Penn GSE and the School District of Philadelphia are co-creating solutions—in areas from algebra to AI—by listening first, aligning priorities, and turning research into real-time change across an urban school system.
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On a Saturday in March at Penn, about 20 math educators from the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) were watching a video of an Algebra 1 teacher encouraging his ninth graders to “think like mathematicians” and make connections between graphs and chunks of equations—part of a lesson on equivalent quadratic functions.
Academy at Penn students visit Penn Vet during their summer session.
“Pay attention to what the teacher is doing to launch the routine to set students up for thinking,” urged Graduate School of Education (GSE) senior lecturer Caroline B. Ebby,who led the session. Elsewhere, other members of the Algebra 1 Fellowship, an 85-person cohort launched in May 2025 with the district, discovered additional strategies to engage students in algebra using the school system’s newly adopted K–12 Illustrative Math (IM) curriculum.
The Algebra 1 Fellowship is one of numerous partnerships between Penn GSE and SDP. Some, like GSE’s ongoing relationship with nearby Henry C. Lea Elementary School, span decades. Another—a ground-up collaboration between Penn, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and the district—is the Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School, a National Blue Ribbon winner and one of the highest-performing public schools in the city. Others involve faculty research across communities or district-level ventures that bring together multiple players. In addition, graduate students regularly interact with schools to complete practicum hours, conduct thesis studies, or tutor students.
During the last school year, Penn GSE had 343 ongoing activities running in 166 of the city’s public, charter, and private schools and in 63 community sites, such as libraries, community centers, and mental health organizations, according to GSE’s Office of School and Community Engagement (OSCE), which tracks the School’s engagement across Philadelphia.
Besides the Algebra I Fellowship, the relationship has led to initiatives that tackle artificial intelligence, conflict resolution, and college- and career-readiness.
“We are working towards greater coherence and strategic support in our ongoing work with the school district,” says Katharine Strunk, dean of Penn GSE. “This kind of co-constructed, partnership-driven work is based on a deep and growing trust between SDP and GSE, one that truly allows us to understand and expand on the tremendous assets the district brings to the conversation.”
As OSCE marks its 10th anniversary, its model has evolved from supporting partnerships with individual neighborhood schools to running summer programs with broader reach, spearheading initiatives that are impacting multiple schools and communities across the SDP—and researching the effectiveness of those collaborations.
In 2025, OSCE’s successes led to the Academy at Penn college- and career-readiness program, a five-year initiative that provides year-round counseling, exposure, and enrichment activities throughout high school.
This story is by Lini S. Kadaba. Read more at Penn GSE.
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