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GreatSchools Rating

Parkway-Center City

Public | 9-12 | 388 students

Last modified
Community Rating

3 stars

Community Rating by Year
2013:
No new ratings
2012:
No new ratings
2011:
Based on 1 rating
2010:
Based on 3 ratings

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14 reviews of this school


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Posted May 24, 2011

this school is not so good, i heard there are roaches and mutant rats. it is very unclean here and some of the teachers get wasted in the school parking lot, yet to mention the giant ogre that lurks the hallway.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted June 25, 2010

In the fall I will be going to the 11th grade, I been here since 9th grade. The school not as bad as people make it out to be. Okay we share the building with Business & Tech but we rarely see them or have any interaction with them. The teachers are good mostly because they help you with things school related job related or even non-school related. One teacher who retired this year, Mr. Condello, helped you with all your problems, he answered questions you had about college and he and Mr. Rothstein (English 2 & Drama) helped me get accepted to People to People by writing a letter of recommendation for me. I'm gonna really miss Mr. Condello and I feel sorry for the students that will never have him as a geometry teacher, SAT Prep teacher or tutorial leader. Lunch is bad. PCC 2012 all day!!!
—Submitted by a student


Posted March 1, 2010

I am a student here in pcc and yea i agree it is kinda boring and lame plus there never any fun here, we share this run down school with another school called bussiness and tech it is croweded in the halls and barely any room and i only came to this school cuz my friends told me too...i dont really care that much since i'm a freshmen but i'm not gonna be here cuz this school have less stuff to do and barely any teacher cares for the students so that why i give it 1 star
—Submitted by a student


Posted December 10, 2009

I graduated from PCC not too long ago. I attended it when we were located in Center City & the current location. The fall-off just because of the move was great. The only reason I give as many stars as I did was because of the teachers. It is not all but mainly the English and Gym teachers show that they really care. Other than that the principal and her staff enforces bad rules, and take away the little privileges we do get. With that being said, in the classes such as English, I felt that I was prepared for college.
—Submitted by a student


Posted August 10, 2009

I currently attend parkway center city high school as a incoming senior. I am part of the last class to attend the previous location of the high school. Now, i noticed that many previous students have complained about not going out to eat, less freedom, et cetera. Now i will agree parkway has lost some of the things that made it great but we also gained more extracurricular such as a soccer team, volley ball team and a drama club. now parkway could be greater but not right now because we share a run down building with another high school in a sub par location for the type of school we have. We are a college prep school and that title comes with certain attachments to it such as teachers who are more strict and less flexible. Now parkway may not be the best school but its far from the worst.
—Submitted by a student


Posted July 15, 2009

i attend parkway center city....we may not have alot of events and parrtys because we keep it classic with just prom. but the education that u leave with is outstanding, and is somthing that you can only experience at PCC
—Submitted by a student


Posted May 5, 2009

im a student at pcc and i hate it ! the school is so small..as a matter of fact its not a school..its half of a school ! its so small and all ppl can use as their main entertainment is drama. it gets very irritating how ppl dont take others for who they are. the school is a good place to stay out of trouble but theres always the group of girls who think they run the school and can do whatever they want to ppl.the teacher dont even seem to care anymore and the principle is just horrible. theres not a single person who likes her. pcc is not what i expected.
—Submitted by a student


Posted December 3, 2008

I went to Parkway Center City High School for 3 years. I left the school cause I just couldn't stand it anymore. Parkway really did not have a wide variety of curriculum and as far as the teachers and staff goes it was either their way or no way. It felt as if the feelings of the students did not mean anything whatsoever. It felt as if I was more of a statistic number rather than an actually human being in that school. There were some teachers that made learning there worth it. Then the school moved. It just lost all its creditability. The school in now located on Board and Springarden sharing the school building with the Business and Tech School and the only thing Parkway had to offer was its location and now it doesn't even have that. Parkway was not the school I thought it was.
—Submitted by a student


Posted November 9, 2008

I am a former student of Parkway-Center City prior to the relocation off Spring Garden. The school did have its kinks however the foundation and tools were present to be a college bound student. Things may have changed since then, but a good school for opportunity, in my opinion.
—Submitted by a student


Posted April 5, 2008

I attend parkway center city highscool, I am a senoir and have been attending this school my entire highschool lifetime. I used to love going to school, the center city enviroment was safe, clean and the small building made it feel more like a small family then a group of students. We had our break everyday to go out to lunch, and it was just an easy day. Now I wish i could just leave, the school has been moved to a run down crappy building, an old middle school building to b exact. Its in a close radius of many other highscools, and worst of all the highschool of business and technology is actually in our own building. Its just horrile, if i wasnt so attached to the students and the teachers i would leave. Parkway went from a great school to a building full of fights, drama and garbage.
—Submitted by a student


