In the News
School gets off to a new beginning
Philadelphia Academy welcomes students in 9th, 10th and 11th grades to a brand-new building.
Martha Woodall
Philadelphia Inquirer, September 7, 2005
It was not a typical first day for the 350 ninth through 11th graders who streamed into the Philadelphia Academy Charter School in the Far Northeast yesterday morning.
True, there were the usual reminders about wearing belts and tucking in shirts. Lockers were assigned, class rosters were distributed.
But instead of separate buildings for ninth- and 10th graders, students were together for the first time inside the charter's new building off Red Lion Road.
Students had a hard time finding their classrooms in the sprawling, 85,000-square-foot building, but they marveled at the gleaming fitness room, professional culinary facilities for the cooking classes, and the state-of-the-art wood shop.
"I think it's great," said junior Cassara Benson, 16, the school's student council president, who transferred from George Washington High School in ninth grade. "Everything is really up to date. There is a great kitchen for the culinary arts class... . It's a good opportunity for anybody who goes here."
Taariq Bouy, 16, another junior, was startled by how many more students were in the new building, but he said he was looking forward to meeting new people. "We'll be the first people to graduate from this high school," he said.
The Philadelphia Academy Charter School is one of the 55 charters in the Philadelphia school district. Together, they educate nearly 24,000 city students, and the district has earmarked $177.8 million of its $1.9 billion budget for charter school tuition this academic year.
Charter schools are funded by taxpayers, but they are independent schools that are exempt from some laws and regulations that apply to traditional public schools.
Founded in 1999 as an elementary school, Philadelphia Academy was granted permission by the Philadelphia School Reform Commission to add a high school program two years ago. It began offering classes for ninth graders in the 2003-04 school year and expanded to 10th grade last year.
With financing from the Reinvestment Fund, the charter school board spent $6.6 million to buy and renovate a building that was once a warehouse for Spain's, the card and gifts company.
The Reinvestment Fund, which is based in Center City, is a nonprofit corporation that finances neighborhood and economic development projects in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Philadelphia Academy's elementary campus is nearby on Roosevelt Boulevard. Brien Gardiner, the charter's chief executive officer, oversees both programs.
"This is a beautiful day," Gardiner exclaimed as he ushered high school students into their school.