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Furness High School
United States historic place From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Horace Howard Furness High School is a secondary (9th-12th) school in South Philadelphia. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia.[2]
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Portions of South Philadelphia (including Bella Vista, Passyunk Square, Pennsport, Queen Village, and Whitman) are zoned to Furness.[3] A section of Center City, including Society Hill and Old City, was formerly zoned to Furness for high school.[4]
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History
It was originally built as an elementary school, with construction starting in 1913 and ending in 1914; it later became Horace Furness Junior High School. It was named for Shakespearean scholar Horace Howard Furness (1833–1912).[5]
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Horace Furness Junior High School in 1986.[1] It was later converted into a senior high school, and its first high school graduation was held in 1991.[5]
In 2012 Daniel Peou, a Cambodian American man who was once a refugee and had lived in Philadelphia, became the principal of Furness.[6]
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Architecture
The school building was designed by Henry deCourcy Richards and built by Cramp & Co. It is a four-story, rectangular, reinforced concrete building clad in brick and terra cotta in the Late Gothic Revival-style. It features an oversized arched entryway, blind panels, terra cotta quoining, and a brick parapet.[7]
Student body
As of 2015[update] the school had 694 students. These students used over 25 different languages.[8]
In 2000 the school had about 1,200 students. In the 2009-2010 school year the school had 673 students, with 40% being African-American and 38% being Asian.[9]
Benjamin Herold of the Philadelphia Public School Notebook stated that Furness was largely free of racial tensions.[9]
Academic performance
In regards to Pennsylvania's state achievement tests, of 11th graders at Furness, the percentages of students meeting the standard or higher were 43% in reading and 58% in mathematics. In terms of Philadelphia's comprehensive schools these percentages were higher than the average.[9]
Transportation
School uniforms
Furness requires its students to wear school uniforms. Students may wear a gray shirt that must have a collar on it with black pants.[11]
Feeder patterns
K-8 schools feeding into Furness include:[12]
- Fanny Jackson Coppin School (formerly Andrew Jackson School)
- Eliza Butler Kirkbride School
- William M. Meredith School
- George W. Nebinger School
- George Sharswood School
- John H. Taggart School
- Vare-Washington School (formerly Abigail Vare School and George Washington School)
Previously George A. McCall School in Society Hill fed Furness High.[3][10][13]
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See also
References
External links
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