A Snapshot of Philadelphia’s Accelerated Schools

This snapshot is a guide to the School District of Philadelphia’s (the District’s) 13 accelerated high schools in the 2010-11 school year. The accelerated high schools were the result of a partnership between the District and Project U-Turn, a city-wide coalition dedicated to reducing student dropout and increasing graduation rates and readiness for college or employment. Accelerated high schools served approximately 2,000 over-age, under credited youth during the 2010-11 school year, with the goal of getting these youth back on track to graduation. As the map on page 3 shows, accelerated schools are located throughout the city. In the 2010-11 school year, the District’s Office of Multiple Pathways (OMP) contracted with seven external providers to manage each of the accelerated high schools. We produced this guide to assist those individuals and agencies, inside and outside the District, who work with youth in danger of not graduating or who are already out of school but want to return, to find a high school program that meets his or her needs. The guide pays particular attention to the literacy strategies used by each of the schools.