Central
High School of Philadelphia, PA was started in 1838
and was then only the second public high school in the nation.
When Central
first opened its doors,
it admitted 4 teachers and 63 students. From that
fledgling beginning, Central has now grown
to over
2300 students and 110+ teachers. Since that start in
1838, Central has outgrown its facilities three times, in
1854, in 1900, and in 1939. While Central's
first building
was located at the corner of Juniper and Market Sts.,
facing City Hall, (currently the location of the Wanamaker
Building), today
Central stands
on a grassy hill at the corner of Ogontz and Olney
Avenues, overlooking Philadelphia.
In
recognition of Central's high academic standards, Central
was granted the authority to confer academic degrees
to its graduates by an
Act of Assembly in 1849. Today, that act is still
in effect, making Central the only high school in the
nation authorized to grant its graduates Bachelor of Arts
college degrees
instead
of ordinary high school diplomas (if the graduates have
fulfilled the requirements
for a degree).
When
Central moved to its second building in 1900, construction
had not yet finshed
on part of the building. It wasn't until 1902 that
a full dedication could be presented. The sheer size and
cost of
the construction of
the school had aroused national attention, and President
of the United States Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
came to address the assembled students. Central originally
started as an all-boys school. That tradition continued
for a number of years, to the pride of many alumni,
until August 1983, when federal Judge William M.
Marutani
ruled that Central's
single-sex
admissions policy was unconstitutional. After that
ruling, Central's first six female students, all
seniors, enrolled
the following September.
Today, slightly more than 50% of the school's students are young
women.
In
the Philadelphia public school district, Central is considered
a magnet school, with admission requirements for all
incoming students.
This practice is used to insure that all
of the incoming class will continue Central's long-standing tradition
of academic excellence. Today Central is under the
adminstration
of its 13th President, Dr.
Sheldon Pavel, who continues the long tradition
of excellence in education that Central has always maintained.
This was recognized in May of 1987
when the US and Pennsylvania Departments of Education
named Central as a secondary school of national excellence.
