Simply two years into the tenure of its first Black and first lady principal, historic Central Excessive has been named a nationwide Blue Ribbon College by the U.S. Division of Training — for a record-setting third time.
Central is the nation’s second oldest highschool in steady operation. Together with Masterman, additionally it is among the many metropolis’s most selective. It’s the solely college in Philadelphia to win the award this yr.
College students and employees with tubes of confetti gathered to have fun on the south garden of the college at Broad and Olney as Kate Davis, whose title is president quite than the principal, made the announcement.
“That is an achievement that acknowledges the continued tutorial excellence of Central Excessive College,” Davis advised the group. “That is an achievement that celebrates the dedication of our college, our college students, and our households.”
Confetti in purple and gold, Central’s colours, quickly crammed the sky.
Davis, an alumna of Central who was named its president in April 2022 at age 34, is anticipating a child. She might be going to Washington, D.C., in early November to formally settle for the award, three weeks earlier than her due date. Her mother and father had been amongst these within the crowd Monday.
“This is just one small second in our college’s storied legacy,” Davis mentioned.
To cheers, Superintendent Tony Watlington mentioned the achievement reminded him of basketball legend Michael Jordan, whose Chicago Bulls groups had two separate “three-peats,” or strings of three consecutive championships.
The Blue Ribbon program honors high-performing, usually modern faculties, particularly people who present progress in closing achievement gaps based mostly on pupil race and financial standing.
Central was certainly one of 356 faculties nationwide given the respect this yr and certainly one of 4 within the Philadelphia area. Personal and constitution faculties are additionally eligible.
Based in 1836 as a college for boys, Central was first named a Blue Ribbon college in 1987, simply 4 years after the college began admitting women as the results of a prolonged court docket battle. It was honored once more in 2011.
For the reason that Blue Ribbon program started in 1982, 15 Philadelphia district faculties have been given the respect. Six apart from Central have been designated twice, and 5 of these are excessive faculties with citywide or particular admissions standards. The opposite is Penn Alexander elementary college, which has a partnership with the College of Pennsylvania. Central is the primary metropolis college to be cited thrice.
The final Philadelphia district college to get the designation was the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush in 2022.
Colleges don’t apply for the respect. Somebody unknown within the Division of Training nominates faculties, to which officers ship “a complete utility about your tutorial program, further curricular programming, mission and values and beliefs,” Davis mentioned. “You interact truthfully in a dialogue that goes on for months.”
The final requirement is to satisfy all of the state’s targets for standardized exams, which Central did this yr.
The most recent data on the district web site on pupil take a look at scores reveals that in 2022, simply 42% of Central college students scored proficient on the state math take a look at — an enormous drop from its ordinary near-perfect figures. District spokesperson Christina Clark mentioned this was as a result of most ninth graders beginning highschool after the pandemic yr selected to not take the state Keystone algebra take a look at that yr, as they normally do at Central. They’ve till eleventh grade to sit down for the take a look at.
Davis mentioned that this yr’s take a look at scores, which might be launched to the general public quickly, will present an enormous rebound.
The most recent honor additionally comes after the district moved to an admissions system that places all certified college students in a lottery, prioritizing college students from historically underrepresented ZIP codes, quite than relying largely on principal selection. And it’s nonetheless fighting considerably rising the proportion of Black and Latino college students to extra carefully match districtwide enrollment.
“We all know as younger individuals got here again from COVID, you see actual challenges with standardized exams,” she mentioned. “My college has been impacted simply as different faculties have, however we proceed to see enhancements.”
Jake Benny, a Central junior who final week was named as an alternate pupil member of the Board of Training, was amongst these cheering the announcement.
“It simply reveals that Central is again, higher than ever,” he mentioned.
Dale Mezzacappa is a senior author for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, the place she covers Ok-12 faculties and early childhood schooling in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.
