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Dear School District of Philadelphia Families,

I am writing to share exciting news about our academic performance for the 2023-2024 school year. As we enter year 2 of our five-year strategic plan, Accelerate Philly, preliminary data shows student attendance increased, the 4-year graduation rate increased, the number of dropouts decreased, and the District increased performance in nine out of 13 areas. Specifically, over the past two years we have:

• Increased the number of students with regular attendance (90 percent or more days) by over 3,500;
• Reduced the number of students who dropped out of school by 1,400;
• Increased the percentage of 3rd grade students scoring proficient or advanced in reading by 6.2%-points;
• Increased the percentage of 3rd grade students scoring proficient or advanced in math by 6.6%-points;
• Increased the percentage of 3rd-8th grade students scoring proficient or advanced in math by 5.5%-points; and
• Increased the number of students passing NOCTI exams by 13.5 percentage points.

As we continue striving to become the fastest improving large, urban district in the nation, we will continue to support our teachers in delivering our new K-12 math and reading curricula; prioritize support for grades K-8 in order to build a pipeline of better prepared students entering our high schools; and we will pursue aggressive strategies like high-impact tutoring to improve Algebra 1 and Biology performance. The District will release the full results and data once the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) releases the results of the 2023-2024 school year Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and Keystone Assessments in November.

Finally, this year we will focus on improving the District’s customer service and growing stronger partnerships with our families and school communities by doing the following:

• Expand a districtwide two-way communications system (Let’s Talk) to improve response times to parents/families and allowing them to rate our customer service;
• Relocate District leaders and resources into neighborhood learning networks,
• Relaunch Parent/Family University in early 2025, and
• Pilot extended day/extended year programming in 20 District schools.

We are on the right track, making significant progress, and we have a long way to go. As success begets more success, we look forward to partnering with our families to prepare all students to imagine and realize any future they desire.

In partnership,

Tony B. Watlington Sr., Ed.D.

Superintendent
The School District of Philadelphia