FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• How is The Philadelphia School different from other school
• What is a progressive school?
• As a nonsectarian school, do you teach values?
• What is so good about a small school?
• Does a small school limit the social contacts available to my child?
• Is there enough structure at TPS for my child?

Approach to Learning

• What is the purpose of vertical grouping?
• What do you mean when you talk about "process" in learning?
• What does the Language Arts program include?
• What is the "thematic approach" and why is it valuable?
• Does TPS have a multicultural curriculum?
• What is the homework policy at TPS?
• How diverse is your school community?

Programs and Facilities

• Does a small school limit the physical facilities available to my child?
• Why should children spend time at Shelly Ridge?
• What programs does TPS offer after school hours?
• What kind of computer facilities are available for TPS students?
• Do you offer financial aid?

After TPS

• What are the advantages of sending my child to a school that ends in 8th grade?
• What high schools do TPS graduates attend?
• What are some of the post-secondary institutions attended by TPS graduates?

How is The Philadelphia School different from other schools?

The Philadelphia School is the only independent, nonsectarian, progressive school in the Philadelphia area with both city and country sites. It uses both the urban and natural environments for experience, recognizing that learning must be built on a solid foundation of real and simulated experience.

In contrast to most independent schools, TPS is small and values its small size. The student-teacher ratio is 12:1. (It becomes 9:1 when the specialists in art, drama, music, physical education, and Spanish are counted.)

What is a progressive school?

A progressive school is concerned, to a degree greater than schools generally, with developmental issues: how a child grows intellectually, emotionally, socially, creatively, morally, and physically and how to tailor educational programs to fit that growth. It is a school whose staff are aware of current research and constantly seek to improve teaching and learning.

As a nonsectarian school, do you teach values?

Yes. We are committed to the notion of preserving the worth and dignity of each individual. We respect and appreciate differences and similarities. We try to instill a sense of responsibility to the school community, to the family, to society, and to the world. Students are encouraged to translate this concern for others into meaningful action.

We value--and expect our students to value--individuality, independence, problem solving, and decision making. We view love of learning as an end in itself.

We encourage our students to identify their own uniqueness and talents, to develop those talents, and to share them with the community. At the same time, we expect students to help classmates meet goals, to cooperate with each other, and to treat each other with kindness and consideration.

What is so good about a small school?

Comparatively small numbers make it possible to teach and learn personally. The relationship between student and teacher can be more intimate. All of the teachers know all of the children. Anonymity, often associated with anti-social behavior, is impossible.
Small schools are able to respond quickly to the needs of individuals and groups without bureaucracy or red tape. Communication among parents, teachers, and students is easier when fewer people and fewer "channels" are involved.

Does a small school limit the social contacts available to my child?

Children of elementary and middle school years do not have the social skills to deal effectively with large peer groups. In larger schools, to protect themselves from the resulting pressure, they form small cliques and relate primarily to one or two people. Often, the larger the peer group, the stronger the influence and pressure to conform.

The teacher as a role model has more impact in the smaller setting.

In a smaller school there are more opportunities to learn when to compromise, when to cooperate, how to resolve conflict, and when to be independent--because students cannot hide in the large group. Teachers are aware of inevitable conflicts and are available to help students grow to social maturity.

Is there enough structure at TPS for my child?

Instructional groups range in size from small to large, and there are also individual sessions with a teacher. Depending on the group's size and the activity pursued, students may be found in any seating and working arrangement.

Each day is divided into time segments. A daily schedule is posted in each classroom and reviewed at the beginning of the day. Students know where they are expected to be and what they are expected to do at all times.

What may look "unstructured" is the result of a great deal of planning for each individual child. The structure of both time and work spaces is essential to our emphasis on the student's methods of learning, rather than the school's or teacher's convenience.

What is the purpose of vertical grouping?

In addition, when teachers have a chance to work with the same children over a number of years, it eliminates the usual getting-to-know-you lag and the time it often takes a student to learn classroom routines.

A child in a vertically grouped classroom has an opportunity to be among the youngest in a group and to enjoy the special privileges of that role. Later the same child will be among the oldest in the group and will learn the expectations and responsibilities associated with that position.

Flexible grouping provides many natural occasions for leadership skills to be developed.

What do you mean when you talk about "process" in learning?

Students at TPS are made aware of how they learn--how to plan and use their time, how to make choices, how to solve problems, how to be flexible thinkers and independent learners. Built into the curriculum are many opportunities for asking questions, researching answers, gathering and organizing data, making generalizations, making decisions, and experiencing the consequences of choice. These experiences can be simple (finding the best way to study for a spelling test) or complex (building an effective nature trail at Shelly Ridge).

