Title
Recognizing the Tireless, Dedicated Efforts of The Workshop School and Celebrating its Official Opening as a Full Four-Year School District of Philadelphia Public High School.
Body
WHEREAS, Original founders of the program, Michael Clapper, C. Aiden Downey, Simon Hauger, and Matthew Riggan, were teachers and colleagues at West Philadelphia High School where they became friends and formulated the idea(s) for the program; and
WHEREAS, Years later, after a successful two-year pilot program at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, The Workshop School officially opened its doors as a full, four-year School District of Philadelphia public high school on September 9th, 2013; and
WHEREAS, The Workshop School is now located in heart of the 3rd Councilmanic District - 221 South Hanson Street; and
WHEREAS, While the current enrollment at the school is in the double-digits, at its peak, The Workshop School plans to eventually enroll 500 students in its high-caliber program; and
WHEREAS, Of the 28 students that graduated from the school this past year, 96% were accepted to college and 74% matriculated; and
WHEREAS, The three core values of the program are: to put the work first - real world problems define the curriculum, to trust students to make decisions - wanting students to make, explain, and justify as many of their decisions as possible, which reinforces the notion that there may not be one right answer, and to make the most out of failure - failure being a necessary part of innovation and problem solving; and
WHEREAS, Co-founder and current principal of The Workshop School, Mr. Simon Hauger, while stressing the importance of content, recognizes the broader goal of education, "When you think about the skills you use every day, I doubt that you call on Algebra 2 skills very often. Why can't school be more about figuring out what you're interested in and passionate about and developing that skill set? You need to read, write, and do math and know so...
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