South Philadelphia High School
Encyclopedia
South Philadelphia High School also known as Southern High is a public secondary high school
located in the south section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, at the intersection of Broad Street
and Snyder Avenue, just north of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex
residential neighborhood, Marconi Plaza
, FDR Park, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
and near the Passyunk Avenue urban corridor of shops and restaurants.
The school, serving grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia
.
The school serves portions of South Philadelphia
(including Southwark) and the Rittenhouse Square
section of Center City.
, a student, and first alumni scholarship winner in 1912, showed to school administrators that there was more promise for academics. He graduated the school at age 14 and then graduated the University of Pennsylvania
at the age of 18. Israel Goldstein became a Rabbi
, an author, spiritual leader and founder of Brandeis University
in Waltham Mass. He became a leader of the Zionist movement in America and founder of the National Conference for Christians and Jews. Due in part to young Israel Goldstein as an example of student possibilities the 3-year training facility became a full four-year co-ed High School.
In the late 1960s the population in South Philadelphia
changed from predominately poor Jewish and Italian immigrant and first generation children to include low-middle income Afro-American and immigrant Asian-American children. The capacity of student enrollment from 1960 to 2009 declined from over 1,000 to less than 500 students.
In December 2009, several Asian American students accused the school district of mishandling racial attacks that targeted Asian-American students. On December 4, 2009, 26 Asian-American students, most of whom were of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, were attacked by a large group of African American students near campus. Officials involved in resolving the incident, including Superintendent Arlene Ackerman
and retired U.S. District Court Judge James T. Giles, were accused of failing to address the rising racial tension between different ethnic groups within the school, mishandling key evidence and eyewitness accounts in recent related attacks, and falsely accusing and punishing Asian-American students for inciting the attacks. Their actions prompted national outrage and boycotts from local Asian-American communities.
. Students living at least 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away are given a free SEPTA transit pass which is issued every week in order to get to school.
designed by Board of Education Architect Lloyd Titus
. Two additions and main building had an exterior grey stone facade.
Student capacity was three hundred fifty boy students. It expanded in 1914 for more boy students and a duplicate structure built for a new Girls' School with a passage connecting the two buildings that was referred to as "The Tunnel". In 1941 an open field located seven blocks south at 10th and Bigler streets was purchased by a student fund raising and added to the school property as an athletic field to enhance the athletic program. The field was competely renovated in 2008 by the School District of Philadelphia as a supercomplex for larger District-wide events. The original School of 1907 was demolished in 1955.
A new rectangular shaped building was constructed and opened in 1956 on half of the site. The single building was built as a co-ed facility. The frontage included a new grand sized patio plaza entrance, large ashalpted school yard and significant green space enclosed with a regal looking four foot black iron railing tipped in gold painted points. The modern architecture
style utilized interior walls of cinder block, cement flooring and staircases, with a facade of light colored tan brick and large glavanized steel metal framed classroom windows. It contained four stories of 190 classrooms with an all modern infra-structure, a large gymnasium, auditorium and lunchroom with 1,500 seats.
, government officials, foreign diplomats, US ambassadors, cultural leaders, founders and university presidents. The span and range is astounding considering the family income beginnings of most of the students.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in the south section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, at the intersection of Broad Street
Broad Street (Philadelphia)
Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is nearly 13 miles long.It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95...
and Snyder Avenue, just north of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex
South Philadelphia Sports Complex
The South Philadelphia Sports Complex is the current home of Philadelphia's professional sports teams. It is the site of the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park...
residential neighborhood, Marconi Plaza
Marconi Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marconi Plaza is a neighborhood located in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.An Italian-American enclave, Marconi Plaza has two main halves, East and West, which are divided in the middle by Broad Street. It is located at the most southern end of the city and within the northern...
, FDR Park, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
and near the Passyunk Avenue urban corridor of shops and restaurants.
The school, serving grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia
School District of Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia is a school district based in the School District of Philadelphia Education Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that includes all public schools in the city of Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the eighth largest school district in the nation.The School...
.
The school serves portions of South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
(including Southwark) and the Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...
section of Center City.
