Celebrated High School To Move Buildings

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia School District is making plans to move one of its most celebrated high schools into the same building with one of its most academically troubled.

They would be separate schools in the same building. The district plans to move the highly acclaimed Science Leadership Academy at 22nd and Arch into renovated space at the academically struggling Ben Franklin High at Broad and Spring Garden, in the fall of 2019.

"We know that there are different cultures and -- we're not merging the two programs. We're having two separate schools. And there's lots of ways you can do that when you co-locate a building," said District Chief of Schools Shawn Bird.

SLA's lease is expiring, and the district is moving away from longterm leases, in favor of space it already owns.

The district plans $20 million in improvements to the Ben Franklin building, starting with a $1.5 million contract for design and engineering work.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.