City magnet school wins national honor for second time

HILL-FREEDMAN World Academy, one of the district's top magnet schools, has been named a National Blue Ribbon School for a second time.

Hill-Freedman, on Crittenden Street near Washington Lane in East Germantown, was among 14 in the state and 337 schools nationwide to receive the honor, announced yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education. It was the only district school to receive the award.

The school also won the distinction in 2006.

Superintendent William Hite praised principal Anthony Majewski, students, faculty and families for earning the honor. "Winning a National Blue Ribbon School award once is quite an accomplishment; winning the award twice is an exceptional feat. This is a wonderful day for the Hill-Freedman school community," Hite said in a statement.

The school, which has 400 students, added ninth and 10th grades in September, and will expand to 12th grade by 2016. On the 2013 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, more than 90 percent of students scored advanced or proficient in reading and math.

"I feel really fortunate to be part of a team that cares about kids despite what happens outside of this building, and that cares about kids despite decisions that are made outside this building," said Majewski, the school's principal since 2007.

Students listened to the announcement by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan via live stream online in the school's auditorium, while being treated to pretzels, Majewski said. A formal celebration will be held later.

The recognition is especially impressive given the circumstances last year when budget cuts forced all district schools to operate with fewer resources. Hill-Freedman's after-school math and reading enrichment program was significantly scaled back due to the loss of funds, Majewski said. Despite the cut, "the kids still did well, and that's a testament to what's going on in the classroom," he said, adding that parents play a major role in the school's success.

The first district middle school to implement the International Baccalaureate program, Hill-Freedman also has a fully operational science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program. Sixty percent of students are from low-income families and 30 percent are in special education.

"We have students that are bright, they want to learn," said Tamara Bennett, president of the school's Home and School Association. "We also have teachers that are willing, ready and able to teach our scholars."