Masterman's First Report Card: Results of the New Admissions Procedure

Last summer, the Philadelphia School District updated the school selection process for the 2024-2025 school year. While the lottery system is being maintained and underrepresented zip codes will continue to be prioritized, the District is changing the relationship between middle school and high school selection. According to its new guidelines, “[e]ligible 8th graders who already attend [a subset of special selection schools] and meet that high school’s criteria will receive an offer to that school upon completion of the application process.” School leaders were tasked with planning gradual and strategic changes in grade sizes over the next three to six years to rebalance middle and high school sizes to account for this change. Now, after fifth and ninth grade admissions have been finalized, we can take a look at how the first stage of this played out, and answer some questions that emerged in the fall surrounding the new process.

For the fall of 2024, four sections of new fifth graders were accepted to Masterman middle school, and five new sections of ninth graders were accepted into the high school. Additionally, instead of adding a sixth section of sixth graders as had been past practice, the school did not take any new incoming sixth graders. “The high school will ultimately be bigger than the middle school over the next three to four years,” explains Mrs. Lennon, Masterman’s assistant principal who leads the school selection process and co-chairs the SAC school selection committee. 

Concerns raised this fall regarding the new admission process include building space and staff. In terms of space, by both adding and subtracting a section of thirty-three students, the number of students in the building will stay constant, which should allay some concerns. Just like the students, the staff numbers will also flip. The contraction of the middle school will reduce the number of fifth and sixth grade teachers who need elementary certifications, and the increase of high schoolers will add more content teachers to Masterman. 

To abide by fire codes, the administration will have no choice but to create two separate lunch periods to accommodate the larger high school student body. The code states that Masterman may have no more than 350 students rostered per lunch period. The current plan is for ninth and tenth graders to eat together, and likewise eleventh and twelfth graders. Because lunchtime is generally when all high school students come together for club meetings, some members of the Masterman community have expressed concerns about the impact the split lunch periods will have on clubs. Mrs. Lennon emphasized a willingness to work with students to come up with a solution. She emphasized that “no one is stopping clubs; how we do it will look different. We are going to make it work.” This is an ongoing topic of discussion in SAC meetings among students, parents, and administration. 

Masterman is still welcoming new ninth graders into the high school, and the administration is preparing to integrate these students into a class predominantly composed of students who have been together at Masterman for four years already. “That’s the only wonder—I don’t want to call it a concern because I’m hopeful we won’t have issues,” says Mrs. Lennon. Mrs. Harrison, assistant principal, adds that the administration will work hard to “create a culture where [the new ninth graders] feel welcome in the existing community. That is really important for our school.” There are plans for full-grade bonding activities, family days, trips, and ongoing conversations with the ninth grade teachers next year, all in order to create a cohesive community at Masterman. 

While downsides have been identified, overall the Masterman community has positively received this change. It will not only provide security for middle school students, but more importantly, it will strengthen the school’s community and culture, creating continuity between the middle and high school. “Now everyone has a place,” says Mrs. Lennon. “If you meet criteria—and most of our eighth-grader community does—now you have a spot if you want it.”  Alison Samuel (8-3) is attending Masterman High School next year. She says that the new admission procedures “made it a lot easier for me because I knew I was going to be able to get into Masterman.” Charlotte O’Connell (8-1), also attending Masterman High School next year, echoes this idea, adding that the new procedures “changed my experience because it was a lot more secure, and Masterman was a school to fall back on.” 

“I’ve seen a lot of changes, and it's not about the change, it's about how you adapt to it,” says Mrs. Harrison, who has seventeen years of experience at Masterman. “We are resilient, we’ve been through a lot, and we will get through this and rise to the challenge.”