Authorizing the Committee on Education to hold hearings examining the accessibility and equity of Algebra education curriculum in Philadelphia schools and the impact this has on accessibility to special admission high school schools.

WHEREAS, A 2023 article in Chalkbeat Philadelphia chronicles the seeming correlation between median income and which Philadelphia elementary and middle schools offer access to Algebra in their curriculums; and

WHEREAS, Algebra has often been called a gateway course and predictor of on time high school graduation; and

WHEREAS, Admission to Masterman High School, a perennially nationally ranked high school, is predicated on taking and successfully passing Algebra before high school admission; and

WHEREAS, Our top performing schools should be accessible to all children in the City, and seats should be earned by merit and not predicated on neighborhood or zip code; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby authorizes the Committee on Education to hold hearings examining the accessibility and equity of Algebra education curriculum in Philadelphia schools and the impact this has on accessibility to special admission high school schools.

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