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William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be operated by the "Overseers of the public School, founded by Charter in the town and county of Philadelphia" in Pennsylvania. It is the oldest
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
school in the world, the oldest elementary school in Pennsylvania, and the fifth oldest elementary school in the United States following
The Collegiate School ("Unless God, then in vain") nl, Eendracht maakt macht("In unity there is strength") , established = , streetaddress = 301 Freedom Place South , city = New York , state = New ...
("claimed" 1628),
Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...
(1635), Hartford Public High School (1638), and Roxbury Latin (1645).


History

Penn Charter is among the first schools in the United States to offer education to all religions (1689), financial aid (1701), matriculation to girls (1754), and education to all races (1770). The "Charter" in the school's name does not, as might be assumed, mean that it is a modern " charter school". Rather, it is a reference to the historic document signed by William Penn to establish the first Quaker school in America. Originally located on the east side of Fourth Street below Chestnut, the school officially consolidated in 1874 as an all-boys
College-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...
at 12th and Market Streets. Penn Charter moved to its current forty-seven acre
East Falls East Falls (also The Falls, formerly the Falls of Schuylkill) is a neighborhood in the Northwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It lies on the east bank of the "Falls of the Schuylkill," cataracts submerged in 1 ...
campus in 1925. In 1980 the school became fully
co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
al by allowing girls to continue past the second grade, thus graduating the first co-ed senior class in 1992.


Traditions

While the school is not under the care of a formal monthly Meeting, in keeping with the school's Quaker heritage, the Overseers, a board of 21 trustees established by William Penn, still governs the school affairs through Quaker consensus. Jeffrey Reinhold is the current clerk of the Overseers. All students attend a weekly Meeting for worship. Faculty meetings and all-school assemblies, and some classes begin with a moment of silence. Service-learning is integral to the school and incorporated into the pre-K to 12 curriculum. The school's Center for Public Purpose engages students in service and community-based work by addressing Philadelphia's most pressing social issues, particularly education, food insecurity, and poverty. To earn an activity credit, many Upper School students complete 40 hours of community service a year; a van carrying students leaves the campus after school every day to perform community service in various locations throughout the Philadelphia area. Color Day, celebrated on the Friday before Memorial Day, is a tradition in which two teams sporting the school's colors, blue and yellow, compete against each other in playful contests, concluding with a 12th-grade rope pull. The school's Senior Stairs are a central stairway that only current seniors, faculty, and alumni can use during school hours. A Penn Charter graduate is known as an "OPC." The honorific "OPC 1689" is bestowed rarely by the Overseers upon significant faculty and staff in recognition of their service to Old Penn Charter.


Activities

The school newspaper, "The Mirror", is the oldest
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...
in the United States, having been published since 1777. The Upper School Quakers Dozen is the school's select co-ed a cappella group. During the last week of classes before the winter recess, the group greets the community with holiday music on the Senior Stairs in the morning. In the summer months, the school runs a day camp for children.


Sports

Penn Charter is a member of the
Inter-Academic League The Inter-Academic League (officially the Inter-Academic Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity, commonly known as the Inter-Ac) is an inter-scholastic athletic conference. The high school sports league consists of selective private schools in th ...
(Inter-Ac), the nation's oldest high school sports league, and shares the nation's oldest continuous football rivalry with
Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...
, celebrated every year since 1886 durin
GA/PC Day
As of 2018 the game has been played 133 times, more times than the
Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...
(116) and just two fewer times than the
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
Game (132).


Campus

On the campus, the three divisions of the school (Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools) have their own designated buildings.


Leadership

John Flagg Gummere, scion of prominent Quaker educators, was headmaster from 1941 to 1968. He was a noted Latin scholar (Ph.D., Penn) and author of several widely used textbooks. He was followed by Wilbert L. Braxton, a longtime dedicated Penn Charter faculty member and administrator. Braxton was headmaster from 1968 until 1976. He was followed by Head of School Earl J. Ball III. After 31 years as head, Ball retired in June 2007. Darryl J. Ford, former director of the Penn Charter Middle School, was appointed as Head of School by the Overseers after a national search. Ford is the school's first African-American head.


In popular culture

The ABC show '' The Goldbergs'' features a fictional school that the Goldberg children attend called ''William Penn Academy'', which is based on William Penn Charter School. The show's creator,
Adam F. Goldberg Adam Frederick Goldberg (born April 2, 1976) is an American television and film producer, and writer. Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of '' The Goldbergs'', a television sitcom based on his childhood in which he is portrayed ...
, is an alumnus of William Penn Charter School, an OPC 1994. The show features
Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...
as the chief rival of the school.Archives - Philly.com
/ref> The show also features actual teachers and students who attended the school in the '80s and '90s. '' Schooled'', a
spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
of ''The Goldbergs'' also features the fictional William Penn Academy as the primary setting for the show.


Notable alumni

Penn Charter has notable alumni in the arts, sciences, government, and business, including
Rubén Amaro Jr. Rubén Amaro Jr. (born February 12, 1965) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and General manager (baseball), General manager (GM). Amaro played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . He was named the GM of the Philadelphia ...
,
David Sirota David J. Sirota (born November 2, 1975) is an American journalist, columnist at ''The Guardian'', editor for ''Jacobin'', author, television writer, and screenwriter. He is also a political commentator and radio host based in Denver. He is a natio ...
,
Jesse Watters Jesse Bailey Watters (born July 9, 1978) is an American conservative political commentator on Fox News. He frequently appeared on the political talk show ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and was known for his man-on-the-street interviews, featured in his ...
, Matt Ryan, Robert Picardo,
Adam F. Goldberg Adam Frederick Goldberg (born April 2, 1976) is an American television and film producer, and writer. Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of '' The Goldbergs'', a television sitcom based on his childhood in which he is portrayed ...
,
Leicester Bodine Holland Leicester Bodine Holland (23 May 1882 – 7 February 1952) was an American architect, art historian and archaeologist and holder of the Carnegie Chair at the Library of Congress. Holland was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Dr. James W. ...
,
Richard B. Fisher Richard B. Fisher (1936 – December 16, 2004) was president and chairman of the securities firm Morgan Stanley. Early life and education Fisher was born in Philadelphia. In 1944 at age 8, Fisher contracted a severe case of polio. Doctors told ...
,
Arthur Ingersoll Meigs Arthur Ingersoll Meigs (1882–1956) was an American architect. He and his colleagues at Mellor, Meigs, and Howe were involved in the design and construction oversight of bank buildings, the students' hall at Bryn Mawr College, multiple personal ...
, Richard Lester and Vic Seixas.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, William Charter School 1689 establishments in Pennsylvania Quaker schools in Pennsylvania Private elementary schools in Pennsylvania Private middle schools in Pennsylvania Private high schools in Pennsylvania High schools in Philadelphia East Falls, Philadelphia Educational institutions established in the 1680s