Philly schools’ new learning networks and leaders are revealed
Schools move to the new configurations Aug. 1.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has announced the new way Philadelphia School District schools will be grouped and supervised — and has tapped new leaders to run the 15 learning networks.
The shifts will take effect ahead of the upcoming school year, which will begin for students on Aug. 26, and come at a time of overall change at the district.
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Watlington, in a statement this month, said the learning network shuffle was prescribed by his strategic plan as a way to push academic achievement and improve customer service.
In the past, some learning networks were geographical, and others grouped high-performing and innovative schools together — and gave them more freedom in curriculum and other areas — and included a network for schools that needed extra academic and personnel support. Watlington has abolished the innovation and acceleration networks, but said schools that had been in those networks will receive supports similar to those they had in the past.
Schools will move to the new configurations Aug. 1, with geographical borders such as rivers, roadways, or transportation lines helping to set boundaries. Later this fall, existing learning network staff will be reallocated to support schools.
» READ MORE: Superintendent Watlington announces Philadelphia School District leadership changes
Watlington said the school system will also launch a new, two-way communications system to help people better interact with the district, and re-launch Parent University, a popular program that had offered learning opportunities to families in the past. Parent University is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
The moves will “center schools as the unit of change to drive student achievement,” Watlington said in the statement. “As we seek to improve customer service and accelerate academic achievement, adjusting the Learning Network structure will help us to better serve our parents and families, place resources closer to schools instead of the central office, as well as increase engagement with grassroots and faith-based organizations.”
Learning Network 1: Assistant Superintendent Donna Ragsdale
Add B. Anderson School
Andrew Hamilton School
Avery D. Harrington School
Benjamin B. Comegys School
Henry C. Lea School
John Barry School
John M. Patterson School
Joseph W. Catharine School
Penrose School
S. Weir Mitchell School
Sadie Alexander School
Thomas G. Morton School
William C. Bryant School
William C. Longstreth School
William T. Tilden School
Learning Network 2: Assistant Superintendent Timothy Jones
Abram S. Jenks School
D. Newlin Fell School
Delaplaine McDaniel School
Eliza B. Kirkbride School
F. Amedee Bregy School
Fanny Jackson Coppin School
Francis S. Key School
George W. Childs School
George W. Nebinger School
George W. Sharswood School
John H. Taggart School
Southwark School
Stephen Girard School
Vare-Washington School
William M. Meredith School
Learning Network 3: Assistant Superintendent Markita Floyd
Alain Locke School
Edward Heston School
Guion S. Bluford Elementary School
James Rhoads School
Lewis C. Cassidy Academics Plus School
Martha Washington School
Middle Years Alternative School
Morton McMichael School
Overbrook Educational Center
Overbrook Elementary School
Robert E. Lamberton School
Rudolph Blankenburg School
Samuel Gompers School
Samuel Powel School
Science Leadership Academy Middle School
Learning Network 4: Assistant Superintendent Jamina Clay
Albert M. Greenfield School
Alexander Adaire School
Bache-Martin School
General George A. McCall School
General George G. Meade School
General Philip Kearny School
Horatio B. Hackett School
James R. Ludlow School
John Moffet School
Laura W. Waring School
Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy
Paul L. Dunbar School
Robert Morris School
Spring Garden School
Edwin M. Stanton School
Learning Network 5: Assistant Superintendent Alphonso Evans
Academy for the Middle Years at Northwest
Cook-Wissahickon School
Dr. Ethel Allen School
E. Washington Rhodes School
Edward Gideon School
Fitler Academics Plus School
James Dobson School
James G. Blaine School
John B. Kelly School
Richard R. Wright School
Shawmont School
Thomas M. Peirce School
Thomas Mifflin School
William D. Kelley School
William Dick School
Learning Network 6: Assistant Superintendent Laureal Robinson
Anna B. Day School