By understanding how something has been learned, the student can apply that process to increasingly complex challenges. Success breeds success in learning.

What does the Language Arts program include?

Our program consists of five parts:
(a) comprehension of all types of material, including textbooks across the disciplines, with a special emphasis on literature;
(b) composition-oral and written;
(c) mastery of linguistic systems-examining and mastering the structure and elements of language, including spelling, phonics and grammar;
(d) learning to learn--children are helped to understand their own learning styles, to develop strategies for different tasks, and to take responsibility; and
(e) self-selected reading--with children being encouraged to read such material 20-40 minutes each night and part of each day.

What is the "thematic approach" and why is it valuable?

A theme is a subject, such as Whales, Japan, or Ancient Greece, or a concept, such as Conflict or The City. The thematic approach to teaching is a means of organizing the variety of information to be taught in a way that more closely approximates the human experience of how things happen than does the dispensing of information in isolated disciplines such as geography, history, biology, etc. For example, the study of Ancient Greece involves literature, history, science, mathematics, art, drama, music, and physical education (Olympics).

A theme provides the focus for learning, giving purpose and meaning to an educational experience. Students know what they are learning and why, while they are learning it.

A thematic approach can be used to exercise and develop all sorts of creativity to convey what has been learned and the experience of learning it. Prose, poetry, art, dance, drama, or music are all possibilities.

The theme creates a need to inquire, to do purposeful research, to communicate, and to solve problems. Academic skills are used in a meaningful, integrated way. The likelihood that connections will be made among skills, knowledge, and concepts within the larger context increases the chances that what is learned will also be remembered.

Teachers find the interdisciplinary approach stimulating to their own creativity. Enthusiastic teachers are more likely to produce enthusiastic learners.

Does TPS have a multicultural curriculum?

Multiculturalism is intrinsic to the TPS curriculum because of our fundamental thematic approach to learning. We examine multiple perspectives across a curriculum that approaches history, literature, social studies, music, art, science, and other disciplines in a manner that enables us to understand the diverse strands that have for so long made up this country’s communities, cultures, traditions, values, discoveries, and achievements. Our study of world cultures includes both Western and non-Western topics and perspectives. We believe that what unites us and what we have in common are as important as that which makes us, as individuals or as members of a group, unique.

What is the homework policy at TPS?

Homework begins with the youngest children, with the expectation that all students must read, or be read to, at least 20-30 minutes per night. Beginning in Junior Unit (third grade), children can expect work taking approximately 45 minutes to be sent home with them two or three nights a week. As students mature, expectations for homework increase. Fourth and fifth graders can expect approximately one hour of work each night; Middle School students usually spend 2 to 2 1/2 hours completing assignments. We encourage independence and responsibility by expecting children to fulfill their homework requirements and to begin to learn to deal with issues of time management.

How diverse is your school community?

The Philadelphia School is committed to a community that is ethnically, culturally, socially, economically, and racially diverse, and as such, reflects its urban environment. Currently 23% of the student body are students of color. There is a Diversity Committee composed of interested parents, teachers, and staff members who seek to enrich the school community with a variety of multicultural activities, help with recruitment of families of color, and raise funds for students who might otherwise be unable to attend TPS.

Does a small school limit the physical facilities available to my child?

The Philadelphia School has been fortunate enough to be able to refine and upgrade its physical plant through the years. The carefully designed spaces at TPS enable our students to take advantage of a wide range of programming.

Classrooms. Our spacious classrooms provide ample square foot area per child. They are designed to allow for flexible grouping, seating, and movement.

Indoor athletic facilities. TPS recently built a state-of-the-art gymnasium for physical education classes during the school day and for interscholastic sports and other activities after school. Because of its central location, The Philadelphia School easily supplements its own resources by using various nearby center city sports facilities, such as tennis courts and tracks.

Playing fields and playground. Many area public and private schools depend, as TPS does, on off-site playing fields. TPS has easy access to the playground equipment and playing fields located approximately two blocks from the school building.

Art, music, and drama. TPS has two art rooms, which are well equipped with potter's wheels, a kiln, computers, and a printing press. Our multipurpose room accommodates chorus and drama performances.

Libraries. Rather than having a central school library, we prefer each unit (Preschool, Primary Unit, Junior Unit, and Middle School) to have its own large collection of fiction, nonfiction, and reference books; these collections are supplemented by books from the Free Library and by visits to the Logan Circle and Rittenhouse Square branches of the Free Library, as needed. In addition, each classroom has abundant multimedia library resources such as videotapes, CDs, DVDs, and computer software.

