Education

There are essentially three different types of schools in Philadelphia: public (your community/district/ neighborhood school), charter (see more info below), and private. Private schools include the range of tuition-based schools from select admissions to boarding schools, to religious day schools and parochial schools. There are about 140,000 students in Philadelphia district schools and about 64,000 students in Philadelphia charter schools.

Charter schools are independently-operated public schools that are funded with federal, state and local tax dollars. The Pennsylvania Charter School Law – Act 22 of 1997 – set up charters to operate free of many of the local and state requirements that apply to traditional public schools. Each charter has its own Board of Trustees and administrative staff and operates as a separate, independent local educational agency.

Charter schools are an alternative form of Philadelphia public schools, and therefore, are tuition-free and open to all children residing in the City of Philadelphia. Because charter schools are public, tuition-free schools, families cannot use Children’s Scholarship Fund scholarships attend a charter school. Charter schools cannot require testing for admission purposes. In the event there are more applicants than spaces, charter schools conduct a public lottery to select students. Each charter school operates independently and it is best to check with each school on its admissions timeline and process.

For more information on charter schools, see https://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/offices/c/charter_schools or https://greatphillyschools.org/en.

In 2001, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took control of the Philadelphia school district, which replaced the local school board with the five-member School Reform Commission (SRC). Three members are appointed by the Governor and two by the Mayor of Philadelphia. The SRC has no taxing authority and depends on funding from the city, state and federal governments.

For an explanation of how the School District of Philadelphia is funded and a history of its financial crisis, see https://educationnext.org/philadelphia-school-districts-ongoing-financial-crisis/

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 2013 less than 20% of Philadelphia public school students were proficient in both reading and math. In fact, Philadelphia had approximately twice the number of students perform “below basic” than other participating cities. Philadelphia’s public school on-time graduation rate is about 67%, but below that figure lies the truth that a large percentage cannot perform at grade level. The delays start early: in 2012, over 50% of all 3rd graders in Philadelphia district and over 40% in charter school were not reading at grade level.