One of the biggest questions for young schools is the establishment of a culture from scratch. This makes it all the more impressive that people close to the school enthusiastically cite the school's strong positive atmosphere.
All of our partner teachers cited the administration as exceptionally supportive, which lends itself to a vibrant extracurricular club scene and a several fast-developing traditions of annual events. Teachers are encouraged to create new organizations to share their passions with students, and student's are given the power to create clubs they want to see in their school.
All of our partner teachers cited the administration as exceptionally supportive, which lends itself to a vibrant extracurricular club scene and a several fast-developing traditions of annual events. Teachers are encouraged to create new organizations to share their passions with students, and student's are given the power to create clubs they want to see in their school.
A teacher at Palumbo had this to say about school culture and events:
"We have a ton of clubs, events and sports at Palumbo and they are all very popular. Football, step team, orchestra, yearbook, poetry team, the gay-straight alliance, debate, volleyball, badminton, Students Run Philly Style, robotics...the list goes on.
"We have awesome events such as Winter and Spring concerts, a Haunted House put on by the drama club, the Fall Feast (a potluck Thanksgiving meal that serves the whole school!), the parade of Horrors (we really love Halloween), spirit week, door-decorating contests, spring fling, homecoming pep rallies, roof-top picnics...the administration absolutely supports and prioritizes these events. We are constantly planning them. It's part of how we keep our community strong."
This vibrant club culture is a direct result of a young, enthusiastic teacher base that feels supported and advocated for by the administration. All teachers we spoke with could not speak highly enough of the school climate, and seemed to suggest that all the teachers there shared this sentiment. A recurring phrase in our conversations was that the school was striving to become "the Central of South Philly," and the students, parents, administration, and teachers all seem to embrace this mission. With a 78% college bound rate (greatphillyschools.org), the school is clearly attracting high achieving students who flourish in this ambitious environment.
"We have a ton of clubs, events and sports at Palumbo and they are all very popular. Football, step team, orchestra, yearbook, poetry team, the gay-straight alliance, debate, volleyball, badminton, Students Run Philly Style, robotics...the list goes on.
"We have awesome events such as Winter and Spring concerts, a Haunted House put on by the drama club, the Fall Feast (a potluck Thanksgiving meal that serves the whole school!), the parade of Horrors (we really love Halloween), spirit week, door-decorating contests, spring fling, homecoming pep rallies, roof-top picnics...the administration absolutely supports and prioritizes these events. We are constantly planning them. It's part of how we keep our community strong."
This vibrant club culture is a direct result of a young, enthusiastic teacher base that feels supported and advocated for by the administration. All teachers we spoke with could not speak highly enough of the school climate, and seemed to suggest that all the teachers there shared this sentiment. A recurring phrase in our conversations was that the school was striving to become "the Central of South Philly," and the students, parents, administration, and teachers all seem to embrace this mission. With a 78% college bound rate (greatphillyschools.org), the school is clearly attracting high achieving students who flourish in this ambitious environment.
How does this dynamic school community fit into the geographic community of Hawthorne? Click below to find out.