Plans for a Penn-affiliated high school in West Philadelphia been delayed because officials have not yet found a site for the school, according to President Amy Gutmann.
The University began planning the project last summer. Initially, officials hoped that the school would open this fall.
Now Gutmann says the date will likely be moved back several months.
"September 2006 is still conceivable, but I think it's more likely to be 2007," Gutmann said.
The School District of Philadelphia, which is primarily responsible for the construction of the high school, did not return repeated phone calls for comment on the project.
Penn hopes the school -- which is meant to focus on international studies -- will help strengthen the bond between the University and the West Philadelphia community.
"International languages and cultures fits perfectly with the Penn Compact notion of local and global engagement," Gutmann said, referring to her three-pronged initiative to both improve the University and make it better-known. "What would be better than having a local high school in West Philadelphia that specialized in international languages and cultures?"
Penn has not committed any financial resources to the project and does not plan to.
But according to Associate Dean for the Graduate School of Education Nancy Streim, the programming Penn plans to contribute to the school is just as valuable as any monetary contribution the University decides to make.
"Penn is contributing a great deal of intellectual capital," Streim said. "All the schools in the University will be contributing, and there will be many possibilities for the high school students to take advantage of the resources at Penn."
The Asia Society, a non-profit organization aimed at increasing understanding of Asian culture, is funding a majority of the project.
The organization was provided with a $7.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to establish 10 magnet high schools tailored toward international studies across the country.
The Asia Society has already contributed to schools that are operating in New York's Manhattan and Staten Island as well as in Charlotte, N.C., and Los Angeles.
Gutmann said that Penn is ready to lend itself fully to this project.
"It's costly, but we're committed to helping make this a terrific school," Gutmann said. "It's not going to be our school, it's not going to be on our property, it's going to be somewhere in West Philly."
Streim said that the relationship between the high school and Penn should prove to be mutually beneficial.
"Starting this high school is a terrific opportunity for Penn to stay in the forefront of integrating our teaching and research with the community and taking the lead in University-community relations," she said.
"It wouldn't be our high school, but it would be something we took great pride in with the city," Gutmann said.
Magnet school - An internationally focused high school is planned for West Philadelphia with private funding - Penn will provide expertise, but not money, to help the school - The original launch date of this September may be moved to 2007
