October 28, 2024

Dear School District of Philadelphia Families,

The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is composed of more than 300 buildings. Some of the District’s oldest buildings are 120 years old. More than 200 were built before 1978, with the average age of a building being seventy-three (73) years old. Additionally, our facilities’ capacity far exceeds our current student enrollment.

Since June 2022, the District has implemented Accelerate Philly, our 5-year strategic plan, and launched an 8-phase facilities planning process. Through this process, we have completed six of the eight phases, including:

• Phase 1 – developed a 5-year strategic plan
• Phase 2 – developed an RFP process to secure a data strategy vendor;
• Phase 3 – established academic baseline standards for our schools;
• Phase 4 – created a swing space plan which allows us to swiftly relocate students and teachers to designated alternative locations when necessary;
• Phase 5 – created a data planning strategy; and
• Phase 6 – completed a pilot facilities data warehouse.

Currently, we are finalizing phase 7, the development of a comprehensive facilities data warehouse.

Now we need your help. As we enter phase 8 – develop a District Facilities Plan – the voices of our students, families, teachers, principals, school-based and Central Office staff, as well as our local community members are critical. As such, we invite you to participate in the District’s Facilities Planning Process Listening and Learning Tour, which will consist of various community conversations. Please see below for the upcoming in-person and virtual conversations:

IN-PERSON CONVERSATIONS

• (This information gets updated periodically. Please visit our page HERE for the most up-to-date information)

Registration is highly encouraged but not required. Register here.

*Dates, times, and locations for additional in-person community conversations will be forthcoming. There will be a total of 12 in-person community conversations. Each City Council district will host at least one (1) session.

VIRTUAL CONVERSATIONS

• (This information gets updated periodically. Please visit our page HERE for the most up-to-date information)

I hope that you will join us at one or more sessions to let your voice be heard. Working together to devise a thoughtful plan for addressing the District’s infrastructure is crucially important. As a district, our goal is to develop a facilities plan that addresses the condition and utilization of our facilities in a way that improves academic achievement and supports communities. As a result, we’ll have the ability to provide more rigorous academic offerings; increase access to Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K); increase access to high-quality arts, music, and physical education; enhance Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities; and maximize the use of our school buildings.

In partnership,

Tony B. Watlington Sr., Ed.D.
Superintendent
The School District of Philadelphia