The Academies at Roxborough High School (commonly referred to as Roxborough High School) is a public high school in

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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, ...

, operated by the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

and servicing the

Roxborough Roxborough may refer to: Places * Roxborough, Manchester, Jamaica * Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, a neighborhood * Roxborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago Island, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago * Roxborough Castle, Ireland * Roxborou ...

, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill,

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, Mt. Airy, and

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sections of

History

In 2006 school district officials stated that disorder was not increasing at Roxborough High while some teachers stated that it was. In 2010 Manayunk resident and Philadelphia School District teacher Keith Newman criticized the school district's handling of the high school, stating that it should not be ranked as "persistently dangerous" since it is in a relatively well-to-do area. At the time he was running for election for a political position. Roxborough alumnus Stephen Brandt made efforts to turn around the school during his time as principal. The school district had asked him, previously a Norristown School District employee, to help improve the high school. He received the 2013 Lindback Award for Distinguished Principal Leadership. In 2013 Brandt, then the outgoing principal, stated that Dana Jenkins was going to be the new principal. In 2016 the school received a $1 million grant from the Philadelphia School Partnership. On September 27, 2022, a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...

occurred outside of the school where two gunmen ambushed and fired at least 70 times at a group of football players who were finishing a football scrimmage. A 14-year-old boy died from his injuries and 4 people were wounded.

Curriculum

Roxborough has a separate Ninth Grade Academy that leads into three academies for grades 10-12: The Academy of Visual Arts Production, The Academy of Health Sciences and Research, and The Academy of Business Technology and Entrepreneurship. Roxborough High School's CTE programs include Web Design, Film and Video Production, Digital Media, Biotechnology, Kinesiology, Business Technology, and Business Applications.

Academic performance

In 2015 Jenkins stated that the graduation rate was 84%. A 2015 ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'' article stated that the school, while experiencing issues involving a lack of resources, was one of the best-performing comprehensive high schools in Philadelphia.

Feeder schools

Roxborough's catchment includes those zoned to: * Cook-Wissahickon School * James Dobson Elementary School * Charles W. Henry School *

Henry H. Houston Elementary School The Henry H. Houston Elementary School is an historic Elementary school (United States), elementary school which is located in the Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Sch ...

* John Story Jenks School * Anna L. Lingelbach School * Thomas Mifflin School * Shawmont School

Alumni association

The Roxborough High School Alumni Association was founded in 1927. The association assists with benefitting the school's mission and spirit, as well as funding college scholarships for high-achieving students.

Notable alumni

Buddy Harris Walter Francis "Buddy" Harris (December 5, 1948 – November 5, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he worked in 22 games as a relief pitcher for the – Houston Astros of Major League Baseball. Harris g ...

, Major League Baseball Pitcher for Houston Astros (1970-1971) *

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first ja ...

, world-famous jazz bassist, winner of 15 Grammy awards. (1968) * Rodney Hicks,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

playwright, stage, television, and film actor

External links

Roxborough High School

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxborough High School Career and Technical Educations High schools in Philadelphia Magnet schools in Pennsylvania Public middle schools in Pennsylvania School District of Philadelphia Public high schools in Pennsylvania