Safety
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Many sources report that students and parents choose Saul because it is a relatively small, safe school that feels more "suburban" than other schools in the School District of Philadelphia. As graphs on our Demographics page suggest, the frequency of disciplinary incidents at Saul, which has always been low, has decreased further in recent years. In fact, the only incident reported in the 2013-2014 school year was one weapons related infraction. Nina Berryman, the supervisor at the school's farm, says, "Some kids go here because it's a safe school. It's small and it's safe." Similarly, a former student teacher reports, "Other [students] go to Saul because they say it is a "safe school"." These sentiments are echoed by Ann, a leading member of the Saul Home and School Association. She notes that many students think deeply about what they want they high school experience to be, and simply desire a safe, small and rigorous school where they have chances to learn useful topics for after graduate pursuits.
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interest in animals or the farm
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Ann also notes that there is a group of students that attend Saul because of an innate interesting in agriculture. Indeed, some students report that they choose Saul because of their interest in animals, or in agriculture in general. Junior Mitchell Valentin says, "Like 8:26, we get into class, and we put our boots on, and we head out," he said. "I talk to my friends. I'm like, 'How's your high school?' They just sit down. They just learn. Here we have a thing where we cross the street and we feed cows. Not everyone has a cow to feed." However, since most students are in their young teens when they make the decision to attend Saul, many of them are drawn more to the idea of farming than the reality. When asked if there are students who aren't enthusiastic about agriculture classes, Ms. Berryman laughs and replies,"Oh yeah! Oh yeah. Yeah, that’s a huge challenge....some students go here because they love animals but they got stuck in the agriculture class and they have to weed carrots and they hate it. So, we just kind of make the best of it."
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Parents"[. . .] many 8th graders are of the mindset that '[Saul] sure beats their neighborhood school.'" |
Many students are encouraged by their parents to attend Saul for various reasons; safety, or because the parent is a alumni, or because parents are attracted to the idea of a magnet school with slightly looser academic requirements. Ms. Metzer reports, "Some [students] come because their parents did or their parents want them to come. An involved parent whose daughter attends Saul believes that many 8th graders are of the mindset that "[Saul] sure beats their neighborhood school." The parent also remarks that students with above average grades and behavior records that might not have quite the resume for Masterman or Central are very interested in applying to Saul. Additionally, the parent raises the point that often students have heard of a 'farm school' and grow interested in attending from there. The survey on the home page of this site is intended to gauge awareness of Saul.
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Information and Quotations: Smith, A. (2015, July 1). Ann HSA [Telephone interview].
McCory, K. (2014, December 4). Despite budget cuts, students reap essential lessons at Philly's Saul farm school [photos]. Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/75927-despite-budget-cuts-phillys-wb-saul-school-oinks-moos-and-whinnies-ahead
S. (2015, July 1). Parent [Telephone interview].
Metzler, V. (2015, July 1). Valerie [E-mail interview].
School Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from https://webapps.philasd.org/school_profile/view/6040
Berryman, N. (2015, July 1). Nina CSA [Personal interview].
McCory, K. (2014, December 4). Despite budget cuts, students reap essential lessons at Philly's Saul farm school [photos]. Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/75927-despite-budget-cuts-phillys-wb-saul-school-oinks-moos-and-whinnies-ahead
S. (2015, July 1). Parent [Telephone interview].
Metzler, V. (2015, July 1). Valerie [E-mail interview].
School Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from https://webapps.philasd.org/school_profile/view/6040
Berryman, N. (2015, July 1). Nina CSA [Personal interview].