Philadelphia School Partnership Debuts School Comparison Website

From Mike Wang of the Philadelphia School Partnership:

We are thrilled to announce the launch of GreatPhillySchools.org, a unique new resource for Philadelphia families to learn about and compare over 400 K-12 schools in the city. GreatPhillySchools.org includes detailed ratings and information about all types of schools in the city, including District, charter, Catholic and private schools.  It is completely free and available online at www.greatphillyschools.org.  Prior to GreatPhillySchools.org, parents seeking information on schools had to search multiple websites and sift through complex spreadsheets to find data about academic results. There was no easy way to get information comparing private and Catholic schools to public schools or to obtain information about safety and attendance.

Visit GreatPhillySchools.org to find ratings and information to help parents, grandparents and students to search and compare over 400 public and private schools.  Each school is assigned 1-to-10 ratings in up to five categories and in overall quality. A rating of 10 means a school ranks among the top-performing schools for that category in comparison to other schools in Philadelphia. These ratings are designed to make it easier to find, sort and compare schools, but they are not intended to be the sole factor in judging whether a school is the right fit for a student. The site will help parents, guardians and students ask the right questions during their school research, as they visit schools and as they work to improve their own schools. For a more detailed explanation of the ratings, see our methodology at GreatPhillySchools.org.

In addition to the ability to search by neighborhood, overall quality and school type or grade level, the site includes a robust series of brief tutorials and articles developed to help parents and caregivers navigate the process of choosing a school.  Over a dozen articles touch on differences among the private and public school systems, the enrollment process at different types of schools, a checklist for parents planning to visit a school, and more.  The site also includes descriptive information for each school, including mission, accreditation, admissions policy, and special programs, such as music, arts, sports and language offerings.

Here is some of the news coverage:

NBC Philadelphia: New Tool to Help Philly Parents Find the Best School
Inquirer: Website Offers Range of Information About Philly Schools
Daily News: New Website to Help Parents Find 'Great Philly Schools'