Philadelphia grooms future teachers at Parkway West High School

by Sarah Burgess

Photo: Harvey Finkle

Parkway West High School is one of three urban education academies, along with programs at Furness and Overbrook, that introduce students to careers in teaching. Here, Howard Kennedy, environmental science teacher at Parkway West, reviews the work of Carnell Dudley (left) and Akeem Adekanmbi.

Leon Sullivan’s teaching internship at Parkway West’s Urban Education Academy has taught him many lessons.

Among them: “You’ve got to be patient and understanding. You can’t let what they say get to you. You’ve got to be willing to go back over some things. (And) when kids act a certain type of way, you don’t get into a confrontation, you go to the source.”

Sullivan, 18, along with 64 classmates, spends two hours, four days a week in classrooms at nearby elementary schools.

The two-year-old internship program is proving a successful way to turn students on to teaching.

Before entering the program, Sullivan wanted to be a nurse. Now, he plans to attend Community College of Philadelphia, then transfer to a local university to study education so that he can return to the District to teach English or history.

In 2003, Philadelphia Academies, Inc. rolled out Academies of Urban Education at Parkway West, Furness, and Overbrook as part of the School District of Philadelphia’s Grow Your Own Initiative. The program attracts and prepares native Philadelphians to teach in District schools.

At Furness and Overbrook, the Academy of Urban Education is one of several academy options. At Parkway West, the entire school is the academy.

Students in these academies take electives related to teaching such as public speaking, foundations of education, and psychology. In their senior year they perform an internship. Partnerships with departments of education at local colleges and universities and summer enrichment programs also contribute to students’ experience.

Parkway West math teacher Kareem Edwards graduated from the program. One of the school’s student teachers is also a recent graduate. But this year, only 10 seniors out of a class of 77 plan to go into teaching. Michael Brooks, resource manager at Philadelphia Academies, Inc., said despite the opportunities provided by the program, the academies face an uphill battle.

“The problem is there are not enough students interested in the profession,” he said, because “our schools are not set up to promote this profession.”

Many students surveyed said they ended up at Parkway West, not because they want to teach, but because it is a small, special admissions school. Others said they were following a friend or family member. Some senior girls said they didn’t even know Parkway West focused on teaching until they got there.

Parkway West principal Kathy McCladdie is working hard to generate more interest. She plans to make Parkway West’s focus on teaching more appealing and like a real-live teaching experience.

This year, the students’ uniforms display “Urban Educational Academy” in the logo. For the first time, students were interviewed as part of the application process.

While an interest in teaching is not a requirement for admission, McCladdie hopes informing prospective students about the school’s focus will discourage those who aren’t a good fit.

McCladdie also wants to infuse principles of teaching and learning throughout the school, indicating that students should learn about higher-order questioning techniques and should be assessing the use of those in all their classes.