Education in Philadelphia

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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

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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.

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Private schools

  • Holmesburg Christian Academy, a non-denominational evangelical Christian school in NE Philadelphia for grades PK-8, was founded in 1975 as a ministry of Holmesburg Baptist Church.[1]
  • 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

The French International School of Philadelphia, the French international school serving the Philadelphia area, is in nearby Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

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.[2]

Member schools

Member schools include:

Miscellaneous weekend education

The Japanese Language School of Philadelphia (JLSP, フィラデルフィア日本語補習授業校 Firaderufia Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō), a supplementary Japanese school, holds its classes, intended for Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans, at the Friends Central School (FCS) in nearby Wynnewood.[3][4]

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.

Colleges and Universities within the city:


Colleges and universities near Philadelphia include:

References

  1. http://www.holmesburgchristian.org/mission-statement/
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  3. "Directions." Japanese Language School of Philadelphia. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "The Japanese Language School of Philadelphia utilizes the campus of: Friends Central School 1101 City Avenue, Wynnewood, PA"
  4. "Community Profile." Lower Merion Township. Retrieved on April 30, 2014. (contains maps of Lower Merion).