Franklin Learning Center, formerly known as William Penn High School for Girls, is a historic

high 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in the Spring Garden neighborhood of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

. It is part of 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 ...

. The building was designed by

Henry deCoursey Richards Henry deCourcy Richards, also spelled Henry deCoursey Richards, was an American architect who worked in Philadelphia for the public school system. He designed many public school buildings that have since been listed on the National Register of ...

and built in 1908–1909. It was initially an all-girls school and was one of the earliest racially integrated schools in the city. It is a four-story, brick and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

building in the

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

-style. It features a projecting center section and two-story

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. ''Note:'' This includes The school was named for Pennsylvania founder

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 ...

. In 1970, the

made plans to renew this school and nearby Benjamin Franklin High School at Broad and Green Streets, which at the time was an all-boys school. The plans were to make William Penn and Benjamin Franklin co-ed. The district moved forward with construction of a new high school campus for William Penn High School at Broad and Master streets in the Yorktown section of North Philadelphia, which was completed and opened during the 1974-1975 academic year. Meanwhile at Franklin High School, Frank Guido, head of the science department, proposed a different renewal idea for his school, which was to be coed like William Penn. In contrast to William Penn, Guido proposed a competency-based program at Franklin High in which students could work at their own pace based on a ten-point conversion credit system. This system allowed students who were overachievers to complete their high school requirements earlier than when they were scheduled to graduate; for instance, a student could complete the high school program in three years instead of the traditional four years. Although Guido's proposal for this program was approved by the district, the new program was moved to the former William Penn facility instead of remaining at Franklin High. During the 1974-1975 academic year, the school and program became coed and was renamed Franklin Learning Center (FLC). It was an annex of Franklin High School during its first year of operation, with Frank Guido serving as site director. The following academic year FLC was no longer an annex of Franklin High and had become a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

. Guido was promoted to serve as the school's first principal. In 1992 he was promoted to a Regional Superintendent position by the school district. A year later Guido retired for health reasons. In 2006, Frank Guido died. Today, FLC offers several disciplines or "majors" for its students, including health, business and entrepreneurship, vocal and instrumental music, visual arts, dance, and computer science. It was named a

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

in 1992 and 2010. The crediting program has been changed and FLC operates on a traditional grading system. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986.

References

External links

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Franklin Learning Center
at the School District of Philadelphia {{authority control School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Neoclassical architecture in Pennsylvania School buildings completed in 1909 High schools in Philadelphia 1909 establishments in Pennsylvania Spring Garden, Philadelphia School District of Philadelphia