{"id":288285,"date":"2026-09-17T17:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/288285\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T17:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:20:09","slug":"why-small-high-schools-limit-some-philadelphia-students-academic-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/288285\/","title":{"rendered":"Why small high schools limit some Philadelphia students\u2019 academic options"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter<\/a> to keep up with the city\u2019s public school system.<\/p>\n

Gabriyel Ruffin likes high school well enough. But there\u2019s one thing he wishes he could study.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really love art,\u201d said Ruffin, a 10th grader at Philadelphia\u2019s Motivation High School who focuses on visual arts. He appreciates his school\u2019s small size and generally feels like he can learn what he wants to \u2014 with one exception that disappoints him. Motivation High only offers one visual arts course, and it\u2019s an introductory one.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a similar story at other neighborhood and specialty high schools. In fact, ten of the district\u2019s 55 high schools offer only one AP or IB class, which can help students get a leg up for college, according to Chalkbeat\u2019s analysis of the district\u2019s course data. At several, the only language students can learn is Spanish. At others, arts classes are limited to introductory music or film classes. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia\u2019s competitive magnet high schools like Central and Palumbo, students can enroll in more than a dozen AP classes, a handful of arts classes, and multiple language courses.<\/p>\n

District officials say they\u2019re working to address that disparity. Philadelphia is planning to close 17 schools beginning next year, including five high schools. Superintendent Tony Watlington has defended the controversial decision by saying they will lead to more opportunities for students, including more course and extracurricular offerings in high schools. That\u2019s because small high schools like Motivation will absorb students from closing schools and therefore have larger budgets.<\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

But in the meantime, educators say students at smaller schools often have few ways to channel their ambition or develop their curiosity beyond core classes. And the details about additional opportunities the district has promised aren\u2019t clear yet. Without that information, some educators say it\u2019s difficult to convince families confronting the closure of their small high schools that more opportunities really are on the horizon. <\/p>\n

One district principal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter publicly, said if the district doesn\u2019t offer more clarity about that issue, \u201cit\u2019s going to be hard to keep some students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy Superintendent of Academics Brenda Elliott said in a statement that the district aims to provide more equitable access to courses through its facilities plan<\/a>. \u201cThis will be done through facility investments across the district which will coincide with teacher, program, and curriculum updates,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Small high schools offer students fewer choices<\/p>\n

Elliot said high school course offerings are based on a number of factors, including teacher availability, student interest, and a school\u2019s specific curriculum goals. Some schools have an arts or science focus, while others offer courses in specific career and technical education programs. <\/p>\n

But at some schools, educators Chalkbeat spoke to said their schools have cut elective and arts offerings over recent years due to budget constraints. <\/p>\n

To graduate from high school in Philadelphia, students must get two credits in arts and humanities class and two language credits, along with credits in core classes like math, social studies, science, and English. <\/p>\n

At Northeast High, the district\u2019s largest high school with 3,500 students, students can take Arabic, French, Chinese, Italian, or Spanish to fill their language credits. They can also take several science courses to meet graduation requirements, including introduction to animal sciences and medical terminology, according to district data.<\/p>\n

But small high schools generally offer far fewer options. (The average district high school in Philly enrolls about 700 students.) Teachers said that means students are often assigned to classes solely based on graduation requirements, not their interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s removing so much of the student choice and joy that can come from school,\u201d said one Philadelphia teacher at a small neighborhood high school who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n

The tension between schools\u2019 size and their academic options is not unique to Philadelphia. In Chicago, some high schools have operated with fewer than 100 students, and their students take the same courses multiple years in a row for lack of options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not everyone wants the trade-offs required for more course choice. Veah, an 11th grader at Motivation, said she would be interested in more class options, especially in business. But she likes the school\u2019s size; Motivation enrolled about 150 students last year, although next year it will absorb students from Paul Robeson High, which the district will close. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I don\u2019t get everything I want\u201d at Motivation, she said. \u201cBut I get what I need.\u201d <\/p>\n

Researchers have found that giving students more choice in their education can drive better attendance and school engagement<\/a>. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean offering dozens of electives. But generally, researchers have found giving students more agency<\/a> can help them succeed.<\/p>\n

Larger schools can offer course options more easily<\/p>\n

Four years ago, Tiffany Lorch, head of student rostering at South Philly\u2019s Horace Furness High School, began surveying all students and staff about what classes they were interested in. Now it\u2019s become an annual practice.<\/p>\n

Ahead of each school year, she asks teachers what electives they wish they could teach and what they believe Furness should offer students. Students rank their favorite electives, from journalism to yoga to business administration, and say whether they would like to take an honors or AP class, among other responses. <\/p>\n

\"TwoHorace Furness High School Principal Daniel Peou, left, and Roster Chair Tiffany Lorch have worked to increase elective course offerings at the school. (Rebecca Redelmeier \/ Chalkbeat) <\/p>\n

A teacher who loves film now teaches an introduction to film elective. Students interested in healthcare can now sign up for genetics or medical terminology. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we want is to give our kids the best, richest transcripts to get to graduation,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

But doing so takes time and resources that other schools may not have.<\/p>\n

Furness, with around 830 students, is slightly larger than the district\u2019s average high school. Lorch can dedicate all her time to rostering, while those in her position at smaller schools often teach classes as well. <\/p>\n

In some schools, students interested in higher level courses take classes at the Community College of Philadelphia or online. But that takes some of the highest-performing students off campus, said social studies teacher John Pat Leary, who has taught at multiple district high schools. And if students don\u2019t like that option, they remain stranded when it comes to coursework. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nowhere for that ambition to go,\u201d said Leary. \u201cThey can kind of feel like, well, there\u2019s nothing here for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Furness, Principal Daniel Peou said he applies for grants and additional funding to help provide additional electives and opportunities for students. <\/p>\n

Offering more choices, he said, helps students across all classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe climate is a lot friendlier in the building,\u201d he said. \u201cKids are getting what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter to keep up with the city\u2019s public school system. Gabriyel Ruffin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7623,119842,6704,119843,69,71,70,7625],"class_list":["post-288285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-chalkbeat","tag-courses","tag-high-school","tag-horace-furness-high-school-principal-daniel-peou","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288285","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=288285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}