Fitler Academics Plus shaped generations of kids in Germantown. Now, the school district wants to close it.
Fitler Academics Plus School has educated generations of Germantown families. Now, that legacy is being threatened as the Philadelphia School District considers shuttering it and 17 other schools.
Students’ explanations of why their school matters are plastered on the walls and windows of Fitler Academics Plus School in Germantown.
“I don’t want to leave my caring and helpful friends,” a third grader wrote. “I love my community around me. I love how my teachers show respect to me.”
Another third grader said, “I don’t want to leave this school because my aunt went to Fitler.”
Faheem Haynes, 8, wrote: “I want to graduate from Fitler just like my dad.”
For generations of families, like the Hayneses, Fitler Academics Plus has provided a small, tailored environment for kids. The school’s advocates say it is a pillar in the community, set apart by its stellar K-8 academics.
Now that legacy is being threatened: The Philadelphia School District wants to close Fitler and 17 other schools in the next few years as part of a proposal that the district says makes better use of its limited resources and promotes equity for students. Under the plan, Fitler — cited for its low enrollment and poor building condition — would be gradually shut down and then conveyed to the city.
Although it is a citywide admissions school, Fitler draws many students from its surrounding neighborhood, most of whom are Black and economically disadvantaged. Parents, students, teachers, and representatives see the district’s proposal as a money grab and a disinvestment in a vulnerable area already scarred by past school closures.
“This school has prepared their hearts and their minds for the future,” Sylvester Palmer, 67, said at a recent community meeting. Palmer sent his sons to Fitler, and now his granddaughter is the student body vice president. “The school produces winners and produces children that are able to succeed. … What more could you ask for?”
His granddaughter, Mikayla Gray, 13, said: “Fitler students love our school and the community. We made it, and it carries so much history that needs to stay alive.”
Fitler is small, with fewer than 180 students and an average of 20 students per grade level. But the intimate setting and individualized attention allow the Falcons to soar academically, according to staff: All graduating Fitler eighth graders are accepted to special-admissions high schools, and the school boasts booming test scores and low truancy and dropout rates — a testament to the success of the Academics Plus model.
“This is our private school for our Black cultural students,” said Faheem’s mother, Badia Haynes. Here students learn integrity, stewardship, and connection, Haynes, 37, said.
Ala Stanford — a Fitler alumna and pediatric surgeon who rose to prominence for her work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now a congressional candidate — attributed her success to her Fitler roots.
“Fitler is winning, so let’s continue to help them win,” she said. “We want this school to stay open; we want to invest to keep it.”
Despite infrastructure concerns, Fitler would not totally close until 2030, following a yearslong phaseout. In 2027, kindergarten through fifth grade would close, leaving only the middle school students until the final eighth-grade class graduates. The building — the oldest facility used by the district, built in 1897 — would then be given to the city for “job creation and housing opportunities,” Oz Hill, the district’s deputy superintendent of operations, said at the meeting. The district previously estimated it would cost $14 million to repair the building.
» READ MORE: Two of 20 Philly schools slated for closure would be spared under a revised district plan
The district’s proposal “has everything to do with whether or not this building, this facility can effectively accommodate the programming” at Fitler, Hill said.
“This is not about any shortfall as a result of what happens here every single day,” he said. “You can look around, as I have, and see that there are some great things that happen here.”
No one disputes that the more than 125-year-old facility needs upgrades and modernization, but many at the meeting were disturbed by what could become of Fitler’s three-story stone structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The property is within walking distance of Wayne Junction, making it desirable land in an area already experiencing a proliferation of residential and commercial development.
Fitler is on the “chopping block because it’s prime-time real estate,” said State Rep. Darisha Parker (D., Philadelphia), whose district includes the school. “How much are my children in this district worth? Because we cannot put them for sale.”
And Germantown is no stranger to school closures and rightsizing: Pickett Middle and John Wister Elementary Schools were turned over to Mastery Charter; Ada Lewis Middle School closed in 2008; in 2013, Germantown High and Robert Fulton Elementary Schools shuttered as part of a massive, cost-saving restructuring.
» READ MORE: Philly’s school closure plan targets middle schools. Here’s why the district is moving away from them.
Community members say closing Fitler would further erode the district’s footprint and limit high-quality public school options in Germantown. Many parents expressed concern about sending their kids to the area’s catchment schools, like John B. Kelly or Roosevelt, citing lower test scores, larger class sizes, and safety concerns.
“Closing a school where students are excelling should not be taken lightly,” Haynes said. “Our children deserve stability.”