Neighborhood School Network

Building Safer, Stronger Schools

Foundations, Inc. knows how to build community and improve academic achievement—even in the most challenging school environments.

In 2002, we assumed management of a number of underperforming schools in Northwest Philadelphia and established the Neighborhood School Network (NSN). These schools had struggled with low test scores, high teacher turnover and high rates of violence and absenteeism, among other challenges.

But at our flagship Martin Luther King High School and throughout the NSN, the landscape is changing—and big improvements are underway.

Foundations introduced a variety of supports, including more content experts, technical assistance and leadership training. As a result, the school is safer, teachers have more of the help they need, parents and the community are more involved and student achievement is up. In fact, test scores continue to rise and far more students are graduating—with over 25% more of them gaining acceptance to four-year colleges.

Foundations enriches classroom curricula with additional programming, like Seeds for Learning, in which students grow their own produce and sell it within their own community and throughout the rest of Philadelphia, and the Job Resource & Development Center, which trains students for the world of work and offers solid employment opportunities.