\u2018Toxic\u2019 climate at Frankford High prompts a Philadelphia School District probe<\/a><\/p>\nDistrict officials did not comment on the results of the climate audit, but typically do not discuss personnel matters.<\/p>\n
Calderone said, in a letter sent to Frankford staff and obtained by The Inquirer, that the move to Dobson \u201cholds tremendous personal and professional significance for me\u201d because he began his career there, as teacher and dean. <\/p>\n
\u201cReturning to lead the school where I first developed my passion for educational leadership feels very much like a homecoming and has always been a dream of mine,\u201d Calderone wrote.<\/p>\n
Noah Tennant, the interim associate superintendent for secondary schools, said in an email to Frankford staff that Calderone \u201cis a school leader with a proven track record of improving student outcomes, leading school transformation, and building collaborative systems. His leadership and contributions to the Frankford High community will leave an indelible impact on all he served.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Jackson, a retired Philadelphia principal who\u2019s served as Frankford\u2019s interim leader in the past, will be \u201cguest principal\u201d while the district searches for a replacement for Calderone, Tennant said in the letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the coming months, the district will initiate a process to identify the next permanent principal who will continue the important work underway and ensure every student and staff member is supported,\u201d Tennant wrote.<\/p>\n
A Frankford climate audit<\/p>\n
The first public hint of controversy happened in early 2026, when Frankford\u2019s budget, like spending plans across the school system, was shrunk because of district-wide cuts. Calderone ordered a number of teachers\u2019 jobs cut out of seniority order, a move that was protested by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and ultimately overturned.<\/p>\n
The PFT and teachers say the targeted educators \u2014 whom Calderone said he moved to advance academic goals \u2014 were ones who had spoken out against him, they told The Inquirer.<\/p>\n
At the same time, a number of current and former Frankford staff raised allegations about significant culture issues at the school, and the district conducted the audit. <\/p>\n
According statements from multiple staffers made to the district and PFT and obtained by The Inquirer, Calderone, who earned citywide recognition for his work at the comprehensive high school, was a volatile leader who forced out many capable staffers.<\/p>\n
Some staff said the principal screamed at adults and students on multiple occasions. They also said he made improper requests, including asking teachers to provide grades for students in classes they did not teach. <\/p>\n
Others said he spoke openly about intentions to get rid of staff members who were not allies, to force out staff who he believed were opposed to him.<\/p>\n
Two staffers also told the district that Calderone punched a student who had assaulted multiple Frankford staffers. The staff did not report the assault when it happened because they were afraid for their jobs, they said.<\/p>\n
Other Frankford staffers agreed that there was widespread discord at the school, but say those who opposed Calderone contributed to the toxicity.<\/p>\n
Arthur Steinberg, PFT president, who had previously said that he did not believe Calderone was fit to run Frankford \u201cor any school at all,\u201d in a statement Monday commended the Frankford staff who brought concerns to the administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to their bravery and persistence, Frankford will be a healthier, more positive place to learn and work for all,\u201d Steinberg said. \u201cIt is our hope that whoever is assigned to replace Dr. Calderone is able to reset the working environment for staff, so that Frankford is once again the warm, welcoming school community it was before he arrived.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018Thank you for your trust\u2019<\/p>\n
Calderone, in his letter to Frankford staff, said he was particularly grateful for the community\u2019s resilience during a tough time \u2014 the hulking main Frankford building was shut for multiple years because of asbestos issues, with students scattered between multiple buildings. He said he was also proud of Frankford\u2019s aviation and hospitality programs, launched during his tenure at the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for your trust, your partnership, and the memories we have shared,\u201d Calderone wrote. \u201cI have every confidence that Frankford High School will continue to thrive and achieve great things. I wish you all the absolute best. Frankford will always be the \u2018Home of Champions\u2019. But never forget: every champion was once just a contender who refused to give up. I ask you to carry that relentless, unbroken spirit with you into every new day. Thank you for letting me walk this path alongside you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calderone will be moving to a very different school than the one he\u2019s led for 11 years.<\/p>\n
Frankford educates about 900 students in its massive Oxford Avenue building. Dobson, a K-8 on Umbria Street, educates about 250, though both have large populations of students with disabilities. <\/p>\n
Dobson\u2019s former principal, Khloe Williams-Lawani, accepted another job in the school system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min For the first time in more than a decade, Frankford High is getting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[109801,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-258653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-frankford-high-school-philadelphia-principal-leaving","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}