Uncategorized

Zoe Kwasnicki

Staff Writer

Starting next school year, Science Leadership Academy Center City will no longer be located at 22nd and Arch. Instead, our new campus will be located within Ben Franklin High School – or at least half of it.

But that is all the majority of the student body knows – excluding sketches of floor plans and photos of construction hung up in the hallways. The more intimate details of our new home is largely unknown which has resulted in jittery sophomores and confused freshmen – terrified that their first day at school will be spent wandering aimlessly between classrooms. Not to mention the potentially awkward social interactions between SLA and Ben Franklin students.

Sophomore Lily Bromley expressed worry that the Ben Franklin students will be annoyed that it’s through the addition of SLA that the quality of the building will be improved.

“I’m excited in some ways – like I’m excited to have a nicer building but there are some things I’m worried about. Like that there might be some inequality between our school and their school… now that we’re coming in they’re getting all this stuff.”

The school is designed to prevent more division between the schools however because while the majority of the building will be split down the middle, the first floor will be shared by both SLA CC and Ben Franklin students although the main entrances will be different. SLA CC students will enter on Green St. and into a common area while Ben Franklin students will enter on Broad St. and into the main hallway.

Also on the first floor will be the auditorium and the gym – two building features never before enjoyed by SLA CC students. The cafeteria is moving from its original space on the 6th floor to the first floor as well.

In the cafeterias there will be one kitchen, but two separate serving and seating areas. The SLA CC cafe will be outfitted with “Starbucks-style” seating in the words of Principal Chris Lehmann, with low seating and high seating mixed throughout the space.

From there the second, third, fourth and fifth floors will be divided and designated for classrooms with the sixth floor featuring both CTE rooms, the art room, and – a new addition to SLA – a terrace!

Classrooms will be outfitted with a variety of furniture similar to the mix we currently have at SLA. Teachers were able to choose between single or table seating for their rooms although all seating will remain consistent in classrooms, with a style similar to the current classroom furniture.

However, there will be some more unique chairs known as the Ruckus in the cafe and the Study Skills lab.

But besides classrooms and bathrooms, the second through fifth floors will also have small “collaboration” rooms/areas throughout the school along with a “Living Room” on the second floor which will be spaces in which students can work on their ongoing projects or simply relax.

All of these changes are backed enthusiastically by Mr. Lehmann, who emphasises the fact that every single alteration was due to the unique wants and needs of SLA’s community:

“I think the general goal is this: I think SLA has a unique culture and I think we all enjoy that. And I think [what we are doing is] figuring out what that culture looks like in a new space and figuring out how to continue to involve and develop and enrich the culture…in a new space.”

And amid the apprehension of a new location and new neighbors, students are still optimistic.

“It’s going to be weird, but I think we’ll figure out,” stated Sophomore Mo Kelly.

Brendan Hall

Staff Writer

High schoolers around the country get the same message starting freshman year: the paths they choose after they graduate are crucial The seniors at SLA are no exception and prepare to make a life-defining commitment to a post-graduate program.

Aside from programs, location, and cost another important part of making the college decision is the type of college/university to attend. Varieties of these include private colleges, public colleges, trade schools, or community college. Knowing how to decipher between these types for the best possible result may be more difficult than it appears due to the benefits and shortcomings of each type of schools.

As a citywide admissions school, SLA prides itself on helping students get into elite schools with competitive admissions. But does this focus overlook the value of less prestigious, but more affordable schools?

“SLA college counselors and other teachers recommended me liberal arts school and I think that’s because a liberal arts school is most similar to SLA,” Senior Messele Asfaw said in response to what types of post high school education SLA recommended.

Asfaw furthered this claim by saying he believes those who chose a liberal arts school did it because they wanted a similar learning environment to SLA. In a follow up he believed that a problem could occur from a formulaic recommendation.

“There’s a stigma against community college that certain students and faculty members have against it despite that option being a reasonable choice for certain people,” Asfaw critiqued about the college counseling students receive. In the end, Asfaw decided to attend SUNY Stony Brook because of the quality of its engineering and film program.

Another student confirmed Asfaw’s perception.

“In general I think SLA gives recommendations based on types of schools that resemble [where the teachers went],” Senior Majd Bostani stated. Bostani believes school faculty do this to inform students about an opportunity to learn in a manner that replicates project-based material. However he also expressed there was an inconvenience with this method because they tend to favor institutions which mirror SLA’s style.

“A student looking for guidance would likely find conflict with the type of schools recommended because it’s rare for them to recommend schools outside of a university,” Bostani claimed.

“I knew where I wanted to go based on my own research and parental guidance,” Sean DeSilva explained. DeSilva progressed his statement and said this tactic allowed to look aside from educational institutions which mirrored SLA’s ideals. DeSilva furthered this implying SLA had bias towards certain types of colleges.

“I think that looking over community colleges could potentially waste a reliable option due to the stigma around it,” DeSilva stated. In the end, DeSilva decided to attend LaSalle.

Another anonymous student described a past incident where her brother had an unpleasant confrontation about his choice to attend Community College of Philadelphia. This incident lead to her deciding to not ask the college counselor for guidance because of how attending community college was taboo for her brother.

Some seniors at SLA believe Community College is looked down upon by faculty members, and even their own peers. This could result in a lack of motivation for students who know they cannot attend a university due to cost or other factors.

“My job is to let students know about a wide range of schools,” Mrs. Hirschfield the college counselor asserted. She also explained that despite the stigma against community college a significant portion of SLA students have attended each of the past 4 years (10%).

“I think that there is a stigma, but I don’t think it’s exclusive to SLA,” she stated. This point was proceeded with her opinion, which is people do this because selective schools are valued more in a professional setting. For instance, a Bachelor’s degree is more prestigious than an associate’s degree, but applicants overlook the option of transferring to a university.

Furthermore, she stated this stigma could result in a negative college experience for future students due to chasing prestigious validations. However, Ms. Hirschfield countered the claim that SLA has a practice of automatically overlooking community options.

“If a student said they wanted to go to CCP I’d support the choice, it’s just I want students to be aware of all their options…maybe that’s where the misunderstanding comes from,” she addressed when asked about a student not coming to college counseling.