Philadelphia students can apply to schools outside their neighborhood after changes to selection process
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia students from pre-K through 11th grade will be able to apply to schools outside their neighborhood or catchment area, the School District of Philadelphia announced Thursday along with other changes they say will improve the school selection process.
The changes come after an audit in March showed counselors, principals and families wanted more discretion and a holistic approach that factors in a "human touch" like essays and interviews.
The district now says it will establish a process for students who did not receive offers at any of the criteria-based and citywide schools they applied to get placed somewhere where they meet the criteria and seats are available.
District staff working on school selection will be trained more, the district says on its website.
"Throughout my first year as superintendent, I've heard a lot of feedback about our school selection process," Superintendent Tony Watlington said in an emailed statement. "Immediately it became clear that while school selection is important for providing our students equitable opportunities to attend a school of their choice, our implementation needed a critical assessment and improvement. We understand how challenging the school selection process has been in the past, but please know that we are continuously striving to improve."
What will not change: the district will continue using a lottery and waitlist and look at students' grades, attendance and scores on the PSSA, a state-administered standardized test. Students from a set of specific less-represented ZIP codes will have priority.
The district said it will continue prioritizing applications from a specific set of lower-income ZIP codes for the following schools:
- Academy at Palumbo (for 9th grade)
- Carver Engineering & Science (for 7th and 9th grades)
- Central High School (for 9th grade)
- Masterman (for 5th and 9th grades)
The ZIP codes receiving priority will be announced in September.
Philadelphia overhauled its lottery system in 2021 with the intent to diversify the district's specialty schools and give priority placement to students who live in lower-income ZIP codes. But some parents said the district overlooked the hard work students did to meet the criteria to apply.
More information on the changes is available at Schoolselect.PhilaSD.org.
Consulting firm's report shows room for improvement in school selection process
A district-commissioned report and survey from consulting firm Accenture released this summer came with a list of possible solutions for improving school selection including an interview process for prospective students.
Over 54% of students surveyed recommended removing the school selection process altogether.
Students who did not have high enough test scores or attendance could not even apply to some schools with high criteria and one of the pieces of feedback called for a more "human touch" where essays, interviews and letters of recommendation could help bolster a student's chances at getting in to their chosen school.
"The loss of human discretion has resulted in unfilled seats at some schools that could be filled with potential students," a principal is quoted in the report.