This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
Enrollment projections from the District for the coming school year show the sudden growth that many of Philadelphia’s neighborhood schools will undergo as dozens of schools prepare to receive thousands of students from the 24 schools that closed this year.
South Philadelphia High, commonly called "Southern," will open its doors this fall to more than twice as many students as in the previous year. Most of those students will come from Bok Technical High, now shuttered. Southern is expecting 769 more students, according to the projections, bringing its student population up to 1,402, an increase of 121 percent.
At Tanner Duckrey Elementary in North Philadelphia, the projections show that the school will grow from 279 students to 595, mostly the result of the closure of nearby M.H. Stanton, which enrolled 332 students this past school year.
Other receiving schools, such as Benjamin Franklin High, Tilden Middle School, and William D. Kelley Elementary, are among the District-run schools that expect the highest percentage surge in enrollment. (See a Notebook graph of the schools with the largest increases above.)
Enrollment projections for the District’s 84 charter schools were not part of the report, which was included in a June School Reform Commission resolution.
Penn Treaty, E. Washington Rhodes, and Theodore Roosevelt — among 14 schools with expanding grade spans — also expect large percentage increases in student populations.
The entire projected enrollment list for District schools can be viewed below.