Why should children spend time at Shelly Ridge?

The Shelly Ridge environmental center provides the hands-on experience to which we relate our science program. Children experience the effect of the seasons on plants, insects, and animals. This outdoor site offers opportunities for exploration, observation, discovery, and reflection-ways for city children to internalize and value the outdoors. Environmental education, as a branch of science, provides concrete experiences and is less abstract than other areas of science. Children study what they know, such as air, water, soil, sun, animals, and plants. We hope that by beginning in this way, they will come to love science and will be encouraged to continue with more advanced science and mathematics courses in high school.

At the same time, environmental education differs from study of traditional subdivisions of science. Aspects of environmental education range from the direct and deeply personal experience of nature to the profound social questions raised by the relationship between humans and the environment. Responses to environmental issues will play a crucial role in the future of human existence on our planet. How we teach our young people about the relationship between humans and the environment has great and everlasting importance. We hope that our students will learn to evaluate human activity from many viewpoints, weighing alternatives and making decisions on environmental issues.

What programs does TPS offer after school hours?

The After School Enrichment Program (ASEP) is available on a daily or weekly basis for students in grades K-5. It operates until 6:00 p.m. on days that the school is open for a full day. In addition, an After School Study Hall is provided free of charge for Middle School students (grades 6-8).

The school offers instrumental music lessons, taught by professional musicians. The lessons are available once a week here at the school; an additional fee is charged for lessons.

A variety of sports and enrichment activities is available to third through eighth graders, 3:20 to 4:50 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Offerings change with each season. There is interscholastic competition in basketball (boys and girls teams), soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Other activities have included a cappella singing, chess, computers, cooking, drama club, jewelry making, kick boxing, photography, softball, swing dancing, and yoga. Fifth graders are required to participate in at least one sport during the year; Middle School students must participate in at least two sports activities each year.

What kind of computer facilities are available for TPS students?

The school building is wired throughout for Internet access and networking. Though the school is basically a Macintosh environment, we can accommodate children who are PC-based at home. TPS currently has over 135 classroom computers, all of which have access to the Internet. (Students may access the Internet only under the supervision of a teacher.) Computers are integrated into the classrooms rather than isolated in a laboratory setting. We believe that computer competencies are best achieved in a curriculum-driven, project-based environment where students are engaged as active, purposeful learners.

Computer technology is used in myriad ways in TPS classrooms, including word processing, desktop publishing, programming, research work, graphic design, animation, web design, film-making, music composition and recording, and Spanish language lab. We encourage children to use computers beginning in the Primary Unit, and we have a wide variety of educational software for students of every level.

The school's Computer Committee, made up of teachers, administrators, and parents, meets regularly to assess hardware and software needs, to design opportunities for professional development, and to share ideas about technology in the classroom.

Do you offer financial aid?

The Philadelphia School currently awards over 13% of its annual budget to families who demonstrate need. At the present time, 27% of the student body receives financial aid, ranging from 10% to 95% of tuition. Information about applying for financial aid and applications are available from the Director of Admission and Financial Aid.

What are the advantages of sending my child to a school that ends in 8th grade?

The program, environment, and size of school most appropriate for students 5-13 years old are often not the best for students of high school age. The choice of lower school and the choice of upper school should be independent decisions.

The experience of being among the oldest students of an entire school and of being a leader in that school can be extremely important and positive to a child of 13 or 14, an age which often needs all the encouragement it can get.

The daily presence of older high school students can put subtle pressures on impressionable middle school students to grow up too quickly.

The belief of some parents that they must send their child to a particular school to be certain of a place in high school is unfounded. With rare exceptions, the TPS student that will be comfortable in a specific school will be accepted by that school in the ninth grade. Most independent schools expand their classes to accommodate the influx of students from K-8 schools.

What high schools do TPS graduates attend?

TPS graduates have enrolled in a wide variety of independent and public magnet secondary schools. Listed below are the independent schools that have been selected by graduates of The Philadelphia School since 1978. In recent years, a majority of our graduates have attended those schools marked by an asterisk.

The School District of Philadelphia Special Admission Schools listed below have been selected by our graduates. (Those marked with an asterisk have been attended by most of those recent graduates who have chosen the Philadelphia magnet schools.) Currently two alumnae are attending the Charter High School for Architecture and Design.

What are some of the post-secondary institutions attended by TPS graduates?