Perhaps it is fitting that West Philadelphia's new International Studies High School, a Penn-affiliated institution with a focus on global education, has not yet found a permanent location in University City.
After all, what site could ever be an appropriate campus for a school that uses the world as its classroom?
The high school, slated to welcome its first freshman class this fall, is still exploring sites around University City and has not made its decision regarding its future campus.
"The likely site is in West Philadelphia, near the University of Pennsylvania," School District of Philadelphia CEO Paul Vallas said.
Until a site is chosen and prepared, students will attend classes at the Stoddard-Fleischer building at 540 N. 13th St., the Center City Regional Office of the School District of Philadelphia.
What is certain is that the International Studies High School will not only be geographically close to the university but will enjoy a close partnership with Penn as well.
The new high school will in many ways resemble the connection maintained by the Penn-Alexander School, which has proved to be successful, Vallas explained.
"Any school affiliated with UPenn is going to add to the ever-increasing number of quality school choices the school-reform commission has created in the past five years," Vallas said.
Among other benefits, Penn offers a per-pupil subsidy to its affiliated schools.
Yet while this relationship may be familiar, the new high school will provide students with an education that, for many, is actually quite unique.
The liberal arts and sciences will be emphasized at the school, and its 500 students will be required to study a foreign language, either Chinese or Spanish.
An international perspective and an emphasis on becoming a global citizen will be the guiding principles of the new school.
"We want students to leave school understanding themselves and their own identities and how they fit in our global world," Jennifer Chidsey Pizzo, Penn's director of K-12 initiatives said. "The international perspective will permeate all parts of the climate we are trying to create."
Pizzo also explained that the school hopes to extend its connection to Penn beyond matters of funding.
Internships for students, academic opportunities and professor involvement in the high-school curriculum were only a few of the benefits Pizzo hopes would emerge from the relationship.
The high school is also affiliated with the Asia Society International Studies Schools Network, a nonprofit organization that plans to open 13 such schools for low-income students across the U.S. by the end of 2007.
"The main reason that this school is important is because of a need all over the country, but particularly in urban areas, to prepare students to have a bright future in the global economy," Anthony Jackson, executive director of the program said. "This is a huge opportunity for students in the West Philadelphia area."
