Help Navigating the Philadelphia School System

Hi S.,
When I lived in South Philly my son went to Universal institute charter school. He went there until 3rd grade when I decided to put him in christian school. There are alot of elementary schools in south philly. There is St. Christophers on Christian street. There are quit a few of them in center city. Unfortunately for most of the charter schools there is a date and deadline to apply for them. There are a couple of ok schools you can put your child in for one school year and the next year you'll get in a charter school. I did that when I took my son out of Universal. He went to Patterson for one school year. I hated the school but I sacrificed it for the one year and he was out. I hope this helps alittle.

L.

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This is the number for the Office of Student Placement. They should be able to answer your questions. Please let me know if you need additional help after speaking with them.

Check out http://www.centercityschools.com/ to find out about applying to other schools outside your catchment and to attend open houses. Because you live in Center City, you will get priority over those outside of Center City under the Center City School Initiative. http://www.centercityphila.org/aboutus/cpdc.aspx

Charter schools are lottery based. I believe Independence Charter and Christopher Columbus are relatively close by to you and have good reputations. You need to apply to them the year before your child enters Kindergarten. These schools have websites and open houses as well.

The past couple of years there has been a school fair at the Convention Center where all the public, private and charter schools have a booth and are available to answer questions. I found that to be very helpful. Look online to see when the next one is. It may be in the Spring.

I would suggest you attend some open houses and ask the parents that attend some questions. I know it seems overwhelming but once you start the process, it's not so bad.

Good luck!

Go on GreatSchools.net website to locate highly recommended schools in your area. The website was benifical to me in which I was able to find school for my daughter. You can read the parents' reviews and then visit the schools to observe the teachers, students and staff. Good luck!

Hi S.,

I'm still new to the Philly school system, but have learned a couple of things from other moms. I'm in the Olney section, so I'm not familiar with the particular school you named. Most of the charter schools if not all are on a lottery system. I would contact all the schools you are interested in to find out when their enrollment period/lottery begins. Some schools have a "rolling calendar", so there is no cut off date or deadline. At my daughter's school in the beginning of the school year, there is always paperwork sent home regarding switching schools. I would contact the local/neighborhood school between now and Halloween to see if this applies. I'm not sure if your daughter is already enrolled or if this makes a difference. However, with the charter schools you can apply to as many as you want, and some you have to be present the day of the lottery. Hope this helps.