Posted November 5, 2007

I am a student in Parkway Center City and I must say that this schools is not a school that I plan on attending for a long time. I say this because before I attended this school I was hearing very nice things about but now attending this school for my freshman year makes me want to scream.We dont even go out for lunch anymore and plus we are at a new location and it makes it worse.We share our school with Buisness & Technology and its either to hot or to cold.
—Submitted by a student


Posted April 16, 2007

I attend Parkway Center City and I must say I feel that the school is going downhill. I am a senior and since I first started in 9th grade, the number of activities has declined and the students have became more unrully.Parkway is a small school that will deprive a child with a true high school experience complete without lockers, lunchroom, or gym facility.The only good thing about Parkway is the center city environment that I feel is nice but doesn't work because of the small spaced offered to the school.
—Submitted by a student


Posted September 27, 2006

I attend Parkway Center City high school. This is a college bound school that instills the tools neccasary to move forward to college in each student. Although there is a lot of work to be done we do have fun. I am a junior and so far i have attended dances and lots of trips. We also go outside for lunch. cool!!!
—Submitted by a student


Posted July 10, 2006

I attend parkway center city high.It is a college prep school ,minus the fun learning experience.
—Submitted by a student


Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.

About these ratings

The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.

The test results by subgroup show how the designated group of students is performing in comparison to the general population.

Grade level

Math

The state average for Math was 60% in 2012.

97 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
69%

2011

 
 
74%

2010

 
 
67%

2009

 
 
75%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 68% in 2012.

97 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
68%

2011

 
 
73%

2010

 
 
71%

2009

 
 
76%
Science

The state average for Science was 42% in 2012.

94 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
7%

2011

 
 
18%

2010

 
 
18%

2009

 
 
17%
Writing

The state average for Writing was 83% in 2012.

94 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
98%

2011

 
 
99%

2010

 
 
97%

2009

 
 
99%
Scale: % at or above proficient

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Pennsylvania used the Pennsylvania System of State Assessments (PSSA) to test students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 in math and reading, in grades 5, 8 and 11 in writing, and in grades 4, 8 and 11 in science. The results for reading, writing, science and math are displayed on GreatSchools profiles. The PSSA is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Pennsylvania. The goal is for all students to score at or above proficient on the test.

See Pennsylvania's state standards

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education

Math

All Students69%
Female67%
Male72%
Black64%
Asiann/a
Hispanicn/a
Multi-ethnicn/a
Whiten/a
Economically disadvantaged72%
Students with disabilities (IEP)n/a
English language learnersn/a

Reading

All Students68%
Female72%
Male61%
Black66%
Asiann/a
Hispanicn/a
Multi-ethnicn/a
Whiten/a
Economically disadvantaged72%
Students with disabilities (IEP)n/a
English language learnersn/a

Science

All Students7%
Female7%
Male9%
Black7%
Asiann/a
Hispanicn/a
Multi-ethnicn/a
Whiten/a
Economically disadvantaged6%
Students with disabilities (IEP)n/a
English language learnersn/a

Writing

All Students98%
Female97%
Male100%
Black97%
Asiann/a
Hispanicn/a
Multi-ethnicn/a
Whiten/a
Economically disadvantaged96%
Students with disabilities (IEP)n/a
English language learnersn/a
Scale: % at or above proficient

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Pennsylvania used the Pennsylvania System of State Assessments (PSSA) to test students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 in math and reading, in grades 5, 8 and 11 in writing, and in grades 4, 8 and 11 in science. The results for reading, writing, science and math are displayed on GreatSchools profiles. The PSSA is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Pennsylvania. The goal is for all students to score at or above proficient on the test.

The different student groups are identified by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. If there are fewer than 10 students in a particular group in a school, the state doesn't report data for that group.

See Pennsylvania's state standards

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education

Breaking down the GreatSchools Rating

GreatSchools Ratings are based on the most recent standardized test results for schools. Use the breakdown ratings below to compare types of students at this school. Learn more »


Student ethnicity

Ethnicity This school State average
Black 79% 16%
Asian/Pacific Islander 9% 3%
Hispanic 7% 7%
White 5% 73%
American Indian/Alaska Native N/A 0%
Source: NCES, 2008-2009

Student-teacher ratio

  This school District averageState average
Students per FTE teacher 17N/A15
Source: NCES, 2008-2009
Notice an inaccuracy? Let us know!

540 North 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Phone: (215) 299-8801

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