Recognizing the Tireless, Dedicated Efforts of The Workshop School and Celebrating its Official Opening as a Full Four-Year School District of Philadelphia Public High School.

WHEREAS, Original founders of the program, Michael Clapper, C. Aiden Downey, Simon Hauger, and Matthew Riggan, were teachers and colleagues at West Philadelphia High School where they became friends and formulated the idea(s) for the program; and

WHEREAS, Years later, after a successful two-year pilot program at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, The Workshop School officially opened its doors as a full, four-year School District of Philadelphia public high school on September 9th, 2013; and

WHEREAS, The Workshop School is now located in heart of the 3rd Councilmanic District - 221 South Hanson Street; and

WHEREAS, While the current enrollment at the school is in the double-digits, at its peak, The Workshop School plans to eventually enroll 500 students in its high-caliber program; and

WHEREAS, Of the 28 students that graduated from the school this past year, 96% were accepted to college and 74% matriculated; and

WHEREAS, The three core values of the program are:

to put the work first

- real world problems define the curriculum,

to trust students to make decisions

- wanting students to make, explain, and justify as many of their decisions as possible, which reinforces the notion that there may not be one right answer, and

to make the most out of failure

- failure being a necessary part of innovation and problem solving; and

WHEREAS, Co-founder and current principal of The Workshop School, Mr. Simon Hauger, while stressing the importance of content, recognizes the broader goal of education, “When you think about the skills you use every day, I doubt that you call on Algebra 2 skills very often. Why can't school be more about figuring out what you're interested in and passionate about and developing that skill set? You need to read, write, and do math and know something about thinking as scientists and a social scientist. [But], how do you translate that into a meaningful experience for kids?”; and

WHEREAS, The opening of a high-performing high school in West Philadelphia is a significant step forward to bettering the overall educational outcomes in the City of Philadelphia entire; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Philadelphia City Council recognizes the tireless, dedicated efforts of The Workshop School and celebrates its official opening as a School District of Philadelphia Public High School.

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