Its Complicated!

Parkway Center City High School is Changing

By Brieyonna Thomas, Crystal Thomas, Shaniya Davis

After this school year, Parkway Center

City high school will never be the same.
Parkway will be turning into a middle college
high school by creating a partnership with The
Community College of Philadelphia (CCP).
Starting in the 2017-2018 school year, the Class
of 2021 will be taking college course classes
while theyre in high school. By the time they reach their senior year at Parkway, they
will have earned an associates degree as well as their high school diploma. The
admission requirements for acceptance
into the New Parkway Center City,
Parkway Center City Middle College high
school (PCCMCHS), is As and Bs on
ones report card, proficient or advanced
test scores on the PSSAs, no behavioral
reports, and a near perfect attendance
record. The man who dreamed the
transformation is Superintendent Dr.
William R. Hite Jr. Since 2012, he has
been trying to bring a middle college program to Philadelphia. At his former
superintendent position in Maryland, he started a similar program five years ago. Next
year, Dr. Hite will have finally succeeded in bringing middle college to Philadelphia. Dr.
Hite says, This is a program that provides children with real opportunities, and he
hopes that it will result in an increase in students being the first in their families to go to
college. PCCMCHSs curriculum will focus on computer programming,
entrepreneurship, and job marketing.

What does Principal Frank Think?

Parkway Center Citys principal, Frank Grandizio,
who recently took over as our school leader for the 20162017 school year, seems to be very excited about the
upcoming change to a middle college program. He thinks it
is a great opportunity for the Class of 2021 and future
classes of incoming freshmen. He says, Community
College of Philadelphia has been a great partner in the past
with Dual Enrollment, and this should be an exciting
continuation of that partnership. That being said, Principal Grandizio knows that the
changes will result in challenges for him as a leader. He will now have to maintain a
partnership between two schools, which could be a challenge logistically. Principal
Grandizio regrets that the current 9th,10th,and 11th graders will not be a part of the
middle college program, but he is excited that scholars interested in taking classes at
CCP will be able to do so. Seniors and Juniors will be able to sign up for the program for
free. If they are interested, they should get in touch with Principal Frank and Counselor
Mackel-Ludlow in order to get their rosters amended before the Holiday break.
Freshmen and Sophomores will have to wait until next year to start taking CCP classes

A Word from Parkways Lead Teacher:

Many teachers at Parkway Center City are eager to find
out what will happen next year with all of the changes.
Parkways lead teacher, Ms. Caroline Neville, who teaches
Spanish at our school, spoke about how she felt about the
impending PCC and CCP partnership.
I think its a wonderful opportunity for scholars to get a
head start. It will give them an advantage to experience college
classes. Her future role at Parkway is not yet determined and
will likely change somewhat from what it is today. She said,
There are still so many unknowns. Many of the changes are
still in the planning phases. I imagine myself still teaching Spanish. Ms. Caroline
currently has a very important role here at Parkway beyond her normal classroom
responsibilities, and she imagines that her position wont change. Not all teachers share
Ms. Carolines general optimism.

A Veteran Teacher Shares Her Concerns:

Parkway Center Citys Teachers Union
Representative, and longtime Social Studies teacher,
Elizabeth Williams, is very concerned about the addition of
the middle college program. One of her main concerns is
that Parkway will not serve the same community and
tradition as it has for the past decade.
I believe the changes to the MCHS will adversely
affect the population and demographics of our school and
consequently, will have an adverse effect on our community
as it stands now. I believe it will turn PCC into an elite school, primarily available for
Central and Masterman's overflow of highly qualified, accelerated students.
Unfortunately, as a result, I am afraid that our traditional students will no longer have a
school choice other than a charter or their neighborhood school. Ms. Lizs viewpoint is
very personal, especially shes been serving Parkway and its students for over a
decade. She thinks the middle college program will abandon many scholars that need
our school in order to succeed in an increasingly competitive world. The MCHS sounds
good, but in reality, it perpetuates the systematic abandonment of our traditional
students instead of fighting for them. We can all agree that a system that doesnt get
the best out of all kids is something everyone needs to worry about.

Parkway Students React:

Scholars at The Parkway Press, ourselves included, had difficulty processing the
news about our school. We asked our peers throughout the school about their
reactions to the startling news. Their responses are below:
Freshmen Colby Beecroft said, Its a good chance for the students coming in
here next year. For them, it will be easy to get along. Its a new school, and theyll
adjust. Itll be harder for the upper grades who have been here and knowing that the
freshman are getting this chance, and were not. Its not really fair. Senior Sharhonda
Murphy feels the same way Colby does. She asserts, Its great to see the school
improving. Im just a little jealous though because if I would have came into this school
with the same opportunity, I feel like I would have achieved more academically with
more in-depth classes and high expectations.
Not everyone feels slighted, however. Senior Judah Anderson is fine with the
proposed transition. He said, Im happy for the freshman coming in, for real. Theyre
getting a great opportunity. Im not even jealous at all, just excited for them. Senior
Student Government President Gionna Hawkins took a different position on the matter
altogether. She said, I dont like it, to be honest. I think that high school students

shouldnt be rushed to college. I mean theyre only 14 years old. Let them have a few
years in high school to mature, and then if theyre ready, let them take a few college
courses. As you can probably tell, Im not the biggest fan of the proposed changes.
There is no consensus on the Parkway and Community College merger. What is
certain, however, is that students here will be impacted by it in a significant way.

Writers Reactions:
Overall, we think the transformation of Parkway Center City high school into
Parkway Center City Middle College high school is complicated. On the positive side,
these changes will give some of Philadelphias students a chance to experience college
classes while in high school. Thatll probably lead to many kids being more successful
and going to college themselves. That being said, we have some concerns about the
changes too. First, we wish the transformation would have happened earlier. If
Superintendent Hite wanted to do this since he arrived in Philadelphia in 2012, he
should have implemented these changes much sooner than he did. It took an entire 4
years! Also, the existing scholars at Parkway are fairly jealous. We want a chance to
experience Dual-Enrollment too, and because were too old, we wont get that chance.
Regardless, were excited about the changes that are happening around us, but at the
same time, are worried about the impact the changes will have on our school.
Sources:
1. http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20161020_Free_associate_s_degrees_coming_for_some_Phila__H_S__
students.html

2. Interviews conducted with Ms. Caroline Neville, Ms. Elizabeth Williams-Wesley, and Mr.

Frank Grandizio