Our History
Distinguished by an educational philosophy and approach to learning that differed from that of the “traditional” education of the day in the time in which the program was established, the Parkway Program was a pioneer in alternative education in the United States.
On loan to the Board of Education from Temple University and assigned as the executive assistant for the Honorable Richardson Dilworth, board president and former mayor of the City of Philadelphia, the Parkway Program was the brainchild of Clifford Brenner who developed the concept for the program in 1969. As Mr. Brenner envisioned it, the Parkway Program would bring together adolescent learners from various neighborhoods and communities in Philadelphia, providing them with educational opportunities that would expose them to the resources of the public and private institutions along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Center City while also allowing them to earn the credits required for high school graduation. At the same time, the creation of the Parkway Program, which eventually became known as the “School Without Walls,” also allowed school district and city officials to solve a problem plaguing the city in the late 1960s—overcrowded high schools—and highlighted an important fact: the community as a whole should and must be a partner in the learning process.
Nationally acclaimed for its success with the young people it served, the Parkway Program grew leaps and bounds over a twenty-year period. Overseen by one administrator, the program expanded to multiple sites, known as “Units” across the city: the homebase for the Alpha, Beta, and Zeta Units was in Center City; the Delta Unit’s homebases were in Spring Garden and Northwest Philadelphia; and, the homebase for the Gamma Unit was in West Philadelphia.
As time went on, the members of the Board of Education changed as did the superintendent of schools, budget priorities shifted, and both the national standards movement and push to standardize the curriculum across the city took center stage. The changes, individually and collectively, had a negative impact on the Parkway Program as the number of sites were reduced and the concept of the “School Without Walls” effectively ended. In 2003, the Parkway Program officially disbanded as a part of the citywide transition to smaller high schools with each of the three remaining sites set to become their own independent high school. Parkway Center City did so that year and Parkway Northwest and Parkway Gamma did so the year after. To assure consistency in geographic naming conventions, in 2005, Parkway Gamma became Parkway West.
Located in the former Mayer Sulzberger School Building at 48th and Fairmount, which is located in the Mill Creek neighborhood in close proximity to University City – home to Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania – today, Parkway West is a criteria-based (formerly known as “special admission”) high school serving students from throughout the city. In 2004, the School District of Philadelphia in partnership with Philadelphia Academies, Inc. implemented an Urban Education Academy. Through this program, students explore key topics in education, including the history and philosophy of education, educational law, advocacy, and family involvement and community engagement, bringing the field of education into sharper focus. Additionally, students are introduced to career-specific areas of study that include child development, developmentally appropriate practices, inclusion of children with special needs, structure and organization of early childhood education centers and school-aged programs, and classroom management. By their senior year, students participate in and successfully complete several internships where they can observe mentor teachers, learn best practices for early childhood educators, and plan and deliver lessons to children from birth to age nine. Eligible students earn college credit for advanced placement and dual enrollment courses.
The historical mascot for the Parkway Program is the Hoya.
While each of the three “Units” of the Parkway Program have now been long-standing independent high schools, each with their own distinct focus, the one only other thing that they retain in common besides the Parkway name is their—our—mascot.
We are the Parkway West High School Hoyas! #HoyaPride