This is an appeal to our alumnae, parents, students, teachers, staff, and the general public to join the Philadelphia High School for Girls’ community in demanding that the School District of Philadelphia provide our students with enough highly qualified teachers to serve our students in the 2026-2027 school year.

Presently, our class numbers in our 9th grade history, math, Spanish, and biology courses are well above the student class size limit of 33. In fact, 60 percent of these classes are rostered with 40-plus students per class, with two social studies classes at 50 and 52. This means students are without desks, cramped into rooms as teachers struggle to give each child the academic engagement, attention, and care they deserve.

These high numbers come in response to the last few years of falling enrollment and school closures across the district. The Girls’ High administration has doubled down and made recruitment a number one goal, subsequently raising enrollment, with a class of nearly 300 9th-grade students in the Fall of 2026. 

Since the start of the school year, the School District of Philadelphia has been resisting hiring additional teachers, and only after much demonstrated need from teachers and administration has it agreed to hire a single teacher. The District suggests additional capacity come from dissolving or collapsing AP and IB classes and other higher-level electives in a school meant to prepare young women for collegiate life.

The Philadelphia High School for Girls is a college preparatory institution and cannot afford to lose higher-level classes, and certainly cannot abide these unsafe and unacceptable class sizes. Girls’ High has served as a powerful space for young women for nearly 200 years. We must maintain our standards and serve all of our student body with highly qualified educators, continuing our legacy of educating young women who will treat others compassionately and lead lives of personal integrity while preparing them to be future leaders.