Southwark School
Southwark School, April 2010
Southwark School is located in Philadelphia
Southwark School
Southwark School is located in Pennsylvania
Southwark School
Southwark School is located in the United States
Southwark School
Location1835 S. 9th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39°55′33″N 75°09′37″W / 39.9259°N 75.1604°W / 39.9259; -75.1604
Area3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built1909–1911
ArchitectHenry deCoursey Richards
Architectural styleJacobean
MPSPhiladelphia Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.86003330[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 1, 1986

Southwark School is a public K-8 school located in the Central South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of Philadelphia Public Schools.

Students zoned to Francis Scott Key School (K–6) are zoned to Southwark for grades 7–8.[2] Students zoned to Southwark and to Key are also zoned to South Philadelphia High School.[3]

History

The historic school building was designed by Henry deCoursey Richards and built in 1909–1911 on the site of the old Philadelphia Quartz Mifflin Street plant. It is a three-story, granite-faced, reinforced concrete building in the Tudor Revival-style. It features a segmented, compound arched opening and parapet with stepped stone panels.[4] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1]

Construction of the school was interrupted by the general strike of 1910. Rioters pulled down portions of the construction and used the stones build bunkers and to block the trolley tracks. When trolleys driven by strikebreakers and guarded by armed police officers came down Mifflin Street, a mob of 1,500 citizens attacked with rocks and clubs. Both officers were knocked unconscious and an eight-year-old boy was struck in the head, killing him.[5]

As of 1989 the Southwark Motivation, a high school program with 265 students, housed its classes on the third floor of Southwark School. Established by West Philadelphia High School teacher Rebecca Segal, it admitted students who perform at average levels and provided extra mathematics and English courses, required attendance of cultural events, used the same teachers all four years, and made parents sign contracts asking them to involve themselves in the education of their children.[6] That year the district decided to move the program to South Philadelphia High School in order to use more space at the underutilized high school campus and to relieve overcrowding at South Philadelphia elementary schools. The third floor of Southwark would be used for grade 6-8 students who were attending Francis Scott Key School, and there would be space freed for a full-day kindergarten program.[7] Several students and parents of Southwark Motivation criticized the plan.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Francis Scott Key Elementary Geographic Boundaries" (Archive). School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on November 29, 2015.
  3. ↑ "South Philadelphia High School Geographic Boundaries" (Archive). School District of Philadelphia. Retrieved on November 29, 2015.
  4. ↑ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes G. Thomas (August 1980). "Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form: Southwark School" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  5. ↑ The New York Times, February 21, 1910. "Mob Rule in Philadelphia". Accessed July 10, 2008.
  6. 1 2 Mezzacappa, Dale. "High School Students Like It Small Plan To Move Motivation To Southern Draws Fire" (Archive). Philadelphia Inquirer. April 5, 1989. Retrieved on November 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mezzacappa, Dale. "Crowding Prompts Changes At South Phila. Schools" (Archive). Philadelphia Inquirer. February 9, 1989. Retrieved on November 29, 2015.
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