History
Originally built in 1907 as the Southern Manual Training High School for boys. The Philadelphia School District administrators opened the School merely as a three year training facility for immigrant children, mostly Jewish and Italian, and children who lacked intellectual skills who “could only work with their hands”. But Israel GoldsteinIsrael Goldstein
Israel Goldstein was an American rabbi, author and Zionist leader. He was one of the founders of Brandeis University.Goldstein was the rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New York, the second oldest synagogue in the city, from 1918 until his immigration to Israel in 1960...
, a student, and first alumni scholarship winner in 1912, showed to school administrators that there was more promise for academics. He graduated the school at age 14 and then graduated the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
at the age of 18. Israel Goldstein became a Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, an author, spiritual leader and founder of Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
in Waltham Mass. He became a leader of the Zionist movement in America and founder of the National Conference for Christians and Jews. Due in part to young Israel Goldstein as an example of student possibilities the 3-year training facility became a full four-year co-ed High School.
In the late 1960s the population in South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
changed from predominately poor Jewish and Italian immigrant and first generation children to include low-middle income Afro-American and immigrant Asian-American children. The capacity of student enrollment from 1960 to 2009 declined from over 1,000 to less than 500 students.
In December 2009, several Asian American students accused the school district of mishandling racial attacks that targeted Asian-American students. On December 4, 2009, 26 Asian-American students, most of whom were of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, were attacked by a large group of African American students near campus. Officials involved in resolving the incident, including Superintendent Arlene Ackerman
Arlene Ackerman (educator)
Arlene C. Ackerman, Ed. D. is an educator who was the former superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District and the former superintendent of Philadelphia Public Schools..-Washington, D.C.:Ackerman was superintendent of the D.C...
and retired U.S. District Court Judge James T. Giles, were accused of failing to address the rising racial tension between different ethnic groups within the school, mishandling key evidence and eyewitness accounts in recent related attacks, and falsely accusing and punishing Asian-American students for inciting the attacks. Their actions prompted national outrage and boycotts from local Asian-American communities.
Transportation
SEPTA serves the school with Routes 2, 37, 79, and C and the Broad Street LineBroad Street Line
The Broad Street Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority that runs from Fern Rock Transportation Center in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia...
. Students living at least 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away are given a free SEPTA transit pass which is issued every week in order to get to school.
Feeder patterns
Feeder middle schools include Norris S. Barratt Middle School. Feeder K-8 schools include F. Amedee Bregy School, D. Newlin Fell School, Albert M. Greenfield School, Southwark School, and Stanton School.Building and Architecture
The original building was constructed 1907 in a Norman Romanesque styleRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
designed by Board of Education Architect Lloyd Titus
Lloyd Titus
Lloyd Titus was an American architect who designed at least 10 buildings that are preserved and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.His works include:...
. Two additions and main building had an exterior grey stone facade.
Student capacity was three hundred fifty boy students. It expanded in 1914 for more boy students and a duplicate structure built for a new Girls' School with a passage connecting the two buildings that was referred to as "The Tunnel". In 1941 an open field located seven blocks south at 10th and Bigler streets was purchased by a student fund raising and added to the school property as an athletic field to enhance the athletic program. The field was competely renovated in 2008 by the School District of Philadelphia as a supercomplex for larger District-wide events. The original School of 1907 was demolished in 1955.
A new rectangular shaped building was constructed and opened in 1956 on half of the site. The single building was built as a co-ed facility. The frontage included a new grand sized patio plaza entrance, large ashalpted school yard and significant green space enclosed with a regal looking four foot black iron railing tipped in gold painted points. The modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
style utilized interior walls of cinder block, cement flooring and staircases, with a facade of light colored tan brick and large glavanized steel metal framed classroom windows. It contained four stories of 190 classrooms with an all modern infra-structure, a large gymnasium, auditorium and lunchroom with 1,500 seats.
Famous Cultural and Entertainment Alumni (Source 1907–2007 Centennial Celebration)
The alumni includes world famous people and professionals in all walks of life. The list of hundreds of distinguished alumni reads like a major Ivy League college. There are lawyers, doctors, sport figures, Hollywood entertainers, recording artists, world famous concert musicians, developers and researchers in medicine and equipment for NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, government officials, foreign diplomats, US ambassadors, cultural leaders, founders and university presidents. The span and range is astounding considering the family income beginnings of most of the students.
