Demographics and Recent History of the School
The Academy at Palumbo is a new school, which puts it in a unique position as it begins to grow and develop to fit its students’ needs. Palumbo opened in 2006 as a public magnet school. Admissions are competitive—we spoke with the English department chair, Dr. Bailey, who said that parents call every single day to see if spots are available. She said parents and students appreciate the fact that it provides an excellent college-preparatory education without charging tuition fees. Some students do drop out in the first weeks of school, usually opting for Central High School instead. Central is Palumbo’s “mother” school; Palumbo was modeled after it and some students come to realize that they’d prefer a larger student body like Central offers.
Palumbo began with a student body of a little over 500. It was intended to stay around this size, but as schools in the area closed, they were forced to accept more students and the size is now around 850. The teacher we spoke with said that this is actually to Palumbo’s advantage, because it is an enormous building and if they don’t fill it with students, parts of it might be taken away to use towards other programs. This year, Palumbo took in one hundred more students than last year. The fluctuating class size provides challenges for the teachers and administration, but the building is certainly large enough to handle it.
Palumbo began with a student body of a little over 500. It was intended to stay around this size, but as schools in the area closed, they were forced to accept more students and the size is now around 850. The teacher we spoke with said that this is actually to Palumbo’s advantage, because it is an enormous building and if they don’t fill it with students, parts of it might be taken away to use towards other programs. This year, Palumbo took in one hundred more students than last year. The fluctuating class size provides challenges for the teachers and administration, but the building is certainly large enough to handle it.
Another change this year is a new principal. Teachers, parents, and students seem excited to welcome Ms. Kiana Thompson into her new role. She has been here since the school’s founding and while she has ideas for improving the school, she knows what already works for it and intends to keep many things the same. The school prides itself on being diverse, with almost 1/2 African American students and then White and Asian closely matched for second-most represented. The Asian population is mostly Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and Cambodian. Ms. Bailey says the school celebrates all cultures and students all work well with each other; there is no significant racial tension.
Palumbo has five floors and each floor is devoted to English, Social Studies, Science, or Math. The faculty is small which adds to the personal, community feel that Palumbo tries to foster. There are many clubs and organizations to get involved in, from “Homework Club” to a Gay/Straight Alliance. The school offers many APs and has a college preparatory curriculum. While budget cuts reduced the guidance department to just one counselor for the upcoming school year, teachers try to step in and help students with their own knowledge and experience. 85-90% of graduating students go on to a four year college while virtually all of the rest attend either two-year or technical schools or the armed forces. Because Palumbo is such a new school, there is a lack of data on how graduates fare post-graduation. It will be interesting to see this information in the coming years.