Anna L. Lingelbach School
Charles W. Henry School
Eleanor C. Emlen School
Ellwood School
Franklin S. Edmonds School
General Louis Wagner School
Henry H. Houston School
Jenks Academy for Arts and Sciences
John F. McCloskey School
Joseph Pennell School
Prince Hall School
Samuel Pennypacker School
Theodore Roosevelt School
William Rowen School
Learning Network 7: Assistant Superintendent Constance Horton
Crossroads at Hunting Park
Cayuga School
Thurgood Marshall School
James Logan School
Jay Cooke School
Clara Barton School
Thomas K. Finletter School
Feltonville Intermediate School
James R. Lowell School
Grover Washington, Jr. School
Andrew J. Morrison School
Olney School
Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences
Roberto Clemente School
Julia W. Howe School
Learning Network 8: Assistant Superintendent Renato Lajara
Bayard Taylor School
Edward T. Steel School
Henry A. Brown School
Honorable Luis Munoz-Marin School
Isaac A. Sheppard School
John F. Hartranft School
John Welsh School
Julia de Burgos School
Kenderton Elementary School
Mary M. Bethune School
Potter-Thomas School
Tanner G. Duckrey School
William H. Hunter School
William McKinley School
Alexander K. McClure School
Learning Network 9: Assistant Superintendent Ariel Lajara
Allen M. Stearne School
Alternative Middle Years at James Martin
Bridesburg School
Frances E. Willard School
Francis Hopkinson School
Gloria Casarez Elementary School
John H. Webster School
John Marshall School
Juniata Park Academy
Lewis Elkin School
Richmond School
Russell H. Conwell School
Warren G. Harding School
Stetson, John B. Middle School
William Cramp School
Learning Network 10: Assistant Superintendent Mark Vitvitsky
Anne Frank School
Baldi School
Benjamin Franklin School
Castor Gardens Middle School
Fox Chase School
Gilbert Spruance School
J. Hampton Moore School
Joseph Greenberg School
Kennedy C. Crossan School
Laura H. Carnell School
Louis H. Farrell School
Rhawnhurst School
Solomon Solis-Cohen School
Watson Comly School
William H. Loesche School
Learning Network 11: Assistant Superintendent Tamara Edwards
A.L. Fitzpatrick School
Edwin Forrest School
Ethan Allen School
Hamilton Disston School
Henry W. Lawton School
James J. Sullivan School
John Hancock Demonstration School
Joseph H. Brown School
Mayfair School
Northeast Community Propel Academy
Robert B. Pollock School
Stephen Decatur School
Thomas Holme School
William H. Ziegler School
Learning Network 12: Assistant Superintendent Jeff MacFarland
Constitution High School
Crossroads Accelerated Academy
Furness High School
High School of the Future
John Bartram High School
Overbrook High School
Paul Robeson High School for Human Services
Pennypack House School
Philadelphia Juvevnile Justice Services Center
Philadelphia Learning Academy West
South Philadelphia High School
The Workshop School
West Philadelphia High School
William L. Sayre High School
Learning Network 13: Assistant Superintendent Noah Tennant
A. Philip Randolph Career and Technical High School
Benjamin Franklin High School
Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical High School
Kensington Health Sciences Academy
Kensington High School
Kensington High School for Creative and Performing Arts
Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical High School
Penn Treaty High School
Philadelphia Military Academy
Philadelphia Virtual Academy
Roxborough High School
Strawberry Mansion High School
The U School
Vaux Big Picture High School
Learning Network 14: Assistant Superintendent Richard Gordon
Abraham Lincoln High School
Building 21
Frankford High School
George Washington High School
Martin Luther King High School
Northeast High School
Olney High School
Philadelphia Learning Academy North
Samuel Fels High School
Swenson Arts and Technology High School
The LINC
Thomas A. Edison High School
Widener Memorial School
Learning Network 15: Assistant Superintendent Anh Nguyen
Academy at Palumbo
Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush
Central High School
Franklin Learning Center
Girard Academic Music Program
High School for Creative and Performing Arts
High School of Engineering and Science
Hill-Freedman World Academy
Julia R. Masterman School
Lankenau High School
Motivation High School
Parkway Center City Middle College High School
Parkway Northwest High School
Parkway West High School
Philadelphia High School for Girls
Science Leadership Academy
The Science Leadership Academy at Beeber
Walter B. Saul High School
William W. Bodine High School