- Al AlbertsAl AlbertsAl Alberts was a popular singer and composer. -Biography:Born Al Albertini in Chester, Pennsylvania, he went to South Philadelphia High School, whose alumni included many others who would become famous in show business, such as Joey Bishop, Buddy Greco, Al Martino, Mario Lanza, Chubby Checker,...
Class of 1946: Founder of musical group The Four AcesThe Four AcesThe Four Aces is an American male traditional pop music quartet, popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", "Three Coins in the Fountain", "Stranger in Paradise", "Tell Me...
and longtime TV host of the children's talent and talk of "Al Alberts'Showcase" - Marian AndersonMarian AndersonMarian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
Class of 1924: World renowned opera singer and member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations i.e. "Marian Anderson Awards" http://www.mariananderson.org/home/index.html - Frankie AvalonFrankie AvalonFrankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
Class of 1961: Actor, singer, best known for song "Venus"; starring in beach theme movies with Annette FunicelloAnnette FunicelloAnnette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
; and movie "GreaseGrease (film)Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
" as the Teen Angel http://www.frankieavalon.com/ - Joey BishopJoey BishopJoey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
Class of 1935: Comedian, actor, talk show host, member of the Rat PackRat PackThe Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean... - Chubby CheckerChubby CheckerChubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
Class of 1960: Singer, best known for the dance craze "The Twist" http://www.chubbychecker.com/ - James DarrenJames DarrenJames William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
Class of 1952: Actor, singer best known as love interest in "GidgetGidget (film)Gidget is a 1959 Columbia Pictures CinemaScope feature film. It stars Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren in a story about a teenager's initiation into the California surf culture and her affiliated romance with a young surfer. The screenplay was written by Gabrielle Upton, a nom de plume...
" movies http://jamesdarren.com/ - FabianFabian (entertainer)Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
Class of 1960: Actor, singer best known for song "Turn Me Loose" http://fabianforte.net/ - Eddie FisherEddie Fisher (singer)Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
Class of 1946:Singer, actor and an ex-husband of Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
and father of actress Carrie FisherCarrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her... - Israel GoldsteinIsrael GoldsteinIsrael Goldstein was an American rabbi, author and Zionist leader. He was one of the founders of Brandeis University.Goldstein was the rabbi of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New York, the second oldest synagogue in the city, from 1918 until his immigration to Israel in 1960...
Class of 1911: founder of Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
and significant to ZionistZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
movement for helping create the State of IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... - Buddy GrecoBuddy Greco-Biography:He was born Armando Greco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Greco began playing piano at the age of four. His first professional work was playing with Benny Goodman's band. Most of Greco's work has been in the jazz and pop genres...
Class of 1942:Singer, musical arranger, and pianist, toured with Benny GoodmanBenny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
http://www.buddygrecos.com/ - Lee Ducat, Class of 1957 founder of the Juvenile Diabetes Research FoundationJuvenile Diabetes Research FoundationJDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research. Driven by volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of T1D research...
(JDRF) - Louis "Red" Klotz Class of 1940 NBA basketball player
- Jack KlugmanJack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
Class of 19xx: Comedian, actor best known as TV star of "QuincyQuincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...
" - Mario LanzaMario Lanzaright|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
Class of 1940: Opera Singer, actor, widely regarded as the best tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
of his time http://www.mario-lanza-institute.org/ - 'Robert' Bob MarcucciBob MarcucciRobert Phillip "Bob" Marcucci was a personal manager at Chancellor Records and Robert P. Marcucci Productions. He discovered and managed the careers of Fabian and Frankie Avalon, amongst others...
, Class of 1947 known as the teen idolmaker and founder of Chancellor Records. - Al MartinoAl MartinoAl Martino was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid 1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and also became well known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The...
Class of 19xx: Singer, actor in "The GodfatherThe GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
" movies http://almartino.com/ - Jerry J. Siano Class of 1952 creating a number of campaigns that are considered advertising “classics”:. • "Reach Out and Touch Someone" (AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
)• "Be All You Can Be" (U.S. Army)• "The Best Part of Waking Up" (FolgersFolgersFolgers Coffee is a major brand of coffee in the United States, part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co.-Company history:...
)