Cultures, Homer’s Odyssey, Inventions, Rhythm and Rhyme, and The Wind in the Willows.
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Leadership opportunities abound for our middle school students. They are student government officers, athletic stars, a cappella soloists, and chess champions. They lead book groups, run the classroom recycling program, troubleshoot computer problems, and mentor younger schoolmates. Advisors work individually with 8th graders to help them select a high school that fits their learning style, interests, and temperament. Admission directors consider our students well-prepared assets to their programs. Our graduating students choose a variety of secondary-school experiences—including private, public, and parochial high schools—and are valued as flexible thinkers, skillful writers, independent learners, talented athletes and artists, and collaborative team members.
Our Faculty It would be hard to find educators who are more dedicated and talented than those at The Philadelphia School. The school encourages participation in professional development opportunities, and many of our teachers have been invited to speak about classroom innovations at national conferences.
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Learning Who I Am
“Every little moment becomes a learning opportunity. When it’s rainy and muddy, we see worms. Why? When it’s dry, there are no worms. Why? These experiences are early opportunities for children to investigate and hypothesize.” –LISA
H O K E , preschool teacher
ant I Am Import
F
rom preschool through 2nd grade, our students learn about the world around them and their place in it. They do this through hands-on activities such as the Preschool Garden Project. The children tended a plot of vegetables, herbs, and flowers in the nearby Schuylkill River Community Garden. The project began with questions from the students about where seeds come from and who planted the first seed in the world. The preschoolers donated the yield from their plot to City Harvest, an organization that raises vegetables for distribution to Philadelphians who lack access to fresh produce. “The Garden Project wove together science, math, literacy, and citizenship for the children,” says preschool teacher Lisa Hoke. “Projects like this are often their first connection to something much, much bigger than themselves.”
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Learning Who I Am
“The Philadelphia School is committed to nurturing an excitement for learning. I feel this will carry my children through to adulthood as learners who are curious, willing to take intellectual risks, interested in information for the sake of knowing it, and confident in new learning environments.” –MARY
I
M C M A N U S , parent
n grades 3 through 5, students learn about their role in society. Our 3rd graders engage in a year-long unit on immigration, citizenship, and building a fair America. Students read historical fiction, create and illustrate a timeline featuring the stories of their own immigrant ancestors, learn period songs, and speak with immigrants at the Nationalities Service Center. As a culminating activity, the children write, stage, and star in a play to synthesize and demonstrate all that they have learned. In the “History Mystery Map,” the children took their audience back in time to peer into the lives, struggles, and triumphs of such key historic figures as William Penn, César Chávez, and Harvey Milk. “When a 3rd grader stands before a large audience and takes on the roles of a striking coal miner, a Lenape chief, or an activist at a women’s rights convention hearing Sojourner Truth deliver her ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ speech, you know she’s never going to forget what she’s learned about those diverse movements in American history and the connections between them,” says Carrie Spaulding, 3rd grade teacher.
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Learning Who I Am
“I really love the wonderful unexpectedness of adolescents and the way they try to make sense of their complex worlds. We try to give them the skills that will enable them to take their places in the company of educated, thoughtful people.”
r e d a e L A m IA –JUDITH
PA R K E R , middle school teacher
H
ow can I make a positive difference? As the oldest students
in our school, our middle schoolers live this question daily.
They develop and exercise their strong academic skills as they wrestle
with such concepts as cultural and global interdependence, civic ideals, and media literacy. Beginning in 6th grade, Spanish study intensifies, preparing the middle schoolers for the 8th grade trip to Puerto Rico. This muchanticipated trip includes a partnership with the lab school of the Universidad de Puerto Rico, where our students enjoy an authentic learning experience, stretching themselves as both Spanish speakers and global citizens. Graduates of The Philadelphia School emerge confident and well prepared to excel. They go on to attend many of the area’s well-known private, public, and parochial schools, where The Philadelphia School has a strong reputation as a source of talented students.
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Parents Should Know That… “TPS makes me comfortable and is a very good place to learn.” – D O M I N I Q U E , Grade 2
“Teachers encourage us to be imaginative in any way that we want and then ask us to share what’s in our heads. They listen and like my thoughts and that makes me feel so good.” – AV I , Grade 4
“We grow academically but also confidently. In the 5th grade, when I first became a student at TPS, I was this shy little girl who didn’t really talk to anyone. But now I’m strong and confident, and I talk a lot.” – J O A N N A , Grade 8
“What I’ve learned over the nine years I’ve spent at TPS is that my teachers may not be superheroes in the conventional sense with capes and masks and leotards, but they definitely are superheroes. Together they take a bunch of little kids and equip them with the most important skills they’ll ever need. Now that’s heroic!” – A U G U S T , Grade 8
“I still consider The Philadelphia School to be responsible for the parts of me I like best.” –TONY
L ADEN ’81,
Professor of Philosophy, University of Illinois at Chicago
To learn more about The Philadelphia School, please visit our website at www.tpschool.org. There you will find more about academics, athletics, the arts, technology, and diversity initiatives, as well as information about the application process, tuition, and financial aid.
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2501 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19146 215.545.5323 www.tpschool.org
The Philadelphia School admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, or sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admission and financial aid policies, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
Design by Masters Group Design. Text by Jennifer Baldino Bonett. Photography by Kate Riccardi Photography, Jesse Myers Photography, and The Philadelphia School.