The mission of Philadelphia Academies, Inc. (PAI) is to expand life and economic options for Philadelphia public school students through career-focused programming that prepares young people for employment and post-secondary education.
The primary assumption in PAI’s model is that we can significantly change life and economic outcomes for young people by motivating them to learn through their own interests and real-world, career-connected experiences and curriculum. Embedded in the model are three core activities – programming that motivates, the active development of networks with caring adults, and local advocacy at a policy level for instructional and structural changes in secondary education. These efforts work together to produce the outcomes that we desire for students.
Our role is to serve as an intermediary, bringing the financial and human resources of the business community into Philadelphia public schools, providing work and life readiness skills, making connections to internship experiences, and offering scholarships that provide a path toward a productive life.
Outcomes
Philadelphia Academies, Inc. collects student attendance, grade completion and high school graduation rates for students in each of its academies. Follow-up is conducted for graduates at six and eighteen month intervals. In addition, intake and exit surveys are designed to capture information about changes in student motivation and aspirations.
Recent Results
- For the Class of 2008, 91% of our graduates are engaged in work and/or post-secondary education (i.e., productively engaged) 18 months following graduation from high school; consistently, 85 to 90% of Philadelphia Academies, Inc. graduates surveyed report that they are productively engaged (i.e., working, in the military, or in post-secondary education) 6 and 18 months after graduation from high school.
- For the class of 2009, the Academies, Inc. graduation rate by cohort (in same school for four years) was 82%, whereas the non-Academies, Inc. cohort graduation rate was 65%.