Community, Speaker McClinton Rally to Save Motivation High from Closure Plan
Students, parents, and community leaders—joined by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton—gathered in Southwest Philadelphia to protest a School District of Philadelphia proposal that would permanently close Motivation High School. The rally stands as a sharp rebuke to the district’s newly unveiled facilities master plan, which targets the high-performing magnet school for closure and a merger with the nearby John Bartram High School by the 2027-28 school year.
Deep Search: A Clash of School Cultures
At the heart of the conflict is a plan to dissolve a small, selective magnet program into a much larger neighborhood comprehensive high school. Motivation High School, located on Baltimore Avenue, serves approximately 240 students and is known for its “private school philosophy” within the public system. The school operates on a “STAR” (Success Through Accepting Responsibility) model, requiring applicants to meet specific attendance and grade standards to gain admission.
Data reveals a significant disparity between the two institutions. Motivation High boasts an 87% graduation rate, significantly higher than John Bartram High School’s 67%. Furthermore, while both schools serve high-poverty populations, Motivation offers a tight-knit, stable environment with a 12:1 student-teacher ratio, compared to the larger and more fluid population at Bartram. The district’s plan would repurpose the current Motivation building as “swing space”—temporary housing for other schools undergoing renovations—while moving Motivation’s students into Bartram as an “honors program.”
Objections: “A Second Home” vs. “Chaos”
The proposal has sparked intense opposition from the Motivation community, who fear the merger will destroy the unique culture that allows their students to thrive.
“Motivation is safe. It’s like a second home,” said one student demonstrator. “Bartram is too chaotic.”
Safety concerns are paramount for families who specifically chose Motivation to avoid the instability often associated with larger neighborhood schools. Parents argue that placing a small, selective magnet population inside a large comprehensive high school will erode the academic focus and safety their children currently enjoy.
“We worked hard to get into this school because of what it offers—structure, safety, and a future,” said a parent at the rally. “Merging us into a school with lower graduation rates and different challenges doesn’t make sense. It feels like we are being punished for succeeding.”
Critics also point to the district’s history of “right-sizing” failures. Many at the rally cited the mass school closures of 2013, arguing that the promised benefits of those mergers never materialized, leaving communities with blight and displaced students with fewer resources.
Background: The District’s Facilities Master Plan
The proposed closure is part of a sweeping 10-year, $2.8 billion “Facilities Master Plan” aimed at addressing declining enrollment and aging infrastructure across the city. The district intends to close or merge up to 20 schools, arguing that consolidating resources will allow for better academic programming and modernized facilities.
District officials have stated that the plan is necessary to “right-size” the system, as many buildings are operating well below capacity. They promise that the “Motivation Honors Program” at Bartram would retain its own identity, but community members remain skeptical, viewing the move as a cost-cutting measure that sacrifices student success.
Speaker McClinton, whose district includes the affected neighborhoods, stood in solidarity with the families. A consistent advocate for fair education funding, McClinton has long argued that the solution to the district’s challenges is equitable investment rather than closure. Her presence underscored the political weight of the opposition, signaling that the fight to save Motivation High is likely to intensify as the school board approaches a final vote.
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