PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia wants to make this year’s high school seniors — and their parents — aware of new state graduation requirements.
To earn their diplomas, seniors starting with the Class of 2023 must now pass state Keystone exams in algebra, biology and literature. Those whose scores fall short have the option to navigate a spaghetti-like flow chart of alternate pathways to graduation that may include SAT scores or completing internships.
Currently, only 57% of the district’s seniors are on track to fulfill the new requirements.
The Philadelphia School District sent letters about the new standards to parents earlier this year, but Superintendent Tony Watlington said a full marketing blitz is being prepared.
“We want to continue to communicate in writing. But we also think there’s a place for some public service announcements, if we have the opportunity, to get some billboards up,” Watlington said.
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Radio spots, text alerts, robocalls and prominent messages on the district’s website are also expected with the campaign.
“We’re finding that, in this age of information overload, we’ve got to communicate multiple times in multiple ways,” Watlington said.
The assistant superintendent for special projects, Malika Savoy-Brooks, is making the new graduation requirements her sole focus, Watlington said.
The district’s four-year high school graduation rate is 70%. Watlington said he doesn’t believe that figure will drop because of the new state standards.
“My expectation is that our graduation rate does not plummet. That it continues to grow because we’re doing the work on behalf of our students.”