Philadelphia’s first school began educating students back in 1689, and the city has been educating students ever since.
In fact , 1689 saw two historic schools open in Philadelphia that are still in operation today. William Penn, along with the Religious Society (of Friends), founded William Penn Charter School. It remains the oldest, operating Quaker School in the world. Securing its first charter in the year 1701 (Friends Public School) Penn Charter later became an all-boys college preparatory school in 1875 while consolidating with other schools. The school was originally located in Old City, moved to 12th and Market streets in the 1870s, and finally to its present location in the 1920s.
Also in the same year and with its’s motto, Integrum Vitae “The Whole Life,” Friends Select School was chartered in 1833 with separate schools for girls and boys. The schools combined in 1885 — and since that year have been located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Over on West Olney Avenue, Philadelphia boasts the second-oldest high school in all of America with Central High School. It’s also the most historic high school in all of Pennsylvania — founded in 1836.
Preserving the past
Last week, Frankford High School reopened after a two-year, $30 million renovation, which includes both technological and facilities upgrades. The building dates from 1916 at Oxford Avenue and Wakeling Street. Not far away another education gem, The Mifflin School Building, whose historic facade still exists in the Northern Liberties section of our city. It is the oldest intact structure in the Philadelphia school system still around today and dates from 1825.
Nestled in the historic area known as the Upper Burying Ground, right off of Germantown Avenue, is the Concord School House — still intact since its initial 1775 inception. It was our region’s first English-speaking school. Its original facade, which was expanded in 1818, still sits in the cemetery (Burying Ground), which is one of the oldest in our area. The Concord School House is one of the last one-room schoolhouses that is still in existence in our country to this day.
Like most aspects of modern-day society, William Penn would almost certainly be amazed by what his Philadelphia has become. However, perhaps what we should be most proud of is that his vision of educating students in 1689 has not only survived for more than 330 years, but it is still thriving.
