Kristen A. Graham

6 days ago | inquirer.com | Kristen A. Graham

The Philadelphia School District honored its own Friday, recognizing 41 schools around the city for strong academic performance and growth. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. presented the “Accelerate Philly” awards, named for his strategic plan, at Martin Luther King High.

6 days ago | inquirer.com | Kristen A. Graham

Kalorena Gonzalez’s English teacher left Martin Luther King High School in October. “A kid slapped him and he never came back,” said Gonzalez, a motivated student who likes volunteering and is a member of King’s JROTC program. Since then, Gonzalez, a 10th grader, has had no English teacher. There have been a series of subs — most recently, a man whose name she doesn’t know. “He doesn’t teach anything, he just takes attendance,” Gonzalez said. “He says nothing.”No work is assigned, ever, she said.

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Kristen A. Graham

Students from schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding regionhave been named winners of theprestigious 2025 National Merit Scholarship. They were chosen from among a pool of 15,000 finalists nationwide, singled out for their academic record, PSAT scores, leadership qualities and school and community activities, and an essay and recommendation. The honors are based on exams taken beginning in October 2023, when high school juniors sat for their PSAT exam.

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Kristen A. Graham |Felicia Gans Sobey

Sixty Philadelphia School District teachers are being honored today as top of the class educators: winners of the 2025 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Each will receive $3,500 in recognition of their talent, hard work, and dedication. They were chosen from among the school system’s roughly 9,000 educators, nominated by administrators and selected by a group of school system and Lindback representatives. » READ MORE: Meet three of Philly's best teachersThe 2025 Lindback prize winners are:

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Kristen A. Graham

Students are forever knocking on Njemele Tamala Anderson’s classroom door at Science Leadership Academy at Beeber, asking for a snack or a hug or telling her about a breakthrough they’ve had. Judith Grant gets stopped on the street often, hailed by former students at Spring Garden Elementary who want to tell her what an impact she has had on their lives.