Two of the 20 schools originally slated to shutter under the School District of Philadelphia’s facilities plan are no longer being recommended for closure, under a revised proposal presented Thursday to the Board of Education.
Kensington’s Russell Conwell Middle School and Southwest Philadelphia’s Motivation High School would continue to serve students, if the board approves Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr.’s updated plan.
Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School will still close; however, students will now be diverted to Walter B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences instead of Roxborough High.
Pairing the schools’ missions and continuing to provide Lankenau students access to nature on Saul’s 130-acre campus is a “win-win,” Watlington told reporters at a briefing Thursday.
Paul Robeson High School, which had been set to move to William L. Sayre High, will now be merged into Motivation as “Robeson-Motivation,” district officials said.
Students from Lewis Elkin Elementary School will be fed into Conwell to boost enrollment, and other children from across Philadelphia will still be able to apply to the middle school’s magnet program, according to Watlington’s team.
“We believe this is the best possible plan to present, given our limited resources,” he said.
Watlington added that the changes “reflect robust community input.” His office has held more than 40 in-person and virtual community meetings since the facilities proposal was unveiled Jan. 22.
The amended plan carries the same $2.8 billion price tag, Watlington said. The district is committing $1 billion and advocating for the remainder to be provided through the state and local governments, along with philanthropic sources.
BOE President Reginald Streated had previously stated that the board would not vote on Watlington’s recommendations during Thursday’s meeting.
The board is planning to hold a dedicated facilities town hall meeting March 12, solely for the purpose of hearing public comment. Officials said they also plan to launch an online portal to accept input.
In addition to Lankenau and Robeson, Robert Morris in Brewerytown, Samuel Pennypacker (West Oak Lane), John Welsh (North Philadelphia), James R. Ludlow (North Philadelphia), Laura W. Waring (Spring Garden), Overbrook Elementary, Martha Washington Academics Plus (West Philadelphia), Rudolph Blankenburg (Mill Creek), Fitler Academics Plus (Germantown), Wagner Middle School (West Oak Lane), Stetson Middle School (Kensington), Tilden Middle School (Elmwood), AMY Northwest (Roxborough), Harding Middle School (Frankford), Parkway Northwest High, Parkway West and Penn Treaty High are designated for closure.
In some cases, schools will be co-located in a facility, sharing a space but with a distinct programming and admissions process. Building 21 is set to be moved inside Martin Luther King; the Workshop School is going to Overbrook High; and the U-School will be located inside Edison High.
Ten of the shuttered properties would be repurposed for use by the school district, while the other eight would be conveyed to Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration for use as housing or workforce development programs.
No closures or other major shifts related to the plan would be undertaken until the 2027-28 school year, with the exception of a new, optional year-round K-8 school that will be co-located at Bethune Elementary as part of the North Philadelphia Promise Zone initiative.
Among the proposed investments are the construction of a new high school in the Northeast, the creation of a career and technical education hub at South Philadelphia High and expanded access to Masterman and Academy at Palumbo, among other investments.
Watlington’s 10-year, $2.8 billion strategy is the culmination of a yearslong effort to address low enrollment at some schools, overcrowding in others and concerns about aging facilities and limited resources.
It would represent the first round of closures for the district since 2012-13, when two dozen schools were ultimately shut down.
If fully funded, the initiative would reduce the number of school buildings rated unsatisfactory or poor from 85 to 0, district leaders have said. It would also provide access to Algebra 1 for all middle grade students (up from 53%) and double the number of slots in district-operated pre-K programs, according to Watlington’s team.
