South Philadelphia High School

South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the south section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, just north of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex residential neighborhood, Marconi Plaza, FDR Park, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and near the Passyunk Avenue urban corridor of shops and restaurants and famous classic Melrose Diner. It is accessible by public transportation of the Broad Street subway, C- Bus, and Snyder Avenue trackless trolley.

The school, serving grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia.

The school serves South Philadelphia and the Rittenhouse Square section of Center City. [" [http://www.centercityschools.com/Greenfield/ Albert M. Greenfield School] ." "Center City Schools".] " [http://www.centercityschools.com/Greenfield/graduates.html Albert M. Greenfield School - Where the Graduates Go] ." "Center City Schools".]

History

South Philadelphia High School, is called Southern and has the mascot of a ram. The school was originally built in 1907 with a separation for boys and girls as a 3 year manual training school. It was demolished and rebuilt in 1956 as a modern-styled co-ed high school. Serving students from an immigrant population of a mixed low-middle income neighborhood. The humble economic beginnings of the alumni of the first graduating class in 1911 has blossomed into many world famous people and professionals in all walks of life. The list of hundreds of distinguished alumni reads like a major Ivy League college. There are lawyers, doctors, sport figures, Hollywood entertainers, recording artists, world famous concert musicians, developers and researchers in medicine and equipment for NASA, government officials, foreign diplomats, US ambassadors, cultural leaders, founders and university presidents. The Philadelphia School District administrators thought when they opened the Southern Manual Training High School in 1907 and later to become a High School, was merely a three year training facility for immigrant children, mostly of Jewish and Italian descent and was for children who lacked intellectual skills and “could only work with their hands”. But Israel Goldstein, a student, and first scholarship winner in 1912, showed the school administrators that was not true and that there was more promise for academics. He graduated the from Southern at age 14 and four years later from the University of Pennsylvania. Israel Goldstein became a Rabbi, an author, spiritual leader and founder of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He became a leader of the Zionist movement in America and founder of the National Conference for Christians and Jews. Due in part to the example of young Israel Goldstein, the 3-year training facility became a four-year High School. So whether it is graduates like Goldstein, or musical and entertainment legends the school has seen outstanding individuals grow from the same base with support from teachers and Alumni.

Feeder patterns

Feeder K-8 schools include:
* Thomas Junior High 1929 -2007
* Albert M. Greenfield School

School uniforms

South Philadelphia students are required to wear school uniforms [http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/offices/osm/uniforms/#s] .

Uniforms consist of white, blue, and tan shirts and navy, khaki, and white bottoms.

Notable Alumni

*Al Alberts
*Marian Anderson
*Frankie Avalon
*Chubby Checker
*Joey Bishop
*Fred Diodati
*Larry Fine
*Eddie Fisher
*Fabian
*Jack Klugman
*Israel Goldstein, Co-founder of Brandeis University
*Buddy Greco
*Al Martino
*Mario Lanza
*Bobby Rydell.

References

External links

* [http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/southphila/ South Philadelphia High School]
* [http://http://www.sphsalumni.com/ Alumnae Association]